Lesson 21

Dialogue

English

Happy Birthday to You

Ding: Xueyou, what time now?

Xie:H alf past five. What are you busy with?

Ding: Today is Hua Jiang’s birthday. He invited us to attend his B-day party.

Xie:Y es, yes. What time did he say is the party?

Ding: Seven.

Xie: Now it is only five thirty; still early. What’s the fuss?

Ding: Why not the fuss?! Today is Hua’s twenty-one birthday, we got to give him some gift. What do you think we get for him?

Xie: Buy an interesting birthday card.

Ding: Buy just a card？Too little.

Xie: He likes music. Let’s get him a CD. Yes, When I had my birthday, the CD you gave me was nice. Let’s also buy him one.

Ding: So, we have to leave now. (We) have to buy stuff on the way.

Xie: OK....Renmei, what do you think I should wear?

Ding: Whatever you like.

Xie: Look, this pants, how is it?

Ding: Not bad, but I like the dark-blue one better.

Xie: Fine, (I’ll) do what you say.

Simplified;

祝你生日快乐;

丁 : 学友, 几点了？

谢 : 四点半。你忙什麽？

丁 : 今天是江华的生日。他请我们参加他的生日晚会。

谢 : 对了, 对了。他说晚会是几点？

丁 : 七点。

谢 : 现在才五点半, 还早呢。你忙什麽？

丁 : 我怎麽不忙？！今天是江华二十一岁的生日, 我们得送他礼物。你说我们买什麽送他呢？

谢 : 买一张有意思的生日卡吧。

丁 : 就买生日卡？太少了！

谢 : 江华喜欢音乐, 送他一张光碟吧。对了, 我生日的

时候, 你送我的那张光碟很不错。我们也给他买一张吧。

丁 : 所以, 我们现在得走啦。路上还得买东西呢。

谢 : 好吧.....人美, 你说我穿什麽？

丁 : 随你的便。

谢 : 你看, 这条裤子怎么样？

丁 : 不错, 可是我更喜欢那条深蓝色的。

谢 : 行啊, 听你的。

Traditional;

祝你生日快樂;

丁 ﹕ 學友, 幾點了？

謝 ﹕ 四點半。你忙什麼？

丁 ﹕ 今天是江華的生日。他請我們參加他的生日晚會。

謝 ﹕ 對了, 對了。他說晚會是幾點？

丁 ﹕ 七點。

謝 ﹕ 現在才五點半, 還早呢。你忙什麼？

丁 ﹕ 我怎麼不忙？！今天是江華二十一歲的生日, 我們得送他禮物。你說我們買什麼送他呢？

謝 ﹕ 買一張有意思的生日卡吧。

丁 ﹕ 就買生日卡？太少了！

謝 ﹕ 江華喜歡音樂, 送他一張光碟吧。對了, 我生日的時候, 你送我的那張光碟很不錯。我們也給他買一張吧。

丁 ﹕ 所以, 我們現在得走啦。路上還得買東西呢。

謝 ﹕ 好吧.....人美, 你說我穿什麼？

丁 ﹕ 隨你的便。

謝 ﹕ 你看, 這條褲子怎么樣？

丁 ﹕ 不錯, 可是我更喜歡那條深藍色的。

謝 ﹕ 行啊, 聽你的。

Pinyin

Zhù Nĭ Shēngrì Kuàilè;

Dīng: Xuéyŏu, jĭdiăn le?

Xiè: Wŭdiăn bàn. Nĭ máng shénme?

Dīng: Jīntiān shìJiāng Huá de shēngrì. Tā qĭng wŏmen cānjiā tāde shēngrì wănhuì

Xiè: Duìle, duìle. Tā shuō wănhuìshì jĭdiăn?

Dīng: Qīdiăn.

Xiè: Xiànzài cái wŭdiăn bàn, hái zăo ne. Nĭ máng shénme?

Dīng: Wŏzĕnme bù máng？Jīntiān shì Jiāng Huá èrshíyī suì de shēngrì, wŏmen dĕi sòng tālĭwù Nĭ shuō wŏmen sòng tā shénme ne?

Xiè: Măi yìzhāng yŏu yìsi de shēngrìkă ba.

Dīng: Jiùmăi shēngrìkă. Tài shăo le.

Xiè: Jiāng Huáxĭhuān yīnyuè sòng tā yìzhāng guāngdié ba. Duìle, wŏ shēngrì de shíjòu, nĭ sòng wŏde nàzhāng guāngdié hĕn búcuò. Wŏmen yĕ gĕi tā măi yìzhāng ba.

Dīng: Suŏyĭ wŏmen xiànzài dĕi zŏu la. Lùshàng hái dĕi măi dōngxi ne.

Xiè: Hăoba...Rénmĕi, nĭ shuō wŏ chuān shénme?

Dīng: Suínĭde biàn.

Xiè: Nĭ kàn zhè tiáo kùzi zĕnme yàng?

Dīng: Búcuò kĕshì wŏ gèng xĭhuān nàtiáo shēnlán de.

Xiè: Xíng a, tīng nĭde.

Text

English

Hua Jiang’s birthday;

Today is Saturday; (it) is also Hua Jiang’s twenty-one birthday. Xueyou and I went to Hua’s home to attend his birthday party. The people who came to the party were quite a lot: some were Hua’s college classmates, some were Hua’s childhood friends. Everyone sang and danced; (everyone) laughed and had fun; (and everyone) was very happy.

Hua showed us his family pictures. Hua’s grandparents were both in Taiwan, but Hua said he did not go to Taiwan often; his grandparents came often to the States to visit them. Every time when (they) came, they brought Hua a lot of Taiwan’s local specialties: there were goodies to eat, and there were things for use. Hua was happy.

Hua has a younger sister, (who) is very beautiful. I asked Hua how old his sister was. He told me she was sixteen this year, and attended high school. Hua’s younger sister did not look like Hua, nor did she look like their mother, but she looked very much like their grandma. (It was) very interesting. Hua told me his grandparents liked her sister a lot. To be honest, I like her a lot, too.

Simplified

江华的生日晚会;

今天星期六, 也是江华二十一岁的生日。我和学友去江华家参加他的生日晚会。参加晚会的人很多, 有的是江华大学的同学, 有的是江华小时候的朋友。大家又唱又跳, 又笑又闹, 非常开心。

江华让我们看他一家人的照片。江华的爷爷奶奶都在台湾, 可是江华说他不常回台湾, 爷爷奶奶常来美国看他们。每次来, 他们都给江华带很多台湾土特产, 有吃的, 还有用的, 江华很高兴。

江华有一个妹妹, 很漂亮。我问江华他妹妹今年多大。江华告诉我她今年十六岁, 上高中。江华的妹妹不像江华, 也不像他们的妈妈, 可是很像他们的奶奶。

很有意思。江华告诉我他的爷爷奶奶非常喜欢他妹妹。说实在的, 我也很喜欢

他妹妹。

Traditional

江華的生日晚會;

今天星期六, 也是江華二十一歲的生日。我和學友去江華家參加他的生日晚會。參加晚會的人很多, 有的是江華大學的同學, 有的是江華小時候的朋友。大家又唱又跳, 又笑又鬧, 非常開心。

江華讓我們看他一家人的照片。江華的爺爺奶奶都在台灣, 可是江華說他不常回台灣, 爺爺奶奶常來美國看他們。每次來, 他們都給江華帶很多台灣土特產, 有吃的, 還有用的, 江華很高興。

江華有一個妹妹, 很漂亮。我問江華他妹妹今年多大。江華告訴我她今年十六歲, 上高中。江華的妹妹不像江華, 也不像他們的媽媽, 可是很像他們的奶奶。很有意思。江華告訴我他的爺爺奶奶非常喜歡他妹妹。說實在的, 我也很喜歡

他妹妹。

Pinyin

Jiāng Huá de shēngrì wănhuì ;

Jīntiān Xīngqīliù yĕshì Jiāng Huá èrshíyīsuì de shēngrì. Wŏ hé Xuéyŏu qù Jiāng Huá jiā cānjiā tāde shēngrì wănhuì. Cānjiā wănhuì de rén hĕn duō, yŏude shì Jiāng Huá dàxué de tóngxué yŏude shì Jiāng Huá xiăo shíhòu de péngyou. Dàjiā yòu chàng yòu tiào, yòu xiào yòu nào, fēicháng gāoxìng.

Jiāng Huá ràng wŏmen kàn tā yìjiā rén de zhàopiàn. Jiāng Huá de yéye năinăi dōu zài Táiwān, kĕshì Jiāng Huá shuō tā bù cháng huí Táiwān, yéye năinai cháng lái Mĕiguó kàn tāmen. Mĕi cì lái, tāmen dōu gĕi Jiāng Huá dài hĕn duō. Táiwān tŭtèchăn, yŏu chīde, yŏu yòngde, Jiáng Huá hĕn gāoxìng.

Jiāng Huá yŏu yígè mèimei, hĕn piàoliàng. Wŏ wèn Jiāng Huá tā mèimei jīnnián duō dà. Jiāng Huá gàosù wŏ tā jīnnián shíliù suì shàng gāozhōng. Jiāng Huá de mèimei bú xiàng Jiāng Huá yĕ bú xiàng tāmen de māma, kĕshì hĕn xiàng tāmen de năinai. Hĕn yŏu yìsi. Jiāng Huá gàosù wŏ tāde yéye năinai fēicháng xĭhuān tā mèimei. Shuō shízài de, wŏ yĕ hĕn xĭhuān tā mèimei.

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
礼物 | lĭwù | n. | gift, present
卡 | kă | n. | card
光碟 | guāngdié | n. | CD
色 | sè | n. | color
照片 | zhàopiàn | n. | photo, picture
爷爷 | yéye | n. | grandpa
奶奶 | năinai | n. | grandma
土特产 | tŭtèchăn | n. | locally produced specialties
东西 | dōngxi | n. | stuff, things
送 | sòng | v. | to give as a gift
唱 | chàng | v. | to sing
跳 | tiào | v. | to jump, to dance
笑 | xiào | v. | to laugh
闹 | nào | v. | to make noise
让 | ràng | v. | to let, to allow
带 | dài | v. | to bring
像 | xiàng | v. | to be like, to resemble
不错 | búcuò | adj. | Not bad, nice
深蓝 | shēnlán | adj. | Dark-blue, deep-blue
开心 | kāixīn | adj. | happy, joyous
漂亮 | piàoliang | adj. | beautiful
更 | gèng | adv. | even more
非常 | fēicháng | adv. | very
得 | dĕi | modal verb | have to, need
怎麽 | zĕnme | interrogative pro. | how, why
多 | duō | interrogative pro. | how, to what extent
...的时候 | ...de shìhòu | set exp. | the time when
小时候 | xiăo shìhòu | idiomatic exp. | when young
随你的便 | suì nĭ de biàn | idiomatic exp. | do as you like
听你的 | tīng nĭ de | idiomatic exp. | do what you say
说实在的 | shuō shìzài de | idiomatic exp. | to be honest

Grammar 语法

1. When a verb/verb phrase or a clause modifying a noun:

We have come across Chinese noun phrase such as: 很好的朋友, 乾净的房间 . In those two examples, the nouns 朋友 and 房间 are respectively modified by the adjectives 很好 and 乾净 .The structural 的 marks the relationship between the modifier and the modified:

modifier | (particle) | modified | modifier | modified
很好 | 的 | 朋友 | very good | friend
hěn hǎo | de | péngyǒu |  |

The format applies when the modifier is a verb/verb phrase or a clause. For example:

the modifier | (particle) | the modified | the modifier | the modified
学中文 | 的 | 学生 | learning Chines | the students
妈妈给我 | 的 | 书 | given to me by Mom | the book
教我中文 | 的 | 老师 | who teaches me Chinese | the teacher
我买 | 的 | 车 | (which) I bought | the car

Points of merits:

Notice the difference in word order between the Chinese phrases and their English equivalents. In Chinese the modifier ALWAYS PRECEDES the modified, while in English the opposite is the truth.

In English, when a verb or a verb phrase modifies a noun, there is no structural connector to mark the relation.

See example 1 and 2.

In English, when a clause modifies a noun, there is usually a structural connector, which could be WHICH, WHO,

WHOM, WHEN, WHAT. But, whatever the connector is, when translated into Chinese, it takes the form of 的 .See example 3 and 4.

In Chinese, when the modified noun is understood in the context, it can be omitted. For example:

昨天妈妈买很多东西, 有吃的 (        ), 也有用的 (     ). Yesterday Mom bought a lot of stuff. There are stuff to eat; there are stuff to use.

When the noun is used in a general sense, it can also be omitted. For example:

学中文的 (     ) Those who study Chinese.

今天来的 (     ) Those who come today.

她说的 (     ) What (those which) she said.

2. The conjunction ...的时候：

The conjunction ..的时候 is an equivalent to English “when...” or “the time when...”. The difference between Chinese ..的时候 and English “when” or “the time when...” is that in Chinese the conjunction is AFTER the clause, while in English the conjunction is BEFORE the clause. For example:

clause | conjunction | clause | conjunction
我吃饭 | 的时候 | when | I eat
去年他回台湾 | 的时候 | when | he returned to Taiwan last year

Now let’s look at some sentences with a time clause:

我吃饭的时候, (我)不看电视。 | When I eat, I don’t watch TV.
她来的时候, 我不在。 | I wasn’t in, when she came.

Points of merits:

Note that the position of English time clause is flexible, it could be before the main clause or after the main clause; but the position of Chinese time clause is fixed. It has to COME BEFORE the main clause.

3. The conjunction 又...又...：

又...又... means “both...and...” in English. The pattern 又 + adj/verb 又 + adj/verb is used to indicate two concurrent situations or actions. 

又 + adj/verb 又 + adj/verb

For example:

|  | Adj. |  | Adj. |
她的房间 | 又 | 大 | 又 | 乾净。 | Her room is both big and clean.
|  | Verb. |  | Verb. |
大家 | 又 | 唱 | 又 | 跳 | Everyone is both singing and dancing.

Points of merits:;

When two adjectives are used in this way, they must be unidirectional, that is either complimentary or pejorative. For example:

又快又好 fast and good
又忙又累 busy and tiring

When two verbs are used in this way, they must be concurrent:

又说又笑 speak and laugh
又吃又喝 eat and drink

4. The interrogative pronoun 怎么样:

The interrogative pronoun 怎么样 is used to solicit other people’s opinions. It can follow both a noun phrase and a sentence. For example:

Noun phrase:

这个老师, 怎么样？ This teacher, what do you think?

那间房间, 怎么样？ What is your opinion of the room?

Sentence:

九月我们去北京, 怎么样？ We are going to Beijing in September, what do you think?

看晚上的电影, 怎么样？ See a evening movie, how is that?

5. The interrogative pronoun 怎麽:

The interrogative pronoun 怎麽 is often used to inquire about the manner of an action. For example:

你明天怎麽去纽约？ How will you go to New York?

你怎麽念这个字？ How do you pronoun this word?

怎麽 can also be use to inquire about reason. The difference between 怎麽 and 为什麽 in inquiry is the tone. 为什麽 goes after the fact while 怎麽 carries the tone of puzzlement, sometimes even of accusatory.

大家都学汉语, 你怎麽不学呢？ Everyone study Chinese. How come you don’t?

今天你怎麽不去图书馆呢？怎麽不去？现在才八点。太早了。How come you don’t go to the library？Why won’t I go (Of course I’ll go)？It’s only eight now. ( It’s) too early.

6. The interrogative pronoun 多:

The interrogative pronoun 多 works with adjectives and adverbs and with psycho-emotional verbs such as 爱, 喜欢, 想 etc. When it works with adjectives, it means “how”.

