HSK 3 grammar · pattern
数量重叠
一个一个 — one by one (in turn)
Pattern
+ + + + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Repeating "一 + measure" (一个一个, 一步一步) describes doing something one at a time, in sequence. It usually takes 地 before the verb and shows a steady, one-by-one manner.
Examples
老师一个一个地检查作业。
Lǎoshī yí ge yí ge de jiǎnchá zuòyè.
The teacher checks the homework one by one.
我们一步一步地往上走。
Wǒmen yí bù yí bù de wǎng shàng zǒu.
We walked up step by step.
他把书一本一本地放好。
Tā bǎ shū yì běn yì běn de fàng hǎo.
He put the books away one by one.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 数量重叠 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.