Errors in the Use of Auxiliary Verbs

能愿动词的误用

　　可以

　　can

　　Example:

　　Wrong：在十天内，你们可不可以造好箭？

　　Right：在十天内，你们能不能造好箭？

　　Here,“能”is confused with “可以”。“可以”merely stresses capability ,but“能”emphasizes the objective conditions as well.I'the present sentence ,asking whether the arrows can be finish within ten days,to achieve the goal depends not only on the capa-bility (the skill) of the arrow maker,but also on such conditions as material and tools.Thus“能”is the proper word to be chosen.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：如果你没有钱，不可以结婚。

　　Right：如果你没有钱，不能结婚。

　　The negative form of“可以”is“不能”rather than “不可以”。“不能结婚”here means

　　“not well prepared for a marriage ”。

　　Example:

　　Wrong：已经十点了，他可以来吗？

　　Right：已经十点了，他会（能）来吗？

　　This sentence inquires the possibility of “他来”。It also in-volves the making of an assumption.“可以”has no such usage.One should use“会”or“能”

　　Example:

　　Wrong：可以你的词典借用一下儿吗？

　　Right：你的词典可以借用一下儿吗？

　　Here,the initial position of “可以”is a consequence of the in-terference of the word order in a question with an auxiliary verb in English (May I use your dictionary?or Could you lend me your dictionary?).In Chinese“可以”always precedes the predicate verb.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：我们跟小朋友可以谈话了。

　　Right：我们可以跟小朋友谈话了。

　　Where a pre positional phrase (“跟小朋友”) and an auxiliary verb (“可以”) occur simultaneously before the same verb,the order is:the prepositional phrase immediately precedes the verb,and the auxiliary verb goes before the prepositional phrase.One should place“跟小朋友”after“可以”。

　　Example:

　　Wrong：我们痛痛快快的可以玩几天。

　　Right：我们可以痛痛快快的玩几天。

　　When both a modifier and an auxiliary verb are used before the predicate verb,it usually occurs that the modifier stays near the verb with the auxiliary verb coming next.Thus,we place“痛痛快快”after“可以”。