For example:

你的房间多大？ How big is your room？

她多常回家？ How often does she come home?

When it works with psycho-emotional verbs, it means “to what extent”:

你多爱他？ To what extent do you love him?

他多喜欢开车? To what extent does he like to drive？(To what extent is his craziness for driving?)

7. The adverb 更:

The adverb 更 embodies comparative degree. It works with adjectives, psycho-emotional verbs and some adverbs:

他有书, 我的书更多。 He has books, (but) my books are even more (I have more books).

我和姐姐更常去纽约。 My older sister and I go to New York more often.

我喜欢学中文, 可是, 我更喜欢学电脑。 I like to study Chinese, but like to study Computer Science more.

8. The modal verb 得:

The modal verb 得 means “need to, have to, must” in English. It’s negation is 不用 (need not).

For example:

老师, 今天我们得作汉字作业吗？不用。Teacher, do we need to do character writing homework today？No.

世海, 十点了, 你得给你爸打个电话。不用。爸爸今天不在。Shihai, it’s ten. You should give your dad a call. Not necessary. Daddy is not home today.

Speech patterns

1. When a verb/verb phrase or a clause modifyies a noun:

a. Phrases:

买报的

昨天妈妈写的那个汉字

奶奶穿的那件大衣

唱歌的

在银行工作的姐姐

去中国学习的学生

王老师用的那台电脑

看书的

给她打电话的那个人

知道他名字的

我住的房间

我上大学的那天

Măi bào de

Zuótiān māma xiĕde nàge Hànzì

Năinai chuān de nà jiàn dàyī

Chànggē de

Zài yìnháng gōngzuò de jiĕjie

Qù Zhōnguó xuéxì de xuésheng

Wáng lăoshī yòng de nà tái diànnăo

Kàn shū de

Gĕi tā dă diànhuàde nàge rén

Zhīdào tā mìngzì de

Wŏ zhù de fángjiān

Wŏ shàng dàxué de nàtian

Those who buy newspaper

That Chinese character Mom wrote yesterday

That overcoat grandma is wearing

Those who sing

The older sister who works at the bank

The students who went to study in China

The computer used by teacher Wang

Those who read

The person who called her

Those who know his name

The room where I live 1

The day when I attended the university

b. Sentences:

你喜欢我们昨天去的那个图书馆吗？很喜欢。是新的吧？

你哪一年来美国？我来美国的那年是一九八九年。你几月来？八月。

在中文系教汉语的是你的姐姐还是妹妹？不是我的姐姐, 也不是我的妹妹。她是我的女朋友。

你喜欢吃爸爸作的菜吗？爸爸作的菜不错, 可是, 我更喜欢妈妈作的。

你去的那个学校有实验室吗？怎麽没有？

这是你的新车吗？对了。是我爸爸妈妈送我的生日礼物。

昨天跟你一起来参加新年晚会的那个男生是你的男朋友吧？对了。他姓什麽？

学日文的同学请跟我来。他说什麽？他说学日文的跟他去。

我认识的汉字都是我妈妈教的。

请我喝咖啡的那个同学姓白, 叫大为。你认识吗？

Nĭ xĭhuān wŏmen zuótiān qùde nàge túshūguăn ma？Hĕn xĭhuān. Shì xīn de ba?

Nĭ nă yìnián lái Mĕiguó？Wŏlái Mĕiguó de nànián shì yījiŭbājiŭ nián. Nĭjĭ yuèlái？Bāyuè.

Zài Zhōngwén xì jiāo Hànyŭde shìnĭde jiĕjie háishi mèimei？Búshì wŏde jiĕjie, yĕbúshìwŏde mèimei; shì wŏde npéngyou.

Nĭxĭhuān chī bàba zuò de cài ma？Bàba zuò de cài búcuò kĕshì wŏ gèng xĭhuān māma zuò de.

Nĭ qùde nàge xuéxiào yŏu shìyànshì ma？Zĕnme méiyŏu?

Zhè shì nĭde xīn chē ma？Duìle, Shì wŏ bàba māma sòng wŏde lĭwù.

Zuótiān gēn nĭ yìqĭ lái cānjiā xīnnián wănhuì de nàge nánshēng shì nĭde nán péngyou ba？Duìle. Tā xìng shénme?

Xué Rìyŭ de tóngxué gēn wŏ lái. Tāshuō shénme？Tā shuō xué Rìyŭ de tóngxué gēn tā qù

Wŏ rènshi de Hànzì dōu shì wŏ māma jiāo de.

Qĭng wŏ hē kāfēi de nàge tóngxué xìng Bái, jiào Dàwéi. Nĭ rènshi ma?

Do you like the library we went yesterday？Very much. Is (it) a new one?

Which year did you came to the States？The year I came to the States was Nineteen Eighty-nine. What month did you come？August.

The one who teaches Chinese language in the Chinese Department is your older or younger sister? She is neither my older sister, nor my younger sister. She is my girl friend.

Do you like to eat the dishes your dad makes？The dishes my dad makes are nice, but, I like what my mom makes better.

Does the school you go to have labs？Of course (Why doesn't it have them?)!

Is this your new car？Right. (It) is a birthday gift from my parents ( is a birthday gift my parents gave me).

Is that guy who attended the New Year party together with you yesterday your boy friend？Yes. What is his last name?

Those students who study Japanese please come with me. What did he say？He said those who study Japanese go with him.

The characters I know are all those my mom taught me.

The classmate who invited me to coffee, his last name is Bai, and his first name is Dawei. Do you know him?

2. The conjunction ...的时候?

她喜欢开车的时候听中文录音。

妈妈, 我看书的时候, 你作什麽？我给你作吃的。

我打电话的时候, 不喜欢别人听。

去台湾的时候, 你给爷爷奶奶带什麽呢？

老的时候, 我要去欧洲, 非洲看看。

Tāxĭhuān kāichē de shìhòu tīng Zhōngwén lùyīn.

Māma, wŏ kàn shū de shìhòu, nĭ zuò shénme？Wŏ gĕi nĭ zuòchīde.

Wŏ dă diànhuà de shìhòu, bù xĭhuān biérén tīng.

Qù Táiwān de shìhòu, nĭ gĕi yéye năinai dài shénme ne?

Lăo de shìhòu, wŏ yào qù ōuzhōu, Fēizhōu kànkan.

She likes to listen to the Chinese tapes while she drives.

Mom, when I read, what do you do？I cook for you ( I make things for you to eat).

When I talk on the phone, ( I ) don't like others to listen in.

When (you) go to Taiwan, what do you bring to your grandparents?

I want to go to Europe and Africa to take a look, when ( I am ) old.

3.The expression 怎么样:

这儿人太多了。我们去那儿看看, 怎麽样？

这条裤子不好看。深蓝的那条, 怎么样？

你儿子写的汉字, 怎么样？不错。你要他写什麽？

老师问的问题, 怎麽样？难不难？

这是你第一次来美国吧？美国, 怎么样？

Zhèr rén tài duō le. Wŏmen qù nàr kànkan, zĕnmeyàng?

Zhè tiáo kùzi bù hăokàn. Shēnlán de nà tiáo, zĕnmeyàng?

Nĭ érzi xiĕ de Hànzì zĕnmeyàng？Bú cuò. Nĭyào tā xiĕ shénme?

Lăoshī wèn de wèntì zĕnmeyàng？Nán bù nán?

Zhè shì nĭ dì yīcì lái Mĕiguó ba？Mĕi guó zĕnmeyàng?

There are too many people here ( It is too crowded here). Let's go and take a look there, OK?

This pair of pants is ugly. How about the dark-blue one?

How is your son in writing Chinese characters？Not bad？What do you want him to write?

What do you think of the questions the teacher asked？Are they difficult?

Is this your first time to the States？What do you think of the States?

4.The conjunction 又...又...：

爸爸作的菜真不错, 又好看又好吃。

路上, 她弟弟又哭又闹, 真没有意思。

学中文真不容易, 又得念又得写。要学的东西很多。

这是你的宿舍吗？真好, 又大又乾净。住几个人？

Bàba zuò de cài zhēn búcuò yòu hăokàn yòu hăochī.

Lùshàng, tā dìdi yòu kū yòu nào, zhēn méiyŏu yìsi.

Xué Zhōngwén zhēn bù róngyì, yòu dĕi niàn yòu dĕi xiĕ Yào xué de dōngxi hĕn duō.

Zhè shì nĭde sùshèma？Zhēn hăo, yòu dà yòu gānjìng. Zhù jĭ ge rén?

The dishes Dad makes are really nice, both beautiful and tasty.

On the way, her younger brother cried and fussed. ( It ) is really no fun.

Learning Chinese is not easy. ( You ) have to read and ( you ) have to write. The things needs to learn are a lot.

Is this your dorm. Good, both big and clean. How many people live here?

Lesson 22

Dialogue

English

The Student Center is Right Across From my Dorm;

Shihai: Hi, David.

David:Hi. Where are you going?

Shihai: I'm going to the student center. Do you know how to get there？ It is across from the library, right?

David:Not exactly. Do you know where the dorm I moved into recently is?

Shihai: No.

David:You know where the library is, right?

Shihai: Right.

David:To the left of the library is dining hall; to the left of the dining hall is my dorm. The student center is right across from my dorm. I'm now going back to my dorm. Let's walk together.

Shihai: What？You are going back to your dorm？If I knew we were going in the same way, I would not have asked you for directions.

David:Who told you not to ask where I'm going?…oh, yes, why(to do what) do you go to the student center?

Shihai: Renmei said that there is an exhibit there. I'm going there to take a look.

David:I heard that the exhibit is quite nice.

Shihai: (Let's) go together, OK?

David:No. I don't have time today. By the way, (after you) get out from the student center, how about coming to my place for a visit?

Shihai: Didn't you say you don't have time?

David:For you, I always have time.

Shihai: OK. See you later.

David:Bye.

Simplified

初級第二十二課: 對話 學生中心就在我宿舍的對面;

世海 : 你好, 大为。

大为 : 你好。你去哪儿？

世海 : 我去学生中心。你知道怎麽走吗？学生中心在图书馆的对面, 对吗？

大为 : 不完全对。你知道我新搬的宿舍在哪儿吗 ？

世海 : 不知道。

大为 : 你知道图书馆在哪儿, 对吗？

世海 : 对。

大为 : 图书馆的左边是食堂。食堂的左边是我的宿舍。学生中心就在我宿舍的对面。我现在回宿舍。我们一起走吧。

世海 : 什麽？你回宿舍？早知道我们同路, 我就不问路了。

大为 : 谁叫你不问我去哪儿？...对了, 你去学生中心做什麽？

世海 : 人美说那儿有一个展览。我去看看。

大为 : 那个展览听说很不错。

世海 : 一起去, 好吗？

大为 : 不行, 今天我没空。对了, 从学生中心出来, 你到我那儿坐坐, 怎么样？

世海 : 你不是没空吗？

大为 : 对你, 我总是有空。

世海 : 好吧, 过一会儿见。

大为 : 再见。

Traditional

初级第二十二课: 对话 学生中心就在我宿舍的对面;

世海 : 你好, 大为。

大为 : 你好。你去哪儿？

世海 : 我去学生中心。你知道怎麽走吗？学生中心在 图书馆的对面, 对吗？

大为 : 不完全对。你知道我新搬的宿舍在哪儿吗 ？

世海 : 不知道。

大为 : 你知道图书馆在哪儿, 对吗？

世海 : 对。

大为 : 图书馆的左边是食堂。食堂的左边是我的宿舍。学生中心就在我宿舍的对面。我现在回宿舍。我们一起走吧。

世海 : 什麽？你回宿舍？早知道我们同路, 我就不问路了。

大为 : 谁叫你不问我去哪儿？...对了, 你去学生中心做什麽？

世海 : 人美说那儿有一个展览。我去看看。

大为 : 那个展览听说很不错。

世海 : 一起去, 好吗？

大为 : 不行, 今天我没空。对了, 从学生中心出来, 你到我那儿坐坐, 怎么样？

世海 : 你不是没空吗？

大为 : 对你, 我总是有空。

世海 : 好吧, 过一会儿见。

大为 : 再见。

Pinyin

Xuéshēng Zhōngxīn Jiù Zài Wŏ Sùshè de Duìmiàn;

Shìhăi: Nĭ hăo, Dàwéi.

Dàwéi: Nĭ hăo. Nĭ qù năr？

Shìhăi: Wŏ qù xuéshēng zhōngxīn. Nĭ zhī dào zĕnme zŏu ma？Xuéshēng zhōngxīn zài túshūguăn de duìmiàn, duì ma？

Dàwéi: Bù wánquán duì. Nĭ zhīdào wŏ xīn bān de sùshè zài năr ma？

Shìhăi: Bù zhī dào.

Dàwéi: Nĭ zhīdào túshūguăn zài năr, duì ma？

Shìhăi: Duì.

Dàwéi: Túshūguăn de zuŏbiān shì shítáng, Shítáng de zuŏbiān shì wŏ de sùshè. Xuéshēng zhōngxīn jiù zài wŏ sùshè de duìmiàn. Wŏ xiànzài huí sùshè.Wŏ mén yì qĭ zŏu ba.

Shìhăi: Shén me？Nĭ huí sùshè？Zăo zhīdào wŏmén tóng lù, wŏ jiù bú wèn lù le.

Dàwéi: Shéi jiào nĭ bú wèn wŏ qù năr?!... Duìle, nĭ qù xuéshēng zhōngxīn zuò shénme？

Shìhăi: Rénmĕi shuō nàr yŏu yígè zhănlăn. Wŏ qù kànkan.

Dàwéi: Nàgè zhănlăn tīngshuō hĕn búcuò.

Shíhăi: Yìqĭ qù, hăo ma？

Dàwéi: Bù xíng, jīntiān wŏ méi kòng. Duìle, cóng xuéshēng zhōngxīn chūlái, nĭ Dào wŏ nàr zuòzuo, zĕnmeyàng？

Shìhăi: Nĭ búshì méi kòng ma？

Dàwéi: Duì nĭ wŏ zŏngshì yŏu kòng.

Shìhăi: Hăo ba, guò yìhuĭr jiàn.

Dàwéi: Zàijiàn.

Text

English

The dorm David moved into;

The dorm David recently moved into is across from the student center. There are a library, dining hall, student center, and gyms in the vicinity of the dorm. The classrooms where he takes his classes are also not far from the place where he lives. So, (It's) very convenient.

Because this year David is in his fourth year in college, he lives in a suite. The suite is not big, but, there are three bedrooms, one toilet, one bathroom, and a small kitchen. This picture above is a floor plan:

Look, this is living-room. The door of the suite is at the right of the living room. There is a passageway on the left of the living-room. On the right of the passageway are the kitchen, the bathroom, and the toilet. On it's left are the three bedrooms. David's bedroom is in the middle. David’s bedroom isn't big. But, it has a window that is not small. The window is across from the bedroom door. In front of the window there is a table. By the table there is a chair. On the table there is a computer. David's bed is on the left side of the room. Opposite the bed there is a bookshelf. On the shelf there are a lot of books. There is no TV in the bedroom. David told Shihai he likes to play with computers, (so) there isn't too much time to watch TV, so he does not have a TV. David's bedroom is both clean and quiet, and Shihai is very envious.

