Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ de zuòyè lǐ chángcháng yǒu yìxiē xiǎo cuòwù, dàn shì lǎoshī shuō bú yào hàipà. - There are often some small mistakes in my homework, but the teacher says not to be afraid.

In everyday speech, both versions are used; adding 里 just sounds very natural here because we’re talking about things inside the homework (errors in the content).

What is the function of 的 (de) in 我的作业?

的 is a possessive particle, similar to English “’s” or “of”.

我 = I / me
作业 = homework
我的作业 = my homework

Structure:
[possessor] + 的 + [thing possessed]

Examples:

我的书 – my book
老师的电脑 – the teacher’s computer
学生的作业 – the students’ homework

Why is 常常 (chángcháng) placed before 有 (yǒu)? Could I say 有常常一些小错误?

In Chinese, adverbs of frequency like 常常 usually go before the verb they modify.

常常有 = “often have / there are often”

The basic word order in this clause is:

(Location) + 常常 + 有 + (object)
我的作业里 + 常常 + 有 + 一些小错误

You cannot say 有常常一些小错误; that is ungrammatical.

Correct patterns:

我常常有很多作业。 – I often have a lot of homework.
这里常常下雨。 – It often rains here.

What exactly is 有 (yǒu) doing here? Is it “have” or “there is/are”?

有 can mean both:

“to have”
“there is / there are”

In 我的作业里常常有一些小错误, you can understand it either way:

Literally: “In my homework, there often are some small mistakes.”
Or: “My homework often has some small mistakes.”

Both interpretations are fine; Chinese doesn’t distinguish as strictly as English here.

Why is there no measure word after 一些 (yìxiē)? Shouldn’t Chinese almost always use measure words?

一些 itself functions like “some / a few” and does not require a measure word if the noun is a type that is usually uncountable or treated as a mass noun.

一些错误 – some mistakes
一些水 – some water
一些问题 – some problems

If you want to be more specific or use a countable feeling, you could say:

一些小错误 – some small mistakes (normal, natural)
几个小错误 – a few small mistakes (emphasizes the number is small)

Here, 一些小错误 is perfectly natural and you don’t add a separate measure word between 一些 and 小错误.

What does 小 (xiǎo) add in 小错误 (xiǎo cuòwù)? Is it necessary?

小错误 literally means “small mistakes” or “minor mistakes”.

错误 = mistake / error
小错误 = small / minor mistakes

Using 小 softens the idea of mistakes:

有一些错误 – there are some mistakes (neutral)
有一些小错误 – there are some small mistakes (less serious, minor)

It’s not grammatically necessary; it’s there for tone and meaning. It matches the idea that the teacher later says “don’t be afraid” — these are not huge, terrible mistakes, just small ones.

What’s the difference between 但 (dàn) and 但是 (dànshì)? The sentence uses 但是, but can I use 但 instead?

Both 但 and 但是 mean “but / however”.

In modern spoken Mandarin:

但是 is more common, slightly more neutral.
但 is more concise, a bit more written or slightly more formal/compact.

In this sentence:

…有一些小错误，
但是老师说不要害怕。 ✅
…有一些小错误，
但老师说不要害怕。 ✅

Both are correct and natural.

You normally don’t use 是 alone as “but” here. 但是 is a fixed word meaning “but”; you should not cut it to just 是 in this function.

In 但是老师说不要害怕, how should I understand 说 (shuō)? Is something omitted after it?

Literally:

老师说不要害怕。
= “The teacher said: don’t be afraid.”

In Chinese, the “that” clause after 说 is often implicit. You don’t need extra words like “that” or “to”.

Structure:

老师说 + [content of speech]

Examples:

妈妈说不要太晚回家。 – Mom said (that I should) not come home too late.
医生说要多休息。 – The doctor said (I) should rest more.

So the full English idea is like:
“But the teacher said (that I should) not be afraid.”
Chinese doesn’t need extra words to mark this.

What does 不要 (bú yào) mean here? Is it “don’t” (a command) or “no need to”?

不要 can mean both:

“don’t (do something)” – a prohibition / command
“don’t / there’s no need to (do something)” – softer advice

In 老师说不要害怕, the tone is usually reassuring advice:

“Don’t be afraid.”
“There’s no need to be afraid.”

Because it’s the teacher speaking to a student, it’s not a harsh command like “Don’t you dare be afraid.” It’s more like calming encouragement.

Why is 不 (bù) pronounced bú in 不要 here?

This is due to a common tone sandhi rule:

When 不 (bù) is followed by a 4th tone syllable, it changes to 2nd tone (bú).

