Formal Demonstrative Pronouns: 本 and 此

Chinese grammar · HSK 6 · 书面指示代词 · By Carson 木林森

口语中说'这',正式书面语常用本和此代替,语气更庄重。

běn root this; these

+ 机构/场合类名词,多用于'说话者所属的一方':本人(我,正式自称)、本校、本次、本店、本着(依据/秉持——本着…的原则)。

很少单独修饰普通名词,主要出现在固定连接词/短语里,回指前文:此外(除此之外)、由此(从这里/因此)、如此(像这样)、此时(这时候)、据此(根据这一点)、从此(从这以后)。

常见错误:正式文件里用'这次会议'代替'本次会议'——语气不够正式;把'此外'错用成'这外'——'此'不能替换为'这'放进固定短语。

Worked examples

ChinesePinyinEnglishWhat it shows
本校学生每年都要参加一次全校体检。 Běn xiào xué sheng měi nián dōu yào cān jiā yī cì quán xiào tǐ jiǎn. Students of this school must take a school-wide health check every year. 本 + institutional noun (本校) — the minimal frame, formal self-reference.
调查显示,超过一半的员工对新制度不满,由此可见改革还需要调整。 Diào chá xiǎn shì, chāo guò yī bàn de yuán gōng duì xīn zhì dù bù mǎn, yóu cǐ kě jiàn gǎi gé hái xū yào tiáo zhěng. The survey shows over half of employees are dissatisfied with the new system; from this it can be seen the reform still needs adjustment. 由此可见 — 此 anaphorically points back to the survey result just mentioned.
本次会议将讨论新政策,与会者需在此之前提交书面意见,否则将视为无异议,此外,会议纪要将于会后一周内发出。 Běn cì huì yì jiāng tǎo lùn xīn zhèng cè, yǔ huì zhě xū zài cǐ zhī qián tí jiāo shū miàn yì jiàn, fǒu zé jiāng shì wéi wú yì yì, cǐ wài, huì yì jì yào jiāng yú huì hòu yī zhōu nèi fā chū. This meeting will discuss the new policy; attendees must submit written opinions before this point, otherwise it will be considered as no objection; besides this, meeting minutes will be sent within a week after the meeting. 本次, 在此之前, and 此外 combined in one formal-register notice, showing all three 本/此 patterns together.

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Formal Demonstrative Pronouns across 18 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

Formal Demonstrative Pronouns is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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