Discussion of 有 [yǒu] have; there be; (used to indicate an estimate or comparison); (used to express something indefinite) certain, some, part of - Trainchinese

1 - Both 是 and 有 can be used to express existence. What is the difference? Generally speaking, 有 is more widely used than 是 when expressing existence. We can only replace 有 with 是 only in some sentences (E.g. 1). In E.g. 2, we cannot use 是. E.g. 1 大楼前面是／有一个广场。 [phr] In front of the building there is a square. E.g. 2 大楼前面有一棵树。 [phr] In front of the building there is a tree. “Square” is a large item which fills the space “in front of the building”. In this case we can use 是. But in E.g. 2, “a tree” is a small object which only occupies a small portion of the space “in front of the building”, so we cannot use 是. 2 - 有 has many functions: 1. Expressing possession E.g. 1 我有三本书。 [phr] I have three books. 2. Expressing existence E.g. 2 前边有一家商店。 [phr] In the front there is a shop. 3. Listing things E.g. 3 我的同学里有中国人、日本人、韩国人、美国人。 [phr] Among my classmates, there are Chinese, Japanese, Korean and American. 4. Expressing inclusion E.g. 4 七月有三十一天。 [phr] There are thirty-one days in July. 5. Reaching a certain quantity E.g. 5 这口井有五十多米深。 [phr] The well is about fifty-metre deep. 6. Making a general reference E.g. 6 有人敲门。 [phr] Someone is knocking at the door. 7. Comparison E.g. 7 我没有门口那个人那么高。 [phr] I am not as tall as that person at the door. 3 - 像 and 有 can both be used in a sentence expressing comparison. What are their differences? “A像B” means that there is a resemblance between A and B. “A像B这么C” means that the resemblance between A and B resides in a certain aspect C. “A有B这么C” means that A has reached the degree of B in aspect C. 4 - We can use 有 to express comparison. Let’s look at the sentence below: Example 1a. 这棵树有那座楼高。 (phr) This tree is as tall as that building. Grammatically speaking, the phrase led by 有 (有那座楼 in Example 1a) acts as an adverbial adjunct and modifies the predicate adjective (高) or a certain verb. In this 有-phrase, 有 is followed by the object of comparison, which is 那座楼. The words or phrases before and after 有 belong to the same type, or, in other words, have to comparable. In Example 1a, the height of 这棵树 and 那座楼 is comparable. 这么 or 那么 often occurs after the 有-phrase and before the predicate to denote degree. Example 1b. 这棵树有那座楼那么高。 The negative form of Example 1a is 1c. We simply use 没有 instead of 有. Example 1c. 这棵树没有那座楼（这么／那么）高。 (phr) This tree is NOT so tall as that building. In summary, “有…” used to express comparison has the meaning of “reaching a certain amount or level”. Therefore no words of concrete number and measurement can follow the predicate. 5 - What other words mean the same thing as 有 (yǒu)? 6 - In what situations is it appropriate to use the word 有 (yǒu)?

1 - 是与有均可用于表达存在。二者有何区别？概而言之，在表达存在时，有之使用频率较是更为广泛。仅在某些特定句子中，我们可以将有替换为是（例如例1）。在例2中，我们不能使用是。例如1：大楼前面是／有一个广场。[短语]大楼前方有一广场。例如2：大楼前面有一棵树。[短语]大楼前方有一棵树。“广场”是一个占据“大楼前方”空间的庞然大物。在此情况下，我们可以使用是。但在例2中，“一棵树”仅为占据“大楼前方”空间的一小部分的小型物体，因此不能使用是。2-有具备诸多功能：1. 表达拥有，例如：我有三本书。[短语]我拥有三本书。2. 表达存在，例如：前边有一家商店。[短语]前方有一商店。3. 列举事物，例如：我的同学里有中国人、日本人、韩国人、美国人。[短语]在我的同学中，有中国人、日本人、韩国人和美国人。4. 表达包含，例如：七月有三十一天。[短语]七月包含三十一天。5. 达到一定数量，例如：这口井有五十多米深。[短语]该井深度约为五十多米。6. 进行一般性指代，例如：有人敲门。[短语]有人正在敲门。7. 进行比较，例如：我没有门口那个人那么高。[短语]我并未如门口那个人那般高。3-像与有均可用于表示比较的句子中。二者有何区别？“A像B”意味着A与B之间存在相似之处。“A像B这么C”意味着A与B之间的相似性体现在某一特定方面C上。“A有B这么C”意味着A在C方面达到了B的程度。4-我们可用有来表达比较。让我们审视以下句子：示例1a：这棵树有那座楼高。[短语]此树之高度与彼楼相若。从语法角度而言，由有引导的短语（示例1a中的“有那座楼”）充当状语从句，并修饰谓语形容词（高）或某一动词。在此有-短语中，有之后跟随的是比较对象，即彼楼。有之前后的词语或短语属于同一类型，换言之，必须是可比较的。在示例1a中，此树与彼楼的高度是可比较的。这么或那么常出现在有-短语之后和谓语之前，用以表示程度。示例1b：这棵树有那座楼那么高。示例1a的否定形式为1c。我们只需用没有替换有即可。示例1c：这棵树没有那座楼（这么／那么）高。[短语]此树的高度不及彼楼。总之，用以表达比较的“有…”具有“达到一定数量或水平”的含义。因此，谓语之后不可跟具体的数字和度量词。5-哪些词语与有（yǒu）具有相同的意义？6-在何种情境下适宜使用有（yǒu）一词？