# 都是我陪媽媽去買東西, 都是你害的



## Fannyny

Hi there,
 
Can someone tell me how to explain "都dōu "? as the following sentences: 
 
 
1. 在我家都是我陪媽媽去買東西
2. 都是你害的
 

Thanks


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## Bairocky

1. In my home, I accompany my mom to buy the stuff, always.
2. It’s all your fault.


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## indigoduck

Fannyny said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Can someone tell me how to explain "都dōu "? as the following sentences:
> 
> 
> 1. 在我家都是我陪媽媽去買東西
> 2. 都是你害的
> 
> 
> Thanks


 
It would be explained as "Always" for those 2 examples

1. At my home, it's always me to accompany my mother for shopping
2. It's always you that cause trouble for something


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## Ghabi

indigoduck said:


> 2. It's always you that cause trouble for something


No, it's as Bairocky says, "it's all your fault".


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## indigoduck

Ghabi said:


> No, it's as Bairocky says, "it's all your fault".


 
Yes, in natural english that would quite simply (lazily) be the translation but for the purposes of translating or explaning 都 as Fannyny wanted ... the underlying meaning is "always"

都是你害的 ... for all (whatever it is) that is bad here, it's always you at the root cause of the blame


Of course, in natural english, we don't dig into this much detail ... we say quite simply "it's all your fault"


Take a look at the following example:

这都是你害的


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## Ghabi

I can't see the underlying meaning of "always". 这都是你害的 just means 这全是你害的.


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## xiaolijie

I agree with Ghabi. "Always" implies "more than one occasion", "all" here means "completely".


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## sarahsr

1. 在我家都是我陪媽媽去買東西----Always.
2. 都是你害的----Totally, all, at all.


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## bighead+

I second the native speakers' opinions here about "都是你害的". To say "It's always you that cause trouble for something         ", how about "每次都是你害的"?

indigoduck，do you mean in English "it's all you faulty" and "it's always your fault" have similar meanings?


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## eric_yu

in the first sentence在家里都是我妈妈。。。。“都” means "every time/ always".  The literal translation of "Always" is closer to the original meaning in chinese.

in the second.  "都" is used just to emphasize the speaker's anger/blame.
都是你害的can be translated as "it is all your fault that caused me the harm/trouble."


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## indigoduck

bighead+ said:


> I second the native speakers' opinions here about "都是你害的". To say "It's always you that cause trouble for something ", how about "每次都是你害的"?
> 
> indigoduck，do you mean in English "it's all your fault" and "it's always your fault" have similar meanings?


 
"每次都是你害的" = every time, it's always your fault

it's all your fault = (完全)都是你害的

it's always your fault = (每次)都是你害的

Are they similar ? I don't know. Are they the same ? I don't know. But let's look at it closer and break it down...

I'm almost certain "always" best fits the translation in terms of chinese usage in terms of chinese thinking. Perhaps "every instance" or "every occassion" is a better or more accurate one in terms of usage of 都 for english speakers

How would you translate 都是你 ?

I would say "It's always you (at every instance)", while others may go directly to say: "it's all you"
I will also say: if it's always you (at every instance), then that means "it's all you"

I guess that's where the "it's all your fault" english translation comes from... 

Do we all agree on the underlying meaning of "always" ?


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## BODYholic

indigoduck said:


> "每次都是你害的" = every time, it's always your fault
> 
> it's all your fault = (完全)都是你害的
> 
> it's always your fault = (每次)都是你害的
> 
> Are they similar ? I don't know. Are they the same ? I don't know. But let's look at it closer and break it down...



There are 2 points I like to add.

1. Honestly, I am very uncomfortable with the translation "it's ... *your fault*". The faithful translation for "害", in this case, should be "caused / started". i.e. The problem was caused/started/created by you. It may or may not imply that you are, objectively, at fault. 

To say, "It's all your fault". We say, "都是你的错".

2. The meanings of "All / 完全" and "Always / 每次" are consistent, both in Chinese and English language. The former describes the *magnitude *of a subject and the latter accounts for the *frequency*. Since they paint different pictures. The choice depends largely on what the subject "这" refers to. Mostly (there might be exceptions), if the subject is singular, the concern is usually on its magnitude.

"(我会被老板骂),这都是你害的" -> The fact that I am being scolded (this time / 这次) by the boss was *all* caused by you. 

"(我每天会被老板骂),这都是你害的" -> You *always *caused me to be scolded everyday by the boss.


I hope this serves you well.


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## indigoduck

BODYholic said:


> There are 2 points I like to add.
> 
> 1. Honestly, I am very uncomfortable with the translation "it's ... *your fault*". The faithful translation for "害", in this case, should be "caused / started". i.e. The problem was caused/started/created by you. It may or may not imply that you are, objectively, at fault.
> 
> To say, "It's all your fault". We say, "都是你的错".
> 
> 2. The meanings of "All / 完全" and "Always / 每次" are consistent, both in Chinese and English language. The former describes the *magnitude *of a subject and the latter accounts for the *frequency*. Since they paint different pictures. The choice depends largely on what the subject "这" refers to. Mostly (there might be exceptions), if the subject is singular, the concern is usually on its magnitude.
> 
> "(我会被老板骂),这都是你害的" -> The fact that I am being scolded (this time / 这次) by the boss was *all* caused by you.
> 
> "(我每天会被老板骂),这都是你害的" -> You *always *caused me to be scolded everyday by the boss.
> 
> 
> I hope this serves you well.


 
Thanks


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## Ghabi

BODYholic said:


> "(我每天会被老板骂),这都是你害的" -> You *always *caused me to be scolded everyday by the boss. To me it just means "I get scolded by the boss everyday, and it's all because of you". I can't see where "always" comes from.


The basic meaning of the word 都 is "all, total; also, too". In the example "在我家都是我陪媽媽去買東西",  都是 is just an abbreviated way of saying 每次都是, and 都 by itself doesn't carry the meaning of "always".


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