19.1 Omission in Verb Phrases
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If a verb phrase is obvious in the context, we can often omit part of it, instead of saying the entire verb phrase. For example, after we have mentioned a verb phrase in full the first time, we can often omit part of it when referring to it again. Here are two general rules for omitting part of a verb phrase after mentioning the verb phrase the first time:
1. We can often omit the object if there is one.
| A: | 你想去邊度食日本嘢呀？ nei5 soeng2 heoi3 bin1 dou6 sik6 jat6 bun2 je5 aa3? Where do you want to go to eat Japanese cuisine or food? |
| B: | 我想去旺角食呀。 ngo5 soeng2 heoi3 wong6 gok3 sik6 aa3. I want to go to Mong Kok [a district in Hong Kong] to eat. |
2. If the verb is a separable verb, we can often keep the first syllable (the verb part) and omit the other syllables (the object part). Note that for some separable verbs, the object part has more than one syllable (e.g., 邊爐 bin1 lou4 in 打邊爐 daa2 bin1 lou4). We will omit all the syllables of the object part.
| A: | 你想去邊度打邊爐呀？ nei5 soeng2 heoi3 bin1 dou6 daa2 bin1 lou4 aa3? Where do you want to go to have hotpot? |
| B: | 我想去旺角打呀。 ngo5 soeng2 heoi3 wong6 gok3 daa2 aa3. I want to go to Mong Kok to have hotpot. |