Apologizing for damaging a borrowed tool | Learn Chinese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 我得为我借的工具出了问题道歉。

   I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.

   我得

   I need to

   为

   for

   我借的

   that I borrowed

   工具

   tool

   出了问题

   developed a problem

   道歉

   apologize

   More detail

   我得 contains 我 (“I”) and the modal 得 here, pronounced děi, meaning “need to” or “have to.” It is different from possessive or attributive 的; the observed 得 expresses necessity. For example: 我得走了。 — “I need to leave.” 为 introduces what the apology concerns. Here it links the following event—something happening to the borrowed tool—to 道歉. A useful pattern is 为……道歉 (“apologize for …”). 我借的 is a modifier before 工具. 借 is the verb “borrow,” and 我借的 means “that I borrowed” in this sentence. The 的 turns the preceding clause into an attributive description; it does not mean that 我 possesses the tool. For example: 这是我借的书。 — “This is the book I borrowed.” 工具 means “tool.” In 我借的工具, it is the noun described by the preceding modifier: “the tool that I borrowed.” 出了问题 is a reusable expression meaning that something developed a problem or went wrong. Here 了 presents the problem as a realized change or event; it does not by itself mean that every consequence is finished. For example: 电脑出了问题。 — “The computer developed a problem.” 道歉 is the verb “to apologize.” It can occur in the pattern 向某人道歉 (“apologize to someone”) and, as here, 为某事道歉 (“apologize for something”). For example: 我为迟到道歉。 — “I apologize for being late.” Together, 我得 gives the necessity, 为 introduces the matter concerned, and 道歉 supplies the main action. Inside the 为 phrase, 我借的工具 means “the tool I borrowed,” and 出了问题 says that a problem occurred with it. The whole utterance therefore means: “I need to apologize for what happened to the tool I borrowed.”

2. 它出了什么问题？

   What happened to it?

   它

   it

   出了什么问题

   what went wrong

   More detail

   它 is the Chinese third-person pronoun used here for a non-human thing: “it.” Chinese pronouns do not inflect for grammatical gender or case, so 它 keeps this form in subject and object positions. In the supplied context, it refers to the tool being discussed. Example: 它坏了。 — “It broke.” 出了什么问题 asks what problem occurred or what went wrong. The reusable pattern is 出 + 了 + 什么问题 (“what problem occurred”); 什么 asks for the unspecified kind or identity of the problem, while 了 presents the problem as having occurred or as a changed situation. 出问题 is a common construction meaning “to develop a problem” or “to go wrong,” rather than simply “to go out.” Example: 电脑出了问题。 — “The computer developed a problem.” Together, 它 + 出了什么问题 forms a question about what went wrong with the thing: “What happened to it?” Here 它 is the thing affected, and 出了什么问题 asks what problem occurred with it.

3. 我用的时候，手柄裂了。

   The handle cracked while I was using it.

   我

   I; me

   用

   use

   的时候

   when; while

   手柄

   handle

   裂了

   cracked

   More detail

   我 means “I” here. It is the first-person singular pronoun, used for the person doing the using. Chinese pronouns do not change form for grammatical gender. 用 means “use.” Its base form is already the ordinary verb form; Chinese does not add a person ending to it, so the same form can follow 我, 你, or another subject. In this sentence, its object is omitted because it is understood from the context and fixed translation as the thing being used. Example: 我用手机。 — “I use a phone.” 的时候 marks the time during which an event happens: “when” or “while.” The pattern 动词 + 的时候 can introduce a time clause, as in 吃饭的时候 — “while eating.” Here, 用的时候 means “while [I] was using it”; the subject is understood to be 我 from the preceding verb. 手柄 means “handle.” It is a noun for the part held or used to control something. The compound consists of 手 (“hand”) and 柄 (“handle/grip”), but 手柄 functions as one noun here. Example: 这个手柄很舒服。 — “This handle is comfortable to hold.” 裂了 means “cracked.” 裂 is the verb meaning “to crack” or “split,” and 了 marks the resulting change or newly established state here: the handle became cracked. The 了 belongs to 裂, not to 手柄; it does not mean that the handle is plural or feminine. Compare 裂 (“crack/split”) with 坏了 (“has broken / is broken”), which is a broader expression of malfunction. Together, 我用的时候 sets the time frame, “while I was using it,” and 手柄裂了 states the event that occurred in that period, “the handle cracked.” The complete meaning is: “The handle cracked while I was using it.”

4. 让我看看损坏得有多严重。

   Let me see how bad the damage is.

