Chapter 1. Module 2: Biographic Information

The Biographic Information Module provides you with linguistic and cultural skills needed for a simple conversation typical of a first-meeting situation in China. These skills include those needed at the beginning of a conversation (greetings, introductions, and forms of address), in the middle of a conversation (understanding and answering questions about yourself and your immediate family), and at the end of a conversation (leave-taking).

Before starting this module, you must take and pass the ORN Criterion Test. The resource modules Pronunciation and Romanization and Numbers (tapes 1-4) are also prerequisites to the BIO Module.

The Criterion Test will focus largely on this module, but material from Module 1 and associated resource modules may also be included.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the module, the student should be able to:

Pronounce correctly any word from the Target Lists of ORN or BIO, properly distinguishing sounds and tones, using the proper stress and neutral tones, and making the necessary tone changes.

Pronounce correctly any sentence from the BIO Target Lists, with proper pauses and intonation, that is, without obscuring the tones with English intonation.

Use polite formulas in asking and answering questions about identity (name), health, age, and other basic information.

Reply to questions with the Chinese equivalents of "yes" and "no"

Ask and answer questions about families, including who the members are, how old they are, and where they are.

Ask and answer questions about a stay in China, including the date of arrival, location-purpose-duration of stay, previous visits, traveling companions, and date of departure.

Ask and answer questions about work or study, identification of occupation, the location, and the duration.

Give the English equivalent for any Chinese sentence in the BIO Target Lists.

Be able to say any Chinese sentence in the BIO Target Lists when cued with its English equivalent.

Take part in a short Chinese conversation, using expressions included in the BIO Target List sentences.

Tapes for BIO and associated modules

Biographic information (BIO)

Unit 1: | 1 | C-l | 1 p-l | 1&2 D-l | 1 C-2 | 1 P-2
Unit 2: | 2 | C-l | 2 P-l |  | 2 C-2 | 2 P-2
Unit 3: | 3 | C-l | 3 P-l | 3&4 D-l | 3 C-2 | 3 P-2
Unit 4: | 4 | C-l | 4 P-l |  | 4 C-2 | 4 P-2
Unit 5: | 5 | C-l | 5 P-l | 5&6 D-l | 5 C-2 | 5 P-2
Unit 6: | 6 | C-l | 6 P-l |  | 6 C-2 | 6 P-2
Unit 7: | 7 | C-l | 7 P-l | 7&8 D-l | 7C-2 | 7 P-2
Unit 8: | 8 | C-l | 8 P-l |  | 8 C-2 | 8 P-2

Units 1-4 R-1

Units 5-8 R-1

Classroom Expressions (CE)

CE 2

Time and Dates (T&D)

T&D 1 T&D 2

Unit 1 Target List

1. | Qīnwèn, nǐ zhù zai nǎr? | 亲问，你住在那儿？ | May I ask, where are you staying?
| Wǒ zhù zai Běijīng Fāndiàn. | 我住在北京饭店 | I'm staying at the Běijīng Hotel.
2. | Nǐ zhù zai něige fàndiàn? | 你住在哪个饭店？ | Which hotel are you staying at?
| Wǒ zhù zai nèige fàndiàn. | 我住在那个饭店。 | I'm staying at that hotel.
3. | Nǐ zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn ma? | 你住在这个饭店吗？ | Are you staying at this hotel?
| Bù, wǒ bú zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. | 不，我不住在这个饭店。 | No, I'm not staying at this hotel.
4. | Nǐ zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn? | 你住在民族饭店？ | Are you staying at the Nationalities Hotel?
| Bù, wǒ bú zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. | 不，我不住在民族饭店。 | No, I'm not staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
5. | Něiwèi shi Gāo Tóngzhì? | 哪位是高同志？ | Which one is Comrade Gāo
| Nèiwèi shi Gāo Tóngzhì. | 那位是高同志 | That one is Comrade Gāo.
6. | Zǎo. Nuòwǎkè nǚshì! Nǐn hǎo. | 早。诺瓦克女士！您好 | Good morning. Miss Nowak! How are you?
| Wǒ hěn hǎo. | 我很好 | I'm very well.
7. | Nǐ shi Měiguó nǎrde rén? | 请问，你是美国哪儿个人 | Where are you from in America?
| Wǒ shi Jiāzhōu Jiǔjīnshān rén. | 我是加州旧金山人 | I'm from San Francisco, California.

Unit 2 Target List

1. | Nǐ péngyou jiā zài náli? | 你朋友家在哪里？ | Where is your friend's house?
| Tā jiā zài Dàlǐ Jiē. | 他家在大理街。 | His house is on Dàlǐ street.
2. | Nǐ péngyoude dìzhǐ shi ...? | 你朋友的地址是。。。？ | What is your friend's address?
| Tāde dìzhǐ shi Dàlǐ Jiē Sìshièr hào. | 他的地址是大理街四十二号。 | His address is No. 42 Dàlǐ Street.
3. | Nǐ shi Wèi Shàoxiào ba? | 你是韦少校把？ | You are Major Weiss, aren't you?
| Shìde. | 是的。 | Yes.
4. | Nà shi Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn ba? | 那是国宾大饭店吧？ | That is Ambassador Hotel, isn't it?
| Shìde, nà shi Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn. | 是的，那是国宾大饭店。 | Yes, that's the Ambassador Hotel.
| Nǐ zhù zai nàli ma? | 你住在那里吗？ | Are you staying there?
| Bù, wǒ zhù zai zhèli. | 不，我住在这里 | No, I'm staying here.
5. | Nǐ péngyou zài Táiběi gōngzuò ma? | 你朋友在台北工作吗？ | Does your friend work in Taipei?
| Tā bú zài Táiběi gōngzuò; tā zài Táizhōng gōngzuò. | 他不在台北工作；他在台中工作。 | He doesn't work in Taipei; he works in Taichung.
6. | Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? | 你在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| Wǒ zài Wǔguānchù gōngzuò. | 我在武官处工作。 | I work at the defense attache's office.
| Wǒ zài yínháng gōngzuò. | 我在银行工作。 | I work at a bank.

Unit 3 Target List

1. | Nǐmen yǒu háizi ma? | 你们有孩子 | Do you have children?
| Yǒu, wǒmen yǒu. | 有，我们有。 | Yes, we have.
2. | Liú Xiānsheng méiyou Měiguó péngyou. | 刘先生没有美国朋友。 | Mr. Liú doesn't have any American friends.
3. | Nǐmen yǒu jǐge nánháizi, jǐge nǚháizi? | 你们有几个男孩子，几个女孩子？ | How many boys and how many girls do you have?
| Wómen yǒu liǎnge nánhaizi, yíge nǚháizi. | 我们有两个男孩子，一个女孩子。 | We have two boys and one girl.
4. | Hú Xiānsheng, Hú tàitai yǒu jǐge háizi? | 胡先生，胡太太有几个孩子？ | How many children do Mr. and Mrs. Hú have?
| Tāmen yǒu liǎngge háizi. | 他们有两个孩子。 | They have two children.
| Shi nánháizi, shi nǚháizi? | 是男孩子，是女孩子？ | Are they boys or girls?
| Dōu shi nǚháizi. | 都是女孩子。 | Both of them are girls.
5. | Nǐmen háizi dōu zài zhèli ma? | 你们孩子都在这里吗？ | Are all your children here?
| Bù.　Liǎngge zài zhèli, yíge hái zài Měiguó. | 不，两个在这里，一个还在美国。 | No. Two are here, and one is still in America.
6. | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are in your family?
| Yǒu wǒ tàitai gēn sānge háizi. | 有我太太跟三个孩子。 | There's my wife and two children.
7. | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are in your family?
| Jiù yǒu wǒ fùqin, mǔqin. | 就有我父亲，母亲。 | Just my father and mother.

Unit 4 Target List

1. | Tā míngtiān lái ma? | 他明天来吗？ | Is he coming tomorrow?
| Tā yǐjīng lái le. | 他已经来了。 | He has already come.
2. | Nǐ péngyou lái le ma? | 你朋友来了吗？ | Has your friend come?
| Tā hái méi(you) lái. | 她还没来。 | She hasn't come yet.
3. | Tā shi shénme shíhou dàode? | 他是什么时候到的？ | When did he arrive?
| Tā shi zuótiān dàode. | 他是昨天到的。 | He arrived yesterday.
4. | Nǐ shi yíge rén láide ma? | 你是一个人来的吗？ | Did you come alone?
| Bú shi, wǒ bú shi yíge rén láide. | 不是，我不是一个人来的。 | No, I didn't come alone.
5. | Nǐ něitiān zǒu? | 你哪天走？ | What day are you leaving?
| Wǒ jīntian zǒu. | 我今天走。 | I'm leaving today.

Unit 5 Target List

1. | Nǐ shi zài nǎr shēngde? | 你是在哪儿生的？ | Where were you born?
| Wǒ shi zài Dézhōu shēngde. | 我是在得州生的。 | I was born in Texas.
2. | Nǐmen xīngqījǐ zǒu? | 你们星期几走？ | What day of the week are you leaving?
| Wǒmen Xīngqītiān zǒu. | 我们星期天走。 | We are leaving on Sunday.
3. | Ní shi něinián shēngde? | 你是哪年生的？ | What year were you born?
| Wǒ shi Yī jiǔ sān jiǔ nián shēngde. | 我是一九三九年生的。 | I was born in 1939.
4. | Nǐ shi jǐyüè jíhào shēngde? | 你是几月几号生的？ | What is your month and day of birth?
| Wó shi Qíyüe sìhào shēngde. | 我是七月四号生的。 | I was born on July 4.
5. | Nǐ duō dà le? | 你多大了？ | How old are you?
| Wǒ sān shi wǔ le. | 我三十五了。 | I'm 35.
6. | Nímem nánháizi dōu jǐsuì le? | 你们男孩子都几岁了？ | How old are your boys?
| Yíge jiǔsuì le, yíge liùsuì le. | 一个九岁了，一个六岁了。 | One is nine and one is six.

Unit 6 Target List

1. | Nǐ zhù duó jiǔ? | 你住多久？ | How long are you staying?
| Wǒ zhù yìnián. | 我住一年。 | I'm staying one year.
2. | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhù duó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住多久？ | How long is your wife staying in Hong Kong?
| Wǒ xiǎng tā zhù liǎngtiān. | 我想她住两天。 | I think she is staying two days.
3. | Nǐ xiǎng zài Táiwān zhù duó jiǔ? | 你想在台湾住多久？ | How long are you thinking of staying in Taiwan?
| Wǒ xiǎng zhù liùge yüè. | 我想住六个月。 | I'm thinking of staying six months.
4. | Nǐ láile duó jiǔ le? | 你来了多久了？ | How long have you been here?
| Wǒ láile liǎngge xīnqī le. | 我来了两个星期。 | I have been here two weeks.
5. | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhùle dó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住了多久？ | How long did your wife stay in Hong Kong?
| Tā zhùle liǎngtiān. | 她住了两天。 | She stayed two days.
6. | Lǐ Tàitai méi lái. | 李太太没来。 | Mrs. Lǐ didn't come.
7. | Nǐ cóngqián méi láiguo. Wǒ tàitai láiguo. | 我从前没来过。我太太来过。 | I have never been here before. My wife has been here.

Unit 7 Target List

1. | A: | Nín zài náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài Měiguó Guówùyàn gōngzuò. | 我在美国国务院工作。 | I work with the State Department.
2. | A: | Ní zai náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ shi xüsheng. | 我是学生。 | I'm student.
3. | A: | Nǐ lái zuò shénme? | 您来做什么？ | What did you come here to do?
| B: | Wǒ lái niàn shū. | 我来念书。 | I came here to study.
4. | A: | Nǐ niàn shénme? | 你念什么？ | What are you studying?
| B: | Wǒ xüé Zhōngwén. | 我学中文。 | I'm studying Chinese.
5. | A: | Nǐ zài dàxüé niànguo lìshǐ ma? | 你在大学念过历史吗？ | Did you study history in college?
| B: | Niànguo. | 学念。 | Yes.
6. | A: | Nǐmen huì shuō Zhōngwén ma? | 你们会说中文吗？ | Can you speak Chinese?
| B: | Wǒ tàitai bú huǐ shuō, wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎn. | 我太太不会说，我会说一点。 | My wife can't speak it; I can speak it a little.
7. | A: | Nǐde Zhōngguo huà hěn hǎo. | 你的中国话很好。 | Your Chinese is very good.
| B: | Náli, náli. Wǒ jiù huì shuō yìdiǎn. | 哪里，哪里。我就说一点。 | Not at all. I can speak only a little.
8. | A: | Nǐ shi zài náli xüéde Zhōngzén? | 你是在哪里学的中文？ | Where did you study Chinese?
| B: | Wó shi zài Huáshèngdùn xüéde. | 我是在华盛顿学的。 | I studied it in Washington.

Unit 8 Target List

1. | A: | Nǐ jīntiān hái yǒu kè ma? | 你今天还有课吗？ | Do you have any more classes today?
| B: | Méiyou kè le. | 没有课了。 | I don't have any more classes.
2. | A: | Nǐ cóngqián niàn Yīngwén niànle duó jiǔ? | 你从前念英文念了多久？ | How long did you study English?
| B: | Wǒ niàn Yīngwén niànle liùniàn. | 我念英文念了六年。 | I studied English for six years.
3. | A: | Nǐ niàn Fàwén niànle duó jiǔ le? | 你念法文念了多久了？ | How long have you been studying French?
| B: | Wǒ niànle yìnián le. | 我念了一年了。 | I've been studying it for one year.
4. | A: | Qǜnián wǒ hái bú huì xiě Zhōnggui zì. | 去年我还不会写中国字。 | Last year, I couldn't write Chinese characters.
| B: | Xiànzài wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎn le. | 现在我会写一点了。 | Now, I can write a little.
5. | A: | Nǐ fùqin shi jǖnrén ma? | 你父亲是军人吗？ | Is your father a military man?
| B: | Shì, tā shi hǎijǖn jǖnguān. | 是，他是海军陆军。 | Yes, he's a naval officer.
6. | A: | Wǒ jīntiān bù lái le. | 我今天不来了。 | I'm not coming today.
| B: | Wǒ bìng le. | 我病了。 | I'm sick.
7. | A: | Jīntiān hǎo le méiyou? | 今天好了没有？ | Are you better today?
| B: | Jīntiān hǎo le. | 今天好了。 | Today, I'm better.

Unit 1

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Where people are staying (hotels),

Short answers.

The question word něige, "which."

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The drill tape (1D-1).

