Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā ràng wǒ duō zhùyì zhèxiē cuòwù, měicì dōu rènzhēn jiěshì gěi wǒ tīng. - She asks me to pay more attention to these mistakes and carefully explains them to me every time.

Here 让 (ràng) means “to have someone do something / to tell someone to do something / to make someone do something”, not “to allow” or “to let” in the sense of permission.

Structure:

她让我多注意这些错误
- 她 – she
- 让 – has / tells / makes (someone do something)
- 我 – me
- 多注意这些错误 – pay more attention to these mistakes

So the idea is: “She asks/tells me to pay more attention to these mistakes.”

Other similar verbs:

让, 叫, 要 can all be used to mean “to tell someone to do something,” but 让 is very common and fairly neutral in tone in this kind of sentence.

What does 多 (duō) mean before 注意 (zhùyì) here? Why not just 注意?

多 before a verb often means “do (it) more / to a greater extent / more often.”

注意 – to pay attention
多注意 – pay more attention / pay extra attention

Here 多 is not “many” but an adverb meaning “more”:

多吃菜 – eat more vegetables
多练习 – practice more
多注意这些错误 – pay more attention to these mistakes

Without 多, 注意这些错误 just means “pay attention to these mistakes” (a simple instruction).
With 多, it suggests increasing the level or frequency of attention compared to before.

Why is it 这些错误 (zhèxiē cuòwù) and not just 错误 (cuòwù)?

错误 by itself is a general noun: “errors / mistakes” in general.

这些错误 adds these, so it means “these mistakes (that we’re talking about / that you made)”.

Using 这些错误 implies:

the speaker and listener know which mistakes are being referred to (e.g., on a test, in an essay, in homework just corrected)
she is asking you to pay particular attention to this specific group of mistakes, not all possible errors in the world.

So:

注意错误 – pay attention to mistakes (in general)
注意这些错误 – pay attention to these mistakes (the ones just pointed out)

What is the role of 每次都 (měicì dōu)? Why is 都 (dōu) used together with 每次 (měicì)?

每次 means “every time”, and 都 often emphasizes “all / without exception.”

每次都 together means something like:

“every single time,” “on every occasion (without fail).”

Chinese very often uses 都 after words like:

每次 (every time)
每个人 (everyone)
每个地方 (every place)

Examples:

每个人都知道。 – Everyone knows.
每次见面他都很高兴。 – Every time we meet, he’s happy.

So 每次都认真解释给我听 emphasizes:

She explains carefully every time, not just occasionally.

Why is there no subject (like 她) before 每次都认真解释给我听? Who is doing the explaining?

In Chinese, if two clauses share the same subject, the subject is often omitted in the second clause if it’s clear from context.

Sentence:

她让我多注意这些错误，每次都认真解释给我听。

Both actions are done by 她:

她让我多注意这些错误
(她) 每次都认真解释给我听

The second “她” is simply dropped because:

the subject is obvious from the previous clause
Chinese tends to avoid repeating information that’s already clear

If you say:

她让我要多注意这些错误，每次她都认真解释给我听。

This is not wrong, but sounds more heavy/repetitive. The original is more natural.

What does 认真 (rènzhēn) mean here? Is it an adjective or an adverb?

In this sentence, 认真 functions like an adverb, describing how she explains:

认真解释给我听 – explain (it) carefully/seriously/conscientiously to me

Literally:

认真 – serious, conscientious, carefully (in manner)
解释 – explain

You can think of it as:

“She very carefully explains (it) to me each time.”

Some patterns:

他学习很认真。 – He is very serious/diligent in his studies.
请你认真地听。 – Please listen carefully.
- Often 地 is omitted in speech: 认真听.

So here, 认真 is modifying the verb 解释.

What does 解释给我听 (jiěshì gěi wǒ tīng) literally mean, and how should I understand this pattern?

Literally:

解释 – explain
给我 – to me / for me
听 – (for me) to listen

So 解释给我听 literally is “explain (it) for me to listen (to)”.

Functionally, it just means:

“explain it to me”
but it emphasizes that the explanation is for my benefit / for my understanding.

The pattern V + 给 + 人 + 听 is common:

讲给他听 – say/tell it to him
读给孩子听 – read (something) to the child
说给你听 – say it so you can hear

So 解释给我听 is a very natural way to say “explain it to me (so I understand).”

Could we say 给我解释 instead of 解释给我听? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say 给我解释; it is grammatically correct and understandable.

