Fixing a Stuck Print Job in the Library | Learn Chinese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 我的文件卡在打印机队列里了，什么都没有打印出来。

   My document is stuck in the printer queue, and nothing is coming out.

   我的

   my

   文件

   document; file

   卡在

   be stuck at/in

   打印机

   printer

   队列里

   in the queue

   什么都没有

   nothing at all

   打印出来

   print out

   More detail

   我的 means “my” here. 我 is the first-person pronoun “I/me,” and 的 marks the relationship between a possessor and what follows: 我的文件 = “my document.” The possessive form does not change for singular or plural possession. Example: 我的手机 — “my phone.” 文件 is the noun “document” or “file.” In this sentence it refers to the item being sent to the printer. Example: 这个文件很大。 — “This file is large.” 卡在 describes something becoming or remaining stuck at a particular place or stage. 卡 is the verb “to get stuck,” and 在 introduces the location or point where it is stuck. Example: 纸卡在机器里了。 — “The paper is stuck in the machine.” The 了 in that example marks the newly established situation; the fixed sentence has 了 after the larger first clause and likewise presents the stuck situation as relevant now. 打印机 is the noun “printer.” 打印 means “to print,” while 机 is part of the noun naming the machine. Example: 打印机没有反应。 — “The printer is not responding.” 队列里 means “in the queue.” 队列 is “queue,” and 里 marks the inside of a place or container. The location phrase 打印机队列里 therefore means “in the printer queue.” Example: 任务还在队列里。 — “The job is still in the queue.” 什么都没有 means “nothing at all” in this sentence. 什么 normally means “what” or “something,” but with 都 and negation it forms the pattern 什么都不/没有……, meaning “nothing …” or “not … anything.” Here 没有 says that the relevant result did not occur. Example: 我什么都没看到。 — “I didn’t see anything.” 打印出来 means “print out” or “come out as a printout.” 打印 supplies the action “print,” and the result-direction complement 出来 presents the result as emerging or becoming available. In the fixed sentence, it is the printing result that has not appeared; 出来 is not a separate location phrase meaning simply “outside.” Example: 照片打印出来了。 — “The photo has been printed out.” Together, 我的文件卡在打印机队列里了 says that the speaker’s document is now stuck in the printer queue. 什么都没有打印出来 adds that nothing has printed out. The whole utterance therefore means: “My document is stuck in the printer queue, and nothing is coming out.”

2. 我们先看看屏幕，再重新发送打印任务吧。

   Let's check the screen before sending the job again.

   我们

   we; us

   先

   first

   看看

   take a look; check

   屏幕

   screen

   再

   then

   重新

   again; anew

   发送

   send

   打印任务

   print job

   More detail

   我们 is the first-person plural pronoun, “we/us.” In Chinese, 们 marks the plural of many personal pronouns: 我 “I” becomes 我们 “we.” The form does not itself specify exactly who is included beyond the speaker and at least one other person. 先 means “first” in an ordered sequence. It normally comes before the first action: 先吃饭，再工作。 — “Eat first, then work.” Here it sets checking the screen as the earlier step. 看看 is the reduplicated form of 看 “look; check.” Reduplication presents the action as brief, casual, or limited in scope, so 看看屏幕 is a natural way to say “take a look at the screen” rather than emphasizing prolonged watching. The two written syllables are still one verb construction, not two separate checks. 屏幕 is the noun “screen.” In this sentence it is the object of 看看: the speaker proposes checking the screen. 显示屏 is another common word for a display screen, but it is not the form used here. 再 means “then” when it links a later step to an earlier one. In the reusable pattern 先 A，再 B, do A first and then do B. It can also mean “again” in other contexts, so the surrounding sequence determines its meaning here. 重新 means “anew; again from the beginning.” It modifies the following action and highlights repeating or restarting it, rather than merely mentioning a later action. For example, 请重新打开文件。 means “Please open the file again.” 发送 is the verb “send,” often used for sending a message, file, request, or technical job. Its base form is also 发送; Chinese verbs do not change form for the speaker or the number of the subject. 重新发送 therefore means “send again” without a special past or present ending. 打印任务 is the noun phrase “print job.” Here 打印 modifies 任务, identifying what kind of task it is; 发送 is the verb that acts on the whole phrase. A different sentence can use 打印 as the verb “print,” as in 打印文件。 — “Print the document.” The sentence uses the sequence 先 A，再 B: 先看看屏幕 means “first check the screen,” and 再重新发送打印任务 means “then send the print job again.” 重新 adds the idea of repeating the send, while 再 places that repeated sending after the screen check. The final 吧 makes the proposal softer, so the complete meaning is: “Let’s check the screen first, then send the print job again.”