References

Reference List

(in Běijīng)

1. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ zhù zai nǎr? | 亲吻，你朱在哪儿？ | May I ask, where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. | 握住在北京饭店。 | I'm staying at the Beijing Hotel.
2. | A: | Nǐ zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn ma? | 你住在民族饭店吗？ | Are you staying at the Nationalities Hotel?
| B: | Shì, wǒ zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. | 是，我住在民族饭店吗。 | Yes, I'm staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
3. | A: | Nǐ zhù zai něige fàndiàn? | 你住在呢个饭店？ | Which hotel are you staying at?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. | 我住在北京饭店。 | I'm staying ate the Beijing Hotel.
4. | A: | Něiwèi shì Zhāng tóngzhì? | 哪位是张同志？ | Which one is comrade Zhāng?
| B: | Tā shì Zhāng tóngzhì. | 他是张同志。 | She is comrade Zhāng.
5. | A: | Něige rén shì Méi tóngzhì? | 哪个人是Méi同志？ | Which person is comrade Méi?
| B: | Nèige rén shì Méi tóngzhì. | 那个人是Méi同志。 | That person is comrade Méi.
6. | A: | Něiwei shì Gāo tóngzhì? | 哪位是局同志。 | Which one is comrade Gāo?
| B: | Nèiwèi shì Gāo tóngzhì. | 那位是局同志。 | That one is comrade Gāo.
7.[a] | A: | Nǐ zhù zai zheìge fàndiàn ma? | 你住在这个饭店吗？ | Are you staying at this hotel?
| B: | Bù, wǒ bú zhù zai zheìge fàndiàn. | 不，我不住在这个饭店。 | No, I"m staying at this hotel.
8. | A: | Jiāng tóngzhì! nín zǎo. | 蒋同志！您早。 | Comrade Jiāng! Good morning.
| B: | Zǎo. Nuòwǎkè Nǔshì! nín hǎo. | 早。Nuòwǎkè 女士！您好。 | Good morning, Miss Novak! How are you?
| A: | Wǒ hěn hǎo. | 我很好 | I'm very well.
9. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ shì Měiguo nǎrde rén? | 请问，你是美国哪儿人？ | May I ask, where are you from in America?
| B: | Wǒ shì Jiāzhōu Jiùjīnshān rén. | 我是加州旧金山人。 | I'm from San Francisco, California.
[a] This exchange occurs on the C-l tape only.

Vocabulary

fàndiàn | 饭店 | hotel
-ge | 个 | general counter
hěn | 很 | very
Jiùjīnshān | 旧金山 | San Francisco
Mínzú Fàndiàn | 民族饭店 | Nationalities Hotel
něi- | 哪-？ | which
něige? | 哪个 | which?
nèige | 那个 | that
něiwei | 哪位 | which one (person)
nèiwèi | 那位 | that one (person)
nǔshì | 女士 | polite title for a married or unmarried woman) Ms. ; Lady
shì | 是 | yes, that's so.
-wèi | 位 | polite counter for people
zǎo | 早 | good morning
zhèi- | 这- | this
zheìge | 这个 | this
zhèiwèi | 这位 | this one (person)
zhù | 朱 | to stay, to live

Reference Notes

Notes on № 1

1. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ zhù zai nǎr? | 亲吻，你朱在哪儿？ | May I ask, where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. | 握住在北京饭店。 | I'm staying at the Běijīng Hotel.

The verb zhù, "to live," or "to reside," may be used to mean "to stay at" (temporary residence) or "to live in" (permanent residence).

Zhù zài nǎr literally means "live at where." The verb zài, "to be in/at/on," is used here as a preposition "at." It loses its tone in this position in a sentence. (The use of zài as a preposition is treated more fully in Unit 2.)

Fàndiàn has two meanings "restaurant" and "Hotel" (a relatively large hotel with modern facilities).[1] Literally, fànguǎnzi means "rice shop."

Notes on № 2

2. | A: | Nǐ zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn ma? | 你住在民族饭店吗？ | Are you staying at the Nationalities Hotel?
| B: | Shì, wǒ zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. | 是，我住在民族饭店吗。 | Yes, I'm staying at the Nationalities Hotel.

Shì: The usual way to give a short affirmative answer is to repeat the verb used in the question. Some verbs, however, may not be repeated as short answers. Zhù is one such verb. Others not to be used are xìng, "to be surnamed," and jiào, "to be given-named." Many speakers do not repeat the verb zài as a short answer. To give a short "yes" answer to questions containing these verbs, you use shì.

Notes on № 3-7

3. | A: | Nǐ zhù zai něige fàndiàn? | 你住在呢个饭店？ | Which hotel are you staying at?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. | 我住在北京饭店。 | I'm staying ate the Beijing Hotel.
4. | A: | Něiwèi shì Zhāng tóngzhì? | 哪位是张同志？ | Which one is comrade Zhāng?
| B: | Tā shì Zhāng tóngzhì. | 他是张同志。 | She is comrade Zhāng.
5. | A: | Něige rén shì Méi tóngzhì? | 哪个人是Méi同志？ | Which person is comrade Méi?
| B: | Nèige rén shì Méi tóngzhì. | 那个人是Méi同志。 | That person is comrade Méi.
6. | A: | Něiwei shì Gāo tóngzhì? | 哪位是局同志。 | Which one is comrade Gāo?
| B: | Nèiwèi shì Gāo tóngzhì. | 那位是局同志。 | That one is comrade Gāo.
7. | A: | Nǐ zhù zai zheìge fàndiàn ma? | 你住在这个饭店吗？ | Are you staying at this hotel?
| B: | Bù, wǒ bú zhù zai zheìge fàndiàn. | 不，我不住在这个饭店。 | No, I"m staying at this hotel.

Něige is the question word "which." In the compound něiguó, you found the bound word něi-, which was attached to the noun guó. In the phrase něiguó rén, "which person," the bound word něi- is attached to the general counter -ge. (You will learn more about counters in Unit 3_ For now, you nay think of -ge as an ending which turns the bound word něi- into the full word něige.)

Něige rén/něiwèi: To be polite when referring to an adult, you say něiwèi or nèiwèi, using the polite counter for people -wèi rather than the general counter -ge, though -ge is used in many informal situations.

Notice that the noun rén is not used directly after -wèi:

Nèiwèi | Měiguó rén | shì shéi?
Něiwèi |  | zhù zài Mínzú Fàndiàn.

Compare the specifying words "which?" "that," and "this" with the location words you learned in Unit U of ORN:

Specifying words | Location words
něige? (nǎge?) | which | nǎr | where
nèige (nàge) | that | nàr (nèr) | there
zhèige (zhège) | this | zhèr (zhàr) | here

Both question words are in the Low tone, while the other four words are in the Falling tone.

Many people pronounce the words for "which?" "that," and "this" with the usual vowels for "where?" "there," and "here": nǎge? nàge, and zhège.

Bù: A short negative answer is usually formed by bù plus a repetition of the verb used in the question. When a verb, like zhù (zài), cannot be repeated, bù is used as a short answer and is followed by a complete answer. Notice that when used by itself bù is in the Falling ton, but when followed by a Falling-tone syllable bù is in the Rising tone.

Bù, tā xiānzài bú zài zhèr. No, he's not here now.

Notes on № 8

8. | A: | Jiāng tóngzhì! nín zǎo. | 蒋同志！您早。 | Comrade Jiang! Good morning.
| B: | Zǎo. Nuòwǎkè Nǔshì! nín hǎo. | 早。Nuòwǎkè 女士！您好。 | Good morning, Miss Novak! How are you?

Name as greeting: A greeting may consist simply of a person's name: Wáng tóngzhì! "Comrade Wáng!" The name may also be used with a greeting phrase: Wáng tóngzhì! Nín zǎo. "Comrade Wáng! Good morning." --or, in reverse order, Nín zǎo. Wáng tóngzhì! "Good morning. Comrade Wáng!" The name is pronounced as an independent exclamation acknowledging that person's presence and status. It is not de-emphasized like "Comrade Wáng," in the English sentence 11 Good morning, Comrade Wáng."

Nín zǎo means "good morning" --literally, "you are early." You may also say either nǐ zǎo or simply zǎo.

Nǚshì, "Ms.," is a formal, respectful title for a married or unmarried woman. It is used after a woman's own surname, not her husband's. Traditionally, this title was used for older, educated, and accomplished women.

In the PRC, where people use tóngzhì, "Comrade," in general only foreign women are referred to and addressed as (so-and-so) nǚshì. On Taiwan, however, any woman may be called (so-and-so) nǚshì in a formal context, such as a speech or an invitation.

Nín hǎo: This greeting may be said either with or without a question marker, just as in English we say "How are you?" as a question or "How are you?" as a simple greeting.

Nǐ hǎo ma? How are you?

Nǐ hǎo. How are you.

Also Just as in English, you may respond to the greeting by repeating it rather than giving an answer.

Lǐ tóngzhì! Nín hǎo. Comrade Lǐ! How are you.

Nín hǎo. Gāo tóngzhì! How are you. Comrade Gāo!

Literally, hěn means "very." The word often accompanies adjectival verbs (like hǎo, "to be good"), adding little to their meaning. (See also Module 3, Unit 3.)

How to identify yourself: You have now learned several ways to introduce yourself. One simple, direct way is to extend your hand and state your name in Chinese –- for instance, Mǎ Mínglǐ. Here are some other ways:

Wǒ shì Mǎ Mínglǐ. | I'm Mǎ Mínglǐ.
Wǒ xìng Mǎ. | My surname is Mǎ.
Wǒ xìng Mǎ, jiào Mǎ Mínglǐ. | My surname is Mǎ; I'm called Mǎ Mínglǐ.
Wǒde Zhōngguó míngzi jiào Mǎ Mínglǐ. | My Chinese name is Mǎ Mínglǐ.

Notes on № 9

9. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ shì Měiguo nǎrde rén? | 请问，你是美国哪儿人？ | May I ask, where are you from in America?
| B: | Wǒ shì Jiāzhōu Jiùjīnshān rén. | 我是加州旧金山人。 | I'm from San Francisco, California.

Order of place names: Notice that Jiāzhōu Jiùjīnshān is literally "California, San Francisco." In Chinese, the larger unit cones before the smaller. Similarly, in the question Nǐ shì Měiguó nǎrde rén? the name of the country comes before the question word nǎr, which is asking for a more detailed location. The larger unit is usually repeated in the answer:

Nǐ shì | Shāndōng | nǎr | -de | rén?
Wǒ shì | Shāndōng | Qīngdǎo |  | rén.

Literally, Jiùjīnshān means "Old Gold Mountain." The Chinese gave this name to San Francisco during the Gold Rush days.

Drills

Response drill

Table 1.1. Response according to the clue

| Question | Clue | Answer
1. | 他/他住在哪儿？ Tā zhù zai nǎr? Where is he/she staying? | 北京饭店 Běijīng Fàndiàn the Běijīng Hotel | 他/她住在北京饭店。 Tā zhù zai Běijìng Fàndiàn. He/she is staying at the Běijīng Hotel.
2. | 你爱人住在哪儿？ Nǐ àiren zhù zai nǎr? Where is your spouse staying? | 民族饭店 Mínzú Fàndiàn the Nationalities Hotel | 他/她住在民族饭店。 Tā zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. He/she is staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
3. | 李同志住在哪儿？ Lǐ Tóngzhì zhù zai nǎr? Where is comrade Lǐ staying? | 这个饭店 zhèige fàndiàn this hotel | 他/她住在这个饭店。 Tā zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. He/she is staying at this hotel.
4. | 方同志住在哪儿？ Fāng Tóngzhì zhù zai nǎr? Where is comrade Fāng staying? | 那个饭店 nèige fàndiàn that hotel | 他/她住在那个饭店。 Tā zhù zai nèige fàndiàn. He/she is staying at that hotel.
5. | 陈同志住在哪儿？ Chén Tóngzhì zhù zai nǎr? Where is comrade Chén staying? | 北京饭店 Běijīng Fàndiàn the Běijīng Hotel | 他/她住在北京饭店。 Ta zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. He/she is staying at the Běijīng Hotel.
6. | 林同志住在哪儿？ Lín Tóngzhì zhù zai nǎr? Where is comrade Lín staying? | 民族饭店 Mínzú Fàndiàn the Nationalities Hotel | 他/她住在民族饭店。 Tā zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. He/she is staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
7. | 黄同志住在哪儿？ Huáng Tóngzhì zhù zai nǎr? Where is comrade Huáng staying? | 这个饭店 zhèige fàndiàn this hotel | 他/她住在这个饭店。 Tā zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. He/she is staying at this hotel.

Response drill

Table 1.2. Give affirmative response to all questions.

| Question | Answer
1. | 局女士住在民族饭店吗？ Gāo Nǚshì zhù zai Mínzú fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Gāo staying at the Nationalities Hotel? | 是，她住在民族饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn, >Yes, she is staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
2. | 张女士住在北京饭店吗？ Zhāng Nǚshì zhù zai Běijìng Fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Zhāng staying at the Beǐjīng Hotel? | 是，她住在北京饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. Yes, she is staying at the Beǐjīng Hotel.
3. | 江女士住在这个饭店吗？ Jiāng Nǚshì zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Jiāng staying at this hotel? | 是，她住在这个饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. Yes, she is staying at this hotel.
4. | 黄女士住在那个饭店吗？ Huāng Nǚshì zhù zai nèige fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Huāng staying at that hotel? | 是，她住在那个饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai nèige fàndiàn. >Yes, she is staying at that hotel.
5. | 王女士住在北京饭店吗？ Wáng Nǚshì zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn ma? >Is Mrs. Wáng staying at the Beǐjīng Hotel? | 是，她住在北京饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai Beǐjīng fàndiàn. Yes, she is staying at the Beǐjīng Hotel.
6. | 林女士住在民族饭店吗？ Lín Nǚshì zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Lín staying at the Nationalities Hotel? | 是，她住在民族饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn, Yes, she is staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
7. | 毛女士住在这个饭店吗？ Máo Nǚshì zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn ma? Is Mrs. Máo staying at this hotel? | 是，她住在这个饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. Yes, she is staying at this hotel.

Response drill

Table 1.3. Give affirmative response to all questions.

| Question | Answer
1. | 蒋先生住在这个饭店吗？ Jiāng Xiānsheng zhù zai zhège fàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Jiāng staying at this hotel? | 不是，他不住在这个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai zhège fàndiàn. No, he is not staying at this hotel.
2. | 马先生住在那个饭店吗？ Mǎ Xiānsheng zhù zai nàge fàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Mǎ staying at that hotel? | 不是，他不住在那个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai nàge fàndiàn. No, he is not staying at that hotel.
3. | 李先生住在国宾大饭店吗？ Lǐ Xiānsheng zhù zai Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Lǐ staying at the Ambassador Hotel? | 不是，他不住在国宾大饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn. No, he is not staying at the Ambassador Hotel.
4. | 赵先生住在員山大饭店吗？ Zhào Xiānsheng zhù zai Yuánshān Dàfàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Zhào staying at the Yuánshān hotel? | 不是，他不住在員山大饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai Yuánshān Dàfàndiàn. No, he is not staying at the Yuánshān hotel.
5. | 刘先生住在員山大饭店吗？ Liú Xiānsheng zhù zai Yuánshān Dàfàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Liú staying at the Yuánshān hotel? | 不是，他不住在員山大饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai Yánshān Dàfàndiàn. No, he is not staying at the Yuánshān hotel.
6. | 唐先生住在那个饭店吗？ Táng Xiānsheng zhù zai nàge fàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Táng staying at that hotel? | 不是，他不住在那个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai nàge fàndiàn. No, he is not staying at that hotel.
7. | 宋先生住在这个饭店吗？ Sòng Xiānsheng zhù zai zhège fàndiàn ma? Is Mr. Sòng staying at this hotel. | 不是，他不住在这个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai zhège fàndiàn. No, he is not staying at this hotel.