要 (yào) is 4th tone, so:

Written: 不要
Pronounced: búyào

Other examples:

不对 → búduì
不好 → bùhǎo (here 好 is 3rd tone, so no change)
不是 → búshì (because 是 is 4th tone)

Is 害怕 (hàipà) a verb or an adjective? How should I think about it?

害怕 works like both:

as a verb: “to fear / to be afraid of”
as an adjective-like verb: “be afraid”

In 不要害怕, you can understand it as:

“don’t be afraid” (adjective-like use)
or
“don’t fear” (verb use)

Examples:

我害怕狗。 – I’m afraid of dogs. / I fear dogs.
孩子很害怕。 – The child is very scared.
不要害怕。 – Don’t be afraid.

Why is there a comma before 但是 instead of a period? Could it be two sentences?

Chinese punctuation allows both options, but the comma is very natural here because the two parts are tightly connected:

我的作业里常常有一些小错误，
但是老师说不要害怕。

You could write:

我的作业里常常有一些小错误。
但是老师说不要害怕。

This is not wrong, but it feels a bit more separated. With the comma, it reads as one complex sentence:
“I often have small mistakes in my homework, but the teacher says not to be afraid.”

Why isn’t there a subject like 我 in the second clause? Shouldn’t it be 老师说我不要害怕?

Chinese often omits obvious subjects when the meaning is clear from context.

老师说不要害怕 is understood as:

“The teacher said (that I/you/we) shouldn’t be afraid.”

You can add a subject:

老师说我不要害怕。 – The teacher said I shouldn’t be afraid.
老师说你不要害怕。 – The teacher said you shouldn’t be afraid.

But if it’s already clear who the teacher is talking to (the student), 不要害怕 without 我/你 is more natural and less wordy.

Could I say 在我的作业里常常有一些小错误 instead of 我的作业里常常有一些小错误?

Yes, you can:

在我的作业里常常有一些小错误。 ✅
我的作业里常常有一些小错误。 ✅

Differences:

在 + place + 有…
Explicitly marks location (“in my homework, there are…”).
我的作业里有…
Uses 里 as “in”, so 在 is not strictly required.

The version without 在 is shorter and more common in this pattern. The version with 在 sounds a bit more formal or explicit about location.

Why doesn’t this sentence use 是 (shì) anywhere? In English I would say “My homework is often full of small mistakes.”

Chinese does not use 是 the same way English uses “to be”.

是 mainly links two nouns or a noun + noun phrase:
- 我是学生。 – I am a student.
- 他是老师。 – He is a teacher.

When you describe existence / possession (“there is / there are / have”), you use 有, not 是:

桌子上有一本书。 – There is a book on the table.
我的包里有钱。 – There is money in my bag / My bag has money.
我的作业里常常有一些小错误。 – There are often some small mistakes in my homework.

So 是 is simply not the right verb here.

Is 常常 (chángcháng) the same as 经常 (jīngcháng)? Could I replace it?

常常 and 经常 are very close in meaning: both mean “often / frequently”.

In this sentence, both are fine:

我的作业里常常有一些小错误。 ✅
我的作业里经常有一些小错误。 ✅

Subtle difference:

常常 is slightly more spoken / casual.
经常 sounds a little more formal / written, but is also very common in speech.

In practice, they’re often interchangeable.

Why is 错误 (cuòwù) used instead of 错 (cuò)? Are they the same?

Related but not identical:

错 (noun/verb/adjective):
- as a verb: to be wrong
  - 我说错了。 – I said it wrong.
- as an adjective: wrong
  - 这个答案是错的。 – This answer is wrong.
- as a noun (informally): mistake
  - 我写了几个错。 – I wrote a few mistakes. (colloquial)
错误 (noun/adjective):
- as a noun: error, mistake
  - 语法错误 – grammar error
  - 小错误 – small mistake
- as an adjective: incorrect
  - 错误的观点 – incorrect opinion

一些小错误 uses 错误 as a regular noun, combined with 小. That’s the most standard and natural form here.

What is the overall word order pattern of the sentence? It feels backwards compared to English.

Chinese basic structure is still S – (time/place) – V – O, but it packs information differently.

Breakdown:

我的作业里 – in my homework (location phrase, tied to “my”)
常常 – often (adverb of frequency, before the verb)
有 – there is/are / have (main verb)
一些小错误 – some small mistakes (object)
，但是 – , but
老师说 – the teacher says/said
不要害怕 – don’t be afraid

So structurally:

[Location: 我的作业里] + [Adv: 常常] + [Verb: 有] + [Object: 一些小错误]，
[Subject: 老师] + [Verb of saying: 说] + [Clause: 不要害怕].

It may feel reversed because English tends to put “there are often small mistakes in my homework”, while Chinese puts the location before the verb:
In my homework → often have → some small mistakes.