Simplified

初级第二十二课: 短文 大为住的套房;

大为新搬的宿舍在学生中心的对面。宿舍的附近有图书馆, 食堂, 学生中心, 和健身房。他上课的教室离他住的地方也不远。所以, 很方便。

因为大为今年上大四, 所以他住套房。套房不大, 但是, 有三间卧室, 一个客厅, 一个厕所, 一个洗澡间, 还有一个小厨房。上边的这张图是大为住的套房的平面图。

你看, 这是客厅。套房的门在客厅的右边。客厅的左边有一条过道。过道的右边是厨房, 洗澡间和厕所。过道的左边是三间卧室。大为的卧室在中间。大为的卧室不大, 可是, 有一个不小的窗户。窗户在门的对面。窗户的前边有一张桌子。桌子旁有一把椅子。桌子上有一台电脑。大为的床在卧室的左边。床的对面有一个书架。书架上有很多书。卧室里没有电视。大为告诉世海他喜欢玩电脑, 看电视的时间不多, 所以他没有电视。大为的卧室又乾净又安静, 世海很羡慕。

Traditional

初級第二十二課: 短文 大為住的套房;

大為新搬的宿舍在學生中心的對面。宿舍的附近有圖書館, 食堂, 學生中心, 和健身房。他上課的教室離他住的地方也不遠。所以, 很方便。

因為大為今年上大四, 所以他住套房。套房不大, 但是, 有三間臥室, 一個客廳, 一個廁所, 一個洗澡間, 還有一個小廚房。上邊的這張圖是大為住的套房的平面圖。

你看, 這是客廳。套房的門在客廳的右邊。客廳的左邊有一條過道。過道的右邊是廚房, 洗澡間和廁所。過道的左邊是三間臥室。大為的臥室在中間。大為的臥室不大, 可是, 有一個不小的窗戶。窗戶在門的對面。窗戶的前邊有一張桌子。桌子旁有一把椅子。桌子上有一台電腦。大為的床在臥室的左邊。床的對面有一個書架。書架上有很多書。臥室裡沒有電視。大為告訴世海他喜歡玩電腦, 看電視的時間不多, 所以他沒有電視。大為的臥室又乾淨又安靜, 世海很羨慕。

Pinyin

Dàwéi zhù de tào fáng;

Dàwéi xīn bān de sùshè zài xuéshēng zhōngxīn de duìmiàn. Sùshè de fùjìn yŏu túshūguăn, shítáng, hé jiànshēn fáng. Tā shàng kè de jiàoshì lí tā zhù de dìfāng yĕ bù yuăn, suŏ yĭ

hĕn fāngbiàn.

Yīnwéi Dàwéi jīn nián shàng dàsì, suŏyĭ tā zhù tào fáng. Tào fáng bú dà, dànshì, yŏu sān

jiān wòshì yígè kètīng, yígè cèsuŏ, yígè xĭzăo jiān, háiyŏu yígè xiăo chúfáng. Shàng biānr

de zhè zhāng tú shì Dàwéi zhù de tào fáng de píng miàn tú.

Nĭ kàn, zhè shì kètīng. Tào fáng de mén zài kètīng de yòu biānr. Kètīng de Zuŏbiānr yŏu

yìtiáo guòdào. Guòdào de yòubiānr shì chúfáng, xĭzăo jiān hé cèsuŏ. Guòdào de zuŏbiān

shì sān jiān wòshì. Dàwéi de wòshì zài zhōngjiān. Dàwéi de wòshì bú dà, kĕ shì, yŏu yígè

bùxiăo de chuānghù. Chuānhù zài mén de duìmiàn. Chuānghù de qiánbiānr yŏu yìzhāng zhuōzi.

zhuōzi páng yŏu yì bă yĭzi. Zhuōzi shàng yŏu yìtái Diànnăo. Dàwéi de chuáng zài wòshì de

zuŏbiānr. Chuáng de duìmiàn yŏu yígè shūjià. Shūjià Shàng yŏu hĕnduō shū. Wòshì lĭ méiyŏu

diànshì. Dàwéi gàosù Shìhăi tā xĭhuān wán diànnăo, kàn Diànshì de shíjiān bù duō, suŏyĭ

tā méiyŏu diànshì. Dàwéi de wòshìyòu gānjìng yòu ānjìng, Shìhăi hĕn xiànmù.

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
中心 | zhōngxīn | n. | center
展览 | zhănlăn | n. | exhibit
健身房 | jiànshēn fáng | n. | gyms
套房 | tàofáng | n. | suite
卧室 | wòshì | n. | bedroom
厕所 | cèsuŏ | n. | toilet
洗澡间 | xĭzăo jiān | n. | bathroom
厨房 | chúfáng | n. | kitchen
图 | tú | n. | picture, drawing
平面图 | pìngmiàn tú | n. | floor plane
过道 | guòdào | n. | passageway
窗户 | chuānghù | n. | window
桌子 | zhuōzi | n. | table, desk
椅子 | yĭzi | n. | chair
书架 | shūjià | n. | bookshelf
时间 | shìjiān | n. | time
附近 | fùjìn | n. | vicinity, ？nearby
间 | jiān | mw. | used to classify rooms
把 | bă | mw. | used to classify or count things such as chairs, pens, knives, etc.
搬 | bān | v. | to move
羡慕 | xiànmù | v. | to envy, to admire
|  | adj.  | envious
方便 | fāngbiàn | adj. | convenient
完全 | wánquán | adv. | totally, exactly
前 | qián | direction word | front
後 | hòu | direction word | back, behind
左 | zuŏ | direction word | left
右 | yòu | direction word | right
上 | shàng | direction word | upper
下 | xià | direction word | below
里 | lĭ | direction word | inside
外 | wài | direction word | outside
旁 | páng | direction word | next to
对 | duì | direction word | opposite
中 | zhōng | direction word | middle
边 | biānr | suffix | (for direction words)
面 | miàn | suffix | (for direction words)
间 | jiān | suffix |
问路 | wèn lù | idiomatic exp. | to ask for direction
同路 | tóng lù | idiomatic exp. | to go in the same direction
怎麽走 | zĕnme zŏu I | diomatic exp. | How (does one) go to get to

Grammar 语法

1. Direction and location words:

Direction word such as 上/下/左/右/前/後 /里边/面/外/旁/对/中 are often used in conjunction with suffixes such as 边/面/间. Together they form a location word (place word). For example:

上边/面 | n. | (at) the top,
下边/面 | n. | beneath
左边/面 | n. | (on) the left
右边/面 | n. | (to) the right
前边/面 | n. | (in) the front
後边/面 | n. | (in) the back
里边/面 | n. | inside, interior
外边/面 | n. | outside, exterior
旁边 | n. | (by) the side,
对面 | n. | (on) the opposite side, across from
中间 | n. | in the middle

Note that direction words 上/下/左/右/前/後/里边/面/外 can take both 边/面, while 旁 takes only 边, 对 only takes 面, and 间 goes only with 中.

2. When a location word is modified by a noun or a pronoun:

A noun or a pronoun such as 图书馆, 桌子, 她, 我们 can be used to modify a location word. For example:

桌子(的)前边 | in front of the table
图书馆(的)里边 | in(side) the library
她(的)旁边 | next to her
我们(的)对面 | across us

Points to note:

When a noun or a pronoun modifies a location word, the grammatical marker 的 is optional.

When a noun modifies a location word, which is a combination of one of the direction words 上, 下, 前, 後, 里, 外 or 旁, but never 左, 右, 对, 中 + suffix, the suffix can be omitted if 的 is omitted. For example:

宿舍前边 | = | 宿舍前
教室里边 | = | 教室里
椅子的下边 | = | 椅子下
窗户的旁边 | = | 窗户旁

Place names such as 中国, 美国, 北京, 纽约 never work with direction words 里, so it is INCORRECT to say:

*英国里 *上海里边 *欧洲的里边 etc.

English phrases such as “in the dictionary”, “in his letter”, and “in the Chinese book”, when translated into Chinese, more often than not, they become:

In the dictionary | = | 字典上
In his letter | = | 他的信上
In Chinese book | = | 中文书上

Why？Because “letter”, “dictionary” and “book” are the medium of “words”. Instead of 里, the Chinese prefer 上 . It’s a way for them to show their respect to and worship of “words”, which embody knowledge.

3. When a noun is modified by a location word:

A location word can be used to modify a noun. For example:

上边的书 | the book on the top
前边的车 | the car in the front
下面的图 | the drawing below
里边的人 | the person inside
中间的卧室 | the bedroom in the middle
外边的椅子 | the chairs outside

Note that when a location word modifies a noun, the grammatical marker 的 is not optional.

The pattern: 

Someone/something 在 some location

The pattern: “Someone/something 在 some location” is equivalent to the English sentence pattern “something/someone is/are in some location”. Note 在 is a verb meaning not a preposition ‘to be in/on/at/by ect’. For example:

Someone/something | 在 | some location | English
Noun/noun phrase | verb | location word |
电话 | 在 | 他的房间里 | The phone is in his room.
妈妈 | 不在 | 厨房里 | Mom is not in the kitchen.
你新买的车 | 在不在 | 外面 | Is the car you bought recently outside？
你的宿舍 | 在 | 健身房的旁边吗 | Is your dorm next to the gyms？
谁 | 在 | 教室里 | Who are in the classroom？
学生中心 | 在 | 哪儿 | Where is the students’ center？

The pattern:

In some location 是 something/someone

The pattern “In some location 是 something/someone” is equivalent to the English sentence pattern:

“In some location is/are someone/something”. For example:

In some location | 是 | something/someone | English
location word | verb | Noun/noun phrase |
他的左边 | 是 | 他的太太 | To his left is his wife.
门的对面 | 不是 | 窗户 | Opposite the door is not a window.
你的前面 | 是 | 谁？ | In front of you is who？
邮局的对面 | 是 | 什麽楼 ？ | What building is across from the post-office？

4. The expression 怎麽走:

This is an idiomatic expression used for asking for direction. For example:

请问, 去咖啡厅 怎麽走？ Excuse me, how can I get to the coffee house?

小王, 你知道去纽约怎麽走吗？ Wang, do you know how to get to New York?

对不起, 我不知道去那儿怎麽走。 Sorry, I do know how to get there.

5. The pattern 离...远:

The pattern 离...远 means “far from” in English. For instance:

subj. | prep. phrase | adj. as verb | Particle | English
我家 | 离学院 | 远。 |  | My home is far from the college.
食堂 | 离宿舍 | 远 | 吗？ | Is the dining hall far from the dorm?
这儿 | 离纽约 | 不远。 |  | Here is not far from New York.

Points to note:;

In Chinese pattern the prepositional phrase formed with 离... comes before the verb.

In Chinese, usually when a sentence has a prepositional phrase, negation falls before the preposition. For example:

| prep. phrase |
我们 | 不在家 | 吃饭。

But this is not the case with 离...远, Negation should go before the verb in this pattern.

6. The pattern 早知道...就(不)...了:

The pattern 早知道...就 (不)...了 carries a subjunctive mood.

It is equivalent to the English pattern: “If somebody had known something earlier, he would (not) have?” .

Let’s look at some examples:

早知道你不喜欢看电影, 我就不请你看电影了。 | If ( I ) had known that you don’t like watching movies, I would not have invited you to see a movie.
早知道你去纽约, 我就跟你一起去了。 | If ( I ) had known that you went to New York, I would have gone with you.If ( I ) had known that you went to New York, I would have gone with you.If ( I ) had known that you went to New York, I would have gone with you.

Speech patterns

1.When a location word is modified by a noun or a pronoun:

1。那本书的左边 | 2。那个新厕所的对面
3。电视里 | 4。他的信上
5。咖啡馆和书店的中间 | 6。地图的下边
7。过道的两边 | 8。电脑中心的後面
9。教室楼的前边 | 10。卧室里边

1. Nà bĕn shū de zuŏbiānr. | 2. Nè gè xīn cèsuŏ de duìmiàn
3. Diànshì lĭ | 4. Tāde xìnshàng
5. Kāfei guăn hé shūdiàn de zhōngjiān | 6. Dìtú de xiàbiānr.
7. guòdào de liăngbiānr | 8. Diànnăo zhōngxīn de hòumiàn
9. jiàoshì lóu de qiánbiānr. | 10. Wòshìlĭbiānr.

1. The left of that book | 2. Opposite the new restroom
3. On TV | 4. In his letter
5. Between the coffee house and the bookstore | 6. Under the map
7. The two sides of the passageway | 8. Behind the computer center
9. The front of the classroom building | 10. Inside the bedroom

2.When a noun is modified by a location:

1. 里边的那间小客厅 | 2. 左边的那个人
3. 中间的那张桌子 | 4. 地图旁边的那杯茶
5. 电视上面的那本书 | 6. 厨房对面的那个房间
7. 我常常在食堂後面的那个实验室工作。 | 8. 桌子上边的那杯咖啡是你的。
9. 这张照片里的三个孩子都是你的孩子吗？ | 10. 下面的这个汉字怎麽念？

1. Lĭbiānr de nàjiān xiăo kètīng | 2. Zuŏbiānr de nàgè rén
3. Zhōngjiān de nàzhāng zhuōzi | 4. Dìtù pángbiānr de nàbēi chá
5. Diànshì shàngmiàn de nàbĕn shū | 6. Chúfáng pángbiān de nàgè fángjiān
7. Wŏ chángcháng zài shìtáng hòumiàn de nàgè shìyànshì gōngzuò | 8. Zhuōzi shàngbiānr de nàbēi cāfēi shì nĭde.
9. Zhè zhāng zhàopiàn lĭ de sāngè háizi dōu shì nĭde háizi ma? | 10. Xiàmiàn de zhègèHànzì zĕnme niàn?

1. That small livingroom inside | 2. That person on the left
3. That table in the middle | 4. That cup of tea by the map
5. That book on the TV | 6. That room next to the kitchen
7. I often work at that lab behind the dining hall. | 8. The cup of coffee on that table is yours.
9. Are the three kids in this photo all your children? | 10. How is this Chinese character [that is] underneath pronounced?

3. The pattern “Someone/thing 在 some location” vs. existence 有:

你的日语书在厨房里。 /厨房里有 一本日语书, 是你的吗？

电话不在这儿, 在客厅里。/ 这儿没有电话。客厅里有两台电话。

图书馆在哪儿？图书馆在银行和书店的中间。/哪儿有图书馆？银行和书店的中间有一个图书馆。

谁在你的前边？教我们法文文法的那个老师在我的前边。/你的前边有人吗？有。有一个老师。听说他教法文文法。

今天报纸在哪儿？那儿。在大桌子旁边的椅子上。/哪儿有报纸？大桌子旁边的椅子上有一张报纸。

Nĭde Rìyŭshū zài chúfáng lĭ / Chúfáng lĭ yŏu yìbĕn Rìyŭshū Shì nĭde ma?

Diànhuà bú zài zhèr; zài kètīng lĭ / Zhèr méiyŏu diànhuà. Kètīng lĭ yŏu liăng tái diànhuà.

Túshūguăn zài năr？Túshūguăn zài yìnháng hé shūdiàn de zhōngjiān. / Năr yŏu túshūguăn Yìnháng hé shūdiàn de zhōngjiān yŏu yìgè túshūguăn.

Shéi zài nĭde qiánbiānr？Jiāo wŏmen Făwén wénfă de nàgè lăoshī zài wŏde qiánbiānr. / Nĭde Qiánbiānr yŏu rén ma？Yŏu. Yŏu yìgè lăoshī. Tīngshuō tā jiāo Făwén wénfă.

Jīntiān de bàozhĭ zài năr？Nàr, zài dà zhuōzi pángbiān de yĭzi shàng. / Năr yŏu bàozhĭ. D Zhuōzi pángbiān de yĭzi shàng yŏu yìzhāng bàozhĭ.

Your Japanese book is in the kitchen. / There is a Japanese book in the kitchen. Is (it) yours?