Response drill

Table 1.4. Give affirmative response to all questions.

| Question | Clue | Answer
1. | 唐同志在这个饭店吗？ Táng Tóngzhì zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn ma? Is comrade Táng staying at this hotel? | 这个饭店 zhèige fàndiàn this hotel | 是，他/她住在这个饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. Yes, he/she is staying at this hotel.
2. | 马同志住在那个饭店吗？ Mǎ Tóngzhì zhù zai nèige fàndiàn ma? Is comrade Mǎ staying at that hotel? | 这个饭店 zhèige fàndiàn this hotel | 不是，他/她不住在那个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai nèige fàndiàn. No, he/she is not staying at that hotel.
3. | 李同志住在北京饭店吗？ Lǐ Tóngzhì zhù zai Běijīng fàndiàn ma? Is comrade Lǐ staying at the Běijīng Hotel? | 北京饭店 Běijīng Fàndiàn Běijīng Hotel | 是，他/她住在北京饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. Yes, he/she is staying at the Běijīng Hotel.
4. | 赵同志住在民族饭店吗？ Zhào Tóngzhì zhù zai Mínzǔ fàndiàn ma? Is comrade Zhào staying at the Nationalities Hotel? | 北京饭店 Běijīng Fàndiàn Běijīng Hotel | 不是，他/她不住在民族饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai Mínzú Fàndiàn. No, he/she is not staying at the Nationalities Hotel.
5. | 刘同志住在这个饭店吗？ Liú Tóngzhì zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn ma? Is comrade Liú staying at this hotel? | 那个饭店 nèige fàndiàn that hotel | 不是，他/她不住在这个饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai zhèige fàndiàn. No, he/she is not staying at this hotel.
6. | 蒋同志住在那个饭店? Jiāng Tóngzhì zhù zai nèige fàndiàn ma? Is Jiāng Tóngzhì staying at that hotel? | 那个饭店 nèige fàndiàn that hotel | 是，他/她住在那个饭店。 Shì, tā zhù zai nèige fàndiàn. Yes, he/she is staying at that hotel.
7. | 张同志住在北京饭店吗？ Zhāng Tóngzhì zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn ma? Is Zhāng Tóngzhì staying at the Běijīng Hotel? | 民族饭店 Mínzǔ Fàndiàn Nationalities Hotel | 不是，他/她不住在北京饭店。 Bú shi, tā bú zhù zai Běijīng Fàndiàn. No, he/she is not staying at the Běijīng Hotel.

[1] Another word for "restaurant" is fànguǎnzi. The general word for "hotel" is lǚguǎn.

Unit 2

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Where people are staying (houses).

Where people are working.

Addresses.

The marker de

The marker ba,

The prepositional verb zài

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes9 the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The 2D-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn. | 我住在国宾大饭店： | I'm staying at the Ambassador Hotel.
2. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài zhèli. | 我住在这理。 | I'm staying here.
| A: | Tā ne? | 他呢？ | How about him?
| B: | Tā zhù　zài nàli. | 他住在那理。 | He is staying there.
3. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài péngyou jiā. | 我住在朋友家。 | I'm staying at a friend's home.
4. | A: | Nǐ péngyou jiā zài náli? | 你朋友家在哪理？ | Where is your friend's house?
| B: | Tā jiā zài Dàlǐ Jiē. | 他家在大力街。 | His house is on Dàlǐ Street.
5. | A: | Nǐ péngyoude dìzhǐ shì ...? | 你朋友的地质是。。。？ | What is your friend's address?
| B: | Tā　de dìzhǐ shì jiē Sìshièrhào. | 他的地质是大力街四十二号。 | His address is № 42 Dàlǐ Street.
6.[a] | A: | Nǐ shì Wèi Shàoxiào ba? | 你是Wèi少校吧？ | You are Major Weiss, aren't you?
| B: | Shìde. | 是的。 | Yes.
7.[b] | A: | Nà shì Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn ba? | 那是国宾大饭店吧？ | That is Ambassador Hotel, isn't it?
| B: | Shìde. | 是的。 | Yes.
8. | A: | Nǐ péngyou xiànzài zài náli gōngzuò? | 你朋友现在在哪里工作？ | Where does your friend work now?
| B: | Tā zài Táinán gōngzuò. | 他在台南工作。 | He works in Táinán.
9.[c] | A: | Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? | 你在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài Wǔguānchù gōngzuò. | 我在武官处工作。 | I work at the Defense Attache's Office.
10.[d] | A: | Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? | 你在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài yínháng gōngzuò. | 我在银行工作。 | I work at a bank.
11.[e] | A: | Nǐ péngyou zài Táiběi gōngzuò ma? | 你朋友在台北工作吗？ | Does your friend work in Taipei?
| B: | Tā bú zài Táiběi gōngzuò. Tā zài Táizhōng gōngzuò. | 他不在台北工作。他在台中工作。 | He doesn't work in Taipei; he works in Taichung.

[a] This exchange occurs on the C-1 tape only

[b] This exchange occurs on the P-1 tape only

[c] This exchange occurs on the C-1 tape only

[d] This exchange occurs on the P-1 tape only

[e] This exchange occurs on the C-1 tape only

Vocabulary

ba | 吧 | question marker expressing supposition of what answer will be
dàfàndiàn | 大饭店 | hotel
-de | 的 | possessive marker
dìzhǐ | 地址 | address
gōngzuò | 工作 | to work
Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn | 国宾大饭店 | Ambassador Hotel
-hào | —号 | number (in address)
jiā | 家 | home, house
jiē | 街 | street
lù | 路 | road
nà- | 那— | that
nàge | 那 | that (one)
náli | 哪里 | where
nàli | 那里 | there
péngyou | 朋友 | friend
shàoxiào | 少校 | major( military title)
Shìde | 是的 | Yes, that's so.
Wǔguānchù | 武官处 | defense attache office
yínháng | 银行 | bank
zài | 在 | to be in/at/on (prepositional verb)
zhè- | 这 | this
zhège | 这个 | this (one)
zhèli | 这里 | here
Dìyī Dàfàndiàn | 第一大饭店 | First Hotel
Měiguó Guójì Jiāoliú Zǒngshǔ | 美国国际Jiāoliú Zǒngshǔ | U.S. International Communications Agency
Měiguó Yínháng | 美国银行 | Bank of America
Táiwān Yínháng | 台湾银行 | Bank of Taiwan
Yóuzhèngjǘ | 邮政局 | post office

Reference Notes

Notes on №1-2

1. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn. | 我住在国宾大饭店： | I'm staying at the Ambassador Hotel.
2. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài zhèli. | 我住在这理。 | I'm staying here.
| A: | Tā ne? | 他呢？ | How about him?
| B: | Tā zhù　zài nàli. | 他住在那理。 | He is staying there.

The word guóbǐn actually refers to any official state guest, not just an ambassador. (The word for "ambassador" is dàshǐ) The translation "Ambassador Hotel" has been used for years by that hotel and, although inaccurate, has been retained in this text.

Dàfàndiàn means "great hotel" or "grand hotel." It is commonly used in the names of Taiwan and Hong Kong hotels.

Náli, nàli, and zhèli are common variants of nǎr, nàr, and zhèr in non-Peking dialects of Standard Chinese. The forms with r are Peking dialect forms.

Compare:

Peking | Other |
nǎr | náli | where
nàr | nàli | there
zhèr | zhèli | here

Notice the difference in tone "between nǎr and náli. This is because -li has a basic Low tone, and the first of two adjoining Low-tone syllables changes to a Rising tone: nǎ + -lǐ = náli.

Notes on №3-4

3. | A: | Nǐ zhù zài náli? | 你住在哪理？ | Where are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù zài péngyou jiā. | 我住在朋友家。 | I'm staying at a friend's home.
4. | A: | Nǐ péngyou jiā zài náli? | 你朋友家在哪理？ | Where is your friend's house?
| B: | Tā jiā zài Dàlǐ Jiē. | 他家在大力街。 | His house is on Dàlǐ Street.

The possessive relationships in péngyou jiā, "friend's house," nǐ péngyou jiā, "your friend’s house," and tā jiā, "his house," are unmarked, while the English must include -'s or the possessive form of the pronoun ("your," "his".) In Chinese, possessive relationships may be expressed by simply putting the possessor in front of the possessed when the relationship between the two is particularly close, like the relationship between a person and his home, family, or friends.

Notes on №5

5. | A: | Nǐ péngyoude dìzhǐ shì ...? | 你朋友的地质是。。。？ | What is your friend's address?
| B: | Tā　de dìzhǐ shì jiē Sìshièrhào. | 他的地质是大力街四十二号。 | His address is № 42 Dàlǐ street.

Péngyoude dìzhǐ: "The marker -de in this phrase is Just like the English possessive ending -'s. With the exception of close relationships, this is the usual way to form the possessive in Chinese.

nǐ péngyǒu | -de | dìzhǐ
your friend | 's | address

Unlike the English -'s ending, -de is also added to pronouns.

wǒde | my
nǐde | your
tāde | his/her

You are learning possessive phrases in which the marker -de is used (tāde dìzhǐ) and some possessive phrases which do not contain -de (nǐ péngyou jiā). There are certain reasons for the inclusion or omission of -de. If a close relationship exists between the possessor and the possessed, the marker -de might not be used. If a phrase is long and complex, as Lǐ Xiānsheng péngyoude tàitai , the marker -de is used to separate the possessor from the possessed.

short or simple | long or complex
nǐ | jiā | Hú Měilíng | -de lǎojiā
wǒ | péngyou | nǐ péngyou | -de dìzhǐ
|  | Lǐ Xiānsheng péngyou | -de tàitai

But these are not hard and fast rules. The use or omission of -de is not determined solely by the number of syllables in a phrase or by the closeness between the possessor and the possessed, although both of these considerations do play a Mg part in the decision.

While some common nouns are usually used without -de "before them, most nouns are more likely to be preceded by -de, and many even require it. Dìzhǐ, "address," is the only noun you have learned which REQUIRES the possessive marker -de added to the possessor. But other nouns such as jiā are not always preceded by -de. This is also the case with nouns indicating personal relationships, like fùmǔ, "father," and tàitai "wife." Péngyou, "friend,"xuésheng," student and lǎoshī "student are commonly used without -de, but may also be used with the marker.

You might expect the question Nǐ péngyoude dìzhǐ...? to "be completed with a word such as shénme?, what. However, the incomplete form given in this exchange, with the voice trailing off, inviting completion, is also commonly used.

Addresses: The order in which addresses are given in Chinese is the reverse of that used in English. In Chinese, the order is from the general to the specific: country, province or state, city, street name, street number.

-hào: A street number is always given with the bound word -hào, "number," after it. [2]

Notes on №6-7

6. | A: | Nǐ shì Wèi Shàoxiào ba? | 你是Wèi少校吧？ | You are Major Weiss, aren't you?
| B: | Shìde. | 是的。 | Yes.
7. | A: | Nà shì Guóbīn Dàfàndiàn ba? | 那是国宾大饭店吧？ | That is Ambassador Hotel, isn't it?
| B: | Shìde. | 是的。 | Yes.

Ba is a marker for a question which expresses the speaker's supposition as to what the answer will be. It is the type of question which asks for a confirmation from the listener.

There are three ways to translate the two questions in exchanges 6 and 7 into English:

Nǐ shi Wèi Shàoxiào ba? | Aren't you Major Weiss? You are Major Weiss, aren't you? You must be Major Weiss.
Nǐ shi Guóbǐn Dàfàndiàn ba? | Isn't that the Ambassador Hotel? That is the Ambassador Hotel, isn't it? That must be the Ambassador Hotel.

Each translation reflects a different degree of certainty on the part of the speaker. (While the differences in certainty are expressed in English by variation in wording, they can be expressed in Chinese by intonation.) You will probably find that the "isn’t it", "aren't you" translation fits most situations.

The short answer shìde is an expanded form of the short answer shì, with the same meaning: "Yes, that's so." Shìde is also the word used for the "yes" in the military "Yes, sir."

Nà(nèi): In the subject position, nà (nèi), "that," and zhè (zhèi), "this," may be used either as free words or as bound words, with -ge following.

Compare:

Nà |  | shì Guóbǐn Dàfàndiàn.
That |  | is the Ambassador Hotel.
Nà | -ge | shì Guóbǐn Dàfàndiàn.
That | one | is the Ambassador Hotel.

However, the question form nǎ- (něi-) is a bound word.

Nǎge (fàndiàn) shì Guóbǐn Dàfàndiàn? | Which one is the Ambassador Hotel?

Notes on №8-11

8. | A: | Nǐ péngyou xiànzài zài náli gōngzuò? | 你朋友现在在哪里工作？ | Where does your friend work now?
| B: | Tā zài Táinán gōngzuò. | 他在台南工作。 | He works in Táinán.
9. | A: | Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? | 你在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài Wǔguānchù gōngzuò. | 我在武官处工作。 | I work at the Defense Attache's Office.
10. | A: | Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? | 你在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài yínháng gōngzuò. | 我在银行工作。 | I work at a bank.
11. | A: | Nǐ péngyou zài Táiběi gōngzuò ma? | 你朋友在台北工作吗？ | Does your friend work in Taipei?
| B: | Tā bú zài Táiběi gōngzuò. Tā zài Táizhōng gōngzuò. | 他不在台北工作。他在台中工作。 | He doesn't work in Taipei; he works in Taichung.

Wǔguānchù, "defense attache’s office," literally means "military attache's office."

Zài gōngzuò: Compare these two sentences:

Tā | zài | Táinán. |
He | is in | Tainan. |
Tā | zài | Táinán | gōngzuò.
He | in | Tainan | works.

The sentence Tā zài Táinán gōngzuò seems to have two verbs: zài, "to be in/at/on," and gōngzuò," to work." But there is only one verb in the translation: "He works in Tainan." The translation reflects the fact that zài loses its full verb status in this sentence and plays a role like that of the English preposition "in" The zài phrase in Chinese, like the "in" phrase in English, gives more information about the main verb gōngzuò; that is, it tells where the action takes place. "He works," and the work takes place "in Tainan." In sentences like this, the word zài is a prepositional verb. Most relationships expressed by prepositions in English are expressed by prepositional verbs in Chinese.

