<p>到(time)都(predicate) can only be used when the predicate describes a state, not an action. Compare:</p>
<p>他每天都学习到深夜 (correct)</p>
<p>他每天到深夜都学习 (incorrect)</p>
<p>他每天到深夜都在学习 (correct)</p>
<p>他每天都在学习到深夜 (incorrect)</p>
<p>Another group:</p>
<p>每天到深夜都有顾客 (correct)</p>
<p>每天都有顾客到深夜 (incorrect)</p>
<p>每天都有顾客待到深夜 (correct)</p>
<p>每天到深夜都有顾客待 (incorrect, mainly because 待 is missing its own complement)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>每天到深夜工作11个小时</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This reads not very natural to me. I would write 每天工作11个小时直到深夜</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-19T14:38:36.107Z
2024-01-19T14:38:36.107Z
user2249675
<p>I think the problem is with the word 忙. It is not customary to use 忙 alone as a verb. If you replace 忙 with 哭 and write &quot;(她)每天到深夜都哭(v)&quot;, then the sentence would be correct. Using 忙 in 每天到深夜都忙 as a verb would require 在 before 忙, e.g. &quot;(她)每天到深夜都在忙&quot;</p>
<p>每天都<strong>忙到</strong>深夜 is a way to fix the problem of 忙 alone as a verb</p>
<p>每天到深夜都<strong>忙於</strong>工作 is another way</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-19T10:43:23.673Z
2024-01-19T10:43:23.673Z
Tang Ho
<p>Just to say, correct or wrong, without attempting to say why is not helpful.</p>
<p>If you just look at:</p>
<p>(她)每天到深夜都忙.</p>
<p>and you wish to look at language in Greek Propositional Logic terms, with a Subject and a Predicate, which is where the Western Grammar notions come from, there are 3 candidates for the Subject: 她, 天 and 夜.</p>
<p>The Predicate is everything which is not the Subject.
每天, every day, and 到深夜, till late, indicate times and do not describe an object directly.
忙, busy is a 形容词, but can't really describe 天 or 夜.<br />
她 is who we are talking about here and 她 can be described as 忙. Assume she is the Subject.</p>
<pre><code>1. 她忙.
2. 她忙吗?
3. 她每天都忙.
</code></pre>
<p>Now, you want to qualify 忙, say something about 忙.</p>
<pre><code>1. 她每天都忙到深夜.  
   She is busy every day till late.
</code></pre>
<p>Tang Ho introduced a prepositional phrase:</p>
<p>她每天到深夜都忙於工作.<br />
She is busy with work till late every day.</p>
<p>Now we have 忙於工作, busy with work. 於工作</p>
<pre><code>1. 她工作.
2. 她忙于工作.
3. 她每天都忙于工作.
4. 她每天都忙于到深夜工作.
5. 她每天都忙到深夜于工作.
6. 她每天到深夜都忙于工作
</code></pre>
<p>Now which number sentences, from 1 to 6 above do you like, and why?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-20T15:05:39.107Z
2024-01-20T15:11:45.510Z
2024-01-20T15:11:45.510Z
Pedroski
<p>This is a faulty sentence from the HSK6 Standard Course (page 71; <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zlicE.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">photo of original</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>她不是看书就是写文章，每天到深夜都忙。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The corrected version is the following (and there's no further explanation):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>她不是看书就是写文章，每天<strong>都忙到深夜</strong>。  [补语位置不当]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm perfectly happy to accept the corrected sentence as correct; we often say things like 睡到9点 and 工作到深夜 and 加班到7点, and the given sentence is a correct use of the complement.  But I don't understand why the first sentence is incorrect.</p>
<p>With a bit of Googling, this seems to be a generalizable error (and therefore worth knowing):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>到7点加班 (✗)  加班到7点  (✓)<br />
到7点学习 (✗)  学习到7点  (✓)<br />
到7点工作 (✗)  工作到7点  (✓)<br />
到7点睡觉 (✗)  睡到7点  (✓)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The impression I'm getting is that if we say <code>到 + [time] + [verb]</code>, then <code>[verb]</code> takes place <em>at</em> and/or <em>after</em> <code>[time]</code> (as opposed to <code>[verb]</code> taking place <em>up until</em> <code>[time]</code>, as the speaker intended).  So we can say 到深夜才回家 or 到深夜就下班.</p>
<p>Still, there seems to be sentences like these:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他从下午四点，干到凌晨3点多，每天到深夜工作11个小时。  (<a href="http://news.china.com.cn/live/2018-09/02/content_169445.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)<br />
……，每天到深夜都有顾客，…… (<a href="https://www.ts.cn/xwzx/dzxw/201904/t20190419_6226188.shtml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)<br />
从早上一直到晚上12点都忙碌不停 (<a href="https://wen.baidu.com/question/1615360722014056187.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It'd be nice to identify the definitive reason the given sentence wrong, so I don't make the same mistake (not just here, but in general).</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why is 每天到深夜都忙 wrong?</p>