The phone is not here, (it) is in the livingroom. / There is no phone here. In the livingroom there are two phones.

Where is the library？The library is between the bank and the bookstore. / Where is there a library? There is a library between the bank and the bookstore.

Who is in front of you？The teacher who teaches us French Grammar 语法 is in front of me. / Is there anyone in front of you？Yes. There is a teacher. I was told that he teaches French Grammar 语法.

Where is Today’s newspaper？There. (It) is on the chair by the big table. / Where is there a newspaper (Where can we find a newspaper)？There is newspaper on the chair by the big table.

4. The pattern “In some location 是 someone/thing” vs. existence 有 and vs. “Someone/thing 在 some location”:

她新搬的宿舍的对面是健身房。 / 她新搬的宿舍的对面有一个健身房。

那条牛仔裤的旁边是一件白衬衫。 / 白衬衫在那条牛仔裤的旁边。

他的左边是他爸爸, 右边是他妈妈。 / 他爸爸在他的左边, 他妈妈在他右边。

那两辆白色日本车的中间是我的车。 / 我的车在那两辆白色日本车的中间。

198号房间的对面不是197号, 是180号。 / 180号在198号房间的对面。

咖啡馆的左边是邮局还是电影院？/ 邮局还是电影院在咖啡馆的左边？

Tā xīn bān de sùshè de duìmiàn shì jiànshēnfáng. / Tā xīn bān de sùshè de duìmiàn yŏu yìgè jiànshēnfáng.

Nàtiáo niúzăi kù de pángbiānr shì yìjiàn bái chènshān. / Bái chènshān zài nà tiáo niúzăi kù de Pángbiānr.

Tāde zuŏbiānr shì tāde bàba, yòubiānr shì tā māma. / Tà bàba zài tāde zuŏbiānr; Tā māma zài tā yòubiānr.

Nà liăngliàng báisè de Rìbĕn chē de zhōngjiān shì wŏde chē / Wŏde chē zài nà liăngliàng Báisè Rìbĕn chē de zhōngjiān.

Yījiŭbāhào fángjiān de duìmiàn bú shì yījiŭqīhào, shì yībălìng hào. / Yībālìng hào zài ījiŭbāhào fángjiān de duìmiàn.

Kāfēiguăn de zuŏbiānr shì yóujúhái shì diànyĭngyuàn？/ Yóujú hái shì diànyĭngyuàn zài kāfeiguăn de zuŏbiānr?

Opposite the dorm she moved into recently is a gym. / There is a gym opposite the dorm she moved in recently.

Next to the pair of jeans is a white shirt. / The white shirt is next to the pair of jeans.

On his left is his dad; on the right is his mom. / His dad is to his left, and his mom to his right.

Between the two white Japanese cars is my car. / My car is between the two white Japanese cars.

Opposite Room 198 is not Room 197, but Room 180. / Room 180 is across from Room 198.

To the left of the coffee house is there a post office or a cinema？/ Is a post office or a cinema to the left of the coffee house?

5. The pattern 离...远 :

你家离你常去的那个咖啡馆远吗？很远。你想去吗？我们一起去, 好吗？随你的便。

你新搬宿舍离我这儿太远了。谁说太远了？

你怎麽不在食堂吃饭？食堂离我住的地方太远了, 不方便。

北京离上海远还是离台北远？

你从中国来这儿学习, 你爸爸妈妈常来看你吗？不常。这儿离中国太远了。我家离这儿不远。我爸爸妈妈也不常来看我。

Nĭ jiā lì nĭcháng qù de nàgè kāfēiguăn yuăn ma？Hĕn yuăn. Nĭ xiăng qù ma？Wŏmen yìqĭ qù hăo ma？Suì nĭde biàn.

Nĭ xīn bān de sùshè lì wŏ zhèr tài yuăn le. Shéi shuō tài yuăn le?

Nĭ zĕnme bú zài shìtáng chīfàn？Shītáng lì wŏ zhù de dìfāng tài yuăn le, bù fāngbiàn.

Bĕijīng lì Shànghăi hái shì lì Táibĕi yuăn?

Nĭ cóng Zhōngguó lái zhèr xuéxì nĭ bàba māma cháng lái kàn nĭ ma？Bù cháng. Zhèr lì Zhōngguó tài yuăn le. Wŏ jiā lì zhèr bù yuăn, wŏ bàba māma yĕ bù cháng lái kàn wŏ.

Is your home far from the coffee house you frequent？Yes. Do you want to go？Let’s go together, OK？As you wish.

The dorm you moved into recently is too far from my place. Who says (it is) too far?

Why don’t you eat at the dining hall？ The dining hall is too far from where I live. (It is) inconvenient.

Is Beijing far from Shanghai or from Taibei?

You came to study here from China. Do your parents often come to visit you？No. Here is too far away from China. My home is not far from here. My parents do not come to see me often, either.

6. The pattern 早知道...就....了:

早知道你没有车, 我就不叫你去买东西了。

早知道你不吃日本饭, 我就不请你上日本饭馆了。

早知道今天不上课, 我就不来了。

早知道你喜欢中国古典音乐, 我就从台湾给你带音乐光碟了。

早知道你妈妈今天从纽约来这儿看你, 我就请她在唐人街给我买一些我孩子喜欢的中国土特产了。

Zăo zhīdào nĭ méiyŏu chē wŏ jiù bú jiào nĭ qù măi dōngxī le.

Zăo zhīdào nĭ bù chī Rìbĕn fàn, Wŏ jiù bù qĭng nĭ shàng Rìbĕn fànguăn le.

Zăo zhīdào jīntiān bú shàng kè wŏ jiù bù lái le.

Zăo zhīdào nĭ xĭhuān Zhōngguó gŭdiăn yīnyuè wŏ jiù cóng Táiwān gĕi nĭ dài yīnyuè guāngdié le.

Zăo zhīdào nĭ māma jīntiān cóng Niŭyuē lái zhèr kàn nĭ wŏ jiù qĭng tā zài Tángrén jiē gĕi wŏ măi yìxiē wŏ háizi xĭhuān de Zhōngguó tŭtèchăn le.

If I had known that you don’t have car, I would not have asked you to go shopping.

If I had known that you don’t eat Japanese food, I would not have invited you to the Japanese restaurant.

If I had known there would be no class today, I would not have come.

If I had known that you like classical Chinese music, I would have brought some music CDs from Taiwan for you.

If I had known your mom came from NY to visit you here, I would have asked her to buy me some Chinese specialties my children like in Chinatown.

Lesson 23

Dialogue

English

She is Cleaning her room;

Shihai: Hello, is this Renmei Ding’s dorm room?

Xueyou: Yes. Who are you looking for?

Shihai: Can I speak to Ding (I’m looking for Ding). Is she in？Please ask her to (come to) the phone.

Xueyou: May I ask whom I’m speaking to (May I ask who is this?)

Shihai: This is Shihai speaking (I’m Shihai).

Xueyou: Hi, Shihai. This is Xueyou. Ding is cleaning her room. Just a minute please (please wait a minute). Let me go and ask her to (come to) the phone (let me go and ask her to listen to the phone).

Shihai: Thank you.

Renmei: Hello, Shihai, How are you？How come you have time today to call me? Where are you now?

Shihai: I’m in the students’ center.

Renmei: Are (you) taking a break there?

Shihai: No. I’m writing a report on China. I want to ask you some questions, OK?

Renmei: No problem. But I’m cleaning my room now, (and I) won’t have time until later.

Shihai: That’s alright. Later, will you come here or should I go over to your place?

Renmei: The students’ center is too noisy. Come to my place, OK?

Shihai: Are there any Chinese maps there at your place?

Renmei: No. Why, you want to use the map of China?

Shihai: Yes. Let’s go to the library. How is that?

Renmei: Fine. (We’ll go to) the East Asian Library, right?

Shihai: Right. I’ll wait for you at the table next to the copy machine.

Renmei: Fine. It’s 10:20 now. We’ll meet at 11:00 at the library.

Shihai: See you.

Simplified

初级第二十三课: 对话 她正在整理房间呢;

世海 : 喂, 这是丁人美宿舍吗？

学友 : 是啊, 你找谁？

世海 : 我找小丁。她在吗？请她接电话。

学友 : 请问, 你是谁？

世海 : 我是世海。

学友 : 你好, 世海。我是学友。小丁正在整理房间呢。你等一等, 我去叫她听电话。

世海 : 谢谢。

人美 : 喂, 世海, 你好。今天怎麽有空给我打电话？你现在在哪儿？

世海 : 我在学生中心。

人美 : 正在那儿休息吗？

世海 : 没有。我正在写一篇关於中国的报告。想问你几个问题, 好吗？

人美 : 没问题, 可是我现在正在整理房间, 一会儿才有空。

世海 : 没关系。一会儿, 你来这儿, 还是我去你那儿？

人美 : 学生中心太吵了。来我这儿吧。

世海 : 你那儿有中国地图吗？

人美 : 没有。怎麽, 你要用中国地图？

世海 : 是的。我们去图书馆, 怎麽样？

人美 : 行。东亚图书馆, 对吗？

世海 : 对。我在复印机旁边的那张桌子等你。

人美 : 行。现在十点二十分。我们十一点在图书馆见。

世海 : 再见。

Traditional

初級第二十三課: 對話 她正在整理房間呢;

世海 ﹕ 喂, 這是丁人美宿舍嗎？

學友 ﹕ 是啊, 你找誰？

世海 ﹕ 我找小丁。她在嗎？請她接電話。

學友 ﹕ 請問, 你是誰？

世海 ﹕ 我是世海。

學友 ﹕ 你好, 世海。我是學友。小丁正在整理房間呢。你等一等, 我去叫她聽電話。

世海 ﹕ 謝謝。

人美 ﹕ 喂, 世海, 你好。今天怎麼有空給我打電話？你現在在哪兒？

世海 ﹕ 我在學生中心。

人美 ﹕ 正在那兒休息嗎？

世海 ﹕ 沒有。我正在寫一篇關於中國的報告。想問你幾個問題, 好嗎？

人美 ﹕ 沒問題, 可是我現在正在整理房間, 一會兒才有空。

世海 ﹕ 沒關係。一會兒, 你來這兒, 還是我去你那兒？

人美 ﹕ 學生中心太吵了。來我這兒吧。

世海 ﹕ 你那兒有中國地圖嗎？

人美 ﹕ 沒有。怎麼, 你要用中國地圖？

世海 ﹕ 是的。我們去圖書館, 怎麼樣？

人美 ﹕ 行。東亞圖書館, 對嗎？

世海 ﹕ 對。我在復印機旁邊的那張桌子等你。

人美 ﹕ 行。現在十點二十分。我們十一點在圖書館見。

世海 ﹕ 再見。

Pinyin

Tā Zhèngzài Zhĕnglĭ Fángjiān ne;

Shìhăi: Wéi, zhè shì Dīng Rénmĕi de sùshè ma?

Xuéyou: Shì a, nĭ zhăo shéi?

Shìhăi: Wŏ zhăo xiăo Dīng. Tā zài ma？Qĭng tā jiē diànhuà

Xuéyŏu: Qĭng wèn, nĭ shì shéi?

Shìhăi: Wŏ shì Shìhăi.

Xuéyŏu: Nĭ hăo, Shìhăi. Wŏ shì Xuéyŏu. Xiăo Ding zhèngzài zhĕnglĭ fángjiān ne. Nĭ dĕng yì dĕng. Wŏ qù jiào tā tīng diànhuà.

Shìhăi: Xièxie.

Rénmĕi: Wéi, Shìhăi, nĭ hăo. Jīntiān zĕnme yŏu kòng gĕi wŏ dă

diànhuà？Nĭ xiànzài zài năr?

Shìhăi: Wŏ zài xuéshēng zhōngxīn.

Rénmĕi: Zhèngzài nàr xiūxi ma?

Shìhăi: Méiyŏu. Wŏ zhèngzài xiĕ yìpiān guānyú Zhōngguó de bàogào.

Xiăng wèn nĭ jĭgè wèntí hăo ma?

Rénmĕi: Méi wèntí kĕshì wŏ xiànzài zhèngzài zhĕnglĭ fángjiān, yìhuĭr cái yŏu kòng.

Shìhăi: Méi guānxì Yìhuĭr, nĭ lái zhèr, hái shì wŏ qù nĭ nàr?

Rénmĕi: Xuéshēng zhōngxīn tài chăo le. Lái wŏ zhèr ba.

Shìhăi: Nĭ nàr yŏu zhōngguó dìtú ma?

Rénmĕi: Méiyŏu. Zĕnme, nĭ yào yòng Zhōngguó dìtú

Shìhăi: Shìde. Wŏmen qù túshūguăn, zĕnmeyàng?

Rénmĕi: Xíng. Dōngyà túshūguăn, duì ma?

Shìhăi: Duì. Wŏ zài f`ùyìnjī pángbiān de nà zhāng zhuōzi dĕng nĭ

Rénmĕi: Xíng. Xiànzài shí diăn èrshí fēn. Wŏmen shíyīdiăn zài túshūguăn jiàn.

Shìhăi: Zàijiàn.

Text>

English

Shanghai is to the Southeast of Peking;

When Renmei Ding arrived at the library, Shihai was reading a newspaper. She asked Shihai:“ What newspaper are you reading?” Shihai said:“I’m reading [The World Journal]. Look, here there is a piece of news about the American president visiting Peking University. There is also a photo of him answering Beida Students’ questions. ( It ) is very interesting.”

Renmei Ding said:“ Yes. These days there is a lot of news about the president’s delegation visiting China. (It) is in the papers, on TV, on the internet. You intend to write a report on China, ( and ) you shouldn’t be lack of materials, right?”

“No, no. I only want to ask you a few geographical questions. OK?”

“Sure. Hope I can answer your questions.”

“This is Peking. Where is Shanghai?”

“ Shanghai is to the Southeast of Peking. ( It ) is in the Southeast of China. Look, ( it ) is right here.”

“Why did you say: ‘Shanghai zai Beijing de dongnan bian, zai Zhonguo de dongnan bu’？Why is one ‘bian’, and the other ‘bu’ ?”

“Administratively Shanghai is a part of China; geographically Shanghai is situated IN the Southeast China, therefore we say:‘ Shanghai zai Zhongguo de dongnan bu, ” Geographically Shanghai is located TO the Southeast of Peking, but administratively Shanghai IS NOT a part of Peking, so we say: ‘Shanghai zai Beijing de dongnan bian.’ Understand?”

“No.”

“ Let me give you an example. Is Washington a part of the States?”

“Yes.”

“Geographically Washington is located in the States’….”

“East.”

“Then, we say: ‘Huashengdun zai Miguo de dongbu.’ Administratively, is Washington a part of New York?”

“Of course not.”

“But geographically Washington is situated to the South of New York. Then we say: ‘Huashengdun zai Niuyue de nanbian.’”

“I think I understand now. In this way, Xianggang zai Zhongguo de nanbu

( Hong Kong is in the South of China), Xiangang zai Guangdong de nanbian ( Hong Kong is to the South of Canton), correct?”

“Very well.”

“I have another question. This is a map of China. This is also a map of China. Why are not the two maps the same?”

“The big map is China before 1949, the small map is China after 1949.”

“Why is the China before 1949 big, (while) the China after 1949 small?”

“This problem is quite complicated. We will talk ( about it ) again later.”

