HOW TO USE 总是

总是 & 一直 are synonyms.

They can always substitute for each other in sentences. You can also refer to our other article, how to use 一直 to better understand the usages of this word.

总是 WITH VERBS

Like most of the expressions in Chinese, the adverb 总是 has a corresponding word in English too, which is “always.”

Basically, these two characters together mean on every occasion, forever or very frequently.

FOR EXAMPLE | 她总是迟到 (tā zǒngshì chídào). This sentence means that “she is always late” in English.

When you hear or read the adverb 总是 in its usual position, before modifying the verb, it generally has the meaning of “habitually“.

总是 WITH ADJECTIVES

Now things are slightly different when 总是 is used to modify adjectives.

In those situations, we often add another adjective behind as an expression of habit.

This change is not demanded grammatically, but it’s an implicitly set up expression rule.

FOR EMPHASIS

You might think that our explanation of the adverb 总是 ends here, but it does not!

One important thing to add to this article is that sometimes, you will hear Chinese speakers emphasize the word 总是.

When the word is being emphasized, it always involves the mood of the speakers. In this case, the meaning of the sentence has changed. Think back to our previous example sentence: 

她总是迟到。

tā zǒng shì chí dào 

She is always late.     

If the speaker says, “她总是迟到” with the emphasis on the word always then the speaker is expressing annoyance.

Perhaps the speaker is angry that another person is not being punctual all the time.  

Here is another example, you may hear a mum say: 

他总是给自己找借口。

tā zǒng shì geǐ zìjǐ zhǎo jièkǒu

He always finds excuses for himself

This sentence uses the adverb 总是 to express a habitual or ordinary action.      

However, if you hear the mum say it with emphasis the adverb, then you’ll know that she is probably unhappy with her child’s trait of running away from responsibility.

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