Topics Covered In This Unit
Where someone works.
Where and what someone has studied.
What languages someone can speak.
Auxiliary verbs.
General objects.
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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.
| 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. |
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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. |