You have also seen zài used as a prepositional verb in the sentence nǐ zhù zài náli? "Where do you live?" --literally, "You live at where?" Notice that in this sentence the prepositional verb phrase zài náli comes after the main verb zhù. In the sentence Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? the prepositional verb phrase zài náli conies before the main verb gōngzuò. Many things, such as stress, contrast, and other objects in the sentence, can influence the order of the prepositional verb phrase and the main verb.

In some cases, either order may be used, as in Nǐ zài náli zhù? or Nǐ zhù zài náli?. In other cases, the word order is fixed, as in Nǐ zài náli gōngzuò? For text examples, it will be pointed out whether or not the word order may be changed, and the reasons will be given.

Tā bú zài Táiběi gōngzuò, "He doesn't work in Taipei": In this sentence, the negative adverb bù comes before the prepositional verb zài (which starts the complete predicate zài Táiběi gōngzuò, not before the main verb gōngzuò. This makes sense, for you are not saying "He does NOT WORK," but you are saying "He does NOT work IN TAIPEI."

Tā |  |  | gōngzuò.
Tā | bù |  | gōngzuò.
Tā |  | zài Táiběi | gōngzuò.
Tā | bù | zài Táiběi | gōngzuò.

Drills

[2] The word dì- is sometimes translated "number," as in dìyī, "number one" (See resource module on Numbers, tape 4.)

Unit 3

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Members of a family.

The plural ending -men.

The question word jǐ- "how many."

The adverb dōu "all."

Several ways to express "and."

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The 3D-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu háizi ma? | 你们有孩子吗？ | Do you have children?
| B: | Yǒu, wǒmen yǒu. | 有，我们有。 | Yes, we have.
2. | B: | Liú xiānsheng yǒu Měiguó péngyou ma? | 刘先生有美国朋友吗？ | Does Mr Liú have any American friends?
| B: | Tā meíyǒu Měiguó péngyou. | 他没有美国朋友。 | He doesn't have any American friends.
| A: | Tā yǒu Yīngguó péngyou. | 他有英国朋友。 | He has English friends. (or an English friend)
3. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu jǐge háizi? | 你们有几个孩子？ | How many children do you have?
| B: | Wǒmen yǒu sānge háizi. | 我们有三个孩子。 | We have three children.
4. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu jǐge nánháizi, jǐge nǚháizi? | 你们有几个男孩子，几个女孩子？ | How many boys and how many girls do you have?
| B: | Wǒmen yǒu liǎngge nánháizi, yīge nǚháizi. | 我们有两个男孩子，一个女孩子。 | We have two boys and one girl.
5. | B: | Shì nánháizi, shì nǚháizi? | 是男孩子，是女孩子？ | Are they boys or girls?
| A: | Tāmen dōu shì nǚháizi. | 他们都是女孩子。 | All of them are girls.
6. | B: | Hú xiānsheng, tàitai ne? tāmen yǒu jǐge háizi? | 胡先生，太太呢？他们有几个孩子？ | How about Mr. and Mrs. Hú? How many children do they have?
| A: | Tāmen yǒu liǎngge háizi. | 他们有两个孩子。 | They have two children.
| B: | Shì nánháizi, shì nǚháizi? | 是男孩子，是女孩子？ | Are they boys or girls?
| A: | Dōu shì nǚháizi. | 都是女孩子。 | Both of them are girls.
7. | A: | Nǐmen háizi dōu zài zhèli ma? | 你们孩子都在这里吗？ | Are all your children here?
| B: | Bù, liǎngge zài zhèli, yíge hái zài Měiguó. | 不，两个在这里，一个还在美国。 | No. Two are here, and one is still in America.
8. | A: | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are (there) in your family?
| B: | Yǒu wǒ tàitai gēn sānge háizi. | 有我太太跟三个孩子。 | There's my wife and three children.
9. | B: | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are (there) in your family?
| A: | Jiù (yǒu) wǒ fùqin, mǔqin. | 就（有）我父亲，母亲。 | Just my father and mother.

Vocabulary

zhǐ | 只 | only
dìdi | 弟弟 | younger brother
gēge | 哥哥 | older brother
jiějie | 姐姐 | older sister
mèimei | 妹妹 | younger sister
xiōngdì | 兄弟 | brothers
jiěmèi | 姐妹 | sisters
xiōngdì jiěmèi | 兄弟姐妹 | brothers and sisters
fùmǔ | 父母 | parents
zǔfù | 祖父 | paternal grandfather
zǔmǔ | 祖母 | paternal grandmother
wàizǔfù | 外祖父 | maternal grandfather
wàizǔmǔ | 外祖母 | maternal grandmother
bàba | 爸爸 | papa, dad, father
māma | 吗吗 | momma, mom, mother
bàba | 爸爸 | papa, dad, father
dìdi | 弟弟 | younger brother
dōu | 都 | all, both
fùmǔ | 父母 | parents
fùqin | 父亲 | father
gēge | 哥哥 | older brother
gēn | 跟 | and, with, and (in addition to)
hái | 还 | still, yet
háizi | 孩子 | children, child
jǐ- | 几－ | how many
jiāli | 家里 | family
jiějie | 姐姐 | older sister
jiěmèi | 姐妹 | sisters
jǐge | 几个 | how many
jiù | 就 | only, just
liǎng- | 两 | two
māma | 妈妈 | momma, mom, mother
méi | 没 | not, not to have
mèimei | 妹妹 | younger sister
mèiyou | 没有 | not to have, there is not
-men | 们 | plural suffix
mǔqin | 母亲 | mother
nán- | 男－ | male
nánháizi | 男孩子 | boy
nǐmen | 你们 | you (plural)
nǚ- | 奴－ | female
nǚháizi | 奴孩子 | girl
tāmen | 他们 | they, them
wàizǔfù | 外祖父 | maternal grandfather
wàizǔmǔ | 外祖母 | maternal grandmother
wǒmen | 我们 | we, us
xiōngdì | 兄弟 | brothers
xiōngdì jiěmèi | 兄弟姐妹 | brothers and sisters
yǒu | 有 | to have, there is
zhǐ | 只 | only
zǔfù | 祖父 | paternal grandfather
zǔmǔ | 祖母 | paternal grandmother
yíng le | 赢了 | I('ve) won

Reference Notes

Notes on №1

1. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu háizi ma? | 你们有孩子吗？ | Do you have children?
| B: | Yǒu, wǒmen yǒu. | 有，我们有。 | Yes, we have.

The plural pronouns are formed by adding -men to the singular pronouns

singular | plural
wǒ | I | wǒmen | we
nǐ | you | nǐmen | you
tā | he/she | tāmen | they

(You have already seen these pronoun forms used as possessives: "my," "our," etc. Later you will find that they are also used as objects: "me," "us," etc.)

Háizi: Chinese nouns have the same form for singular and plural.

Háizi may be either "child" or "children."[3]Usually the context will make clear whether a noun should be translated as singular or as plural, but not always. Chinese does not require that the matter be pinned down to the same extent that English does.

Wǒmen yǒu háizi is a perfectly good sentence, even though the only accurate translation is the clumsy "We have one or more children." We would prefer to have enough information to translate it either as "We have a child" or as "We have children."

At times this ambiguity is an advantage. When you ask Nǐmen yǒu háizi ma? you do not, after all, know whether you are referring to one child or to more than one child. To cover both bets in the same way in English, we have to say "Do you have any children?"

Notes on №2

2. | B: | Liú xiānsheng yǒu Měiguó péngyou ma? | 刘先生有美国朋友吗？ | Does Mr Liú have any American friends?
| B: | Tā meíyǒu Měiguó péngyou. | 他没有美国朋友。 | He doesn't have any American friends.
| A: | Tā yǒu Yīngguó péngyou. | 他有英国朋友。 | He has English friends. (or an English friend)

Méiyou: All the verbs discussed so far form the negative with bù, with the single exception of yǒu, "to have," which has the irregular negative form méiyou.

Notes on №3-4

3. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu jǐge háizi? | 你们有几个孩子？ | How many children do you have?
| B: | Wǒmen yǒu sānge háizi. | 我们有三个孩子。 | We have three children.
4. | A: | Nǐmen yǒu jǐge nánháizi, jǐge nǚháizi? | 你们有几个男孩子，几个女孩子？ | How many boys and how many girls do you have?
| B: | Wǒmen yǒu liǎngge nánháizi, yīge nǚháizi. | 我们有两个男孩子，一个女孩子。 | We have two boys and one girl.

In Peking speech, jǐ-, "how many," is usually used only when the number expected in an answer is about 10 or less. In many other parts of China, speakers use jl- no matter how large a number is expected in the answer.

Counters: In Chinese, a noun cannot be counted or specified (i.e., used with něi- "which," nèi-, "that," zhèi-, "this") without the addition of a bound word, a counter, to indicate the sort of thing being specified or counted. English has a few such counters, as "head" in "how many head of cattle" and "loaves" in " seven loaves of bread."

The counter used in a particular instance depends on the noun "being specified or counted. Many nouns have special counters. You have already learned the polite counter for persons, -wèi. Other special counters refer in some way to the kind of thing the noun represents. The word for "hotel," for instance, has a special counter -jiā, "house," used for counting or specifying business establishments.

The general counter -ge is used with nouns that do not have special counters. For example, there is no special counter for the word pùbù, "waterfall," so you would say yíge pùbù, "one waterfall." You have already found the general counter -ge in specifying expressions such as něige háizi, "which child," and zhèige fàndiàn,"this hotel."

You may find that, in colloquial speech, nouns that have special counters are sometimes used with -ge anyway, but this tendency is looked down upon by many speakers.

Here are the numbers 1 through 10 with the counter -ge:

yíge liǎngge sānge sìge wǔge liùge qíge báge jiǔge shíge

The number 2 has a special form before a counter: liǎng-. Notice that the words for 1, 2, and 8 have Rising tones before -ge, because -ge is basically a Falling-tone syllable. (See also Unit 5, notes on No. 9 and No. 10.)

Nán- nǚ-: The "bound words nán- "male," and nǚ-, "female," are often used in compounds; for example, nánpéngyou, "boyfriend," and nǚtóngzhì "(woman) Comrade."

"And": In Chinese, a word for "and" is not needed between parallel phrases like liǎngge nánháizi, yíge nǚháizi "two boys, (and) one girl."

A pause is usual between the two phrases, but even the pause is sometimes omitted.

Notes on №5-7

5. | B: | Shì nánháizi, shì nǚháizi? | 是男孩子，是女孩子？ | Are they boys or girls?
| A: | Tāmen dōu shì nǚháizi. | 他们都是女孩子。 | All of them are girls.
6. | B: | Hú xiānsheng, tàitai ne? tāmen yǒu jǐge háizi? | 胡先生，太太呢？他们有几个孩子？ | How about Mr. and Mrs. Hú? How many children do they have?
| A: | Tāmen yǒu liǎngge háizi. | 他们有两个孩子。 | They have two children.
| B: | Shì nánháizi, shì nǚháizi? | 是男孩子，是女孩子？ | Are they boys or girls?
| A: | Dōu shì nǚháizi. | 都是女孩子。 | Both of them are girls.
7. | A: | Nǐmen háizi dōu zài zhèli ma? | 你们孩子都在这里吗？ | Are all your children here?
| B: | Bù, liǎngge zài zhèli, yíge hái zài Měiguó. | 不，两个在这里，一个还在美国。 | No. Two are here, and one is still in America.

Shi nánháizi, shi nǚháizi? In Chinese, an "or" question (i.e., a question asking which of two alternatives is true) may be asked simply by stating the two alternatives with a pause between. In this kind of question, the verb must appear in each alternative. (You will learn other ways of making "or" questions in later modules.)

Dōu may usually be translated in a sentence as "all (of)," or, if it refers to only two things, as both (of)." Literally, dōu means "in all cases," "uniformly," "entirely," "completely." Since it is an adverb), it must be placed after the subject of a sentence and before the verb (like the adverb yě, "also".)

Notes on №8-9

8. | A: | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are (there) in your family?
| B: | Yǒu wǒ tàitai gēn sānge háizi. | 有我太太跟三个孩子。 | There's my wife and three children.
9. | B: | Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? | 你家里有什么人？ | What people are (there) in your family?
| A: | Jiù yǒu wǒ fùqin, mǔqin. | 就有我父亲，母亲。 | Just my father and mother.

Literally, the phrase nǐ jiāli means "in your home" (jiā, "home"; -li, "in"）. In this sentence it is extended to mean "the people in your home, " that is, "your family."

Nǐ jiāli - yǒu - shénme rén? Phrase by phrase, this question is: "In your family - there are - what people?,’ The word "family" can be taken to mean either all your relatives or only those living in your household.

By itself, the verb yǒu means "to "be," "to exist." You have now seen it translated two ways:

as "have," with a personal subject: Wǒmen yǒu sānge háizi . "We have three children."

as "there is/are," in the so-called impersonal construction: Nǐ jiāli yǒu shénme rén? "What people are (there) in your family?"

In exchange 8, the verb yǒu in the answer is translated as "there's." Some English speakers may find this translation too colloquial. The answer can also be translated Just by listing the family members, with no verb in the English, as was done in exchange 9« Chinese almost always keeps the verb in the answer to a question, while English tends to leave it out.

How to say "and": Chinese has several words for "and." Gēn is the word for "and" when joining nouns or noun phrases. Yě is the word for "and" when Joining verbs, verb phrases, or whole sentences:

Example 1.1. Example:

Wǒ bú xìng Lǐ, yě bú xìng Lǔ. Wǒ xìng Lǚ.

I'm not surnamed Lǐ and I'm not surnamed Lǔ. I'm surnamed Lǚ.

Chinese tends to use a word for "and" when the noun phrases being Joined are not parallel and not to use one when the phrases are parallel:

Not parallel
Yǒu | wǒ tàitai Possessor noun | gēn | sānge háizi. number noun | There's my wife and 3 children.
Parallel
Yǒu | liǎngge nánháizi number noun | , | yíge nǚháizi. number noun | There are 2 boys and one girl.

While "and" is often omitted in Chinese, it may be added for emphasis between nouns and between noun phrases just as in English.

Jiù, "only," "Just," is an advert (like yě and dōu. The use of jiù to mean "only" is probably mostly confined to the Peking dialect.[4] Speakers from other parts of the country will not necessarily use jiù to mean "only" or understand it as such. A more widely used and understood word for "only" is zhǐ. Thus the answer in exchange 9 could also be: Zhǐ yǒu wǒ fùqin, mǔqin.

Notes on additional vocabulary

Chinese is much more precise than English in its terms for family members. There is not Just one word for "brother," or "sister" but words for "older brother," "younger brother," "older sister," and "younger sister."

| older | younger |  |
brother | gēge | dìdi | brothers | xiōngdì
sister | jiějie | mèimei | sisters | jiěmèi

When referring to both older and younger sisters, the term jiěmèi is used. When referring to both older and younger brothers, the term xiōngdì is used. When referring to sisters and brothers, the phrase xiōngdì jiěmèi is used.