   让我

   let me

   看看

   take a look

   损坏

   be damaged

   得有多严重

   how severe it is

   More detail

   让我 combines 让 (“let/allow”) with 我 (“me”). Here 我 is the person who will perform the following action, so the pattern 让我 + 动词 means “let me …”. Example: 让我想想。 — “Let me think.” 看看 is the reduplicated form of 看 (“look/see”). Reduplication here presents the action as a brief, limited attempt: “take a look” or “have a look.” It is not a different base verb. Example: 我看看。 — “I’ll take a look.” 损坏 is used here as the predicate meaning “be damaged” or “be damaged to a certain degree.” Its base form is also 损坏; it is not an inflected form. With 得, a verb or adjective can be followed by a degree description. Example: 机器损坏得很严重。 — “The machine is badly damaged.” 得有多严重 asks about the degree of seriousness. The pattern 动词/形容词 + 得 + 有多 + 形容词 means “how [adjective] something is after or in the state described by the preceding word.” Here 严重 means “serious/severe,” and 有多严重 means “how severe.” Example: 伤得有多重？ — “How seriously is it injured?” Together, 让我 introduces the speaker’s intended action, 看看 means briefly examining something, and 损坏得有多严重 specifies what the speaker wants to determine: the extent of the damage. The whole utterance therefore means “Let me see how bad the damage is.”

5. 我可以换一个，也可以帮忙修理。

   I can replace it or help repair it.

   我可以

   I can

   换一个

   replace it

   也可以

   also can

   帮忙

   help

   修理

   repair

   More detail

   我可以 means “I can” here. 我 is the first-person singular pronoun “I,” and 可以 is a modal verb placed before the action to express ability or permission; in this sentence it expresses the speaker’s ability. A reusable pattern is 我可以 + verb: 我可以帮忙。 — “I can help.” 换一个 means “replace it” in the fixed sentence. 换 is the verb “change, replace,” and 一个 literally contains 一 “one” plus the general measure word 个; here 一个 functions as “one/another one,” with the object understood from the context. The phrase therefore presents replacing the item as an available option. 换 can also describe changing something without necessarily replacing it, so the object and context determine the intended sense. 也可以 means “also can.” 也 adds another option, while 可以 keeps the ability/modal meaning. The pattern 也可以 + verb means that the newly mentioned action is another possible or available action. It does not itself state a quantity; 也 means “also,” not “two.” 帮忙 means “help” or “lend a hand.” It can function as a compact verb meaning “to help,” as in 我可以帮忙。 — “I can help.” In this sentence it is followed by 修理, so it introduces the repair activity rather than naming the thing being repaired. 修理 means “repair, fix.” It is a verb and can take an object: 修理机器 means “repair a machine.” In the fixed sentence, the object is omitted because the intended translation identifies it as the same item under discussion; the sentence says the speaker can help repair that item. Together, the parts form two coordinated options: 我可以换一个 (“I can replace it”) and 也可以帮忙修理 (“I can also help repair it”). The first option uses 换一个 to offer a replacement; 也可以 introduces the second option, and 帮忙修理 describes helping with the repair. The whole utterance is therefore: “I can replace it or help repair it.”

6. 我们应该看看修好后能不能用得住。

   We should check whether a repair will hold.

   我们应该

   we should

   看看

   check; take a look

   修好后

   after being successfully repaired

   能不能

   whether … can

   用得住

   hold up in use

   More detail

   我们应该 means “we should.” 我们 is the first-person plural pronoun “we,” and 应该 expresses what is advisable or expected. Here it gives a recommendation. A reusable pattern is 主语 + 应该 + 动词: 你应该休息。 — “You should rest.” 看看 means “check” or “take a look.” Its base verb is 看, “look at; see.” Reduplicating this monosyllabic verb as 看看 presents the action as brief or casual: 我看看。 — “I’ll take a look.” Here it names the checking action; it does not mean two separate looks. 修好后 means “after being successfully repaired.” 修 means “repair,” while 修好 combines the verb with 好 as a result complement, showing that the repair reaches a satisfactory or completed result. 后 means “after” and places the following situation after that result. The object being repaired is understood from the situation, but is not named in this sentence. The pattern 动词 + 好 + 后 can describe what happens after an action has been successfully completed: 吃好后再走。 — “Leave after you have finished eating.” 能不能 means “whether … can.” It is the positive-negative question pattern 能 + 不 + 能, used here inside the larger question of what should be checked. 能 expresses ability or possibility. For example, 我不知道他能不能来。 — “I don’t know whether he can come.” 用得住 means “hold up in use” here. 用 is the verb “use.” In 用得住, 得住 is a potential-complement pattern: 得 marks that the result expressed by 住 is achievable, while 住 conveys staying firm or enduring. The negative counterpart is 用不住, “not hold up in use.” This describes continued serviceability rather than merely one possible use. Together, 我们应该 sets a recommendation, and 看看 names the checking action. 修好后 sets the time condition “after the repair is successfully completed”; 能不能用得住 asks whether the repaired item will hold up in use. The whole utterance means: “We should check whether a repair will hold.”