Simplified

短文 上海在北京的东南边;

丁人美到图书馆的时候, 世海正在看报。她问世海："你在看什麽报？" 世海说："我正在看《世界日报》。你看, 这儿有一条美国总统访问北京大学的新闻, 还有他回答北大学生问题的照片, 很有意思。"

丁人美说："是的。这两天关於总统代表团访问中国的新闻很多。报 纸上有, 电视上有, 网络上也有。要写关於中国的报告, 应该不缺资料吧？！"

"不缺, 不缺。我只想问你几个地理问题, 行吗？"

"行。希望我能回答你的问题。" "这是北京, 上海在哪儿呢？"

"上海在北京的东南边, 在中国的东南部。看, 就在这儿。"

"为什麽你说'上海在北京的东 南边, 在中国的东南部'呢？为什麽 一个是'边', 一个是'部'呢？"

"因为行政上上海是中国的一部分, 地理上上海位於中国的东南, 所以我们说：' 上海在中国的东南部。'地理上上海位於北京的东南, 可是行政上上海不是北京的一部分, 所以我们说："上海在北京的东南边。'懂吗？"

"不懂。"

"给你举个例子吧, 华盛顿是美国的一部分吗？"

"是。"

"地理上华盛顿位於美国的..."

"东边。"

""那麽, 我们说：'华盛顿在美国的东部。' 行政上, 华盛顿是纽约的一部分吗？"

"当然不是。"

"可是, 地理上华盛顿位於纽约的南边。那麽, 我们说：'华盛顿在纽约的南边。' "

"我想我明白了。这麽说, 香港在中国的南部, 在上海的南边, 对吗？"

"很对。"

"我还有一个问题。这是一张中国地图, 这也是一张地图。两张地图为什麽 不一样呢？"

"大的地图是1949年以前的中国, 小的地图是1949年以後的中国。"

"为什麽1949年以前的中国大, 1949年以後的中国小呢 ？"

"这个问题很复杂。我们以後再说吧。"

Traditional

短文 上海在北京的東南邊;

丁人美到圖書館的時候, 世海正在看報。她問世海﹕"你在看什麼報？" 世海說﹕"我正在看《世界日報》。你看, 這兒有一條美國總統訪問北京大學的新聞, 還有他回答北大學生問題的照片, 很有意思。"

丁人美說﹕"是的。這兩天關於總統代表團訪問中國的新聞很多。報 紙上有, 電視上有, 網絡上也有。你要寫關於中國的報告, 應該不缺資料吧？！"

"不缺, 不缺。我只想問你幾個地理問題, 行嗎？"

"行。希望我能回答你的問題。" "這是北京, 上海在哪兒呢？"

"上海在北京的東南邊, 在中國的東南部。看, 就在這兒。"

"為什麼你說'上海在北京的東 南邊, 在中國的東南部'呢？為什麼 一個是'邊', 一個是'部'呢？"

"因為行政上上海是中國的一部分, 地理上上海位於中國的東南, 所以我們說﹕' 上海在中國的東南。'地理上上海位於北京的東南, 可是行政上上海不是北京的一部分, 所以我們說﹕"上海在北京的東南邊。'懂嗎？"

"不懂。"

"給你舉個例子吧, 華盛頓是美國的一部分嗎？"

"是。"

"地理上華盛頓位於美國的..."

"東邊。"

""那麼, 我們說﹕'華盛頓在美國的東部。' 行政上, 華盛頓是紐約的一部分嗎？"

"當然不是。"

"可是, 地理上華盛頓位於紐約的南邊。那麼, 我們說﹕'華盛頓在紐約的南邊。' "

"我想我明白了。這麼說, 香港在中國的南部, 在上海的南邊, 對嗎？"

"很對。"

"我還有一個問題。這是一張中國地圖, 這也是一張地圖。兩張地圖為什麼 不一樣呢？"

"大的地圖是1949年以前的中國, 小的地圖是1949年以後的中國。"

"為什麼1949年以前的中國大, 1949年以後的中國小呢 ？"

"這個問題很複雜。我們以後再說吧。"

Pinyin

Shànghăi zài Bĕijīng de dōngnán biān;

Dīng Rénmĕi dào túshūguăn de shíhòu, Shìhăi zhèngzài kàn bào. Tā wèn Shìhăi: "Nĭ zài kàn shénme?" Shìhăi shuō: Wŏ zhèngzài kàn [Shìjiè Rìbào]. Nĭ kàn, zhèr yŏu yìtiáo Mĕiguó zŏngtŏng făngwèn Bĕijīng dàxué de xīnwén, hái yŏu tā huídá bĕidà xuéshēng wèntí de zhàopiàn. Hĕn yŏu yìsi."

Dīng Rénmĕi shuō: Shìde, zhè liăngtiān guānyú zŏngtŏng dàibiăotuán făngwèn Zhōngguó de xīnwén hĕn duō bàozhĭ shàng yŏu, diànshì shàng yŏu, wăngluò shàng yĕ yŏu. Nĭ yào xiĕ guānyú Zhōngguó de bàogào, yīnggāi bù quē zīliào ba?!"

"Bù quē bù quē. Wŏ zhĭ xiăng wèn nĭ jĭgè dìlĭ wèntí xíng ma?"

"Xíng. Xīwàng wŏ néng huídá nĭde wèntí."

"Zhè shì Bĕijīng, Shànghăi zài năr ne?"

"Shànghăi zài Bĕijīng de dōngnán biān, zài Zhōnguó de dōngnán bù. Kàn, jiù zài zhèr."

"Wèishénme nĭ shuō 'Shànghăi zài bĕijīng de dōngnán biān, zài Zhōngguó de dōngnán bù' ne？wèishénme yígè shì 'biān' , yígè shì 'bù' ne?"

"Yīnwèi xíngzhèng shàng Shànghăi shì Zhōngguó de yí bùfèn, dìlĭ shàng Shànghăi wèiyú Zhōngguó de dōngnán, suŏyĭ wŏmen shuō 'Shànghăi zài Zhōnguó de dōngnán bù." Dìlĭ shàng Shànghăi wèiyú Bĕijīng de dōng nán, kĕshì xíngzhèng shàng Shànghăi bú shì Bĕijīng de yībùfèn, suŏyĭ wŏmen shuō 'Shànghăi zài bĕijīng de dōngnán biān.' Dŏng ma?"

"Bù dŏng."

"Gĕi nĭ jŭ gè lìzi ba, Huáshèngdùn shì Mĕiguó de yí bùfèn ma?

"Shì."

"Dìlĭ shàng Huáshèngdùn wèi yú Mĕiguó de?"

"Dōngbiān."

"Nàme, wŏmen shuō 'Huáshèngdùn zài Mĕiguó de dōngbù' Xíngzhèng shàng, Huáshèngdùn shì Niŭyuē de yí bùfèn ma?"

"Dāngrán bú shì."

"Kĕshì dìlĭ shàng Huáshèngdùn wèiyú Niŭyuē de nánbiān. Nàme, wŏmen shuō 'Huáshèngdùn zài Niŭyuē de nánbiān."

"Wŏ xiăng wŏ míngbái le. Zhème shuō Xiānggăng zài Zhōngguó de nánbù, zài Guăngdōng de nán biān, duì ma?

"Hĕn duì."

"Wŏ hái yŏu yígè wèntí. Zhè shì yìzhāng Zhōngguó dìtú. Zhè yĕ shì yìzhāng dìtú. Liăngzhāng dìtú wèishénme bù yíyàng ne?"

"Dàde dìtú shì yījiŭsìjiŭ nián yĭqián de Zhōngguó, xiăode dìtú shì yījiŭsìjiŭ nián yĭhòu de Zhōngguó."

"Wèishénme yījiŭsìjiŭ nían yĭqián de Zhōngguó dà, yījiŭsìjiŭ nián yĭhòu de Zhōngguó xiăo ne?"

"Zhè gè wèntí hĕn fŭzá. Wŏmen yĭhòu zài shuō ba.¨

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
报告 | bàogào | n. | report
复印机 | fùyìnjī | n. | copy machine
日报 | rìbào | n. | daily, journal
总统 | zŏngtŏng | n. | president
新闻 | xīnwén | n. | news
照片 | zhàopiàn | n. | photo
网络 | wăngluò | n. | Internet
地理 | dìlĭ | n. | geography
例子 | lìzi | n. | example, instance
部分 | bùfèn | n. | part, section
华盛顿 | Huáshèngdùn | n. | Washington
香港 | Xiānggăng | n. | Hong Kong
广东 | Guăngdōng | n. | Canton
整理 | zhĕnglĭ | v. | to clean, to organize, to straighten up
休息 | xiūxi | v. | to take a break, to rest
访问 | Făngwèn | v. | to pay a visit
缺 | quē | v. | to lack, to be short of
希望 | xīwàng | v. | to hope, to wish
懂 | dŏng | v. | to understand
明白 | mìngbai | v. | to be clear
位於 | wèiyú | v. | to be located, to be situated
举 | jŭ | v. | to cite, to raise
关於 | guānyú | prep. | on, about, concerning
一样 | yìyàng | adj. | the same, similar
复杂 | fùzá | adj. | complicated
地理上 | dìlĭ shàng | adv. | geographically
行政上 | xìngzhèng shàng | adv. | administratively
那麽 | nàme | conj. | then, so
这麽说 | zhème shuō | Idiomatic exp. | in this way, according to what you say
过一会儿 | guòyìhuĭr | adv. | later
东 | dōng | direction word | East
南 | nán | direction word | South
西 | xī | direction word | West
北 | bĕi | direction word | North
东南 | dōngnán | direction word | Southeast
西南 | xīnán | direction word | Southwest
东北 | dōngbĕi | direction word | Northeast
西北 | xībĕi | direction word | Northwest
部 | bù | suffix |

Grammar 语法

1. The suffix 部 :

Like other suffixes such as 边, 面, 部 is often used in conjunction with direction words. For example:

东部 | 西部 | 东北部 | 西南部 | 後部
外部 | 里部 | 中部 | 前部 |

The difference between suffixes 边/面 and 部 is that Direction word + 部 talks about the intrinsic part of a whole, while Direction word + 边/面 concern with only the locality. For example:

中国的北部/中国的北面 | in the North of China / to the North of China
这张椅子的上部/这张椅子的上边 | the upper part of the chair / on (above) the chair
车的外部/车的外边 | the exterior of the car / outside the car

2. The prepositional phrase 关於....:

The prepositional phrase 关於.... is often used as attributive to modify a noun or verb phrase. For example:

关於怎麽学习中文这个问题 | The question of how to learn Chinese.
我们明天谈关於学习中文这个问题。 | We’ll tall about the question of how to learn Chinese tomorrow.
关於美国经济的报告 | The report about the American Economy.
他的关於美国经济的报告真好 | His report on the American Economy is really good.
关於中国的新 | The news concerning China.
这两天关於中国的新闻很多。 | There are many news concerning China this couple of days.

3. The question word 几  in a statement:

The question word 几 can also be used in statements as a small indefinite number.

When it is used in a positive statement, it means “a few, some”.

When it is used in a negative statement, it means “few, not many”. For example:

我有几个中国朋友。 | I have a few Chinese friends.
我没有几个朋友。 | I don’t have many friends ( I have few friends).
明天请他做几个法国菜。 | Tomorrow ( I ) will ask him to make some French dishes.
他写的几个字真漂亮。 | The few characters he wrote are quite beautiful.
我没有几本汉英词典。 | I don’t have many Chinese-English dictionaries.
昨天没有几个人来参加他的生日晚会。 | Yesterday there were not many people who came to his birthday party.

4. 真 vs. 很:

Both 真 (really) and 很 (very) can be used to modify adjectives. But 真 usually appears in exclamatory sentences to convey the speaker’s strong feelings and emotions such as approval, disapproval, while 很 often works in statements or in descriptive sentences when the speaker wants to express his/her “objective” or more neutral comments.

很 is also necessary when no other adjectives are used in a statement (but not a question) and the speaker does not wish to imply comparison or contrast.

Compare:

 这个很大。 (This one is big.) 这个大, 那个不大。(This one is bigger. That one is not (so) big.)

5. The adverb 才:

The adverb 才 indicates that an action happens later than expected. For example:

电影是六点半的, 可是他们六点五十分才到 | It was a six thirty movie, but they did not arrive until six fifty.
我1989年才来美国。 | I did not come to the United States until 1989.
昨天晚上他两点才回家。妈妈当然很不高兴。 | Last night he did not come home until two o’clock. Mom of course was not happy.
他明天才来。 | He is not coming until tomorrow.

Note that in this pattern, as with most adverbs, the position of 才 is before the verb but after the time expression:

Subject | Time expression | 才 | Verb | (phrase)
妹妹 | 昨天 | 才 | 去 | 上课。

And the correspondent pattern in English is “not...until”.

(Note that the English equivalent has a negative word, but the Chinese does not.)

6. The conjunction 那麽:

The conjunction 那麽 (then) is close to the English conjunction “since...( then )..., then”:

今天你请我吃饭, 那麽下次我请你。 | Today you invited me to dinner ( you treated me), then next time I’ll invite you ( next time it will be my treat).
你爸爸姓张, 那麽你一定也姓张。 | Since your dad’s last name is Zhang, (then) yours surely is also Zhang.
你说星期三你都有空, 那麽每个星期三我都来找你玩。 | You say that you have time on all Wednesdays, then I will come to look for you and play every Wednesday.

In daily conversations, 那麽 can function as cohesive device, and is often simplified as 那. For example:

甲：今天我很忙, 有很多作业。 | A: Today I’m quite busy. ( I ) have a lot of homework.
乙：那我们走, 不吵你。 | B: Then we’ll leave. ( We) won’t bother you.
甲：我不喜欢看电视。 | A: I don’t like watching TV.
乙：那我们玩电脑, 怎么样？ | B: Then, let’s play on the computers. How is that?

7. The pattern (跟/和)....(不)一样:

The Chinese pattern for expressing similarity or dissimilarity as a result of comparison is :

( 跟 / 和 ) .... ( 不 ) 一 样

这两本汉语书一样吗？ | Are these two books the same?
这壶茶跟那壶茶一样。 | This pot of tea is the same as that one.
我喜欢的东西和我妈妈喜欢的东西不太一样。 | The things I like and the thing my mom likes are not quite the same.
这个字跟那个字一样不一样？ | Are this character and that character the same?
昨天的新闻跟今天的新闻当然不一样。 | Yesterday’s news is not the same as today’s of course.

You can also put an adjective after 一样 to refer to the aspect or quality being compared:

( 跟 / 和 ) .... ( 不 ) 一样 adj.

美国车跟日本车一样贵。 | American cars are as expensive as Japanese cars. 
他说的汉语跟你老师说的汉语一样漂亮吗？ | Is the Chinese he speaks as beautiful as that the teacher speaks? ( Is his Chinese as beautiful as that of the teacher’s？)
这个房间跟那个房间不一样大。 | This room and that room are not the same size.

Note that the negation of this pattern can not be translated into English as: “not so as”.

For it only expresses that the two things under comparison are not the same. Some more examples:

哥哥和弟弟不一样高。 | The older brother and the younger brother are not the same height.
这条裙子跟那条不一样长。 | This skirt and that skirt are not the same length.

8. The expression 这麽说 as a cohesive device:

The expression 这麽说 (“in this way”, “so according to what you say”) can functions as a cohesive device in a dialogue. For example:

甲: 明天我没空。上午有课。下午我得去银行工作。 | A: Tomorrow I have no time. ( I ) have class in the morning. In the afternoon I have to go the bank to work.
乙：这麽说, 明天你不去纽约, 对吗？ | B: So, you won’t go to New York tomorrow, right?
甲：我们家天天吃中国饭。我妈妈做的中国饭真好吃。她还教我怎麽做。 | A: My family eats Chinese food every day. The Chinese food my mom makes is delicious. She also teaches me how to make (Chinese food).
乙：这麽说, 你做的中国饭一定也不错。这个星期六晚上, 你做饭, 怎么样？ | B: So, the Chinese food you make must be good, too. This Saturday night you cook, how is that?

