Questions & Answers about wán yóuxìjī bù yīnggāi yǐngxiǎng xuéxí.
In this sentence there is no pronoun like “I” or “you”. Who is the subject, and is it okay in Chinese to leave it out?
Yes, it’s completely natural in Chinese to leave the subject out when it’s clear from context.
In 玩游戏机不应该影响学习, the implied subject is something like:
- 你 / 别人 / 大家 – “you / other people / everyone”
So the full meaning is:
- （你）玩游戏机不应该影响（你的）学习。
“(When you) play video games, it shouldn’t affect (your) studies.”
Chinese often omits:
- subjects (我，你，他，大家)
- possessives (你的学习 → 学习)
as long as the listener can infer them. This is very common in general statements, rules, or advice.
Why is the negation written as 不应该 and not 应该不?
In this sentence, 不应该 is a fixed structure meaning “should not / ought not to”.
- 不应该 + V = “should not V”
- 不应该影响学习 = “should not affect studies”
If you say 应该不 + V, it usually does not mean “should not V”. Instead, 应该不 normally goes with adjectives or stative verbs and means “probably not / should not be (the case that) …” For example:
- 应该不贵 = “It probably isn’t expensive / It shouldn’t be expensive.”
- 应该不会迟到 = “(He) probably won’t be late.”
So:
- 不应该影响学习 = moral/behavioral “You shouldn’t let it affect your studies.”
- 应该不影响学习 = “It probably doesn’t affect your studies.” (a guess/prediction)
They express different ideas. For “should not do X”, use 不应该 + V.
Why do we use and not here?