Chinese also distinguishes between grandparents on the father's side of the family and grandparents on the mother's side:

| father's side | mother's side
grandfather | zǔfù | wàizǔfù
grandmother | zǔmǔ | wàizǔmǔ

The syllable wài- in wàizǔfù and wàizǔmǔ literally means "outer" or "outside."

Drills

[3] A few nouns referring to people may be made explicitly plural by adding -men . Háizimen can only be ''children"

[4] Jiù has several other meanings, which will be presented to you as you continue through this course.

Unit 4

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Arrival and departure times,

The marker le

The shì … de construction.

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes» the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes» the Workbook.

The UD-1 tape.

References

Reference List

in Běijīng

1. | A: | Nǐ àiren lái ma? | 你爱人来吗？ | Is your wife coming?
| B: | Tā lái. | 她来。 | She is coming.
2. | A: | Nǐ àiren lái le ma? | 你爱人来了吗？ | Has your wife come?
| B: | Lái le, tā lái le. | 来了，她来了。 | Yes, she has come.
3. | A: | Nǐ àiren yě lái le ma? | 你爱人也来了吗？ | Has your wife come too?
| B: | Tā hái méi lái. | 她还没来。 | She hasn't come yet.
4. | A: | Tā shénme shíhou lái? | 她什么时候来？ | When is she coming?
| B: | Tā míngtiān lái. | 她明天来。 | She is coming tomorrow.
5. | A: | Nǐ péngyou shénme shíhou dào? | 你朋友什么时候到？ | When is your friend arriving?
| B: | Tā yǐjīng dào le. | 他已经到了。 | He has already arrived.
6. | A: | Tā shì shénme shíhou dàode? | 她是什么时候到的？ | When did she arrive?
| B: | Tā shì zuótiān dàode. | 她是昨天到的。 | She arrived Yesterday.
7. | A: | Nǐ shì yíge rén láide ma? | 你是一个人来的吗？ | Did you come alone?
| B: | Bú shì, wǒ bú shì yíge rén láide. | 不是，我不是一个人来的。 | No, I didn't come alone.
8. | A: | Nǐ shénme shíhou zǒu? | 你什么时候走？ | When are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒ jīntiān zǒu. | 我今天走。 | I'm leaving today.
9. | A: | Nǐ něitiān zǒu? | 你哪天走？ | What day are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒ jīntiān zǒu. | 我今天走。 | I'm leaving today.

Vocabulary

hòutiān | 后天 | the day after tomorrow
qiántiān | 前天 | the day before yesterday
tiāntiān | 天天 | every day
érzi | 二字 | son
nǚér | 女儿 | daughter
dào | 到 | to arrive
érzi | 二字 | son
hòutiān (hòutian) | 后天 | the day after tomorrow
jīntiān (jīntian) | 今天 | today
lái | 来 | to come
le | 了 | combined le: new-situation and completion marker
míngtiān (mīngtian) | 明天 | tomorrow
něitiān | 哪天 | what day
nǚér | 女儿 | daughter
qiántiān (qiántian) | 前天 | the day before Yesterday
shénme shíhou | 什么时候 | when
shì de | 十的 | focus construction
-tiān | 天 | day
tiāntiān | 天天 | every day
yíge rén | 一个人 | singly, alone
yǐjīng (yǐjing) | 已经 | already
zǒu | 走 | to leave
zuótiān | 昨天 | Yesterday
jiéhūn | 结婚 | to get married, to be married
méi jiéhūn | 没结婚 | not to be married
kěshi | 可是 | but
xiǎng | 想 | to think, to think that

Reference Notes

Notes on №1

1. | A: | Nǐ àiren lái ma? | 你爱人来吗？ | Is your wife coming?
| B: | Tā lái. | 她来。 | She is coming.

These sentences refer to future time, but lái is not a future-tense form. Strictly speaking, Chinese verbs do not have tenses. The same form of the verb can be used in present, past, and future contexts.

We translated the sentence Tā zài Táinán gōngzuò. as "He works in Tainan" assuming a present context. But in a past context we could translate It as "He worked in Tainan; and in a future context we could translate it as "He will work in Tainan." The verb form gōngzuò does not tell you what time is being talked about. You have to look elsewhere for that information, perhaps to a time expression like "last year" or "now" or "tomorrow," or to the conversational setting.

Notes on №2

2. | A: | Nǐ àiren lái le ma? | 你爱人来了吗？ | Has your wife come?
| B: | Lái le, tā lái le. | 来了，她来了。 | Yes, she has come.

Aspect: Le is an aspect marker. Through the use of and other one-syllable markers (de, zhe, ne, guo), the Chinese language indicates whether the occurrence being talked about is completed, ongoing, about to occur, or experienced for the first time. Aspect markers may also be used to indicate whether the whole situation in the sentence is a new, changed situation.

"Completion" and "new situation" are not tenses but aspects. Aspect is a way of talking about events or activities in relation to time. While tenses categorize action in terms of features such as completeness and change. Aspect markers are very different from tense markers because the same aspect may be used in past, present, and future contexts. We may speak of an action that will be completed as of a future time, for example, or of a situation that was new as of a past time. English communicates these ideas to a certain extent through the use of many different tenses for the verb (future perfect, simple past, etc,). Chinese does this through the use of aspect markers and time words. The verbs themselves do not change form.

Le is used in exchange 2 to indicate two aspects-completion and new situation, (it is, however, often used to indicate only one aspect.)

Here, it indicates that the person has come, meaning that the action is completed, and that the person is now here, a changed situation. When the marker le refers to both these aspects, we call it "combined le." Combined le can be thought of as a telescoping of the completion le followed by a new-situation le: le le becomes le. In the next two units, you will see the marker le used to Indicate each of these aspects separately.

Notes on №3

3. | A: | Nǐ àiren yě lái le ma? | 你爱人也来了吗？ | Has your wife come too?
| B: | Tā hái méi lái. | 她还没来。 | She hasn't come yet.

Negative of combined le: Compare these affirmative and negative forms:

affirmative |  |  | lái |  | is coming.
negative |  | bù | lái |  | isn't coming.

affirmative |  |  | lái | le | has come (now).
negative | hái | méi(you) | lái |  | hasn't come (yet).

Notice that the marker le does not appear in the negative answer in the exchange.

Hái: The negative of a sentence containing combined le_ will include the adverb hái, "yet," as well as the negative méi(you). In English, the "yet" is frequently left out.

Like other adverbs such as yě, hái always precedes the verb, although not always directly. Elements such as the negatives and méi may come between an adverb and a verb,

Méiyou, "not have" is used to negate the aspect of completion; that is, to say that a certain event did not take place. Méiyou may be shortened to méi. Here are three possible negative answers to the question.

Tā lái le ma? "Has he come?"

Tā | hái | méiyou | lái. | He hasn't come yet.
Tā | hái | méi | lái. | He hasn't come yet.
| hái | méiyou. |  | Not yet.

Notes on №4-5

4. | A: | Tā shénme shíhou lái? | 她什么时候来？ | When is she coming?
| B: | Tā míngtiān lái. | 她明天来。 | She is coming tomorrow.
5. | A: | Nǐ péngyou shénme shíhou dào? | 你朋友什么时候到？ | When is your friend arriving?
| B: | Tā yǐjīng dào le. | 他已经到了。 | He has already arrived.

Position of time words: Time phrases occupy the same position in a sentence as adverbs such as yě and hái between the subject and the verb.

Notes on №6-7

6. | A: | Tā shì shénme shíhou dàode? | 她是什么时候到的？ | When did she arrive?
| B: | Tā shì zuótiān dàode. | 她是昨天到的。 | She arrived Yesterday.
7. | A: | Nǐ shì yíge rén láide ma? | 你是一个人来的吗？ | Did you come alone?
| B: | Bú shì, wǒ bú shì yíge rén láide. | 不是，我不是一个人来的。 | No, I didn't come alone.

(shì)...de: [5] This is another way to indicate the aspect of completion. The aspect marker le and the pattern (shì...de) perform different functions and convey different meanings. This is how they are different:

The aspect marker le or its negative méi (you) is used when the center of interest is whether or not an action took place. For example, if you do not know whether Mr. Sun came or not, you would ask:

Tā léile méiyou? | Did he come?

and you would be answered either

Tā láile. | He came.

or

Tā méi lái. | He didn't come.

In this question and answer, you use le or its negative méi(you) because the focus is on whether the action took place or not.

The purpose of the (shì)...de construction, on the other hand, is to focus on additional information about a completed action; that is, the construction is used when the center of interest is NOT whether or not a certain action took place.

For example, once it has been established that Mr. Sun did in fact come, the (shì)...de construction will probably be used for any additional questions and answers about his coming. For example:

Tā shi shénme shíhou láide? | When did he come?
Tā shi zuótiān láide. | He came yesterday.
Tā shi yíge rén láide ma? | Did he come alone?
Tā shi yíge rén láide. | He came alone.

These questions and answers use the (shì)...de construction because you already know that Mr. Sun came and now you are asking for additional information about his visit. Many types of additional information can be focus points for which the (shì)...de construction is used.

In Tā shi shénme shíhou láide? the additional information is the time when something happens.

In Tā shi yíge rén láide ma? the information asked for is the manner in which something takes place.

Other possible focus points are place, cause of action, goal of action, and performer of action.

Now let's take a look at how shì and de function separately in this construction. The verb shì, coming before the phrase which is the center of interest, serves as a signal that what follows is emphasised. The verb "to "be" is often used in a similar way in English to mark the center of interest:

Tā shi zuótiān láide ma? | Was it yesterday that he came?

Another way of showing the center of interest in English is by word stress. Here is a comparison between focusing in Chinese with (shì)...de and focusing in English with stress:

Tā lái le ma? | Has he come?
Lái le. | Yes, he has.
Tā shi zuótiān láide ma? | Did he come YESTERDAY?
Shì, tā shi zuótiān láide. | Yes, YESTERDAY.

The marker de coming after the verb indicates completion. When the marker de is not used in the sentence, that sentence no longer describes a completed event. The marker shì by itself emphasizes something about the action.

Compare these sentences:

Tā shi jīntiān lái. | She is coming (later) today.
Tā shi jīntiān láide. | She came (earlier) today.

For the time being, you will not use shì without de.

The negative form of the (shì)...de construction is bú shi...de . Compare this with the negatives you have already learned:

Tā |  | shi | zuótiān |  | lái | -de | It was YESTERDAY that he came.
Tā | bú |  | zuótiān |  | lái | -de | It wasn't YESTERDAY that he came.

Tā |  |  |  |  | lái | le. | He has come.
Tā |  |  | hái | méi | lái. |  | He hasn't come.

Tā |  |  | míngtiān |  | lái. |  | He is coming tomorrow.
Tā |  |  | míngtiān | bù | lái. |  | He isn't coming tomorrow.

Notice that in a (shì)...de construction the negative bú precedes the verb shì rather than the main verb. Short answers are also formed with shì rather than with the main verb:

Nǐ shi yíge rén láide ma? | Did you come alone?
Shì, wǒ shì yíge rén láide. | Yes, I came alone.
Búshì, wǒ bú shi yíge rén láide. | No, I didn't come alone.

The (shì)...de construction is not used in every completed-action sentence containing a time, place, or manner phrase. If the center of interest is still whether or not the action took place, le is used. If, for example, you knew that someone was expected to come yesterday and you wanted to find out only whether he actually did come, the conversation might go as follows:

A: | Tā zuótiān méi lái ma? | Didn't he COME yesterday?
B: | Tā zuótiān lái le. | He DID COME yesterday.

Literally, yíge rén means "one person." When the expression is used to describe how someone does something, translate it as "alone"

Notes on №8-9

8. | A: | Nǐ shénme shíhou zǒu? | 你什么时候走？ | When are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒ jīntiān zǒu. | 我今天走。 | I'm leaving today.
9. | A: | Nǐ něitiān zǒu? | 你哪天走？ | What day are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒ jīntiān zǒu. | 我今天走。 | I'm leaving today.

The word for "day" is the bound word -tiān. To ask "what day" (literally "which day"), the bound word něi- "which," is combined with the bound word -tiān, "day": něitiān (like něiguó, "which country").

něitiān? | what day?/which day?
qiántiān | day before yesterday
zuótiān | yesterday
jīntiān | today
míngtiān | tomorrow
hòutiān | day after tomorrow

Some speakers say the -tiān in these words in the Neutral tone: qiántian,zuótian, jīntian, míngtian, hòutian.

Drills

Criterion test

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

[5] On occasion, a speaker may omit the shì (which is why it is written in parentheses in these notes).

Unit 5

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Date and Place of birth.

Days of the week.

Ages.

The marker le for new situations.

Material you will need

The C-1 and P-1 tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes.

The 5D-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Andesen Fūren, nǐ shì zài nǎr shēngde? | 安德森夫人，你是在哪儿生的？ | Mrs. Andersen, where were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì zài Dézhōu shēngde. | 我是在得州生的。 | I was born in Texas.
2. | A: | Nǐmen shì Xīngqīsì dàode ma? | 你们是星期四到的吗？ | Did you arrive on Thursday?
| B: | Bú shì, wǒmen shì Xīngqīwǔ dàode. | 不是，我们是星期五到的。 | No, we arrived on Friday.
3. | A: | Nǐmen xīngqījǐ zǒu? | 你们星期几走？ | What day of the week are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒmen Xīngqītiān zǒu. | 我们星期天走。 | We are leaving on Sunday.
4. | A: | Nǐ shì něinián shēngde? | 你是哪年生的？ | What year are you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Yī jiǔ sān jiǔ nián shēngde. | 我是一九三九年生的。 | I was born in 1939.
5. | A: | Nǐ shì jǐyüè shēngde? | 你是几月生的？ | What month were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Qíyüè shēngde. | 我是七月生的。 | I was born in July.
6. | A: | Nǐ shì jǐhào shēngde? | 你是几号生的？ | What day of the month were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Sìhào shēngde. | 我是四号生的。 | I was born on the fourth.
7. | A: | Nǐ duó dà le? | 你多大了？ | How old are you?
| B: | Wǒ èr shi sì le. | 我二十四了。 | I'm 24.
8. | A: | Nǐ duó dà le? | 你多大了？ | How old are you?
| B: | Wǒ sān shi wǔ le. | 我三十五了。 | I'm 35.
9. | A: | Nǐmen nǚháizi jǐsuì le? | 你们女孩子几岁了？ | How old is your girl?
| B: | Tā básuì le. | 她八岁了。 | She's eight years old.
10. | A: | Nǐmen nánháizi dōu jǐsuì le? | 你们男孩子都几岁了？ | How old are your boys?
| B: | Yíge jiǔsuì le, yíge liùsuì le. | 一个九岁了，　一个六岁了。 | One is nine, and one is six.