9。 The progressive aspect of an action:

To indicate the progressive aspect of an action, we can use adverbs 正, 在, or 正在 right before the verb and the particle 呢 at the end of the sentence. 

The basic pattern is:

Subject | Adverb | Verb/v. phrase | Particle | English translation
弟弟 | 在 | 打电话 | 呢 | Younger brother is making a phone call.
她 | 正在 | 吃饭 | 呢 | She is having dinner.
谁 | 正 | 看电视 | 呢 | Who is watching TV?

Points that merit attention:

1. In this pattern, the adverbs 正, 在, 正在and the particle 呢 can either be used by themselves or in combination . For instance:

他看报呢。 | He is reading newspaper.
爸爸正在写汉字。 | Daddy is writing Chinese characters.
小丁正玩电脑呢。 | Ding is playing on computer.

2. This pattern can work with specific time expressions. In the sentence, the position of the time expression can be before or right after the subject. For example:

我昨天下午三点正睡觉呢。 | Three o’clock yesterday afternoon I was sleeping.
你做饭的时候, 我在整理房间。 | I was cleaning the room while you cooked.

3. When the verb in the sentence is modified by a prepositional phrase, adverbs 在, 正, 正在 should go before the prepositional phrase. For example:

我起床的时候, 妈妈正在她的房间里看书。When I got up, mom was reading in her room.

昨天上午妈妈来的时候, 你在作什麽？我正给我男朋友打电话呢。Yesterday when mom came, what were you doing？I was talking to my boy friend on the phone.

4. The negation of this pattern is 没 (有) 在 . For example:

小丁在看书吗？她没在看书。她正看电视呢。Is Ding reading？ She is not reading. She is watching TV.

The short form of negative answer is 没有 :

王老师现在在上课吗？没有。 他在语言实验室听录音呢。Is Teacher Wang teaching now？No. He is listening to the tape in the language lab.

Speech patterns

1.The suffix 部 vs. 边/面:

你知道纽泽西在美国的东部还是西部？纽泽西不在美国的东部, 也不在美国的西部, 在美国的东北部。

法国在英国的南边吗？我不知道。我们看地图吧。

我妈妈不喜欢这辆车的内部。可是我不听她的。车的内部漂亮不漂亮没关系。 你说, 对吗？

我哥哥很喜欢美国西部的电影。他每个月都要看一场。

我家在中国的东南部。 你家呢？我家在台南。 台南在台湾的南部。那麽, 这麽说, 台北一定在台湾的北部, 台南的北边, 对吗？

这个房子的外部很漂亮, 内 部也不错。房子的前边有一个花园, 东边有一个公共健身房。离商店 也不远, 很方便。你为什麽不买呢？

Nĭ zhīdao Niŭzéxī zài Mĕiguó de dōngbù hái shì xībù？Niŭzéxī bú zài Mĕiguó de dōngbù, yĕ bú zài Mĕiguó de xībù, zài Mĕiguó de dōngbĕi bù.

Făguó zài Yīngguó de nánbiānr ma？Wŏ bù zhīdao. Wŏmen kàn dìtú ba.

Wŏ māma bù xĭhuan zhè liàng chē de nèibù. Kĕshì wŏ bù tīng tā de. Chē de nèibù piàoliang bú piàoliang méi yŏu guānxì. Nĭ shuō duì ba?

Wŏ gēge hĕn xĭhuan Mĕiguó xībù de diànyĭng. Tā mĕi gè yuè dōu yào kàn yì chăng.

Wŏ jiā zài Zhōngguó de dōngnán bù. Nĭ jiā ne？Wŏ jiā zài Táinán. Táinán zài Táiwan de nánbù. Nàme, zhème shuō. Táibĕi yídìng zài Táiwan de bĕibù, Táinán de bĕibiān, duì ma?

Zhè ge fángzi de wàibù hĕn piàoliang, nèibù yĕ búcuò. Fángzi de qiánbiān yŏu yí ge huāyuán, dōngbiān yŏu yí ge gōnggòng jiànshēnfáng. Lì shāngdiàn yĕ bù yuăn, hĕn fāngbiàn. Nĭ wèishénme bù măi ne?

Do you know whether New Jersey is in the East or in the West of the States？New Jersey never is in the East nor is it in the West of the States. (It) is in the Northeast of the States.

Is France to the south of England？I don’t know. Let’s look at the map.

My mom doesn’t like the interior of this car. I did not listen to her opinion. It doesn’t matter whether the interior is pretty or not. Do you agree( Do you say am I right)?

My older brother likes very much American Western movies. Every month he wants to see one.

My family is in the Southeast of China？And yours？My family is in Tainan. Tainan is in the South of Taiwan. So, according to what you said, Taibei must be in the North of Taiwan, (and ) to the North of Tainan, right?

The exterior of this house is nice, (and ) the interior is not bad either. There is a garden in front of the house, (and) to the east of the house there is a public gym. Also, (it) is not far from the store. (It) is very convenient. Why didn’t you buy the house?

2. The prepositional phrase 关於:

他写的这个关於中国经济问题的报告, 怎麽样？不错。他举的例子都很有意思。

老师, 明天下午三点你有空吗？有。什麽事儿?我想问你几个关於欧洲地理的问题。

这几天我常常看电视。为什麽呢？因为电视上有很多关於中国的新闻。

关於这件事儿, 我们以後再谈吧。

Tā xiĕ de zhè ge guānyú Zhōngguó jīngjì wèntì de bàogào, zĕnmeyàng？Búcuò. Tā jŭ de lìzi dōu hĕn yŏu yìsi.

Lăoshī, mìngtiān xiàwŭ sān diăn nĭ yŏu kòng ma？Yŏu. Shénme shìr？Wŏ xiăng wèn nĭ jĭ ge guānyú ōuzhōu dìlĭ de wèntì.

Zhè jĭ tiān wŏ chángcháng kàn diànshì. Wèishénme ne？Yīnwèi diànshì shàng yŏu hĕn duō guānyú Zhōngguó de xīnwén.

Guānyú zhèjiàn shìr, wŏmen yĭhòu zài tán ba.

What do you think of the report he wrote about the problems of China’s economy？Not bad. The examples he cited are all very interesting.

Teacher, do you have time at three tomorrow afternoon？Yes. What is it about (what is the matter)？I want to ask you a few questions about the geography of Europe.

These days I watch TV quite often. Why？Because there is quite a lot of news about China on TV.

About this matter, let’s talk about it again later.

3.The question word 几 in a statement:

我有几本汉语语法书。你要借吗？

他说他没有几个钱, 所以每天都去学院的食堂工作。

我妹妹就认识几个汉字, 可是她说她的中文很好。

明天你和妈妈去唐人街买什麽？我不知道妈妈要买什麽。我想买几张中国音乐光碟。

Wŏ yŏu jĭ bĕn Hànyŭ yŭfă shū. Nĭ yào jiè ma?

Tā shuō tā méiyŏu jĭ ge qián, suŏyĭ mĕitiān dōu dĕi qù xuéyuàn de shìtáng gōngzuò.

Wŏ mèimei jiù rènshi jĭ ge Hànzì, kĕshì tā shuō tā de Zhōngwén hĕn hăo.

Mìngtiān nĭ hé māma qù Tángrén jiē măi shénme？Wŏ bù zhīdao māma yào măi shénme. Wŏ xiăng măi jĭ zhāng Zhōngguó yīnyuè guāngdié.

I have a couple of Chinese Grammar 语法 books. Do you want to borrow them?

He said he didn’t have too much money. So he had to go to work in the college dining hall everyday.

My younger sister only knows a few Chinese words, but she says her Chinese is good.

What will you and Mom go to Chinatown tomorrow to buy？I don’t know what Mom wants to buy. I want to buy a few Chinese music CD.

4. The adverb 才:

我十六岁才学英文。所以我的英文不好。请你帮助我, 好吗？

我明天下午才有空儿。你自己去纽约, 好吗？

一个星期以前我才听说你姐姐去台湾学中文。她好吗？

每天你几点起床？我上午九点起床。九点才起床。太晚了。

他这个人真有意思。我告诉他晚会是七点的。可是他现在才来。

Wŏ shìliù suì cái xué yīngwén. Suŏyĭ wŏde yīngwén bù hăo. Qĭng nĭ bāngzhù wŏ hăo ma?

Wŏ mìngtiān xiàwŭ cái yŏu kòngr. Nĭ zìjĭ qù Niŭyuē hăo ma?

Yí ge xīngqī yĭqiān wŏ cái tīngshuō nĭ jiĕjie qù Tāiwān xué Zhōngwén. Tā hăo ma?

Mĕitiān nĭ jĭ diăn qĭ chuáng？Wŏ shàngwŭ jiŭ diăn qĭ chuáng. Jiŭ diăn cái qĭ chuáng. Tài wăn le.

Tā zhè ge rén zhēn yŏu yìsi. Wŏ gàosu tā wănhuì shì qī diăn de. Kĕshì tā xiànzài cái lái.

I didn’t study English until (I was ) sixteen, that’s why my English is not good. Would you help me?

I won’t have time until tomorrow afternoon. You go to New York yourself. OK?

I was not told that your sister went to Taiwan to study Chinese until a week ago. How is she doing?

When do you get up everyday？I got up at nine in the morning. (You don’t) get up till nine. (That) is too late.

This guy he is really funny. I told him the party was seven o’clock. But he did not show up until now.

5.The pattern (跟/和)....(不)一样:

新总统跟旧总统不一样。新总统年轻, 喜欢上网路, 不喜欢看电视。

美国南部人说的英语为什麽跟美国北部人说的英语不太一样呢？这个问题很复杂。我们明天上课的时候谈, 好吗？

你说这两条裙子一样吗？我觉得不一样。蓝的这条大, 绿的这条小。可是两条裙子一样长啊！

1949年以前的中国和1949年以後的中国一样吗？不完全一样。你怎麽知道？我们学的课文说 以前的中国跟现在的中国不一样大。地理上两个中国不一样 , 那麽, 行政上两个中国一样吗？这个问题不好回答。

Xīn zŏngtŏng gēn jiù zŏngtŏng bù yìyàng. Xīn zŏngtŏng niánqīng, xĭhuan shàng wănglù, bù xĭhuan kàn diànshì.

Mĕiguó nánbù rén shuō de Yīngyŭ wèishénme gēn Mĕiguó bĕibù rén shuō de bù tài yìyàng ne？Zhè ge wèntì hĕn fùzá. Wŏmen mìngtiān shàngkè de shìhòu tán, hăo ma?

Nĭ shuō zhè liăng tiáo qúnzi yīyàng ma？Wŏ juéde bù yìyàng. Lán de zhè tiáo dà, lǜ de zhètiáo xiăo. Kĕshì liăng tiáo qúnzi yìyàng cháng a.

Yījiŭsìjiŭ nián yĭqián de Zhōngguó hé yījiŭsìjiŭ nián yĭhòu de Zhōngguó yìyàng ma？Bù wánquán yìyàng. Nĭ zĕnme zhīdao？Wŏmen xué de kèwén shuō yĭqián de Zhōnguó gēn xiànzài de Zhōngguó bú yìyàng dà. Dìlĭ shàng liăng ge Zhōngguó bù yìyàng, nàme, xìngzhèng shàng liăng ge Zhōngguó yìyàng ma？Zhè ge wèntì bù hăo huìdá.

The new president is different from the old one. The new president is young. (He) likes to go on the internet (and he) does not like to watch TV.

Why is the English spoken by the people from the South of the United States not quite the same as that spoken by the people from the North of the United States？This question is quite complicated. We will talk about (it) during the class, OK?

Do you think these two skirts are the same？I don’t think (they) are the same. The blue one is big, (and) the green on is small. But the two skirts are the same length!

Is China before 1949 the same as the one after 1949？(It) is not totally the same. How do you know？The text we learn says that China before and China now are not the same size. Geographically, the two Chinas are not the same. Then, administratively, are the two Chinas the same？This question is not easy to answer.

6. The progressive aspect of an action:

请问, 小王在吗？他正在写报告呢。 你有事吗？我想问他几个问题。可是, 他现在正忙, 我一会儿找他。

你知道那个在听录音的孩子是谁家的孩子？我想是老张家的吧。

人美, 你忙什麽呢？我在整理桌子。你在整理哪张桌子？门对面的那张。

世海, 我用一下你的英汉词典, 好吗？对不起, 我正用呢。

昨天我来的时候, 他们正在作作业。我走的时候, 他们还在作作业。

大哥, 你在听什麽？我在听新闻。这两天你总是在听新闻。为什麽呢？这两天, 美国总统来这儿访问。有意思的新闻不少, 所以, 我总是在听新闻。

妈妈, 你在休息吗？没有, 我在看你姐姐在广东照的那些照片呢。现在的广东跟三年前我们 去的那个广东很不一样。真有意思。你也来看看, 好吗？对不起, 妈妈, 我没空儿。我正在背今天 老师教的生词呢。

Qĭngwèn, Xiăo Wáng zài ma？Tā zhèngzài xiĕ bàogào ne. Nĭ yŏu shì ma？Wŏ xiăng wèn tā jĭ ge wèntì Kĕshì tā xiànzài zhèng máng, wŏ yìhuĭr zhăo tā.

Nĭ zhīdao nà ge zài tīng lùyīn de háizi shì shéi jiā de háizi？Wŏ xiăng shì lăo Zhāng jiā de ba.

Rénmĕi, nĭ máng shénme ne？Wŏ zài zhĕnglĭ zhuōzi. Nĭ zài zhĕnglĭ nă zhāng zhuōzi？Mén duìmiàn de nà zhāng.

Shìhăi, wŏ yòng yìxià nĭ de Hàn-Yīng cìdiăn, hăo ma？Duìbùqĭ, wŏ zhèng yòng ne.

Zuótiān wŏ lái de shìhòu, tāmen zhèngzài zuò zuòyè. Wŏ zŏu de shìhòu, tāmen hái zài zuò zuòyè.

Dàgē, nĭ zài tīng shénme？Wŏ zài tīng xīnwén. Zhè liăng tiān nĭ zŏngshì zài tīng xīnwén. Wèishénme ne？Zhè liăng tiān, Mĕiguó zŏngtŏng lái zhèr făngwèn. Yŏu yìsi de xīnwén bù shăo, suŏyĭ wŏ zŏngshì zài tīng xīnwén.

Māma, nĭ zài xiūxi ma？Méiyŏu, wŏ zài kàn nĭ jiĕjie zài Guăngdōng zhào de nàxiē zhàopiàn ne. Xiànzài de Guăngdōng gēn sān nián qián wŏmen qù de nà ge Guăngdōng hĕn bú yìyàng. Zhēn yŏu yìsi. Nĭ yĕ lái kànkan, hăo ma？Duìbùqĭ, māma, wŏ méi kòngr. Wŏ zhèngzài bèi jīntiān lăoshī jiāo de shēng cì ne.

Excuse me, is Wang in？He is writing a report. What’s the matter？I want to ask him a few questions. But, he is busy now. I’ll come back (look for him) later.

Do you know whose kid he is, the one who is listening to the tape？I think (he) is the Zhangs’.

Renmei, What are you busy about？I’m cleaning the table. Which table are you cleaning？The one across from the door.

Shihai, may I use your Chinese-English dictionary？I’m sorry, I’m using (it).

When I came yesterday, they were doing their homework. When I left, they were still doing their homework.

