Unit 5
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Unit 5

Introduction

  1. Date and Place of birth.

  2. Days of the week.

  3. Ages.

  4. The marker le for new situations.

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

  2. The C-2 and P-2 tapes.

  3. The 5D-1 tape.

References

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.

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

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.

Wǒshizài Měiguóshēng-de.I was born in America. WHERE
Wǒshizuótiāndào-de.I arrived yesterday. WHEN
Wǒshiyíge rénlái-de.I came alone. HOW
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:

xīngqījǐWhat day of the week?
xīngqīyīMonday
xīngqīèrTuesday
xīngqīsànWednesday
xīngqīsìThursday
xingqīwǔFriday
xīngqīliùSaturday
xīngqītiānSunday

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?"

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.)

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?  
yíyüèJanuaryqíyüèJuly
èryüèFebruarybáyüèAugust
sānyüèMarchjiǔyüèSeptember
sìyüèAprilshíyüèOctober
wǔyüèMayshǐyīyüèNovember
liùyüèJuneshíèryüèDecember

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.)

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.
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."

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."

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:

shíqíhàothe 17th
shíyīyüèNovember

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.

Daysqiántiānzuótiānjīntiānmīngtiānhòutiān
Yearsqiánniánqǜniánjīnniánmíngniánhòunián

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

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