Vocabulary

duó dà | 多大 | how old
hòunián (hòunian) | 后年 | the year after next
jǐhào | 几号 | what day of the month?
jīnnián (jīnnian) | 今年 | this year
jǐsuì | 几岁 | how old
jǐyüè | 几月 | what month
míngnián (míngnian) | 明年 | next year
něinián | 哪年？ | which year
niánnián (niánnian) | 年年 | every year
qiánnián (qiánnian) | 前年 | the year before last
qǜnián (qǜnian) | 去年 | last year
shàngge yüè | 上个月 | last month
shēng | 生 | to be born
-suì | 岁 | year (of age)
xiàge yüè | 下个月 | next month
Xīngqīèr | 星期二 | Tuesday
xīngqījǐ | 星期几 | what day of the week
Xīngqīliù | 星期六 | Saturday
Xīngqīsān | 星期三 | Wednesday
Xīngqīsì | 星期四 | Thursday
Xīngqītiān | 星期日，星期天 | Sunday
Xīngqīwǔ | 星期五 | Friday
Xīngqīyī | 星期一 | Monday
zheìge yüè | 这个月 | this month

Reference Notes

Notes on №1

1. | A: | Andesen Fūren, nǐ shì zài nǎr shēngde? | 安德森夫人，你是在哪儿生的？ | Mrs. Andersen, where were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì zài Dézhōu shēngde. | 我是在得州生的。 | I was born in Texas.

The shì...de construction is used to focus on place expressions as well as on time and manner expressions.

Wǒ | shi | zài Měiguó | shēng | -de. | I was born in America. WHERE
Wǒ | shi | zuótiān | dào | -de. | I arrived yesterday. WHEN
Wǒ | shi | yíge rén | lái | -de. | I came alone. HOW

Notes on №2-3

2. | A: | Nǐmen shì Xīngqīsì dàode ma? | 你们是星期四到的吗？ | Did you arrive on Thursday?
| B: | Bú shì, wǒmen shì Xīngqīwǔ dàode. | 不是，我们是星期五到的。 | No, we arrived on Friday.
3. | A: | Nǐmen xīngqījǐ zǒu? | 你们星期几走？ | What day of the week are you leaving?
| B: | Wǒmen Xīngqītiān zǒu. | 我们星期天走。 | We are leaving on Sunday.

Days of the week:

xīngqījǐ | What day of the week?
xīngqīyī | Monday
xīngqīèr | Tuesday
xīngqīsàn | Wednesday
xīngqīsì | Thursday
xingqīwǔ | Friday
xīngqīliù | Saturday
xīngqītiān | Sunday

Until now, you have always seen jǐ, "how many," at the beginning of a word (jǐge háizi, jǐwèi xiānsheng, jǐhào). In xīngqījǐ, -jǐ is at the end of the word. In both places, occupies the position of a number and acts like a number: xīngqījǐ, "What number day of the week?"

Notes on №4

4. | A: | Nǐ shì něinián shēngde? | 你是哪年生的？ | What year are you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Yī jiǔ sān jiǔ nián shēngde. | 我是一九三九年生的。 | I was born in 1939.

The word for "year," -nián is a bound word (like the word for "day," -tiān). The question word něinián, "which year," is formed with the bound word něi "which."

The year is given as a sequence of digits, so that 1972, Yījiǔqīèrnián would literally be "one-nine-seven-two year." In a sequence of digits, the word èr- (not liǎng- is used for 2, and the words for 1, T, and 8 keep their basic high tones. (See notes on No. 10 for cases in which these tones change.)

Notes on №5

5. | A: | Nǐ shì jǐyüè shēngde? | 你是几月生的？ | What month were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Qíyüè shēngde. | 我是七月生的。 | I was born in July.

Months:

jǐyüè? | What month? |  |
yíyüè | January | qíyüè | July
èryüè | February | báyüè | August
sānyüè | March | jiǔyüè | September
sìyüè | April | shíyüè | October
wǔyüè | May | shǐyīyüè | November
liùyüè | June | shíèryüè | December

Since the names of the months are formed with numbers, jǐ- "how many," is the appropriate question word to use for "what month." Jǐ- is used in Běijīng to ask for a number expected to be around 10 or 11.

Notice the tones on the words for 1, 7 and 8, which most Peking speakers pronounce as Rising before Falling-tone words such as yüè. The syllable -yī- in the word for "November," however, is usually pronounced with the High tone: shíyīyüè (See the notes on No, 10 for a summary of tone changes.)

Notes on №6

6. | A: | Nǐ shì jǐhào shēngde? | 你是几号生的？ | What day of the month were you born?
| B: | Wǒ shì Sìhào shēngde. | 我是四号生的。 | I was born on the fourth.

Days of the month are expressed by the number of the day followed by the bound word -haò. You will remember that -hào is also used in giving addresses.

In asking about days of the month, "how many," is used, even though the question may be answered by a number as high as 31. The month and day of the month may be given together. For example:

Nǐ shi jǐyüè jǐhào shēngde? | What is your month and day of birth?
Wǒ shi bāyüè jiǔhào shēngde. | I was born on August 9.

Notes on №7-8

7. | A: | Nǐ duó dà le? | 你多大了？ | How old are you?
| B: | Wǒ èr shi sì le. | 我二十四了。 | I'm 24.
8. | A: | Nǐ duó dà le? | 你多大了？ | How old are you?
| B: | Wǒ sān shi wǔ le. | 我三十五了。 | I'm 35.

Nǐ duō dà le? "How old are you?" literally means "How big (in years of age) are you?" This is a common way to ask a person's age. The question is appropriate for asking the age of a child or a young adult, but the expression is not considered polite enough for asking an older adult his age. (More formal ways to ask a person's age will be introduced on the C-2, P-2, and drill tapes.)

The marker le_which ends these sentences calls attention to the fact that something is true now that was not true before.

[Note] | Note

Ages may also be asked and given without using the new-situation le.

Le has only this new-situation meaning in these sentences. It has no meaning of completion, since in fact, there is no completed event.

One way to reflect the new-situation le in the English translation is to add the word "now": I'm 35 now." Essentially, however, "new situation" (sometimes called change of state") is a Chinese grammatical category with no simple English equivalent.

The marker le for new situations is always found at the end of a sentence and is sometimes called "sentence le."

Notice that neither answer contains a verb. The verb that has been left out is yǒu "to have." The verb may not be left out in the negative: Wǒ méiyou sānshiwǔ. "I’m not 35."

Notes on №9

9. | A: | Nǐmen nǚháizi jǐsuì le? | 你们女孩子几岁了？ | How old is your girl?
| B: | Tā básuì le. | 她八岁了。 | She's eight years old.

-suì: In the traditional Chinese system of giving ages, a person is one -sui old at birth and becomes another -suì old on the New Year's following his birth. A baby born the day before New Year's would thus be two -suì old on the day after his birth. Most Chinese, however, have now switched to the Western style of computing age and use -suì just as we use years old.

The word -suì like the word -hào, is a bound word shoving what kind of thing a number is counting.

In a date or address you are listing a number and use èr for 2, while in giving an age you are counting an amount of something and use liǎng: liǎngsuì, "two years old."

Notes on №10

10. | A: | Nǐmen nánháizi dōu jǐsuì le? | 你们男孩子都几岁了？ | How old are your boys?
| B: | Yíge jiǔsuì le, yíge liùsuì le. | 一个九岁了，　一个六岁了。 | One is nine, and one is six.

The word dōu is used when "both" or "all" would probably not be used in English, namely, when expecting different information about each of the things (or persons) being discussed. "All" tends to be collective, asking or telling about something the members of a group have in common. Dōu can be distributive, asking or telling something about the members of a group as individuals.

Yí, qí, bá: In the spoken language of Peking, the basic High tones of yī, qī and bā usually change to Rising tones before Falling-tone words (such as -hào, yüè, and -suì). This change is most common when the complete number given has only one digit. When there are two or more digits, the qī and bā of numbers ending in 7 and 8 are more likely to have Rising tones than the yī of numbers ending in 1 (which is usually in the High tone).

Compare:

shíqíhào | the 17th
shíyīyüè | November

In all cases, the High tone is more likely to be kept in rapid speech. You may also encounter speakers who never make changes in the tones of yī, qī and bā.

Remember that, in the digit-by-digit form of giving the year, the numbers 1, 7, and 8 keep their basic High tones: Yījiǔbāliùnián 1986.

Notes on additional required vocabulary

Days | qiántiān | zuótiān | jīntiān | mīngtiān | hòutiān
Years | qiánnián | qǜnián | jīnnián | míngnián | hòunián

In the Chinese system of expressing relative time in terms of days and years, only one pair of terms is not parallel: zuótiān "yesterday," and qǜnián "last year."

Drills

Criterion test

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Unit 6

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Duration phrases

The marker le for completion.

The "double le" construction.

The marker -guo.

Action verbs.

State verbs.

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The 6D-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Nǐ zhù duó jiǔ? | 你住多久？ | How long are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù yìnián. | 我住一年。 | I'm staying one year.
2. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zhù duó jiǔ? | 你太太住多久？ | How long is your wife staying?
| B: | Ta zhù liǎngtiān. | 她住两天。 | She is staying two days.
3. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhù duó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住多久？ | How long is your wife staying in Hong Kong?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng tā zhù liǎngtiān. | 我想她住两天。 | I think she is staying two days.
4. | A: | Nǐ xiǎng zhù duò jiǔ? | 你想住多久？ | How long are you thinking of staying?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng zhù yìnián. | 我想住一年。 | I'm thinking of staying one year.
5. | A: | Nǐ xiǎng zài Táiwān zhù duó jiǔ? | 你想在台湾住多久？ | How long are you thinking of staying in Taiwan?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng zhù báge yüè. | 我想住八个月。 | I'm thinking of staying eight months.
6. | A: | Nǐ péngyou xiǎng zhù duó jiǔ? | 你朋友想住多久？ | How long is your friend thinking of staying?
| B: | Tā xiǎng zhù liǎngge xīngqī. | 他想住两个星期。 | He is thinking of staying two weeks.
7. | A: | Nǐ láile duó jiǔ le? | 你来了多久了？ | How long have you been there?
| B: | Wǒ láile sāntiān le. | 我来了三天了。 | I have been here three days.
8. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhùle duó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住了多久？ | How long did your wife stay in Hong Kong?
| B: | Tā zhùle liǎngtiān. | 她住了两天。 | She stayed two days.
9. | A: | Tā lái le ma? | 他来了吗？ | Did he come?
| B: | Lái le, tā lái le. | 来了，他来了。 | Yes, he came.
10. | A: | Tā lái le ma? | 他来了吗？ | Did he come?
| B: | Méi lái, tā méi lái. | 没来，　他没来。 | No, he didn't come.
11. | A: | Nǐ cóngqián láiguo ma? | 你从前来过吗？ | Have you ever been here before?
| B: | Wǒ cóngqián méi láiguo. | 我从前没来过。 | I have never been here before.

Vocabulary

qù | 去 | to go
Niǔ Yüē | 纽约 | New York
cóngqián | 从前 | before
duó jiǔ | 多久 | how long
-guo | —过 | experiential marker
xiǎng | 想 | to think that, to want to, would you like to
Xiānggǎng | 香港 | Hong Kong
xīngqī | 星期 | week
zhù | 住 | to live somewhere

Reference Notes

Notes on №1

1. | A: | Nǐ zhù duó jiǔ? | 你住多久？ | How long are you staying?
| B: | Wǒ zhù yìnián. | 我住一年。 | I'm staying one year.

Expressions like duó jiǔ, "how long," and yìnián "one year," called duration phrases, come after the verb.

[Note] | Note

"One day" is yìtiān. The tone on yī changes to Falling before a High-tone.

Notice the contrast with time-when phrases, like shénme shíhou, "when," and jīnnián "this year," which come before the verb.

If a duration phrase is used with the verb zhù, this phrase preempts the position after the verb; and any place phrase, like zài Běijīng, must come before the verb.

Yìnián: In telling how many years (giving an amount) no counter is used. The tone on yī, "one," changes to Falling before a Rising tone.

Notes on №2

2. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zhù duó jiǔ? | 你太太住多久？ | How long is your wife staying?
| B: | Ta zhù liǎngtiān. | 她住两天。 | She is staying two days.

Liǎngtiān: -tiān, "day," like -nián, "year," is used without a counter. When telling how many of something, the number 2 takes the form liǎng. (See Unit 3, notes on Nos. 3-4.)

Notes on №3-4

3. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhù duó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住多久？ | How long is your wife staying in Hong Kong?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng tā zhù liǎngtiān. | 我想她住两天。 | I think she is staying two days.
4. | A: | Nǐ xiǎng zhù duò jiǔ? | 你想住多久？ | How long are you thinking of staying?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng zhù yìnián. | 我想住一年。 | I'm thinking of staying one year.

The verb xiǎng, "to think that," "to want to," "would like to," may be used as a main verb or as an auxiliary verb. As a main verb it means "to think that." It is used this way in the answer of exchange 3 and in the following examples.

| I think he is coming tomorrow.
| I think he is not going.

When xiǎng is used as a main verb meaning "to think that," it is not made negative. This may be a special problem for English speakers who are used to saying "I don't think he is going."

In Chinese, it is: "I think he is not going" Wǒ xiǎng tā bú qù.

When xiǎng is used as an auxiliary verb, it means, "to want to," "would like to." It is used this way in exchange 4, which could also be translated as, "How long would you like to stay?"

Here are other examples:

Nǐ xiǎng zǒu ma? | Would you like to leave? OR Do you want to go?
Wǒ bù xiǎng zǒu. | I don't want to leave.
Nǐ xiǎng zài Táiběi gōngzuò ma? | Do you want to work in Taipei?

Notes on №5-6

5. | A: | Nǐ xiǎng zài Táiwān zhù duó jiǔ? | 你想在台湾住多久？ | How long are you thinking of staying in Taiwan?
| B: | Wǒ xiǎng zhù báge yüè. | 我想住八个月。 | I'm thinking of staying eight months.
6. | A: | Nǐ péngyou xiǎng zhù duó jiǔ? | 你朋友想住多久？ | How long is your friend thinking of staying?
| B: | Tā xiǎng zhù liǎngge xīngqī. | 他想住两个星期。 | He is thinking of staying two weeks.

You already know that yìnián and yìtiān are used without counters. The words for "month" and "week," however, are used with counters.

Compare:

sāntiān | 3 days
sānnián | 3 years
sānge xīngqī | 3 weeks
sānge yüè | 3 months

Notes on №7

7. | A: | Nǐ láile duó jiǔ le? | 你来了多久了？ | How long have you been there?
| B: | Wǒ láile sāntiān le. | 我来了三天了。 | I have been here three days.

le...le, "up until now," "so far": The use of completed-action le after the verb and of new-situation le after the duration phrase tells you how long the activity has been going on and that it is still going on. The answer could also have been translated "I have been here three days so far." This pattern is sometimes called "double le."

Notice that when le is in the middle of a sentence (in this case, because it is followed by a duration phrase), we write it attached to the verb before it: láile duó jiǔ le.