3. 我选择了双面打印，但显示屏上显示了错误信息。

   I chose double-sided printing, but the display shows an error.

   我

   I; me

   选择了

   chose; selected

   双面打印

   double-sided printing

   但

   but

   显示屏

   display screen

   上

   on; at

   显示了

   showed; displayed

   错误

   wrong; erroneous

   信息

   information; message

   More detail

   我 means “I” here, the first-person singular pronoun. Chinese pronouns do not change for grammatical gender, and 我 is used whether the speaker is male or female. Example: 我是学生。 — “I am a student.” 选择了 comes from 选择, “to choose/select.” The 了 marks the choice as completed or viewed as a bounded event here: “chose,” rather than presenting choosing as an ongoing activity. Example: 她选择了红色。 — “She chose red.” 双面打印 is a compact noun-like expression meaning “double-sided printing”: 双面 means “two-sided/double-sided,” and 打印 means “print/printing.” It names the selected printing option; it does not itself say how many documents were printed. Example: 请使用双面打印。 — “Please use double-sided printing.” 但 introduces a contrast, meaning “but.” It connects the completed choice with the unexpected information that follows. Example: 我想去，但今天很忙。 — “I want to go, but I am busy today.” 显示屏 means “display screen” or “display.” It is a compound noun: 显示 means “display/show,” while 屏 refers to a screen. In this sentence it is the screen on which the information appears. 屏幕 is another common word for “screen,” but it is not the form used here. Example: 显示屏很亮。 — “The display is very bright.” 上 follows 显示屏 in 显示屏上 and marks the surface or location “on the display.” Chinese often places a location phrase before the verb, so 显示屏上显示了…… has the pattern “on the display, … is/was shown.” Example: 墙上有一张地图。 — “There is a map on the wall.” 显示了 comes from 显示, “to display/show.” Here 了 presents the displaying as a completed or bounded occurrence: the display has shown an error message. The fixed translation uses present-tense English “shows,” which is a natural way to describe the current result; it does not change the observed Chinese form. Example: 屏幕显示了时间。 — “The screen displayed the time.” 错误 means “wrong,” “erroneous,” or “error” in this expression. Before 信息, it describes the type of information: information indicating an error. Do not confuse it with 错, the shorter everyday word “wrong/mistaken”; 错误 is the form used in the source. Example: 这是错误答案。 — “This is an incorrect answer.” 信息 means “information” or, in a technical display context like this one, “message.” It is a noun and is modified by 错误, giving 错误信息, “error message.” Example: 我看到了新的信息。 — “I saw a new message.” Together, 我选择了双面打印 says “I chose double-sided printing.” 但 then contrasts that choice with 显示屏上显示了错误信息, literally structured as “on the display, an error message was shown.” The complete intended meaning is: “I chose double-sided printing, but the display shows an error.”

4. 可能卡纸了，所以现在先别碰控制面板。

   There may be a paper jam, so leave the controls alone for now.

   可能

   may; possibly

   卡纸

   paper jam

   所以

   so; therefore

   现在

   now

   先别碰

   do not touch for now

   控制面板

   control panel

   More detail

   可能 expresses uncertainty: “may” or “possibly.” It normally comes before the situation being judged. Example: 他可能到了。 — “He may have arrived.” The sentence does not state that the paper jam definitely exists. 卡纸 is the compact term for a paper jam: paper becomes stuck in a printer or similar machine. In 卡纸了, the final 了 presents the jammed state as a relevant change or current situation. 卡 here means “get stuck,” not the noun “card.” Example: 打印机卡纸了。 — “The printer has a paper jam.” 所以 introduces the consequence of what came before: “so” or “therefore.” A reusable pattern is A，所以B — “A, so B.” 现在 means “now,” locating the instruction at the present time. It can combine with a temporary instruction, as in 现在先休息一下。 — “For now, rest for a while.” 先别碰 is a compact instruction. 别 negates a command and means “don’t,” while 先 places the restriction before some later action or makes it apply for the time being. Thus 先别碰 means “don’t touch it for now,” not simply a permanent prohibition. Example: 先别打开。 — “Don’t open it yet.” 控制面板 means “control panel.” 控制 means “control,” and 面板 means “panel”; together they name the panel used to operate the equipment. Example: 请检查控制面板。 — “Please check the control panel.” Together, 可能卡纸了 says that there may now be a paper jam. 所以 links that possibility to the instruction, and 现在先别碰控制面板 tells the listener not to touch the control panel for the time being. The complete meaning is: “There may be a paper jam, so leave the controls alone for now.”

