Unit 2

1.A:Tā shì Wáng tàitai ma?她是王太太,吗?Is she Mrs. Wáng?
 B:Tā shì Wáng tàitai.她是王太太。she is Mrs. Wáng.
     
2.A:Nǐ shì Wáng xiānsheng ma?你是王先生吗?Are you Mr. Wáng?
 B:Wǒ shì Wáng Dànián.我是王大年。I'm Wáng Dànián.
     
3.A:Nǐ shì Mǎ xiānsheng ma?你是马先生吗?Are you Mr. .
 B:Wǒ shì Wáng Dànián.我是王大年。I'm Wáng Dànián.
     
4.A:Nǐ shì Mǎ xiānsheng ma?你是马先生吗?Are you Mr. ?
 B:Wǒ bú shì Mǎ xiānsheng.我不是马先生。I'm not Mr. .
     
5.A:Wǒ shì Wáng Dànián.我是王大年。I am Wáng Dànián.
 B:Wǒ bú shì Wáng Dànián.我不是王大年。I am not Wáng Dànián.
     
6.A:Nǐ xìng Fāng ma?你姓方吗?Is your surname Fāng?
 B:Wǒ bú xìng Fāng我不姓方。My surname isn't Fāng.
     
7.A:Wǒ xìng Wáng.我姓王。My surname is Wáng.
 B:Wǒ bú shì Wáng.我不姓王。My surname isn't Wáng.
     
8.A:Nǐ xìng Mǎ ma?你姓马吗?Is your surname ?
 B:Bù xìng Mǎ. Xìng Wáng.不姓马。 (我)姓王。My surname isn't . My surname is Wáng.
     
9.A:Nín guìxing?您贵姓?Your surname? (polite)
 B:Wǒ xìng Wáng.我姓王。My surname is Wáng.
     
10.A:Nǐ jiào shénme?你叫什么?What is your given name?
 B:Wǒ jiào Dànián.我叫大年。My given name is Dànián.
     
11.A:Nǐ hǎo a?你好阿?How are you?
 B:Wǒ hǎo.我好。I'm fine.
     
12.A:Nǐ hǎo a?你好阿?How are you?
 B:Wǒ hǎo. Nǐ ne?我好,你呢?I'm fine. And you?
 A:Hǎo, xièxie.好, 谢谢。Fine, thanks.
asuffix added to the end of any sentence
bù/bú not
bú shì 不是not to be
guìxing贵姓honorable name
hǎoto be fine, to be well, ok, good
jiàoto be called, named
maquestion marker at the end of the sentence
míngzi名字given name, full name
nequestion marker
xièxie谢谢thank you
     
1.A:Tā shì Wáng tàitai ma?她是王太太,吗?Is she Mrs. Wáng?
 B:Tā shì Wáng tàitai.她是王太太。She is Mrs. Wáng.
     
2.A:Nǐ shì Wáng xiānsheng ma?你是王先生吗?Are you Mr. Wáng?
 B:Wǒ shì Wáng Dànián.我是王大年。I'm Wáng Dànián.
     
3.A:Nǐ shì Mǎ xiānsheng ma?你是马先生吗?Are you Mr. .
 B:Wǒ shì Wáng Dànián.我是王大年。I'm Wáng Dànián.

The marker ma may be added to any statement to turn it into a question which may be answered "yes" or "no,"

The reply to a yes/no question is commonly a complete affirmative or negative statement, although, as you will see later, the statement may be stripped down considerably.

     
6.A:Nǐ xìng Fāng ma?你姓方吗?Is your surname Fāng?
 B:Wǒ bú xìng Fāng我不姓方。My surname isn't Fāng.
     
7.A:Wǒ xìng Wáng.我姓王。My surname is Wáng.
 B:Wǒ bú shì Wáng.我不姓王。My surname isn't Wáng.
     
8.A:Nǐ xìng Mǎ ma?你姓马吗?Is your surname ?
 B:Bù xìng Mǎ. Xìng Wáng.不姓马。 (我)姓王。My surname isn't . My surname is Wáng.

It is quite common in Chinese --much commoner than in English-- to omit the subject of a sentence when it is clear from the context.

     
10.A:Nǐ jiào shénme?你叫什么?What is your given name?
 B:Wǒ jiào Dànián.我叫大年。My given name is Dànián.

Jiào is a verb meaning "to be called." In a discussion of personal names, we can say that it means "to be given-named."

12.A:Nǐ hǎo a?你好阿?How are you?
 B:Wǒ hǎo. Nǐ ne?我好,你呢?I'm fine. And you?
 A:Hǎo, xièxie.好, 谢谢。Fine, thanks.