7. 对不起，给你增加了额外的工作。

   I am sorry for causing extra work.

   对不起

   I’m sorry

   给你

   for you

   增加

   increase; add

   额外的

   extra; additional

   工作

   work

   More detail

   对不起 is a fixed apology expression meaning “I’m sorry.” It is commonly used to acknowledge that the speaker has caused a problem or inconvenience. The subject “I” is understood from the apology and the fixed translation; Chinese does not need to state it here. 给你 combines 给 “to/for” with 你 “you.” In this sentence, 给 marks the person affected by what follows, and 你 is the second-person pronoun. The phrase therefore introduces the person for whom the extra work was caused. A reusable pattern is 给 + person + verb, as in 给你添麻烦了 (“I’ve caused you trouble”). 增加 is the verb “to increase” or “to add.” Its base form is already 增加; Chinese verbs do not change form for person or number. In the source sentence it appears with 了 as 增加了, presenting the adding of work as a completed event. 增加 can be used with an amount or burden, for example, 增加成本 means “increase costs.” 额外的 means “extra” or “additional.” 额外 describes something beyond what was normally expected, and 的 links that description to the noun 工作. The pattern 额外的 + noun is reusable, for example, 额外的费用 means “additional expense.” 工作 is the noun “work,” referring here to work that the other person has to do. It can also be used as a verb meaning “to work,” but in this sentence it is the object of 增加 and is therefore a noun. Together, 给你 identifies the affected person, 增加了 expresses that work was added, and 额外的工作 specifies what was added. With the apology at the beginning, the whole utterance means: “I’m sorry for causing extra work for you.”

8. 下次请马上告诉我。

   Tell me right away next time.

   下次

   next time

   请

   please

   马上

   right away

   告诉

   tell

   我

   me

   More detail

   下次 is a time expression meaning “next time” or “on the next occasion.” It is reusable at the beginning of a sentence to set when something should happen. Chinese does not mark this expression for number or tense. 请 makes the following action a polite request. In a reusable pattern, 请 + action means “please …”; the person being asked can be left unstated when it is clear from the situation. Unlike an English verb, 请 does not change form for tense or person. 马上 is an adverb meaning “right away” or “immediately.” It modifies the action that follows here. Example: 马上回来。 means “Come back right away.” 告诉 is the verb “to tell” or “to inform.” Its basic form does not change for person or tense in this sentence. A useful pattern is 告诉 + person + information, as in 告诉我你的名字。 — “Tell me your name.” Here, the information being told is not stated separately; 告诉我 itself means “tell me.” 我 is the first-person singular pronoun “I/me.” Chinese uses this same form for subject and object, so its role comes from its position and the sentence structure. In 告诉我, it is the person receiving the information. Together, 下次 sets the time, 请 makes a polite request, and 马上告诉我 means “tell me right away.” The complete utterance means: “Please tell me right away next time.” The subject of the request is omitted, as is common when the intended person is clear from the situation.

9. 我们可以解决这个问题。

   We can sort it out.

   我们

   we

   可以

   can

   解决

   sort out; solve

   这个

   this

   问题

   problem

   More detail

   我们 means “we” here: it refers to the speaker together with at least one other person, as the subject of the sentence. Chinese pronouns do not change for grammatical gender, and 我们 is the plural form corresponding to 我 “I.” Example: 我们一起去。 — “We’ll go together.” 可以 expresses ability or possibility here: “can sort it out.” It commonly comes before the verb it modifies. The same form can also express permission in an appropriate context, but the fixed translation supports the ability/possibility reading here. Example: 你可以坐这里。 — “You can sit here.” 解决 is the verb “to solve” or “to sort out.” It is a useful verb for handling a problem or other difficulty; it does not itself express the modal meaning “can”—that meaning comes from the preceding 可以. Example: 我们解决了这个问题。 — “We solved this problem.” The form 解决 is unchanged here; 了 in that example marks the completed event. 这个 means “this” before the noun it specifies. 这 is the demonstrative “this,” and 个 is the measure word used in this noun phrase. Together they identify a nearby or contextually relevant item, but the sentence does not by itself specify the physical distance. Example: 这个方法很好。 — “This method is very good.” 问题 means “problem” here. It can also mean “question” in other contexts, so the fixed translation and the combination with 解决 select the “problem” meaning in this sentence. Example: 我有一个问题。 — “I have a question.” Together, 我们可以 gives “we can,” 解决 supplies the action “sort out,” and 这个问题 gives its object, “this problem.” The complete utterance therefore means “We can sort it out,” with 这个问题 making the object explicit in the Chinese sentence. This is a neutral, reusable way to say that the speaker and others are able to deal with a particular problem.