Big brother, what are you listening to？I’m listening to the news. These two days, you have been listening to the news all the time. Why？These two days, the president of the United States came here for a visit. There is quite a lot of interesting news. So, I’m always listening to the news.

Mom, are you resting？No. I’m looking at the photos your sister took in Canton. Nowadays’ Canton is quite different from the one we visited three years ago. (It) is really interesting. Come and take a look, OK？Sorry, mom, I don’t have time. I’m memorizing the new words the teacher taught today.

Lesson 24

Dialogue

English

Take Some Dimsum Mom Makes;

Renmei: Xueyou, what’s your plan for this weekend (what do you plan to do this weekend)?

Xueyou: Shihai and those guys want to go fishing in the suburbs. How is that we join them (we go with them) ?

Renmei: This week we are all very busy. (We) have class in the morning; work in the afternoon; in the evening if (we) are not reviewing, then (we) are previewing. Every night we don’t go to bed until twelve. It would be a nice change that we go out this weekend to unwind. Which day are we doing?

Xueyou: (We’ll) go Sunday.

Renmei: Why Sunday？Isn’t Saturday good?

Xueyou: Saturday Shihai and I will volunteer in the hospital. Did you forget about it?

Renmei: How come I forgot such an important matter?! (I’m) really embarrassed. How are we going? Are we driving or taking a train.

Xueyou: I’d like to take a train ( I say (we) take a train), but Shihai said it’s convenient to drive. If he wants to drive, then (we) drive. Anyway, (It’s) same.

Renmei: Whose car are we going to drive.

Xueyou: Drive Shihai’s. His is bigger.

Renmei: Then, I’m now going to store to do some shopping (to buy some things)

Xueyou: What’s the hurry?

Renmei: Go to suburbs, we got to bring something to eat, right?

Xueyou: Take some dimsum Mom makes. I like to eat dimsum my mom makes. I know Shihai likes it, too.

Renmei: Is it OK just to take some dimsum?

Xueyou: I think it’s fine. Just a minute ( you sit for a while). I’m going to call Shihai, (and) ask him whether (we) shall prepare something to eat.

Renmei: Call (him) later. When I came here, I bumped into him on the way. He said he went to the gyms to work out. I think he is still there weight-lifting.

Xueyou: Then, (I’ll) call later….yes, I was working on my Chinese homework when you got here. The Grammar 语法 for this week is very difficult. I have a few questions. Could you help to take a look?

Renmei: No problem.

Simplified

带点儿妈妈做的点心吧;

人美 : 学友, 这个周末你打算做些什麽？

学友 : 世海他们想去郊外钓鱼。我们跟他们一起去, 怎麽样？

人美 : 这个星期我们大家都很忙。上午上课, 下午打工, 晚上不是复习就是预习, 天天晚上十二点以後才睡觉。周末出去散心散心也好。我们哪天去呢？

学友 : 星期天去。

人美 : 为什麽星期天呢？星期六不是很好吗？

学友 : 星期六我和世海要去医院作义工, 你忘了吗？

人美 : 这麽重要的事儿, 我怎麽忘了呢？! 真不好意思。我们怎麽去呢？ 开车还是坐火车？

学友 : 我说坐车去, 可是世海说开车方便。开车就开车吧, 反正, 都一样。 你说对吧？

人美 : 开谁的车呢？

学友 : 开世海的车。他的车大。

人美 : 那麽, 我现在去商店买点东西。

学友 : 忙什麽？

人美 : 去郊外, 我们总得带点吃的吧？

学友 : 带点儿妈妈给我们做的点心吧。我喜欢吃我妈妈做的点心, 我知道 世海也喜欢吃她做的点心。

人美 : 带点心就行吗？

学友 : 我想行吧。你坐一下, 我去给世海打个电话, 问他要不要准备点吃的。

人美 : 过一会儿打吧。我来这儿的时候, 在路上踫见他。他说他去健身房锻炼。 我想他现在一定还在那儿举重。

学友 : 那好, 一会儿打...对了, 你来的时候, 我正在做中文作业。这个 星期的语法很难。我有几个问题。你帮我看看, 好吗？

人美 : 没问题。

Traditional

帶點兒媽媽做的點心吧;

人美 ﹕ 學友, 這個周末你打算做些什麼？

學友 ﹕ 世海他們想去郊外釣魚。我們跟他們一起去, 怎麼樣？

人美 ﹕ 這個星期我們大家都很忙。上午上課, 下午打工, 晚上不是復習就是預習, 天天晚上十二點以後才睡覺。周末出去散心散心也好。我們哪天去呢？

學友 ﹕ 星期天去。

人美 ﹕ 為什麼星期天呢？星期六不是很好嗎？

學友 ﹕ 星期六我和世海要去醫院作義工, 你忘了嗎？

人美 ﹕ 這麼重要的事兒, 我怎麼忘了呢？! 真不好意思。我們怎麼去呢？ 開車還是坐火車？

學友 ﹕ 我說坐車去, 可是世海說開車方便。開車就開車吧, 反正, 都一樣。 你說對吧？

人美 ﹕ 開誰的車呢？

學友 ﹕ 開世海的車。他的車大。

人美 ﹕ 那麼, 我現在去商店買點東西。

學友 ﹕ 忙什麼？

人美 ﹕ 去郊外, 我們總得帶點吃的吧？

學友 ﹕ 帶點兒媽媽給我們做的點心吧。我喜歡吃我媽媽做的點心, 我知道 世海也喜歡吃她做的點心。

人美 ﹕ 帶點心就行嗎？

學友 ﹕ 我想行吧。你坐一下, 我去給世海打個電話, 問他要不要準備點吃的。

人美 ﹕ 過一會兒打吧。我來這兒的時候, 在路上踫見他。他說他去健身房鍛煉。 我想他現在一定還在那兒舉重。

學友 ﹕ 那好, 一會兒打...對了, 你來的時候, 我正在做中文作業。這個 星期的語法很難。我有幾個問題。你幫我看看, 好嗎？

人美 ﹕ 沒問題。

Pinyin

Duìhuà (dialogue)

Dài diănr māma zuò de diănxīn ba;

Rénmĕi: Xuéyŏu, zhègè zhōumò nĭ dăsuàn zuò xiē shénme?

Xuéyŏu: Shìhăi tāmen xiăng qù jiāowài diàoyú. Wŏmen gēn tāmen yìqĭ qù zĕnmeyàng?

Rénmĕi: Zhègè xīngqī wŏmen dàjiā dōu hĕn máng: shàngwŭ shàng kè, xiàwŭ dăgōng, wănshàng búshì fùxí jiùshì yùxí tiāntian wănshàng shíèr diăn yĭhòu cái shuìjiào. Zhōumò chūqù sànxīn sànxīn yĕ hăo. Wŏmen nă tiān qù ne?

Xuéyŏu: Xīngqītiān qù.

Rénmĕi: Wèishénme xīngqītiān ne？Xīngqīliù bù hăo ma?

Xuéyŏu: Xīngqīliù wŏ hé Shìhăi yào qù yīyuàn zuò yìgōng, nĭ wàngle ma?

Rénmĕi: Zhème zhòngyào de shìr, wŏ zĕnme wàngle ne?! Zhēn bù hăo yìsi. Wŏmen zĕnme qù ne？Kāi chē háishì zuò huŏchē?

Xuéyŏu: Wŏ shuō zuòchē qù, kĕshì Shìhăi shuĭ kāichē fāngbiàn.Kaī chē jiù kāichē ba, fănzhèng, dōu yíyàng. Nĭ shuō duì ba?

Rénmĕi: Kāi shuíde chē ne?

Xuéyŏu: Kāi Shìhăi de chē. Tāde chē dà.

Rénmĕi: Nàme, wŏ xiànzài qù shāngdiàn măi diăn dōngxi.

Xuéyŏu: Máng shénme?

Rénmĕi: Qù jiāowài, wŏmen zŏng dĕi dài diăn chī de ba?

Xuéyŏu: Dài diănr māma gĕi wŏmen zuò de diănxīn ba. Wŏ xĭhuān chī wŏ māma zuò de diănxīn. Wŏ zhīdào Shìhăi yĕ xĭhuān chī tāde zuò de diănxīn.

Rénmĕi: Dài diănxīn jiù xíng ma?

Xuéyŏu: Wŏ xiăng xíng ba. Nĭ zuò yíxiàr, wŏ qù gĕi Shìhăi dă gè diànhuà wèn tā yào búyào zhŭnbèi chīde.

Rénmĕi: Guò yìhuĭr dă ba.Wŏ lái zhèr de shíhòu, zài lùshàng pèngjiàn tā. Tā shuō tā qù jiànshén fáng duànliàn. Wŏ xiăng tā xiànzài yídìng hái zài nàr jŭ zhòng.

Xuéyŏu: Nà hăo, yì huĭr dă .duìle, nĭ lái de shíhòu, wŏ zhèngzài zuò Zhōngwén zuòyè. Zhègè xīngqī de yŭfă hĕn nán. Wŏ yŏ u jĭgè wèntí. Nĭ bāng wŏ kànkan, hăo ma?

Rénmĕi: Méi wèntí.

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
周末 | zhōumò | n. | weekend
郊外 | jiāowài | n. | outskirts, suburbs
鱼 | yú | n. | fish
医院 | yīyuàn | n. | hospital
义工 | yìgōng | n. | volunteer
火车 | huŏchē | n. | train
点心 | diănxīn | n. | dimsum, desert
带 | dài | v. | to bring, to take
打算 | dăsuàn | v. | to plan
|  | n. | plan
钓 | diào | v. | to hook
钓鱼 | diào yú | n. | to go fishing
打工 | dă gōng | v. | to work part time
复习 | fùxí | v. | to review
预习 | yùxí | v. | to preview
散心 | sànxīn | v. | to relax, to unwind
忘 | wàng | v. | to forget
准备 | zhŭnbèi | v. | to prepare
踫见 | pèngjiàn | v. | to bump into, meet by chance
锻炼 | duànliàn | v. | to do physical exercise, to work out
举 | jŭ | v. | to lift
举重 | jŭzhòng | v. | to lift weights
要 | yào | aux. v. | shall, will
重要 | zhòngyào | adj. | important
不好意思 | bù hăo yìsi | adj. | embarrassed
难 | nán | adj. | difficult
行 | xíng | adj. | OK, fine
反正 | fănzhèng | adv. | anyway
这麽/那麽 | zhème/nàme | adv. | so, such
(一)点儿 | (yì)diănr | pronoun | some

Grammar 语法

1. The auxiliary verb 要:

The auxiliary verb 要 indicates a future action. It is an equivalent of English “shall, will, be going to, or want to”.

It also expresses a desire or an intention, somewhat like English “want to”.

明天我们要去钓鱼。 | Tomorrow we’ll go fishing.
这个周末他要去纽约。 | This weekend he’ll go to New York.

To negate, use 不 + v. For example:

老师, 我不回答这个问题。 | Teacher, I won’t answer this question.
今天她不吃饭。 | She is not going to eat today.

Note that 要 can also function as a verb. When it is used as a verb, it means “to want” in English, and it is followed by a noun which works as the object of the verb “to want”. For example:

我要一杯咖啡。 | I want a cup of coffee.
他不要这本书。 | He doesn’t want this book.

If you want to express the English idea “to want to” in Chinese, instead of 要, you should employ 想.

For instance:

我想买一张桌子。 | I want to buy a table.
他不想去郊外。 | He doesn’t want to go to the suburbs.

2. (一)点儿:

Like 一下, 一点儿 can be used after the verb to moderate the tone of voice. For example:

你吃(一)点儿鱼吧。 | (You) eat some fish.
我们买(一)点儿点心, 好吗？ | We buy some deserts, OK?

When 一点儿 is followed by an object, 一 is often dropped.

3. The pattern 不是 n./v....就是 n./v....:

The pattern 不是 n.....就是 n....is equivalent to the English pattern: “If subject is not something/someone, then the subject is the other”.

For example:

她不是张老师就是王老师。 | If she is not Teacher Zhang, then she is Teacher Wang.
这条裙子不是妹妹的就是姐姐的。 | This skirt if is not younger sister’s then is older sister’s.
那不是画报就是杂志。 | If that is not a pictorial, then it is a magazine.

The pattern 不是 v.....就是 v... is equivalent to the English pattern: “If subject is not doing something, then the subject is doing the other”. For example:

每天他不是吃饭就是睡觉。 | Everyday, if he is not eating, then (he) is sleeping.
我很忙, 每天不是学习就是打工。 | I’m busy. Everyday if (I’m) not studying then (I’m) working.

4. The pattern “...也好”:

The pattern ...也好 translated into English will be “ It would be a nice alternative that...”.

For example:

今天我很忙。明天去也好。 | Today I’m busy. It would be a nice alternative that (we) go tomorrow.
王老师没空, 那麽, 丁老师教也好。 | Teacher Wang has no time, then, it will be a nice alternative that Teacher Ding will teach.
这几天大家都很忙。下午不上课也好。 | These few days everybody is busy. It will be a nice alternative that (we) will not have class this afternoon.

Note that “It” in English pattern “It would be a nice alternative that...” is a superficial subject.

The actual subject is the clause “that...”. In Chinese, there is no place for a superficial subject, so you have to move the actual subject back to its rightful place. For instance:

It would be a nice alternative that we take train tomorrow. | 我们明天坐火车去也好。

5. 怎麽去 vs. 怎麽走:

怎麽走 is an idiomatic expression, used to ask for DIRECTION. For example:

纽约怎麽走？ | How to get to New York?
学生食堂怎麽走？ | How to get to the Students’ dining hall?
健身房怎麽走？ | How to get to the gyms?

怎麽去 is an expression which is translated into English as “by what means”. For example:

明天我们怎麽去？坐火车还是开车？ | By what means are we going tomorrow, by train or driving?
他没有车, 下午怎麽去呢？ | He has no car. How can he go this afternoon ( by what means can he go this afternoon?)

6. The pattern v. 就 v. 吧:

v. 就 v. 吧 can be translated in into English as “if that’s what someone wants, then (we/I) will do it.”

For example:

爸爸要我学中文。学就学吧。 | Dad asks me to learn Chinese, If that’s what he wants, then I will do it.
他说带自己作的点心。带就带吧。 | He said (we’d) bring the pastry we made ourselves. If that’s what he wanted, then I’ll do it.

Speech patterns 语 型

1. The auxiliary verb 要:

老师, 我们要复习今天教的这一课吗？

他说他要买这张桌子吗？他说他不想买桌子。你要, 你买吧。

我用一下你的电话, 好吗？对不起。我自己也要用。

今天下午你要跟我们一起去钓鱼吗？我很想去。可是我没有空。下个星期, 看看吧。

Lăoshī, wŏmen yào fùxí jīntiān jiāo de zhè yí kè ma？

Tā shuō tā yào măi zhè zhāng zhuōzi ma？Tā shuō tā bù xiăng măi zhuōzi. Nĭ yào, nĭ măi ba.

Wŏ yòng yíxià nĭ de diànhuà, hăo ma？Duìbuqĭ. Wŏ zìjĭ yĕ yào yòng.

Jīntiān xiàwŭ nĭ yào gēn wŏmen yìqĭ qù diào yú ma？Wŏ hĕn xiăng qù, kĕshì wŏ méi yŏu kòng. Xià gè xīngqī kànkan ba.

Teacher, shall we review what is taught today？

Did he say that he was going to buy this table？He did not say that he was going to buy a table.(If) you want, you buy (it).

May I use your phone？Sorry, I’m going to use it myself.

Are you going to go fishing with us this afternoon？I want very much to go, but I don’t have time. Next week, let’s see (whether I would have time).