The marker ne makes a question out of the single work , "you": "And you?" or "How about you?"

Table 1.8. Transfomr the sentence according to the model.

Statement Cue Answer
      
1.

Tā bú shi Wáng Xiānsheng.

他不是王先生。

He is not Mr. Wáng.

 

Huáng

 

Tā bú shi Wáng Xiānsheng, tā xìng Huáng.

他不是王先生,他姓黄。

He is not Mr. Wáng, his surname is Huáng.

      
2.

Tā bú shi Jiǎng Tàitai.

她不是蒋太太。

She is not Mrs. Jiǎng.

 

Jiāng

 

Tā bú shi Jiǎng Tàitai, tā xìng Jiāng.

她不是蒋太太,她姓江。

She is not Mrs. Jiǎng, her surname is Jiāng.

      
3.

Tā bú shi Liú Tóngzhì.

他不是刘同志。

He is not comrade Liú.

 

Lín

 

Tā bú shi Liú Tóngzhì, tā xìng Lín.

他不是刘同志,他姓林。

He is not comrade Liú, his surname is Lín.

      
4.

Tā bú shi Sòng Xiǎojiě.

她不是宋小姐。

She is not Miss Sòng.

 

Sūn

 

Tā bú shi Sòng Xiǎojiě, tā xìng Sūn.

她不是宋小姐,她姓孙。

She is not Miss Sòng, her surname is Sūn.

      
5.

Tā bú shi Zhào Xiānsheng.

他不是赵先生。

He is not Mr. Zhào.

 

Zhōu

 

Tā bú shi Zhào Xiānsheng, tā xìng Zhōu.

他不是赵先生,他姓周。

He is not Mr. Zhào, his surname is Zhōu .

      
6.

Tā bú shi Jiāng Tóngzhì.

他不是江同志。

He is not Comrade Jiāng.

 

Zhāng

 

Tā bú shi Jiāng Tóngzhì, tā xìng Zhāng.

他不是江同志,他姓张。

He is not Comrade Jiāng, his surname is Zhāng.

      
7.

Tā bú shi Sūn Tàitai.

她不是孙太太。

She is not Mrs. Sūn.

 

Sòng

 

Tā bú shi Sūn Tàitai, tā xìng Sòng.

她不是孙太太,她姓宋。

She is not Mrs. Sūn, her surname is Sòng.


Table 1.10. Respond according to the cue and the model.

Statement Cue Answer
      
1.

Tā shì Wáng xiānsheng ma?

他是王先生吗?

Is he Mr. Wáng?

 

Wáng

 

Shì. Tā shì Wáng xiānsheng .

是。他是王先生。

Yes. He is Mr. Wáng

      
2.

Tā shì Wáng xiānsheng ma?

他是王先生吗?

Is he Mr. Wáng?

 

Huáng

 

Tā bú shì Wáng xiānsheng, tā xìng Huáng.

他不是王先生, 他姓黄。

His is not Mr. Wáng. His surname is Huáng.

      
3.

Tā shì Liú tàitai ma?

她是刘太太吗?

Is she Mrs. Liú?

 

Lín

 

Tā bú shì Liú tàitai. Tā xìng Lín.

她不是刘太太。她姓林。

She is not Mrs. Liú. Her surname is Lín.

      
4.

Tā shì Chén xiǎojiě ma?

她是陈小姐吗?

Is she Miss Chén?

 

Chén

 

Tā shì Chén xiǎojiě.

她是陈小姐。

She is Miss Chén.

      
5.

Tā shì Máo xiānsheng ma?

他是毛先生吗?

Is he Mr. Máo?

 

Máo

 

Tā shì Máo xiānsheng.

他是毛先生。

He is Mr. Máo.

      
6.

Tā shì Jiāng tóngzhì ma?

他是江同志吗?

Is He/she Comrade Jiāng?

 

Zhāng

 

Tā bú shì Jiāng tóngzhì. Tā xìng Zhāng.

他不是江同志。 他姓张。

He/she isn't Comrade Jiāng. His/her surname is Zhāng.

      
7.

Tā shì Sòng tàitai ma?

她是宋太太吗?

Is she Mrs. Sòng?

 

Sòng

 

Tā shì Sòng tàitai.

她是宋太太。

She is Mrs. Sòng.

      
8.

Tā shì Lǐ xiānsheng ma?

Is he Mr. ?

他是李先生吗?

 

Wáng

 

Tā bú shì Lǐ xiānsheng. Tā xìng Wáng.

