<p>You need to consider <strong>总会</strong> together:</p>
<p><strong>ABC</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>be bound to; be inevitable; be sure to happen</p>
</blockquote>
<p>总会 + 不时 = be sure to + often = he is bound to frequently.../he is sure to often...</p>
<p>ABC calls 总会, here, a:</p>
<p><strong>Verb Phrase</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dòngcí Cízǔ 动词词组</p>
<p>This includes</p>
<p>(i) descriptive predicates that do not behave as stative verbs, e.g., ǎirán ‘amicable; amiable’, as well as</p>
<p>(ii) phrases and longer chunks containing a verb that are not fixed expressions, e.g., bǎiláibǎiqù ‘sway; waver’, áidào tiānhēi ‘bear up until nightfall’.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-16T22:20:55.990Z
Thanks. However, I would never write 'he is bound to frequently'. How about just 'He often praises him'
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T01:53:08.807Z
In English we could say "He is sure to praise him often/frequently."
Ming
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-16T13:31:07.377Z
2015-03-16T13:38:57.053Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Mou某
<p>Question 5 was: 清洁工为什么要和小偷搏斗？ Answer C: 公司经理经常夸奖他。</p>

<p>总会不时 = 经常。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T02:25:31.483Z
就是什么？你能提个建议吗？谢谢！
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T22:20:44.540Z
Yes, I read it. It says 'He is sure to often'.  This is not good English because of the opposing meanings of 'sure to' and 'often'. Maybe this makes sense in Chinese, but not in English. Recently I had a similar use of opposing meanings with '力量薄弱‘。 Maybe this is a Chinese thing which cannot be put into English.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-18T09:40:04.850Z
Your English is OK, better than my Chinese! What I had was 自主研发力量的薄弱，在某种程度上制约着民族游戏产业的发展。I did not find any dictionaries which say 薄弱 = insufficient. I therefore think 研发力量的薄弱= R&D strength 的 weakness.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-18T10:21:23.117Z
No, such a collocation is not English, because we cannot write 'strong weakness'. Something is weak, or strong, it cannot be strong and weak. This must be a cultural difference, just like '总会不时‘ 'always will sometimes'. It is a bit like saying 'cold heat', not good English. Can you say that in Chinese?
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-18T11:46:16.203Z
Albert Einstein, when he was a student, attended a lecture. The professor was talking about good and evil. Einstein said, maybe there is no good and evil. There is in fact no hot and cold, what we call cold is just less heat, until we reach absolute zero, where molecules stop moving. Einstein said, perhaps evil is like this, that is less of  'good'.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-19T12:02:01.910Z
@Pedroski But it's not "strong weakness", it should be "weakness' strength" or "strength of weakness", since there's a 的, which makes sense, whatever metaphor it's supposed to mean.
Enrico Brasil
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-19T12:18:28.147Z
Haha, even if you view it as a possessive, it makes no sense in English.
Independent R&D strength's weakness. You can change it thus: 薄弱的自主研发力量。 Would you then say it is 'Weakness's independent R&D strength' ? I think not.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T01:38:47.623Z
2015-03-17T01:38:47.623Z
Pedroski
<p>First of all, I don't like the Chinese sentence in your question, because I consider it poorly organized. It sounds to me like being said by a janitor who didn't receive much education.</p>

<p>If you translate "总是" into "always", I'm sure you'll get confused. If you translate "总是" into "regularly" or "usually", it reduces the confusion.</p>

<p>Chinese are likely to overuse the word "总是"。For example, in the last month, Xiao Zhang was late for work for 16 days out of the 22 work days.  Then his boss may complain:</p>

<p>最近小张总是迟到。</p>

<p>We all know there were at least 8 days that Xiao Zhang came to work on time.  So logically "总是" is not appropriately used in this scenario. However, most Chinese native speakers speak this way, and it is one of the language habits that confuse Chinese learners.</p>

<p>Hopefully my post doesn't cause more confusion.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T02:22:08.950Z
谢谢，只是没有‘总是’有‘总会’
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-17T02:09:44.497Z
2015-03-17T02:09:44.497Z
mangoyogurt
<p>他说，当公司总经理从他身旁经过时，总会不时地赞美他“你扫的地真干净“。</p>

<p>It seems I have 总 ‘always‘ and 不时 ‘occasionally' or 'often' together.</p>

<p>Does the 总经理 always or occasionally laud said sweeper? Or is it 'on all occasions'??</p>

<meaning>
What do 总 and 不时 mean here together?
# What do 总 and 不时 mean here together?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-16)

他说，当公司总经理从他身旁经过时，总会不时地赞美他“你扫的地真干净“。

It seems I have 总 ‘always‘ and 不时 ‘occasionally' or 'often' together.