5. 我不想重新发送，这样会在队列里再增加一个任务。

   I do not want to resend it and add another job to the queue.

   我不想

   I don't want to

   重新发送

   resend

   这样

   this way; like this

   会

   will

   在队列里

   in the queue

   再增加

   increase further

   任务

   job; task

   More detail

   我不想 means “I do not want to.” 我 is the first-person pronoun “I”; 不 negates the following wanting predicate; and 想 here means “want to,” not “think.” A reusable pattern is 我不想 + verb, as in 我不想等待。 — “I don’t want to wait.” 重新发送 means “resend.” 重新 marks doing something again or anew, while 发送 is the verb “send.” The same pattern can be used with another action, for example 请重新打开文件。 — “Please reopen the file.” 这样 means “this way” or “like this.” Here it refers to the proposed resending action as a whole, rather than naming a separate participant. In 这样会..., it sets up the consequence of that action. For example, 这样会更快。 — “This way will be faster.” 会 marks a future or expected consequence in this sentence: the resending is expected to cause the addition. It can also express an event that is likely to occur in a given situation, so it is not simply a past-tense marker. For example, 这样会出问题。 — “This will cause problems.” 在队列里 means “in the queue.” 在 locates something, and 里 marks the inside of the location; 队列 is “queue.” A reusable location pattern is 在 + place + 里, as in 文件在文件夹里。 — “The file is in the folder.” 再增加 means “increase further” or “add further.” 增加 is the lexical verb “increase/add,” and 再 indicates an additional increase or addition. In this sentence, 再 does not mean that the same job is sent again; it marks one more task being added to the queue together with 一个任务. For example, 不要再增加负担。 — “Don’t add to the burden any further.” 任务 means “job” or “task.” It is a noun; in this context it refers to an item handled in the queue. The noun can be used in other settings too, such as 完成任务 — “complete the task.” Together, 我不想重新发送 states that the speaker does not want to resend it. 这样会 presents the consequence of that action, and 在队列里再增加一个任务 says that one additional task would be added in the queue. Thus the whole utterance means: “I do not want to resend it and add another job to the queue.”

6. 我可以在你再试之前取消失败的任务。

   I can cancel the failed job before you try again.

   我可以

   I can

   在 … 之前

   before …

   再试

   try again

   取消

   cancel

   失败的

   failed

   任务

   job; task

   More detail

   我可以 means “I can” here: 我 is the first-person pronoun “I,” and 可以 is a modal verb expressing ability or permission. In this sentence it presents the speaker as able to perform the later action. A useful pattern is 主语 + 可以 + 动词, as in 我可以帮你。 — “I can help you.” 在 … 之前 marks that one event happens before another. The material between these two parts is 你再试: 在你再试之前 means “before you try again.” In this pattern, 你 is the second-person subject, and 之前 means “before.” For example, 在出发之前检查天气。 means “Check the weather before setting out.” 再试 means “try again” in this sentence. 试 is the verb “to try,” while 再 indicates doing it another time in the relevant sequence. 再 is not the same as 又 in every context: 再 commonly presents a further action, especially one that has not happened yet, whereas 又 often describes repetition that has already occurred or a recurring situation. Example: 请再试一次。 — “Please try once more.” 取消 is the verb “to cancel.” It describes stopping or withdrawing an arranged action, process, or item rather than carrying it out. Example: 我想取消预约。 — “I want to cancel the appointment.” 失败的 means “failed” as a modifier. 失败 means “to fail” or “failure,” and 的 links this description to the following noun: 失败的任务 is literally a “task that failed.” Here 失败的 describes 任务; it is not an inflected English-style adjective. Example: 这是失败的尝试。 — “This is a failed attempt.” 任务 means “job” or “task,” especially a piece of work to be carried out. The form does not change for singular or plural in this sentence; number is understood from context or expressed separately when needed. Example: 这个任务很重要。 — “This task is important.” Together, 我可以 supplies the speaker’s ability, 在你再试之前 places the cancellation earlier than the other person’s trying again, and 取消失败的任务 identifies what will be canceled. The whole utterance therefore means: “I can cancel the failed job before you try again.”

7. 在我再发送其他内容之前，你能检查一下打印机吗？

   Could you check the printer before I send anything else?

