生病住院, 买了没吃: two verbs linked by cause, contrast or condition
【五41】特殊句型 / special sentence patterns
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Two verb phrases in a row, with no connecting word, can carry a logical link that English would spell out with “because”, “but” or “if”. Three cases:
• cause → result: 他搬东西伤了腰 (carrying things, he hurt his back), 李老师生病住院了 (Teacher Li fell ill and was hospitalised).
• contrast: V1 了 + 没 + V2: 药他买了没吃, 这本书我借了没看 (bought but not taken; borrowed but not read).
• condition, means: 有 + noun + verb: 我们有办法不动手术, 她有信心做好 (“we have a way to…”).
It goes beyond the series of means and purpose you know (坐车去, 去商店买东西), where the first verb merely says the manner or aim of the other. The order is fixed: reason first, result second, as in the sequence of events. In the contrast form, add neither 但是 nor 了 to the second verb.
Examples
他生病住院了。
Tā shēngbìng zhùyuàn le.He fell ill and was hospitalised.
我有办法解决这个问题。
Wǒ yǒu bànfǎ jiějué zhège wèntí.I have a way to solve this problem.
他搬东西伤了腰。
Tā bān dōngxi shāng le yāo.He hurt his back moving things.
这本书我借了没看，一直放在桌子上。
Zhè běn shū wǒ jiè le méi kàn, yìzhí fàng zài zhuōzi shang.I borrowed this book but never read it; it has just sat on the table.
药他买了没吃，病当然好不了。
Yào tā mǎi le méi chī, bìng dāngrán hǎo bu liǎo.He bought the medicine but didn't take it, so of course he doesn't get better.
她有信心做好这件事。
Tā yǒu xìnxīn zuòhǎo zhè jiàn shì.She is confident she can do this job well.
Common mistakes
✗ 她住院生病了 → ✓ 她生病住院了 (the cause first, the result second).
✗ 这本书我借了没看了 → ✓ 这本书我借了没看 (no 了 on the second verb: 没 already negates the fact).