Unit 8

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.

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
bìngto 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
class
xiěto write
character

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.

 láile.He came.
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 .)

 yǒu kèle.Now he has class. [Due to a change in the schedule, he now has class at this time.]
méi-yǒu kèle.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:

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.
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 . 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.
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 .)

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 leCombined leNew-situation
VerbsActionXXX
State  X
ProcessXXX

Examples:[8]

ActionTā 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]
StateTā xiànzài huì xiě zì le.He can write now. (new-situation le)
ProcessTā 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
ActionStateProcess
NegationXX 
—negation of completion leX X
—negation of combined leX X

Examples:

ActionTā 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,
StateTā qǜnián bù xiǎng niàn shū.Last year, she didn't want to study.
ProcessTā 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 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.

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 . 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)?



[8] 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.