   在 … 之前

   before …

   再

   again; additionally

   发送

   send

   其他

   other; additional

   内容

   content

   你能

   can you; could you

   检查

   check; inspect

   一下

   briefly; a little

   打印机

   printer

   More detail

   在……之前 places one event earlier than another: 在 + clause + 之前 means “before …”. Here 在我再发送其他内容之前 means “before I send anything else.” The two parts of this construction are separated because the clause naming the earlier-to-be-completed event comes between them. In this sentence, 我 is the sender and 你 is the person being asked to check. 再 is placed before the verb 发送. In this context it means “again” or “any more”: the speaker has not sent the additional material yet and refers to a possible further sending. In other contexts, 再 can also mean “then” or “later,” so its meaning comes from the surrounding event sequence. 发送 means “to send” and is a useful formal or neutral verb for sending messages, files, or other content. Its base form does not change for person or number in this sentence. For example, 请发送文件 means “Please send the file.” 其他 means “other” or “additional.” It normally comes before the noun it describes, as in 其他问题 (“other questions”). It does not itself state how many additional things there are. 内容 means “content” or “material.” It is a broad noun that can refer to what is contained in a message, file, or other communication. In this sentence, it is the thing that may be sent; the translation’s “anything else” reflects the combination of 其他内容 in this context. 你能 combines the second-person pronoun 你 (“you”) with 能 (“can; be able to”). Together, it asks whether the listener can perform the following action. In a request, this can naturally be translated as “Could you …?” The question marker 吗, which appears at the end of the utterance, turns the request into a yes-or-no question. 检查 means “to check” or “to inspect.” It is a verb and can be followed directly by the thing being checked, as in 检查文件 (“check the file”). Here the object is 打印机. 一下 follows 检查 and makes the action sound brief or lightly requested: 检查一下 is naturally “take a quick look” or “check … for me.” It does not necessarily mean that the checking is literally done only a little; it softens the request and presents the action as limited in scope. 打印机 means “printer”: 打印 means “print,” and 机 is part of the established noun for the machine. The complete noun, rather than a standalone translated adjective, is the object of 检查 here. Putting the parts together, 在我再发送其他内容之前 sets the time condition “before I send anything else,” and 你能检查一下打印机吗 asks “could you check the printer?” The full utterance therefore means: “Could you check the printer before I send anything else?”

8. 我来看看，但请不要自己打开机器。

   I'll take a look, but please do not open the machine yourself.

   我来

   I’ll… / let me…

   看看

   take a look

   但

   but

   请不要

   please don’t

   自己

   yourself

   打开

   open

   机器

   machine

   More detail

   我来 combines 我 “I” with 来 “come,” but here 来 marks the speaker as taking on the action: “I’ll take care of looking” or “let me look.” This is a useful pattern for volunteering to do something, as in 我来帮你 — “I’ll help you.” It does not by itself mean that the speaker is physically coming. 看看 is the verb 看 “look” with reduplication. 看 is the base form; 看看 presents the action as brief, light, or tentative: “take a look.” For example, 我看看 can mean “Let me take a look.” The reduplication does not mean that the action happens exactly twice. Together, 我来看看 means “I’ll take a look” or “Let me take a look.” The subject is 我, and the speaker presents looking as the action they will undertake. 但 means “but” and links the speaker’s offer with a contrasting request. It is a conjunction, not part of the request itself. For example, 我可以帮忙，但现在没有时间 means “I can help, but I don’t have time now.” 请不要 is a polite negative-request pattern: 请 makes the request courteous, and 不要 tells someone not to perform the following action. The negative marker 不 is built into 不要; it is not a general past-tense marker here. For example, 请不要等我 means “Please don’t wait for me.” 自己 means “oneself” or “by oneself.” In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the addressee as the person who should not open the machine alone: “please do not open the machine yourself.” Chinese often leaves the subject of an imperative unspoken, while 自己 emphasizes that person’s own involvement. Its exact referent should be determined by context rather than by the nearest noun. 打开 is a verb meaning “open” here: it describes making the machine accessible or no longer closed. It is an established compound verb, so learners should use 打开 for this meaning rather than assume that 打 alone means “open.” Its meaning can vary with the object; for example, 请打开门 means “Please open the door.” 机器 is a noun meaning “machine.” It names the thing affected by 打开; the utterance does not identify a more specific kind of machine. The structure is 我来看看，但请不要自己打开机器: “I’ll take a look, but please do not open the machine yourself.” First, the speaker volunteers to inspect it. After 但, 请不要 introduces a courteous prohibition, 自己 emphasizes that the addressee should not do it personally, and 打开机器 supplies the prohibited action and its object. The tone is a direct but polite instruction.