Notes on №8

8. | A: | Nǐ tàitai zài Xiānggǎng zhùle duó jiǔ? | 你太太在香港住了多久？ | How long did your wife stay in Hong Kong?
| B: | Tā zhùle liǎngtiān. | 她住了两天。 | She stayed two days.

Completion le: Here you see the marker le used to indicate one aspect, completion. Compare a sentence with one le to a sentence with two le's:

Wǒ zài nàr zhùle sāntiān. | I stayed there three days.
Wǒ zài nàr zhùle sāntiān le. | I have been here (stayed here) for three days now (so far).

Completion le is used with verbs that describe actions or processes, not with verbs that describe a state or condition, or a continuing situation. The following sentences, describing states or ongoing situations, have past-tense verbs in English but no le in Chinese.

Nèige shíhou tāmen zhǐ yǒu liǎnge háizi. | At that time they had only two children.
Tā qǜnián bú zài Shànghǎi, zài Běijīng. | He wasn't in Shànghǎi last year; he was in Běijīng.

Verb types in Chinese: In studying some languages, it is important to learn whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter. In Chinese, it is important to learn whether a verb is an action, state, or process verb. These three verb categories are meaning (semantic) groups. A verb is a member of one group or another depending on the meaning of the verb. For instance, "running" and "dancing" are actions; "being good" and "being beautiful" are states; and "getting sick" and "melting" are processes. In Chinese, grammatical rules are applied differently to each semantic verb category. For the most part, you have learned only action and state verbs in this course; so these comments will be confined to those two verb categories. (See Unit 8 of this module for process verbs,)

Action verbs: These are verbs which describe physical and mental activities. The easiest to classify are verbs of movement such as "walking," "running," and "riding", however, action verbs also include verbs with not too much motion, such as "working" and "writing," and verbs with no apparent motion, such as "studying." One test for determining if a verb is an action is asking "What did he do?" "He arrived," "He spoke," and ’"He listened" are answers which contain action verbs. "He knew" "He wanted" and "He is here" are answers which contain state verbs, not action verbs. Some of the action verbs you have learned are:

dào (to arrive) | lái (to come)
gōngzuò (to work) | zhù (to live, to stay)

State verbs: These verbs describe qualities, conditions, and states. All adjectival verbs, such as hǎo "to be good," and jiǔ, "to be long (in time)," are state verbs. Emotions, such as "being happy" and "being sad," are expressed with state verbs. "Knowing," "liking," "wanting," and "understanding," which may be called mental states, are also expressed with state verbs. Also, all auxiliary verbs, such as xiǎng, "to want to," "would like to," are state verbs. Here are some of the state verbs:

dà to be large | shì to be
duì to be correct | jiào to be called
xìng to be surnamed | zài to be at
xiǎng to want to | zhīdào to know

Aspect and verb types: Not every aspect marker in Chinese may be used with all typs8 of verbs. Completion le does not occur with state verbs. It does occur with action verbs.

ACTION | Tā yǐjīng dào le. | He has already arrived.
Tā gōngzuòle yìnián. | He worked one year.
Tā lái le ma? | Did he come?
STATE | Tā qǜnián bú zài zhèr. | He wasn't here last year.
Tā zuótiān xiǎng qù. | Yesterday he wanted to go.
Tā zuótiān bú zhīdào. | He didn't know yesterday.

Notes on №9-10

9. | A: | Tā lái le ma? | 他来了吗？ | Did he come?
| B: | Lái le, tā lái le. | 来了，他来了。 | Yes, he came.
10. | A: | Tā lái le ma? | 他来了吗？ | Did he come?
| B: | Méi lái, tā méi lái. | 没来，　他没来。 | No, he didn't come.

Compare the two possible interpretations of the question Tā lái le ma? and the answers they receive:

Completion le
Tā |  | lái | le | ma? | Did she come?
Tā |  | lái | le. |  | She came.
Tā | méi | lái |  |  | She didn't come.

Combined le
Tā |  |  | lái | le | ma? | Has he come?
Tā |  |  | lái | le. |  | She has come. OR She's here.
Tā | hái | méi | lái. |  |  | She hasn't come yet.

The first question, with completion le, asks only if the action took place. The second question, with combined le asks both whether the action has been completed and whether the resulting new situation still exists.

Notes on №11

11. | A: | Nǐ cóngqián láiguo ma? | 你从前来过吗？ | Have you ever been here before?
| B: | Wǒ cóngqián méi láiguo. | 我从前没来过。 | I have never been here before.

The aspect marker -guo means literally "to pass over," "to cross over. The implication is that an event took place and then ceased at some time in the past.

It may help you to conceptualize -guo in terms of a bridge. The whole bridge is the event. The marker -guo stresses the fact that not only have you crossed over the bridge but at present you are no longer standing on it.

The meaning of -guo changes slightly depending on what type of verb it is used with: action or process, (-guo may not be used with state verbs.) With an action verb, -guo means that the action took place and then ceased at some time before the present. With a process verb, -guo means that the process took place and that the state which resulted from the process ended at some time before the present.

Remember that aspect markers like le and -guo are used only when the speaker feels it necessary to stress some feature or aspect of an event. Le is used to stress finishing, or completion, -guo is used to stress that a situation occurred in the past and was "over or "undone," before the time of speaking (that is, the absence of that situation followed the situation).

Let's contrast -guo with completion le: both le and -guo express completion, but -guo stresses that an action is no longer being performed, or that a state resulting from a process no longer exists.

For example, Tā lái le. means "He came," or "He has come," not indicating whether or not he is still there.

But Tā láiguo means "He came" with the specification that he is not there anymore –that is, he came and left.

One of the uses of the aspect marker -guo,is in sentences which express experience or having experienced something at least once in the past, that is, "to have had the experience of doing something." This is how -guo is used in exchange 11. In a question, the marker -guo can he reflected by the English word "ever," and in a negative statement by "never."

Nǐ | cóngqiān |  | lái | -guo | ma? | Have you ever been (come) here before?
Nǐ | cóngqián | méi | lái | -guo |  | I have never been (come) here before.
Nǐ | cóngqián |  | lái | -guo |  | I have been (come) here before

The negative of Tā lái le. does not include a le, but the negative of Tā láiguo. does have a -guo . The negative adverb méi is used to negate both completion le and -guo.

Tā |  | lái | le.
Tā | méi | lái |

Tā |  | lái | -guo.
Ta | méi | lái | -guo.

Drills

Criterion test

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Unit 7

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

Topics Covered In This Unit

Where someone works.

Where and what someone has studied.

What languages someone can speak.

Auxiliary verbs.

General objects.

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes,

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The TD-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Nǐn zài náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài Měiguó Guówùyàn gōngzuò. | 我在美国国务院工作。 | I work with the State Department.
2. | A: | Nǐn zài náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ shì xüésheng. | 我是学生。 | I'm a student.
3. | A: | Nǐn lái zuò shénme? | 您来做什么？ | What did you come here to do?
| B: | Wǒ lái niàn shū. | 我来念书。 | I came here to study.
4. | A: | Òu, wǒ yě shì xüésheng. | 哦，我也是学生。 | Oh, I'm a student too.
| B: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ niàn shénme? | 请问，你念什么？ | May I ask, what are you studying?
| B: | Wǒ niàn lìshǐ. | 我念历史。 | I'm studying history.
5. | A: | Kē xiānsheng, nǐ niàn shénme? | 可先生，你念什么？ | What are you studying, Mr. Cook?
| B: | Wǒ zài zhèli xüé zhōngwén. | 我在这里学中文。 | I'm studying Chinese here.
6. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ xüéguo Yīngwén ma? | 请问，你学过英文吗？ | May I ask, have you ever studied English?
| B: | Xüéguo | 学过。 | Yes.
7. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma? | 请问，你会说英文吗？ | May I ask, can you speak English?
| B: | Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎn. | 我会说一点。 | I can speak a little.
8. | A: | Nǐ tàitai yě huì shuō Zhōngguó huà ma? | 你太太也会说中国话吗？ | Can your wife speak Chinese too?
| B: | Bú huì, tā bú huì shuō. | 不会，她不会说。 | No, she can't.
9. | A: | Nǐde Zhōngguó huà hěn hǎo. | 你的中国话很好。 | Your Chinese is very good.
| B: | Náli, náli. wǒ jiù shuō yìdiǎn. | 哪里，哪里。我就说一点。 | Not at all, not at all. I can speak only a little.
10. | A: | Nǐ shì zài náli xüéde? | 你是在哪里学的？ | Where did you study it?
| B: | Wǒ shì zài Huáshèngdùn xüéde. | 我是在华盛顿学的。 | I studied it in Washington.
11. | A: | Nǐ shì zài dàxüé xüéde Yīngwén ma? | 你是在大学学的英文吗？ | Did you study English at college?
| B: | Shìde, wǒ shì zài Táiwān Dàxüé xüéde Yīngwén. | 是的，我是在台湾大学学的英文。 | Yes, I studied English at Taiwan University.

Vocabulary

jīngxüé | 经学 | classics
Rìwén | 日文 | Japanese language
wénxüé | 文学 | literature
zhènzhixüé | 政治学 | political science
nán | 难 | to be difficult
róngyi | 容易 | to be easy
xüéxí (xüéxi) | 学习 | to study, to learn
daxüé | 大学 | university
huà | 话 | language, words
huàshèngdùn | 华盛顿 | Washington
huì | 会 | to know how to, to can
jīngjixüé | 经济学 | economics
lìshǐ | 历史 | history
Měiguó Guówùyüàn | 美国国务院 | U.S. Department of State
nán | 难 | to be difficult
niàn (shū) | 念书 | to study
Rìwén | 日文 | Japanese language
shuō (huà) | 说话 | to speak, to talk
xüé | 学 | to study
xüéshēng (xüésheng) | 学生 | student
xüéxí (xüéxi) | 学习 | to study, to learn (PRC)
yìdiǎn | 一点 | a little
Yīngwén | 英文 | English
zhènzhixüé | 政治学 | political science
Zhōngwén | 中文 | Chinese
zuò | 做 | to do
shénme dìfang | 什么地方 | where, what place

Reference Notes

Notes on №1-2

1. | A: | Nǐn zài náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ zài Měiguó Guówùyüàn gōngzuò. | 我在美国国务院工作。 | I work with the State Department.
2. | A: | Nǐn zài náli gōngzuò? | 您在哪里工作？ | Where do you work?
| B: | Wǒ shì xüésheng. | 我是学生。 | I'm a student.

Zài Měiguó Guówùyüàn gōngzuò means either "work at the State Department" (i.e., at main State in Washington, D,C.) or "work in the organisation of the State Department" (no matter where assigned). Here the expression is translated loosely as "work with the State Department," meaning "in the organization.

Notes on №3-4

3. | A: | Nǐn lái zuò shénme? | 您来做什么？ | What did you come here to do?
| B: | Wǒ lái niàn shū. | 我来念书。 | I came here to study.
4. | A: | Òu, wǒ yě shì xüésheng. | 哦，我也是学生。 | Oh, I'm a student too.
| B: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ niàn shénme? | 请问，你念什么？ | May I ask, what are you studying?
| B: | Wǒ niàn lìshǐ. | 我念历史。 | I'm studying history.

Purpose: When lái, "to come," is followed by another verb, the second verb expresses the purpose of the subject's coming. The "purpose of coming" may be emphasized by the shì...de construction, with the marker shì before the verb lái:

Wǒ shì lái nián shūde. | I came to study.

Niàn shū: Niàn by itself means "to read aloud." When followed by an object, the expression means "to study." Shū is "book(s)," but niàn shū simply means "to study." Shū is used as a general object, standing for whatever is being studied.

Niàn lìshǐ: When you are talking about studying a particular subject, niàn is followed by the name of that subject rather than by the general object shū.

To have the meaning "to study," niàn must be followed by either the general object shū or a specific object such as the name of a subject.

Verb types: Zuò, "to do," and niàn (shū), "to study," are action verbs. Both are made negative with bu when referring to actions not yet finished Both may take completion le_or its negative méi.

Tā bú niàn shū. | He doesn't study.
Tā méi niàn shū. | He didn't study.
Tā yǐjǐng niàn shù le. | He has already studied.

Notes on №5-6

5. | A: | Kē xiānsheng, nǐ niàn shénme? | 可先生，你念什么？ | What are you studying, Mr. Cook?
| B: | Wǒ zài zhèli xüé zhōngwén. | 我在这里学中文。 | I'm studying Chinese here.
6. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ xüéguo Yīngwén ma? | 请问，你学过英文吗？ | May I ask, have you ever studied English?
| B: | Xüéguo | 学过。 | Yes.

Xüé, "to study" （an action verb): You will recognize xüé from the word for "student," xüésheng. Xüé may refer to acquiring either knowledge or a skill. For example, you can xüé history, economics, a language, piano， and tennis. On the other hand, niàn is used for "study" in the sense of taking a course or courses in a field of knowledge. Niàn is not used for a skill.

In some contexts, the verb xüé means "to learn." The following sentence may be interpreted two ways, depending on the situation.

Wǒ zài Měiguó yǐjīng xüéguo. | I learned it in America.(e.g., how to use chopsticks)

OR

I studied it in America.

(e.g., the Chinese language)

Zhōngwén is used for either the Chinese spoken language or the written language， including literature. In general, use xüé for "learning" to speak Chinese and niàn for "studying’ Chinese literature.

Notes on №7-8

7. | A: | Qǐngwèn, nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma? | 请问，你会说英文吗？ | May I ask, can you speak English?
| B: | Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎn. | 我会说一点。 | I can speak a little.
8. | A: | Nǐ tàitai yě huì shuō Zhōngguó huà ma? | 你太太也会说中国话吗？ | Can tour wife speak Chinese too?
| B: | Bú huì, tā bú huì shuō. | 不会，她不会说。 | No, she can't.

Huì, "to know how to," "can," is an auxiliary verb. It is used before the main verb to express an attitude toward the action or to express the potential of action. Xiǎng, "to want to," "would like to," is also an auxiliary verb. "Should," "must," and "may" are other examples of auxiliary verbs. All auxiliary verbs in Chinese are state verbs, which means that bù is always used to make them negative. Auxiliary verbs never take the aspect marker le for completed action, regardless of whether you are talking about past, present, or future.

Tā qǜnián bú huì shuō Yīngwén. | He couldn’t speak English last year.

When the marker le is used, it is the aspect marker for new situations.

Tā qǜnián bú huì shuō Yīngwén, xiànzài huì le, | Last year he couldn’t speak English, but now he can.

Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎn, "工 can speak a little": The word yìdiǎn, literally "a dot," functions as a noun. It is used in a sentence to mean "a little bit" where a noun object, such as Yīngwén, "English," might be used.

Yìdiǎn may not be used directly after an auxiliary verb, which must be followed by another verb.