他不是李先生。他姓王。

He isn't Mr. . His surname is Wáng.


Table 1.12. Transform the statement according to the model.

Statement Answer part 1 Answer part 2
      
1.

Wǒ xìng Wáng jiào Dànián.

我姓王叫大年。

My surname is Wáng, and my given name is Dànián.

 

Nǐ xìng Wáng jiào shénme?

你姓王叫什么?

Your surname is Wáng, and what is your given name?

 

Dànián.

大年。

      
2.

Wǒ xìng Hú jiào Mĕilíng.

我姓胡叫美玲。

My surname is , and my given name is Mĕilíng.

 

Nǐ xìng Hú jiào shénme?

你姓胡叫什么?

Your surname is , and what is your given name?

 

Mĕilíng.

美玲。

      
3.

Wǒ xìng Lǐ jiào Shìyīng.

我姓李叫世英。

My surname is , and my given name is Shìyīng.

 

Nǐ xìng Lǐ jiào shénme?

你姓李叫什么?

Your surname is , and what is your given name?

 

Shìyīng.

世英。

      
4.

Wǒ xìng Fāng jiào Bǎolán.

我姓方叫宝兰。

My surname is Fāng, and my given name is Bǎolán.

 

Nǐ xìng Fāng jiào shénme?

你姓方叫什么?

Your surname is Fāng, and what is your given name?

 

Bǎolán.

宝兰。

      
5.

Wǒ xìng Sūn jiào Déxián.

我姓孙叫德贤。

My surname is Sūn, and my given name is Déxián.

 

Nǐ xìng Sūn jiào shénme?

你姓孙叫什么?

Your surname is Sūn, and what is your given name?

 

Déxián.

德贤。

      
6.

Wǒ xìng Chén jiào Huìrán.

我姓陈叫蕙然。

My surname is Chén, and my given name is Huìrán.

 

Nǐ xìng Chén jiào shénme?

你姓陈叫什么?

Your surname is Chén, and what is your given name?

 

Huìrán.

蕙然。

      
7.

Wǒ xìng Zhāng jiào Zhènhàn.

我姓张叫振汉。

My surname is Zhāng, and my given name is Zhènhàn.

 

Nǐ xìng Zhāng jiào shénme?

你姓张叫什么?

Your surname is Zhāng, and what is your given name?

 

Zhènhàn.

振汉。


Table 1.13. Transform the sentence according to the model.

Statement Answer
    
1.

Tā xìng Chén. Tā jiào Bǎolán.

他姓陈。他叫宝兰。

Her surname is Chén. Her given name is Bǎolán.

 

Tā xìng Chén, jiào Bǎolán.

他姓陈,叫宝兰。

Her surname is Chén, given name Bǎolán.

    
2.

Tā xìng Lǐ. Tā jiào Mínglĭ.

他姓李。他叫明理。

Her surname is . Her given name is Mínglĭ.

 

Tā xìng Lǐ, jiào Mínglĭ.

他姓李,叫明理。

Her surname is , given name Mínglĭ.

    
3.

Tā xìng Hú. Tā jiào Bǎolán.

他姓胡。他叫宝兰。

Her surname is . Her given name is Bǎolán.

 

Tā xìng Hú, jiào Bǎolán.

他姓胡,叫宝兰。

Her surname is , given name Bǎolán.

    
4.

Tā xìng Jiāng. Tā jiào Déxián.

他姓江。他叫德贤。

Her surname is Jiāng. Her given name is Déxián.

 

Tā xìng Jiāng, jiào Déxián.

他姓江,叫德贤。

Her surname is Jiāng, given name Déxián.

    
5.

Tā xìng Zhōu. Tā jiào Zǐyàn.

他姓周。他叫紫燕。

Her surname is Zhōu. Her given name is Zǐyàn.

 

Tā xìng Zhōu, jiào Zǐyàn.

他姓周,叫紫燕。

Her surname is Zhōu, given name Zǐyàn.

    
6.

Tā xìng Zhāng. Tā jiào Tíngfēng.

他姓张。他叫廷峰。

Her surname Zhāng. Her given name is Tíngfēng.

 

Tā xìng Zhāng, jiào Tíngfēng.

他姓张,叫廷峰。

Her surname is Zhāng, given name Tíngfēng.

    
7.

Tā xìng Chén. Tā jiào Huìrán.

他姓陈。他叫蕙然。

Her surname is Chén. Her given name is Huìrán.

 

Tā xìng Chén, jiào Huìrán.

他姓陈,叫蕙然。

Her surname is Zhāng, given name Huìrán.