Does the 总经理 always or occasionally laud said sweeper? Or is it 'on all occasions'??

**Tags:** meaning


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-03-16. Score: 3

You need to consider **总会** together:

**ABC**

> be bound to; be inevitable; be sure to happen

总会 + 不时 = be sure to + often = he is bound to frequently.../he is sure to often...

ABC calls 总会, here, a:

**Verb Phrase**

> Dòngcí Cízǔ 动词词组
>
> This includes
>
> (i) descriptive predicates that do not behave as stative verbs, e.g., ǎirán ‘amicable; amiable’, as well as
>
> (ii) phrases and longer chunks containing a verb that are not fixed expressions, e.g., bǎiláibǎiqù ‘sway; waver’, áidào tiānhēi ‘bear up until nightfall’.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks. However, I would never write 'he is bound to frequently'. How about just 'He often praises him'  
> **username_2**: In English we could say "He is sure to praise him often/frequently."  

---

### Answer by username_0 on 2015-03-17. Score: 0

Question 5 was: 清洁工为什么要和小偷搏斗？ Answer C: 公司经理经常夸奖他。

总会不时 = 经常。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 就是什么？你能提个建议吗？谢谢！  
> **username_0**: Yes, I read it. It says 'He is sure to often'.  This is not good English because of the opposing meanings of 'sure to' and 'often'. Maybe this makes sense in Chinese, but not in English. Recently I had a similar use of opposing meanings with '力量薄弱‘。 Maybe this is a Chinese thing which cannot be put into English.  
> **username_0**: Your English is OK, better than my Chinese! What I had was 自主研发力量的薄弱，在某种程度上制约着民族游戏产业的发展。I did not find any dictionaries which say 薄弱 = insufficient. I therefore think 研发力量的薄弱= R&D strength 的 weakness.  
> **username_0**: No, such a collocation is not English, because we cannot write 'strong weakness'. Something is weak, or strong, it cannot be strong and weak. This must be a cultural difference, just like '总会不时‘ 'always will sometimes'. It is a bit like saying 'cold heat', not good English. Can you say that in Chinese?  
> **username_0**: Albert Einstein, when he was a student, attended a lecture. The professor was talking about good and evil. Einstein said, maybe there is no good and evil. There is in fact no hot and cold, what we call cold is just less heat, until we reach absolute zero, where molecules stop moving. Einstein said, perhaps evil is like this, that is less of  'good'.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 But it's not "strong weakness", it should be "weakness' strength" or "strength of weakness", since there's a 的, which makes sense, whatever metaphor it's supposed to mean.  
> **username_0**: Haha, even if you view it as a possessive, it makes no sense in English. Independent R&D strength's weakness. You can change it thus: 薄弱的自主研发力量。 Would you then say it is 'Weakness's independent R&D strength' ? I think not.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-03-17. Score: 0

First of all, I don't like the Chinese sentence in your question, because I consider it poorly organized. It sounds to me like being said by a janitor who didn't receive much education.

If you translate "总是" into "always", I'm sure you'll get confused. If you translate "总是" into "regularly" or "usually", it reduces the confusion.

Chinese are likely to overuse the word "总是"。For example, in the last month, Xiao Zhang was late for work for 16 days out of the 22 work days. Then his boss may complain:

最近小张总是迟到。

We all know there were at least 8 days that Xiao Zhang came to work on time. So logically "总是" is not appropriately used in this scenario. However, most Chinese native speakers speak this way, and it is one of the language habits that confuse Chinese learners.

Hopefully my post doesn't cause more confusion.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 谢谢，只是没有‘总是’有‘总会’  

---