However, there is a nuance:

给我解释 – “explain to me” (more direct, neutral)
解释给我听 – “explain (it) for me to hear/understand”
- sounds a bit more natural and vivid in everyday speech
- emphasizes the act of explaining in a way I can follow and understand

Rough comparison:

他给我解释了原因。 – He explained the reason to me.
他把原因解释给我听。 – He explained the reason to me (so that I could understand it clearly).

Both are fine; 解释给我听 just has that familiar “say it out and let me hear/understand” feeling.

Why is 听 (tīng) used if this is about “explaining”? Isn’t explanation about “understanding,” not just “hearing”?

In Chinese, 听 is often used in patterns like “V + 给 + 人 + 听” to indicate:

doing something for someone to hear, which implies for them to understand.

So 听 here is not just physically “hear sound”; it’s part of a set pattern that means:

“so that I can hear it and thus understand it”

Similar everyday uses:

你听我说。 – Listen to me (speak).
我给你讲一个故事，你听好。 – I’ll tell you a story, listen carefully.

So in 解释给我听, 听 is idiomatic; it indicates that the explanation is being given verbally, for my understanding.

Why isn’t there a 了 (le) in 每次都认真解释给我听 if these are past actions?

Chinese often omits aspect markers like 了 when:

talking about habitual actions
describing what usually happens rather than a single, completed event

每次都认真解释给我听 describes a repeated, habitual behavior:

“Every (single) time, she carefully explains it to me.”

Because we’re talking about what she does regularly, not one specific finished event, there is no need for 了.

Compare:

那天她认真给我解释了。 – That day she carefully explained it to me. (one past event → 了)
她每次都认真给我解释。 – She carefully explains it to me every time. (habitual → no 了)

Is the word order “认真解释给我听” fixed? Can I say “给我认真解释” instead?

认真解释给我听 is the most natural order here.

Breaking it down:

认真 – manner (how she explains)
解释 – main verb
给我 – indirect object (to me / for me)
听 – complement (for me to hear)

So the pattern is:

[manner] + [verb] + 给 + [person] + 听

给我认真解释 is technically understandable, but:

it sounds more like an imperative (“Give me a serious explanation!” / “Explain it to me properly!”)
it’s less natural if you’re simply describing her behavior.

For describing what she does, 认真解释给我听 is the preferred order.

What’s the difference between 注意 (zhùyì) and 小心 (xiǎoxīn)? Could I say 多小心这些错误?

注意 and 小心 are related but not interchangeable in this sentence.

注意 – pay attention to / take note of
小心 – be careful, watch out (often about danger / risk / something bad)

Examples:

注意发音。 – Pay attention to your pronunciation.
小心车！ – Watch out for the car! / Be careful of cars!

In the context of errors / mistakes:

多注意这些错误 – pay more attention to these mistakes (so you don’t repeat them; reflect on them)
多小心这些错误 – sounds odd; 小心 with 错误 isn’t natural because errors aren’t something that can physically hurt you or suddenly “happen to you” like a danger.

So here, 注意 is the correct choice.

Why does 我 (wǒ) appear twice: in 她让我多注意这些错误 and again in 解释给我听?

Each 我 plays a different role in a different clause:

她让我多注意这些错误
- 我 = the one who should pay attention
- She is telling me to pay attention.
每次都认真解释给我听
- 我 (inside 给我听) = the one who receives the explanation / listens
- She is explaining to me.

Although it’s the same person, 我 has different grammatical roles in each part:

first: the subject/agent of “pay attention”
second: the indirect object/receiver of “explain”

Chinese doesn’t try to avoid this kind of repetition; clarity of roles is more important than eliminating duplicate pronouns.

How would the meaning change if we removed 多 (duō) or 都 (dōu)?

Removing 多:

Original: 她让我多注意这些错误
→ She tells me to pay more attention to these mistakes.
Without 多: 她让我注意这些错误
→ She tells me to pay attention to these mistakes.

Difference:

With 多: implies increase, “more than before.”
Without 多: just a general instruction to pay attention.

Removing 都:

Original: 每次都认真解释给我听
→ Every single time, she carefully explains it to me (without exception).
Without 都: 每次认真解释给我听
→ Still understandable, but it sounds a bit less smooth and less emphatic.
- People almost always say 每次都… in natural speech.

So:

多 affects the degree of attention.
都 adds emphasis and naturalness to the idea of “every time (without exception).”