How do I tell the uses of yan apart?

Final position suggests a particle; the sense of where makes it interrogative; meaning in this suggests a fused form.

How do I spot a noun used as a verb?

A noun taking an object directly, or modified by an adverb, is already doing verb work.

S4 Chinese, Classical Chinese, Paper 3: modal particles and word class shifts

2026-10-31

Ten items on he as an interrogative, final hu, the three uses of yan, nouns turned verbs, causatives, the suo construction and fronted objects.

Focus　Final hu is a particle; yan is read by position; a noun with an object has become a verb; a causative restores make; suo turns a verb into a noun; an interrogative object is fronted.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10
Suggested time	25
Difficulty mix	Foundation 4 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 2 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: S4 Chinese: Classical Chinese
Level	S4 to S6

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationIn the line what meanness is there, what is he?
FoundationIn the line is it not a delight, what does hu do?
FoundationIn the line and where shall we put the earth and stone, what does yan mean?
FoundationIn the line the donkey kicked it in fury, what is ti doing?
IntermediateIn the line afflicting his mind and will, what is ku doing?
IntermediateHow is the suo construction in what was seen to be understood?
IntermediateWhich sentence pattern is there being what meanness?
ChallengeA 900 character classical passage with 25 minutes allowed: how many characters per minute?
ChallengeA classical paper totals 60 marks and translation takes 15: what percentage is that?
Error redoA candidate translates the line as hoof it: what is wrong?

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	An interrogative pronoun meaning what	The line equals there being what meanness; an interrogative object moves before the verb.
2	A sentence final particle marking a question or a rhetorical question	Final hu is a particle, quite unlike the preposition yu.
3	The interrogative where	Yan can fuse in plus it, act as a particle, or ask where; position decides.
4	A noun used as a verb, meaning to kick with the hoof	A noun followed by the object zhi has already turned into a verb.
5	A causative use, meaning to make someone suffer	A causative says what is made of the object, so the translation restores make.
6	Suo plus a verb names the thing acted on	Suo turns a verb into a noun phrase, a common classical device.
7	A fronted object, equivalent to there being what meanness in plain order	An interrogative object is fronted and must move back in translation.
8	36 characters per minute	900 divided by 25 is 36; slower readers should scan the glosses first.
9	25 percent	15 over 60 is 25 percent, too heavy a share to skip in revision.
10	The noun used as a verb was missed; it means to kick it with the hoof	A noun taking a pronoun object has almost certainly shifted into a verb.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

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