1. Time expression: A: Asking and telling the time: a) Asking for the time: 现 在 几 点 (了 )？ Xiànzài jĭ diă n (le)? What time is it now? 几 点 (了 )？ Jǐ diăn (le)? What time is it? 你 的 表 几 点 (了 )？ Nĭ de biăo jĭ diăn (le)? What time is it by your watch? b) Reading of the clock time: 8:00 八 点 bā diăn 9:08 九 点 ( 零 )八 分 jiŭ diăn (líng)bā fén 10:15 十 点 十 五 分 shí diăn shíwŭ fēn 十 点 一 刻 shí diăn yí kè 11:30 十 一 点 三 十 分 shíyī diăn sānshí fēn 十 一 点 半 shíyī diăn bàn 12:45 十 二 点 四 十 五 shíèr diăn sìshìwǔ 十 二 点 三 刻 shíèr diăn sān kè 差 一 刻 一 点 chà yí kè yì diăn 4:18pm 下 午 四 点 十 八 分 xiàwǔ sì diăn shíbā fēn 7:46am 上 午 七 点 四 十 六 分 shàngwǔ qī diăn sìshíliù fēn before5:30 五 点 半 以 前 wŭ diăn bàn yĭqián after 9:18 九 点 十 八 分 以 後 jiŭ diăn shíbā fēn yĭhòu 5 or 6 o’clock 五 六 点 wǔ liù diăn B: Time expression as the attributive: A time word or phrase can serve as an attributive modifying a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. When a time or phrase modifies a noun or noun phrase, the format is ‘time word +的 + noun’. Note that the position of the time is BEFORE the modified noun. Now, let’s look at some examples: 1) 下 午 的 电 影 xiàwǔ de diànyĭng afternoon movie 2) 九 点 五 十 分 的 课 jiŭ diăn wŭshì fēn de kè a nine fifty class 3) 以 前 的 老 师 yĭqián de lăoshi the previous teacher 4) 几 点 的 课 jǐdiăn de kè a class of what time 5) 这 位 老 师 教 上 午 的 课 。 Zhè wèi lăoshi jiāo shàngwǔ de kè This teacher teaches morning class. 6)你 喜 欢 看 几 点 的 电 影 ？ Nǐ xĭhuan kàn jĭ diăn de diànyĭng? You like to watch movies of what time? C. Time expressions as the adverbial adjuncts: A time expression can function as an adverbial adjunct, modifying a verb and describing the time when the action takes place. When a time expression serves as an adverbial adjunct, it is usually placed before the verb it modifies. The format is: Subject + Time Expression + (Negation) + Verb + (Object) + ( Question Particle 吗 ) 我 + 上 午 +(不) + 去 + (商 店 ) + ( 吗 ) Some examples: 7) 你 几 点 去 上 课 ? Nǐ jǐ diǎn qù shàng kè ? At what time will you go to attend the class? 8) 她 妈 妈 下 午 三 点 在 家 。 Tā māma xiàwǔ sān diǎn zài jiā . Her mom is at home at three o’clock in the afternoon. 9) 台 湾 留 学 生 八 点 坐 车 从 我 们 学 院 去 加 州 。 Táiwān liúxuésheng bā diăn zuò chē cóng wŏmen xuéyuàn qù Jiāzhōu. At eight the exchange students from Taiwan will take bus from here to California. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Pivotal construction: Consider this sentence: 10) 她 男 朋 友 请 她 看 电 影 。 Tā nán péngyou qǐng tā kàn diàn yǐng . Her boyfriend invited her to see the movie. In this sentence, the underlined 她 is known grammatically as a “pivot”, and is the object of the first verb 请 , and the subject to the second verb 看 .The second half of the sentence 她 看 电 影 is termed a “pivotal construction”, and carries out the action intended by the sentence subject, in this case, 她 男 朋 友。 There is a handful of verbs in the Chinese language, which can be used in pivotal constructions. Among them, we so far have learned 欢 迎 ( to welcome)， 叫 (to ask )， 请 (to invite) and 有 (to have). For example: 11) 欢 迎 你 来 我 们 学 院 学 习 。 Huānyíng nǐ lái women xuéyuàn xué xí . We welcome you to come to our college to study. 12) 她 叫 我 下 午 去 医 院 。 Tā jiào wǒ xiàwǔ qù yīyuàn . She asked me to go the hospital in the afternoon. 13) 小 丁 有 一 个 哥 哥 在加 州 。 Xiǎo Dīng yǒu yí ge gēge zài Jiāzhōu . Ding has an older brother (who is) in California. Note that when verb 有 has a pivotal construction, the pivot is quantified with a number-measure. 14) 谢 老 师 有 一 个 女 儿 是 大 学 生 。 Xiè lǎoshī yǒu yí ge nǚer shì dàxuésheng . Teacher Xie has a daughter, (who) is a university student. The summery of pivotal construction: Subject +Verb + Pivot + Verb 我 + 请 + 他 + 来 3. Verbs in series: In a Chinese sentence, sometimes a series of verbs can be strung together. For instance: 15) 我 们 开 车 去 看 电 影 。 Wǒmen kāi chē qù kàn diànyǐng . We drove to see the movie. In a case like this, the first verb usually describes the manner, fashion or means in which the action expressed by the second verb is conducted, while the following verb indicates the goal. 16) 你 们 用 什 么 笔 写 字 ？ Nǐmen yòng shénme bǐ xiě zì ？ What pen are you going to use to write the characters?