<grammar><complement>
Why is 每天到深夜都忙 wrong?
# Why is 每天到深夜都忙 wrong?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-01-19)

This is a faulty sentence from the HSK6 Standard Course (page 71; [photo of original](https://i.sstatic.net/zlicE.jpg)):

> 她不是看书就是写文章，每天到深夜都忙。

The corrected version is the following (and there's no further explanation):

> 她不是看书就是写文章，每天**都忙到深夜**。 [补语位置不当]

I'm perfectly happy to accept the corrected sentence as correct; we often say things like 睡到9点 and 工作到深夜 and 加班到7点, and the given sentence is a correct use of the complement. But I don't understand why the first sentence is incorrect.

With a bit of Googling, this seems to be a generalizable error (and therefore worth knowing):

> 到7点加班 (✗) 加班到7点 (✓)  
> 到7点学习 (✗) 学习到7点 (✓)  
> 到7点工作 (✗) 工作到7点 (✓)  
> 到7点睡觉 (✗) 睡到7点 (✓)

The impression I'm getting is that if we say `到 + [time] + [verb]`, then `[verb]` takes place *at* and/or *after* `[time]` (as opposed to `[verb]` taking place *up until* `[time]`, as the speaker intended). So we can say 到深夜才回家 or 到深夜就下班.

Still, there seems to be sentences like these:

> 他从下午四点，干到凌晨3点多，每天到深夜工作11个小时。 ([source](http://news.china.com.cn/live/2018-09/02/content_169445.htm))  
> ……，每天到深夜都有顾客，…… ([source](https://www.ts.cn/xwzx/dzxw/201904/t20190419_6226188.shtml))  
> 从早上一直到晚上12点都忙碌不停 ([source](https://wen.baidu.com/question/1615360722014056187.html))

It'd be nice to identify the definitive reason the given sentence wrong, so I don't make the same mistake (not just here, but in general).

**Question**: Why is 每天到深夜都忙 wrong?

**Tags:** grammar, complement


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-01-19. Score: 2

到(time)都(predicate) can only be used when the predicate describes a state, not an action. Compare:

他每天都学习到深夜 (correct)

他每天到深夜都学习 (incorrect)

他每天到深夜都在学习 (correct)

他每天都在学习到深夜 (incorrect)

Another group:

每天到深夜都有顾客 (correct)

每天都有顾客到深夜 (incorrect)

每天都有顾客待到深夜 (correct)

每天到深夜都有顾客待 (incorrect, mainly because 待 is missing its own complement)

> 每天到深夜工作11个小时

This reads not very natural to me. I would write 每天工作11个小时直到深夜


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-01-19. Score: 1

I think the problem is with the word 忙. It is not customary to use 忙 alone as a verb. If you replace 忙 with 哭 and write "(她)每天到深夜都哭(v)", then the sentence would be correct. Using 忙 in 每天到深夜都忙 as a verb would require 在 before 忙, e.g. "(她)每天到深夜都在忙"

每天都**忙到**深夜 is a way to fix the problem of 忙 alone as a verb

每天到深夜都**忙於**工作 is another way


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-01-20. Score: 0

Just to say, correct or wrong, without attempting to say why is not helpful.

If you just look at:

(她)每天到深夜都忙.

and you wish to look at language in Greek Propositional Logic terms, with a Subject and a Predicate, which is where the Western Grammar notions come from, there are 3 candidates for the Subject: 她, 天 and 夜.

The Predicate is everything which is not the Subject.
每天, every day, and 到深夜, till late, indicate times and do not describe an object directly.
忙, busy is a 形容词, but can't really describe 天 or 夜.  
她 is who we are talking about here and 她 can be described as 忙. Assume she is the Subject.

```
1. 她忙.
2. 她忙吗?
3. 她每天都忙.

```

Now, you want to qualify 忙, say something about 忙.

```
1. 她每天都忙到深夜.  
   She is busy every day till late.

```

username_2 Ho introduced a prepositional phrase:

她每天到深夜都忙於工作.  
She is busy with work till late every day.

Now we have 忙於工作, busy with work. 於工作

```
1. 她工作.
2. 她忙于工作.
3. 她每天都忙于工作.
4. 她每天都忙于到深夜工作.
5. 她每天都忙到深夜于工作.
6. 她每天到深夜都忙于工作

```

Now which number sentences, from 1 to 6 above do you like, and why?


---

