<p>Not sure you would prefer this:</p>
<p>我可能也不会进那么快(的)步</p>
<p>但当然，<br />
but of course,<br />
如果没有前面十几年在学校，<br />
without my previous 10+ years in school,<br />
学习的基础知识，<br />
studying basic knowledge<br />
我可能也不会进步那么快。<br />
I might not have made such rapid progress.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>进: 向前或向上移动、发展，与“退”相对</p>
<p>progress: directly from Latin progressus &quot;a going forward, an
advance,&quot; noun of action from past-participle stem of progredi &quot;go
forward,&quot; from pro &quot;forward&quot; (see pro-) + gradi &quot;to step, walk,&quot; from
gradus &quot;a step&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Strangely, or maybe not, 进步 and progress are, in the structure of the ideas present in the words, exactly the same:</p>
<p>进步: 向前 + 步<br />
progress: pro &quot;forward&quot; +  gradi &quot;to step, walk,&quot; from gradus &quot;a step&quot;</p>
<p>进步 is analysed as verb + noun, as Tang Ho wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>进一步 is made up of [进(v)] + [一(counting word)] + [步(n)] = &quot;advance one
step/further&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>but equally you can regard it as adverb or noun or preposition, forward, 向前 + verb</p>
<blockquote>
<p>步:  会意。甲骨文字形，由两只脚的象形符号重迭而成，表示两脚一前一后走路。本义:<strong>行走</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>progress is a noun. In English, we &quot;make progress&quot;.</p>
<p>So what is 进步 in 我可能也不会进步那么快.</p>
<p>All words are the name of something. 进步 corresponds here with what is known in Western Grammar as an infinitive. Even Ancient Greek infinitives functioned as substantives, nouns, and took case declensions as well as the article τὸ.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A SUBSTANTIVE is any word or phrase that serves as a noun in a
sentence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://grammarbrain.com/inifitives/#what-is-the-infinitive-form-infinitives" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Source of the quote below:</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>What is the infinitive form (infinitives)? A word or set of words can
[sic] be used as an adverb, noun, or adjective when the verb is in the
infinitive form. Any verb, including phrasal verbs, can be used in the
infinitive form.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Thus, I would take 进步 here to be a noun.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-17T12:40:29.183Z
2024-02-17T12:40:29.183Z
Pedroski
<ul>
<li><p><strong>进步</strong> is a compound word for &quot;<strong>advance</strong>&quot;(v)/ <strong>improvement</strong>(n) e.g. 想要進步 = want to advance(v); 有進步 = have improvement(n)</p>
</li>
<li><p>进一步 is made up of [进(v)] + [一(counting word)] + [步(n)] = &quot;advance one step/further&quot;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>进步 = advance (v)</p>
<p>那么 = that</p>
<p>快 = quickly (adv)</p>
<p>进步那么快 = advance that quickly</p>
<p><em>&quot;进步得那么快&quot; would sound more natural</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-02-16T10:40:17.033Z
2024-02-16T10:55:16.480Z
2024-02-16T10:55:16.480Z
Tang Ho
<p>A recent <a href="https://youtu.be/Kz7LjNFuxdM?si=M4UHY4aNaiLlM-TS&amp;t=358" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ShuoshuoChinese说说中文 video</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MjGrH.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MjGrHm.png" alt="我可能也不会进步那么快 screenshot" /></a></p>
<p>……，但当然，如果没有前面十几年在学校，学习的基础知识，<strong>我可能也不会进步那么快</strong>。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The use of 进步那么快 caught my by surprise since 进步, when used as a verb, appears to be a <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Separable_verb" rel="nofollow noreferrer">separable verb</a> (you can say 进了一大步, etc.).  And usually you don't put content like this after the noun in a separable verb.</p>
<p>I really don't know what to make of this.  It's unlikely she's simply wrong here, so perhaps there's some grammar rule I'm unaware of.  Maybe 进步 is a non-separable verb, which is coincidentally formed from a verb and a noun, and 进 and 步 are just separate words in 进了一大步.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: What's the grammar underlying 进步那么快?</p>

<grammar><separable-verbs>
What's the grammar underlying 进步那么快?
# What's the grammar underlying 进步那么快?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-02-16)

A recent [ShuoshuoChinese说说中文 video](https://youtu.be/Kz7LjNFuxdM?si=M4UHY4aNaiLlM-TS&t=358) says:

> [![我可能也不会进步那么快 screenshot](https://i.sstatic.net/MjGrHm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/MjGrH.png)
>
> ……，但当然，如果没有前面十几年在学校，学习的基础知识，**我可能也不会进步那么快**。

The use of 进步那么快 caught my by surprise since 进步, when used as a verb, appears to be a [separable verb](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Separable_verb) (you can say 进了一大步, etc.). And usually you don't put content like this after the noun in a separable verb.

I really don't know what to make of this. It's unlikely she's simply wrong here, so perhaps there's some grammar rule I'm unaware of. Maybe 进步 is a non-separable verb, which is coincidentally formed from a verb and a noun, and 进 and 步 are just separate words in 进了一大步.

**Question**: What's the grammar underlying 进步那么快?

**Tags:** grammar, separable-verbs

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-02-17. Score: 1

Not sure you would prefer this:

我可能也不会进那么快(的)步

但当然，  
but of course,  
如果没有前面十几年在学校，  
without my previous 10+ years in school,  
学习的基础知识，  
studying basic knowledge  
我可能也不会进步那么快。  
I might not have made such rapid progress.

> 进: 向前或向上移动、发展，与“退”相对
>
> progress: directly from Latin progressus "a going forward, an
> advance," noun of action from past-participle stem of progredi "go
> forward," from pro "forward" (see pro-) + gradi "to step, walk," from
> gradus "a step"

Strangely, or maybe not, 进步 and progress are, in the structure of the ideas present in the words, exactly the same:

进步: 向前 + 步  
progress: pro "forward" + gradi "to step, walk," from gradus "a step"

进步 is analysed as verb + noun, as Tang Ho wrote:

> 进一步 is made up of [进(v)] + [一(counting word)] + [步(n)] = "advance one
> step/further"

but equally you can regard it as adverb or noun or preposition, forward, 向前 + verb

> 步: 会意。甲骨文字形，由两只脚的象形符号重迭而成，表示两脚一前一后走路。本义:**行走**

progress is a noun. In English, we "make progress".

So what is 进步 in 我可能也不会进步那么快.

All words are the name of something. 进步 corresponds here with what is known in Western Grammar as an infinitive. Even Ancient Greek infinitives functioned as substantives, nouns, and took case declensions as well as the article τὸ.

> A SUBSTANTIVE is any word or phrase that serves as a noun in a
> sentence.

[Source of the quote below:](https://grammarbrain.com/inifitives/#what-is-the-infinitive-form-infinitives)

> What is the infinitive form (infinitives)? A word or set of words can
> [sic] be used as an adverb, noun, or adjective when the verb is in the
> infinitive form. Any verb, including phrasal verbs, can be used in the
> infinitive form.

Thus, I would take 进步 here to be a noun.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-02-16. Score: 1

* **进步** is a compound word for "**advance**"(v)/ **improvement**(n) e.g. 想要進步 = want to advance(v); 有進步 = have improvement(n)
* 进一步 is made up of [进(v)] + [一(counting word)] + [步(n)] = "advance one step/further"

进步 = advance (v)

那么 = that

快 = quickly (adv)

进步那么快 = advance that quickly

*"进步得那么快" would sound more natural*


---

