但是我始终开不了口
“But I couldn't bring myself to sing.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
我舅就让花姨教我
“So my uncle had Aunt Hua teach me.”
但 是我 始终 开不了口
“But I couldn't bring myself to sing.”
“Aunt Hua even thought I was mute.”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Extreme introversion or stage fright in traditional apprenticeships is often described as an internal blockage where one literally cannot 'open the mouth'.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
from beginning to end; all along
Used before a negative predicate to emphasize that a persistent condition never changed.
cannot bring oneself to speak; unable to open one's mouth
A very common idiomatic potential complement for being emotionally or socially paralyzed from talking.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“(Yi Qin'e simply couldn't open her mouth)”
“(I wouldn't be able to do this.)”
“I still didn't know how to start talking.”
“He is not easy to invite.”