# 不够坐二十个人



## L3P

Hello!

Please, which of my interpretations of  这个教室太小，不够坐二十个人 (if any) is correct?

1.This classroom is too small, not enough for 20 people to sit (二十个人 is the subject)
2.This classroom is too small, (it`s) not enough to accommodate 20 people (坐 is the predicate 'accommodate')

Thanks a lot.


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## krimzn

这个教室太小，不够坐二十个人 literally means 1. But what the speak really means is 2. 
The word "坐" is not accurately used here but we do this very often. Because if we want to express the meaning more accurately, "容納" has to be used. And that word is more formal, and less commonly used in daily conversation.


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## L3P

Thanks very much,krimzn. How about  這張桌子(可以)坐(得下)六個人? Is 六個人 the subject in this one?


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## krimzn

I think 桌子 is the subject. And the sentence means "this table can accommodate  6 people".


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## L3P

Thanks,krimzn,you`ve cleared out so much for me. Could I ask one last one? Won`t it it bug you?


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## krimzn

No, just go ahead


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## L3P

Well,now I can understand with 坐, because it means 1. 'sit' 2. 'accomodate' in Chinese,so we can choose 'accomodate'. But what about the verb 站? It can mean only 'stand',not  'accomodate', so how would you interpret 站 in the sentence  天安门广场真大，站得下一百万个人:

1.’ 天安门 can 容納 a million people’
2. ’…a million people can stand in 天安门’?


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## krimzn

天安门广场真大，站得下一百万个人 means 1

This time we don't use "坐" because 天安门广场 is not associated with "sitting".

For classrooms and tables, we use 坐 because they are associated with "sitting". (We would "sit" inside a classroom and "sit" at a table.)


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## L3P

谢谢，krimzn,受益匪浅.You have a nice day!


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## SuperXW

We choose 坐 or 站, or other verbs like 躺(lie down), 睡(sleep), according to the real situation.
In a square, people are usually standing there, not all sitting there, so we use 站. In a classroom, people are usually sitting there. So when talking about the capacity of a place, we choose the verb according to its common usage.
In this sense, "天安门 can 容纳 a million people" has no difference to "a million people can stand in 天安门".

Say, if you are going to make special usage of a classroom, like moving out all the desks and chairs and letting many people standing or sleeping there, then you can say 这个教室太小，不够站/睡...人。


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## L3P

Thanks, SuperXW.



SuperXW said:


> Say, if you are going to make special usage of a classroom, like moving out all the desks and chairs and letting many people standing or sleeping there, then you can say 这个教室太小，不够站/睡...人。



I got it. And of course, we could have an option - we could use the only word covering all of the above (站/睡/坐/...) - 容纳, but it`d be more formal.


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## BODYholic

L3P said:


> Hello!
> 
> Please, which of my interpretations of  这个教室太小，不够坐二十个人 (if any) is correct?
> 
> 1.This classroom is too small, not enough for 20 people to sit (二十个人 is the subject)
> 2.This classroom is too small, (it`s) not enough to accommodate 20 people (坐 is the predicate 'accommodate')
> 
> Thanks a lot.



The Chinese sentence is colloquial but very common even in my region. It's conveniently understood as your point #2. A better way to phrase it would be 这个教室太小，不够二十个人坐.



L3P said:


> Thanks very much,krimzn. How about  這張桌子(可以)坐(得下)六個人? Is 六個人 the subject in this one?


No, you can't use 桌子 (table) here. You have to say 這桌 (=這席) 可坐六個人.


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## Peiyang

I will translate like this:
This classroom is too small to hold 20 students/persons.
You don't have to emphasis the word 坐.


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