Shuō, "to speak," "to talk," is another example of a verb which must always have an object. Shuō must be followed by either:

the general object huà, "words," in which case the meaning of shuō huà is simply "to speak," "to talk," as in:

Tā hái méi shuō huà. | He hasn't yet spoken.

OR

a specific object such as the name of a language.

Bú huì: The short yes/no answer to a question containing the auxiliary verb huì is formed with huì rather than with the main verb.

Zhōngguó huà: This expression refers only to the spoken language, in contrast to Zhōngwén, which refers to both the spoken and written language.

Notes on №9

9. | A: | Nǐde Zhōngguó huà hěn hǎo. | 你的中国话很好。 | Your Chinese is very good.
| B: | Náli, náli. wǒ jiù shuō yìdiǎn. | 哪里，哪里。我就说一点。 | Not at all, not at all. I can speak only a little.

Literally, náli means "where." As a reply to a compliment, we have translated náli as "not at all." In China, it has traditionally been considered proper and a matter of course to deny any compliment received, no matter how much truth there is to it. Many people still regard xièxie "thank you," as an immodest reply to a compliment, since that would amount to agreeing that the compliment was completely correct.

Jiù, "only": As was noted in Unit 3, notes on Nos. 8-9, jiù meaning "only" is not as widely understood as zhǐ. The last sentence in exchange 9 could Just as well be Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yìdiǎn.

Notes on №10-11

11. | A: | Nǐ shì zài dàxüé xüéde Yīngwén ma? | 你是在大学学的英文吗？ | Did you study English at college?
| B: | Shìde, wǒ shì zài Táiwān Dàxüé xüéde Yīngwén. | 是的，我是在台湾大学学的英文。 | Yes, I studied English at Taiwan University.

In the Peking dialect of Standard Chinese, which is the model for grammatical patterns presented in this course, the -de of a shì...de construction comes between the verb and its object. The object, therefore, is outside the shì...de construction. Compare "I studied here" with "I studied English here":

However, you may hear some Standard Chinese speakers who place the object inside the shì...de construction.

Wǒ | shì | zài zhèr | xüé | -de. |
Wǒ | shì | zài zhèr | xüé | -de | Yīngwén.

Drills

Criterion test

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Unit 8

Introduction

Topics covered in this unit

More on duration phrases.

The marker le for new situations in negative sentences.

Military titles and 'branches of service,

The marker ne.

Process verbs.

Material you will need

The C-l and P-l tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.

The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.

The 8D-1 tape.

References

Reference List

1. | A: | Nǐ jīntiān hái yǒu kè ma? | 你今天还有课吗？ | Do you have any more classes today?
| B: | Měiyou kè le. | 没有课了。 | I don't have any more classes.
2. | A: | Nǐ cóngqián niàn Yīngwén niànle duó jiǔ? | 你从前念英文念了多久？ | How long did you study English?
| B: | Wǒ niàn Yīngwén niànle liǔnián. | 我念英文念了六年。 | I studied English for six years.
3. | A: | Nǐ xiànzài niàn shénme ne? | 你现在念什么呢？ | What are you studying now?
| B: | Wǒ niàn Fàwén ne. | 我念法文 | I'm studying French.
4. | A: | Nǐ niàn Fàwén niànle duó jiǔ le? | 你念法文念了多久了？ | How long have you studying French?
| B: | Wǒ niànle yìnián le. | 我念了一年了。 | I've have been studying it for one year.
5. | A: | Nǐ huì xiě Zhōngguo zì ma? | 你会写中国字吗？ | Can you write Chinese characters?
| B: | Huì yìdiǎn. | 会一点。 | I can a little.
6. | A: | Qǜnián wǒ hái bú huì xiě. | 去年我还不会写。 | Last year, I couldn't write them.
| B: | Xiànzài wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎn le. | 现在我会写一点了。 | Now, I can write a little.
7. | A: | Nǐ fùqin shi jǖnrén ma? | 你父亲是军人吗？ | Is your father a military man?
| B: | Shì, tā shi hǎijǖn jǖnguān. | 是，他是海军陆军。 | Yes, he is a naval officer.
8. | A: | Wǒ jīntiān bù lái le. | 我今天不来了。 | I'm not coming today.
| B: | Wǒ bìng le. | 我病了。 | I'm sick.
9. | A: | Jīntiān hǎo le méiyou? | 今天好了没有？ | Are you better today? (Are you recovered?)
| B: | Jīntiān hǎo le. | 今天好了。 | Today I'm better.

Vocabulary

kōngjǖn | 空军 | Air Force
lùjǖn | 陆军 | army
shìbīng | 事兵 | enlisted man
zuò shì | 做事 | to work
Déwén | 德文 | German language
bìng | 病 | to become ill
Déwén | 德文 | German language
Fàwén | 法文 | French language
hǎijǖn | 海军 | navy
jǖnguān | 陆军 | military officer
jǖnrén | 军人 | military person
kè | 课 | class
xiě | 写 | to write
zì | 字 | character

Reference Notes

Notes on №1

1. | A: | Nǐ jīntiān hái yǒu kè ma? | 你今天还有课吗？ | Do you have any more classes today?
| B: | Měiyou kè le. | 没有课了。 | I don't have any more classes.

Hái, "additionally," "also": You have already learned the word hái used as an adverb meaning "still." In this exchange you learn a second way to use hái.

Nǐ hái xiǎng zǒu ma? | Do you still want to leave?
Nǐ hái yào xüé shénme? | What else do you want to study?

Méiyou...le: You will remember that in the negative of a completed action, méi or méiyou replaces the completion marker le is never used together with it.

Tā |  | lái | le. | He came.
Tā | méi(you) | lái. |  | He did not come.

In the sentence Méiyou kè le, le is a new-situation marker, and méiyou is simply the negative of the full verb yǒu. (Remember that the verb yǒu is always made negative with méi, never with bù.)

Tā |  | yǒu kè | le. | Now he has class. [Due to a change in the schedule, he now has class at this time.]
Tā | méi- | yǒu kè | le. | He doesn't have any more classes.

Bù...le/méiyou...le: When the marker le for new situations is used with a negative verb, there are two possible meanings:

one is that something that was supposed to happen is now not going to happen.

the other is that something that was happening is not happening anymore.

Thus the following sentence is ambiguous:

Tā bù lái le. | He is not coining now. [Either he was expected to come but changed his mind, or he used to come at this time but now has stopped.]

In the context of a conversation, the meaning of the sentence would become clear.

Here are more-examples with the "anymore" meaning:

Tā bú niàn shū le. | He is not going to study anymore.[He will no longer attend college.]
Tā bú shi wǒde péngyou le. | He is not my friend anymore.
Méiyou le. | There is no more.

Notes on №2

2. | A: | Nǐ cóngqián niàn Yīngwén niànle duó jiǔ? | 你从前念英文念了多久？ | How long did you study English?
| B: | Wǒ niàn Yīngwén niànle liǔnián. | 我念英文念了六年。 | I studied English for six years.

More on duration: In Unit 6 of this module, you learned to express duration in a sentence with no object (Wǒ zài Xiāngǎng zhùle liùge yüè le. ). In this unit, you learn one way to express the duration of an activity which involves using both a verb and an object (e.g. , "studying economics"). In such cases, the verb appears twice in the sentence: first when the object is stated, and again when the duration is stated.

Tā niàn jīngjixüé, niánle yìnián. | He studied economics for one year.
Tā xüé Zhōngguo huà, xüéle sānge yüè le. | He has been studying Chinese for three months.

Notice that aspect markers do not occur after the first verb in each sentence, but only after the second verb and at the end of the second sentence.

Notes on №3

3. | A: | Nǐ xiànzài niàn shénme ne? | 你现在念什么呢？ | What are you studying now?
| B: | Wǒ niàn Fàwén ne. | 我念法文 | I'm studying French.

Ne is an aspect marker used to emphasize the fact that something is in progress. With action verbs, ne indicates that the action is going on.

With state verbs, ne shows that the state exists. With some process verbs, ne indicates that the process is going on. Ne may not be used with certain process verbs. (See also notes on No. 8, about verbs.)

Notes on №4-5

4. | A: | Nǐ niàn Fàwén niànle duó jiǔ le? | 你念法文念了多久了？ | How long have you studying French?
| B: | Wǒ niànle yìnián le. | 我念了一年了。 | I've have been studying it for one year.
5. | A: | Nǐ huì xiě Zhōngguo zì ma? | 你会写中国字吗？ | Can you write Chinese characters?
| B: | Huì yìdiǎn. | 会一点。 | I can a little.

Xiě Zhōngguo zì: The verb xiě, "to write" can occur with specific objects, such as Zhōngguo zì, as well as with the general object zì. The combination xiě zìcan mean either "to write characters" or simply "to write."

Tā xiǎng xüé Zhōngguo zì. | He wants to learn to write Chinese characters.
Xiǎo dìdi sìsuì le, yǐjīng huì xiě zì le. | Little younger brother is four years old and already can write.

In the reply huì yìdiǎn, huì is used as a main verb --not as an auxiliary verb, as in the question.

As a main verb, huì means "to have the skill of," "to have the knowledge of," "to know."

Wǒ huì Yīngwén. | I know English.

Notes on №6

6. | A: | Qǜnián wǒ hái bú huì xiě. | 去年我还不会写。 | Last year, I couldn't write them.
| B: | Xiànzài wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎn le. | 现在我会写一点了。 | Now, I can write a little.

Qùnián wǒ hái bú huì xiě.: Notice that here it is the auxiliary verb huì, not the verb xiě, that is made negative. Auxiliary verbs such as huì and xiǎng are STATE verbs and so are made negative with the prefix bù, regardless of whether the context is past, present, or future.

Xiànzài wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎn le.: The marker used is le for new situations. It is always placed at the end of a sentence.

The time word xiànzài comes at the beginning of the sentence here. Most time words of more than one syllable may come either before or after the subject, but in either case before the verb.

Notes on №7-8

7. | A: | Nǐ fùqin shi jǖnrén ma? | 你父亲是军人吗？ | Is your father a military man?
| B: | Shì, tā shi hǎijǖn jǖnguān. | 是，他是海军陆军。 | Yes, he is a naval officer.
8. | A: | Wǒ jīntiān bù lái le. | 我今天不来了。 | I'm not coming today.
| B: | Wǒ bìng le. | 我病了。 | I'm sick.

The verb bìng, "to get sick," "to become ill," is a process verb; that is the activity described includes some changes in the situation. Process verbs tell of an action which has caused a change from one state to another, as from whole to broken ("to break") and from frozen to melted ("to melt"). Bìng is typical of process verbs: not only is an action described (coming down with an illness) but also a resulting state (being ill). Because of this typical combination, process verbs are sometimes thought of as combining the semantic characteristics of action and state verbs.

One of the main purposes of talking about verbs in terms of action, state, and process is to draw attention to the fact that the Chinese way of expressing something may not correspond to the English.

For instance,

"I am sick" in Chinese is Wǒ bìng le. ("I have gotten sick"). For "I am not sick," you say Wǒ méi bìng. ("I didn't get sick").

Process verbs are always made negative with m|i9 regardless of whether you are referring to past, present, or future.

Nǐ bìng le méiyou? | Are you sick?
Méiyou. Wǒ méi bing. | No. I'm not sick.

(State verbs are always made negative with bù.)

Another reason for putting verbs into categories according to the type of meaning is to discover how verbs behave in sentences. Knowing whether a verb is in the action, state, or process category, you will know what aspect markers and negatives may be used with that verb. In the following charts, a check mark means that this combination of verb and aspect occurs in the language.

| Aspect Markers
Completion le | Combined le | New-situation
Verbs | Action | X | X | X
State |  |  | X
Process | X | X | X

Examples:[6]

Action | Tā zuótiān gōngzuò le. | He worked yesterday. (completion Le)
Tā yǐjīng lái le. | He has already come. (combined le)
Gēge xiànzài niàn dàxüé le. | Older brother goes to college now. (new-situation le)[a]
State | Tā xiànzài huì xiě zì le. | He can write now. (new-situation le)
Process | Tā zuótiān bìng le. | He got sick yesterday. (completion le)
Tā xiànzài bìng le. | He is sick.(combined le)
Tā bìngle yíge yüé le. | He has been sick for one month now. (new-situation le and completion le)
[a] In affirmative sentences containing action verbs, the marker le for new situations is used to describe a change in a general habit.

| Verbs
Action | State | Process
Negation | bù | X | X |
—negation of completion le | X |  | X
—negation of combined le | X |  | X

Examples:

Action | Tā bú niàn shū. | He doesn’t (isn't going to) study
Tā méi niàn shū. | He didn't study.
Tā hái méi niàn shū. | He hasn’t studied yet,
State | Tā qǜnián bù xiǎng niàn shū. | Last year, she didn't want to study.
Process | Tā jīntiān méi bìng. | He is not sick today.
Tā hái méi hǎo. | He hasn't yet recovered.

Notice that only action verbs use the whole range of negatives to mark the negative of future or present action, completed action, or new situations. State verbs use the negative prefix bù even when referring to past states. Process verbs use the negative prefix méi even when referring to something in the present.

If you find a verb occurring with a negative or an aspect marker you had not expected, you might discuss with your teacher how the verb behaves in terms of these charts. You might discover that what you thought was a state verb is actually a process verb, or vice versa.

Notes on №9

9. | A: | Jīntiān hǎo le méiyou? | 今天好了没有？ | Are you better today? (Are you recovered?)
| B: | Jīntiān hǎo le. | 今天好了。 | Today I'm better.

Jīntiān hǎo le.: Hǎo is one of many state verbs which can become process verbs. When such a verb becomes a process verb, it takes on a different meaning. While the state verb hǎo means "to be good" or "to be well," the process verb hǎo means "to get better," "to recover." Compare these sentences:

Tā hǎo. | He's in good health.
Tā zuótiān bìng le. Tā jīntiān yǐjīng hǎo le. | Yesterday he became sick. Today he is already recovered.

The difference between the state verb hǎo and the process verb hǎo is even more evident in negative sentences. State verbs, as you remember, are made negative only with bù. Process verbs are made negative only with méi or hái méi.

Tā bù hǎo. | He's not good. [He’s not a good person.]
Tā hái méi hǎo. | He hasn't yet recovered. [He is still sick.]

It can be difficult to remember that bìng and hǎo, sometimes translated as "to be sick" and "to be better," are actually process verbs in Chinese, not state verbs.

The English sentence "I am better (recovered)" translates as Wǒ hǎo le. ("I have become veil") and would be incorrect without the le.

Jīntiān hǎo le méiyou? Questions may be formed from statements containing completion le or combined le by adding méiyou at the end of the statements.

You will learn more about forming questions in the first unit of the next module.

Tā láile méiyou? | Did he come?
Nǐ hǎole méiyou? | Are you recovered (from your illness)?

Drills

Criterion test

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix

[6] Most of the time you can figure out from a verb's meaning the semantic category in which that verb belongs. However, process verbs may not be so predictable.