9. 你检查的时候，我会在这里等着。

   I'll wait here while you check it.

   你

   you

   检查

   check; inspect

   的时候

   when; while

   我会

   I will

   在这里

   here

   等着

   wait

   More detail

   你 means “you” here. It is the second-person singular pronoun; the plural form is 你们. This form does not mark grammatical gender. 检查 means “to check” or “to inspect.” It is a verb and can take an object when the thing being checked is stated, but the object is omitted here. Example: 请检查文件。 — “Please check the document.” 的时候 forms a time expression meaning “when” or “while.” The pattern verb + 的时候 places an event in a time frame: 你检查的时候 means “while you check” or “when you are checking.” 的 here helps turn the preceding clause into a time-related expression; it is not part of the verb 检查. 我会 contains 我, “I,” and 会, which marks an expected or planned future action in this sentence. 会 does not change for person or number. The reusable pattern is subject + 会 + verb, as in 他会来。 — “He will come.” 在这里 means “here.” 在 introduces a location, and 这里 means “this place/here.” The phrase tells us where the waiting takes place. Example: 她在这里工作。 — “She works here.” 等着 means “wait” with an emphasis on remaining in the waiting state. 等 is the base verb “to wait,” and 着 marks a continuing state or situation. This is different from a simple completed-action reading; it presents the speaker as staying and waiting. Example: 我在门口等着。 — “I am waiting at the entrance.” Together, 你检查的时候 sets the time: “while you check.” 我会 presents the speaker’s planned future action, 在这里 gives its location, and 等着 supplies the action: “I’ll wait here while you check it.” The Chinese sentence leaves the object of 检查 unspoken, while the fixed translation expresses it as “it.”

10. 这样我们就能解决这个问题，也不会增加更多打印任务。

    That will help us clear the problem without adding more print jobs.

    这样

    this way

    我们就能

    then we can

    解决

    solve; resolve

    这个

    this

    问题

    problem

    也不会

    also will not

    增加

    add; increase

    更多

    more

    打印任务

    print jobs

    More detail

    这样 means “this way” or “like this.” It points to a way of doing something, but the supplied sentence does not identify that way on its own. A reusable pattern is 这样 + clause: “in this way, …” 我们就能 combines 我们 (“we/us”), 就 (“then; consequently”), and 能 (“can; be able to”). 我们 is first-person plural, referring here to the speaker together with others, as supported by “us” in the translation. 就能 presents the ability or possible result as following from the stated way or condition. Chinese verbs do not change form for tense here; 能 itself is not a past or future inflection. Example: 这样我们就能开始。 — “This way, we can start.” 解决 means “solve” or “resolve.” It is a useful verb for dealing successfully with a problem, issue, or similar matter. Example: 我们要解决这个问题。 — “We need to solve this problem.” 这个 means “this” and is a demonstrative determiner. Here it modifies the following noun 问题; the demonstrative’s grammatical role does not by itself identify any more specific real-world referent than the translation’s “the problem” supports. 问题 means “problem” here. It can also mean “question” in other contexts, but the fixed translation and its combination with 解决 select the “problem” meaning in this sentence. 这个问题 therefore means “this problem.” 也不会 means “also will not” or “will not either.” 也 adds this outcome to the one already stated, while 不会 negates the expected or projected occurrence. In this sentence, 不会 means that adding more print jobs will not happen; it is not the separate meaning “will not know.” Example: 他也不会迟到。 — “He will not be late either.” 增加 means “add” or “increase.” It describes making an amount or number larger, and it takes 打印任务 as its object here. Example: 不要增加工作量。 — “Do not increase the workload.” 更多 means “more” and modifies 打印任务. It indicates an amount beyond the relevant existing amount; it is not itself a verb or a noun. Example: 我们需要更多时间。 — “We need more time.” 打印任务 is a noun phrase meaning “print jobs”: 打印 specifies printing, and 任务 means a task or job. Together they refer to jobs/tasks for printing, not to printing as an abstract activity alone. Assembled in order, 这样我们就能解决这个问题 means “This way, we can solve this problem.” 也不会增加更多打印任务 adds the parallel negative result, “and we will not add more print jobs.” Together, the utterance means: “That will help us clear the problem without adding more print jobs.”