2. (一) 点儿:

我们买点儿吃的, 好吗？为什麽呢？妈妈作的点心不好吗？

明天是我姐姐的生日。她请我们去参加她的晚会。你说我们要不要带点儿礼物？

喝点儿茶吧。你知道我不喜欢喝茶。喝点儿这茶吧。中国的。很不错。

妈妈不喜欢我整天玩电脑, 上网路。她要我看点书。

妈妈在厨房里忙什麽呢？她说她要给你作点儿你喜欢吃的点心。

Wŏmen măi diănr chī de, hăo ma？Wèi shénme ne？Māma zuò de diănxīn bù hăo ma?

Míngtiān shì wŏ jiĕjie de shēngrì. Tā qĭng wŏmen qù cānjiā tā de wănhuì. Nĭ shuō wŏmen yào bú yào dài diănr lĭwù?

Hē diănr chá ba. Nĭ zhīdao wŏ bù xĭhuan hē chá. Hē diănr zhè chá ba. Zhōngguó de. Hĕn bú cuò.

Māma bù xĭhuan wŏ zhĕngtiān wán diànnăo, shàng wănglù. Tā yào wŏ kàn diănr shū.

5.Māma zài chúfáng lĭ máng shénme ne？Tā shuō tā yào gĕi nĭ zuò diănr nĭ xĭhuan chī de diănxīn.

Let’s buy some food, OK？Why？Is the dimsum Mom made not good?

Tomorrow is my older sister’s birthday. She invited us to attend her party. Do you think we shall buy her some gift?

Drink some tea. You know I don’t like to drink tea. Drink some of this. (It is) Chinese tea. Not bad.

Mom does not like that I watch TV and play the internet all day long. She wants me to read some books.

What is Mom busy with in the kitchen？She said she would make some dimsum you like.

3. The pattern 不是n./v？就是n./v?:

她的英文真好。我想她不是英国人就是美国人。

学中文不容易。要作的事情很多。所以学中文的学生每天不是背生词就是听录音。

小丁在哪儿？她不是在图书馆找资料就是在宿舍写报告。

这个人跟世海真像。我看他不是世海的哥哥就是世海的弟弟。

这张照片是谁的？不是张老师的就是王老师的。你看, 他们俩都在上面。

Tā de Yīngwén zhēn hăo. Wŏ xiăng tā bú shì Yīngguó rén jiù shì Mĕiguó rén.

Xué Zhōngwén bù róngyì. Yào zuò de shìqìng hĕn duō, suŏyĭ xué Zhōngwén de xuésheng mĕitiān bú shì bèi shēngcì jiù shì tīng lùyīn.

Xiăo Dīng zài năr？Tā bú shì zài túshūguăn zhăo zīliào, jiù shì zài sùshè xiĕ bàogào.

Zhè gè rén zhēn xiàng Shìhăi. Wŏ kàn tā bú shì Shìhăi de gēge jiù shì Shìhăi de dìdi.

Zhè zhāng zhàopiàn shì shéide？Bú shì Zhāng lăoshī de jiù shì Wáng lăoshī de. Nĭ kàn, tāmen liăng dōu zài shàngmiàn.

Her English is really good. I think if she is not British then she is American.

It is not easy to learn Chinese. (There are) a lot of things need to be done, so everyday, the students who learn Chinese if they are not memorizing new words then they are listening to the tapes.

Where is Ding？ If she is not looking for the materials in the library then she is writing a report in the dorm room.

This guy looks so much alike Shihai. I think if he is not Shihai’s older brother then he is his younger brother.

Whose picture is this？If not Teacher Zhang’s then (it) is Teacher Wang’s. Look, both of them are in the picture.

4. The pattern ...也好:

你不想学中文, 那麽, 学日文也好。日 文 也 很 有 意 思 。

妈妈, 哥哥说他不想去纽约。他不去, 我去, 好吗？你去也好。

爸爸, 奶奶家离学校太远了。我想住学院的宿舍。住宿舍也好。你姐姐以前也住宿舍。

我没有蓝裙子, 穿蓝裤子, 怎么样？穿裤子也好, 反正, 都一样。

休息一下也好。我想去厕所。

去借也好。买太贵了。爸爸一定不高兴。

Nĭ bù xiăng xué Zhōngwén, nàme, xué Rìwén yĕ hăo. Rìwén yĕ hĕn yŏu yìsi.

Māma, Gēge shuō tā bù xiăng qù Niŭyuē. Tā bú qù, wŏ qù, hăo ma？Nĭ qù yĕ hăo.

Bàba, Năinai jiā lĭ xuéxiào tài yuăn le. Wŏ xiăng zhù xuéyuàn de sùshè. Zhù sùshè yĕ hăo. Nĭ jiĕjie yĭqiān yĕ zhù sùshè.

Wŏ méi yŏu lán qúnzi, chuān lán kùzi zĕnmeyàng？Chuān kùzi yĕ hăo. Fănzhèng, dōu yìyàng.

Xiūxi yíxià yĕ hăo. Wŏ xiăng qù cèsuŏ.

Qù jiè yĕ hăo. Măi tài guì le. Bàba yídìng bù gāoxìng.

You don’t want to study Chinese. Then, it would be a nice alternative to study Japanese. It is also very interesting to study Japanese.

Mom, Older brother said that he wouldn’t go to New York. He won’t go, I go. It will be a nice alternative that you go.

Dad, grandma’s home is too far away from the school. I want to live in the college’s dorm. It would be a nice alternative to live in the dorm. Your sister used to live in the dorm.

I don't have blue skirt, how about blue pants？It would be a nice alternative to wear blue pants.

It would be a nice change to take a break. I want to go the restroom.

It would a nice alternative to borrow. It is too expensive to buy (one). Dad definitely won’t be happy.

5. 怎麽走 vs. 怎麽去:

请问, 学生中心怎麽走？我们同路。你跟我来吧。

明天我们怎麽去郊外呢？坐火车吧。坐火车很方便。

小王没有车, 也没有钱。明天她怎麽去上班呢？

你知道从这儿去纽约怎麽走吗？我不知道, 可是我有地图啊。纽约这麽大的一个地方。我想一定不难找, 所以我觉得这不是问题。

Qĭngwèn, xuésheng zhōngxīn zĕnme zŏu？Wŏmen tóng lù. Nĭ gēn wŏ lái ba.

Míngtiān wŏmen zĕnme qù jiāowài ne？Zuò huŏchē ba. Zuò huŏchē fāngbiàn.

Xiăo Wáng méi yŏu chē, yĕ méi yŏu qián. Míngtiān tā zĕnme qù shàng bān ne?

Nĭ zhīdao cóng zhèr qù Niŭyuē zĕnme zŏu？Wŏ bù zhīdao, kĕshì wŏ yŏu dìtú a. Niŭyuē zhème dà de yí gè dìfāng, wŏ xiăng yídìng bù nán zhăo. Suŏyĭ wŏ juéde zhè bú shì wèntì.

Excuse me, how to get to the students’ center？We are going in the same direction. Follow me, please.

Tomorrow how do we go to the suburbs？Let’s take a train. It is very convenient to take a train.

Wang has no car nor does she have money. How will she go to work tomorrow?

Do you know how to get to New York from here. I don’t know, but I have a map. New York is such a big place. I definitely don’t think it’s difficult to find. So, I don’t think this is a problem.

6. The pattern v. 就 v. (吧):

张老师明天去纽约。他说他不跟我们一起去钓鱼。不去就不去。我们自己去。

我觉得开车方便, 可是她说坐火车好。坐火车就坐火车吧。我听她的。

吃中国饭喝中国酒, 这不很好吗？可是, 他要我作美国饭。作美国饭就作美国饭吧, 反正我不吃。

我说中文不好学, 可是她一定要学。学就学吧。你看, 周末大家都去玩儿, 可是她还要去语言实验室听录音。

Zhāng lăoshī míngtiān qù Niŭyuē. Tā shuō tā bù gēn wŏmen yìqĭ qù diào yú？Bú qù jiù bú qù Wŏmen zìjĭ qù.

Wŏ juéde kāi chē fāngbiàn, kĕ shì tā shuō zuò huŏchē hăo. Zuò huŏchē jiù zuò huŏchē ba. Wŏ tīng tā de.

Chī Zhōngguó fàn hē Zhōngguó jiŭ, zhè bú hĕn hăo ma？Kĕshì, tā yào wŏ zuò Mĕiguó fàn. Zuò Mĕiguó fàn jiù zuò Mĕiguó fàn ba, fănzhèng wŏ bù chī.

Wŏ shuō Zhōngwén bù hăo xué, kĕshì tā yídìng yào xué. Xué jiù xué ba. Nĭ kàn, Zhōumò dàjiā dōu qù wánr, kĕshì tā hái yào qù yŭyán shìyànshì tīng lùyīn.

Teacher Zhang goes to New York tomorrow. He says he won’t go fishing with us. If that’s what he wants, then it’s fine. We’ll go by ourselves.

I think driving is convenient, but she said it’d be nice to go by train. If that’s what she wants, then I’ll do it. She is the boss ( I listen to her).

Eating Chinese food and drinking Chinese wine, isn’t that fun？But he asks me to cook American food. If that’s what he wants I’ll do it, anyway, I’m not going to eat.

I said that it won’t be easy to learn Chinese, but, she made up her mind (definitely want to) learn. See, at weekend everyone go out to have fun, and she has to go to the language lab to listen to the tapes.

Lesson 25

Dialogue

English

I didn’t expect that you swim so well;

Xueyou: Dawei, (I) did not expect that you swim so well.

Renmei: His dad is the swimming coach of the university. “The master of fame will produce excellent disciple”, which is not unusual.

Dawei: How come not unusual?! Dad is dad, (and) son is son.

Xueyou: Isn’t your dad a coach?

Dawei: My dad is the coach of the university team, (but) our family coach is my mom. Mom is very strict, (and her) teaching is also very earnest (she teaches very earnestly), so, the kids in my family are all skilled swimmers.

Renmei: Really, Next time when I bump into your mom, (I) will definitely ask her for advice.

Dawei: You are a good swimmer (you swim not bad).

Renmei: Thank you.

Xueyou: She swims too slow.

Dawei: Really？I will take a look.

Renmei: That’s right. I teach you Chinese, (and) you got to teach me swimming.

Xueyou: Dawei, tell you the truth, recently, your Chinese is quite fluent (you speak Chinese fluently).

Dawei: “The master of fame will produce excellent disciple”. Renmei is a good teacher (Renmei teaches well).

Renmei: Thanks, (and) you are a hard-working students (you study diligently); (you) get up so early everyday, (and) go to bed so late; all days long if you’re not memorizing the new vocabularies, (you) are listening to the tapes. No wonder you are making a great progress ( you progress fast). Yes, are you hungry？There is something to eat here. Look, cheese, ham, bread; whatever you want, it is here.

Dawei What is this?

Xueyou: This is the Chinese dimsum my mom made.

Dawei: Dilicious.

Xueyou: Have some more, (if) you like it.

Dawei: Thanks, I’ve had a lot. I want to have some water.

Xueyou: The water is in the car. Can you go and get it？Bring me a bottle of mineral water, OK?

Dawei: OK. Where did you park your car ?

Xueyou: By the river which is in the front.

Simplified

初级第二十五课: 对话 没想到, 你游泳游得这么好

学友 : 大为, 没想到你游泳游得 这么好。

人美 : 他爸爸是大学的游泳教练。 "名师出高徒", 这不奇怪。

大为 : 怎么不奇怪？爸爸是爸爸, 儿子是儿子。

学友 : 你爸爸不是你的教练吗？

大为 : 我爸爸是大学队的教练, 我们家的教练是我的妈妈。我妈妈很严格, 教得也 很认真, 所以, 我们家几个兄弟姐妹都是游泳好手。

人美 : 是吗？下次我踫见你妈的时候, 一定请她指点指点。

大为 : 你游得不错嘛。

人美 : 哪里。

学友 : 她游得太慢了。

大为 : 真的吗？让我看看。

人美 : 对嘛, 我教你汉语, 你也得教教我游泳。

学友 : 大为, 说真的, 最近你中文说得很流利。

大为 : "名师出高徒", 人美教得好嘛。

人美 : 哪里, 你学得努力。天天起得那么早, 睡得那么晚；整天不是念生词, 就 是听录音, 当然进步得很快。对了, 你们饿吗？这儿有吃的。你看, 奶酪? 火腿, 面包, 应有尽有。

大为 : 这是什么？

学友 : 这是我妈妈作的中国点心。

大为 : 真好吃。

学友 : 喜欢吃, 就再吃点儿吧。

大为 : 谢谢, 我吃得不少了。想喝点儿水。

学友 : 水在车上。你去拿吧。请帮我拿一瓶矿泉水, 好吗？

大为 : 行。你的车停在哪儿？

学友 : 前边的河边。

Traditional

沒想到, 你游泳游得這麼好;

學友 ﹕ 大為, 沒想到你游泳游得 這麼好。

人美 ﹕ 他爸爸是大學的游泳教練。 "名師出高徒", 這不奇怪。

大為 ﹕ 怎麼不奇怪？爸爸是爸爸, 兒子是兒子。

學友 ﹕ 你爸爸不是你的教練嗎？

大為 ﹕ 我爸爸是大學隊的教練, 我們家的教練是我的媽媽。我媽媽很嚴格, 教得也 很認真, 所以, 我們家幾個兄弟姐妹都是游泳好手。

人美 ﹕ 是嗎？下次我踫見你媽的時候, 一定請她指點指點。

大為 ﹕ 你游得不錯嘛。

人美 ﹕ 哪裡。

學友 ﹕ 她游得太慢了。

大為 ﹕ 真的嗎？讓我看看。

人美 ﹕ 對嘛, 我教你漢語, 你也得教教我游泳。

學友 ﹕ 大為, 說真的, 最近你中文說得很流利。

大為 ﹕ "名師出高徒", 人美教得好嘛。

人美 ﹕ 哪裡, 你學得努力。天天起得那麼早, 睡得那麼晚；整天不是念生詞, 就 是聽錄音, 當然進步得很快。對了, 你們餓嗎？這兒有吃的。你看, 奶酪? 火腿, 麵包, 應有盡有。

大為 ﹕ 這是什麼？

學友 ﹕ 這是我媽媽作的中國點心。

大為 ﹕ 真好吃。

學友 ﹕ 喜歡吃, 就再吃點兒吧。

大為 ﹕ 謝謝, 我吃得不少了。想喝點兒水。

學友 ﹕ 水在車上。你去拿吧。請幫我拿一瓶礦泉水, 好嗎？

大為 ﹕ 行。你的車停在哪兒？

學友 ﹕ 前邊的河邊。

Pinyin

Méi Xiăngdào, Nĭ Yóuyŏng Yóu de Zhème Hăo

Xuéyŏu: Dàwéi, méi xiăngdào nĭ yóuyŏng yóu de zhème hăo.

Rénmĕi: Tā bàba shì dàxué duì de jiàoliàn. "Míng shī chū gāotú", zhè bù qíguài.

Dàwéi: Zĕnme bù qíguài？Bàba shì bàba, érzi shì érzi.

Xuéyŏu: Nĭ bàba búshì nĭde jiàoliàn ma?

Dàwéi: Wŏ bàba shì dàxué duì de jiàoliàn. Wŏmen jiā de jiàoliàn shì wŏ māma. Wŏ māma hĕn yángé jiāo de yĕ hĕn rènzhēn, suŏyĭ wŏmen jiā de jĭgè xiōngdìjiĕmèi dōushì yóuyŏng hăoshŏu.

Rénmĕi: Shì ma？Xiàcì wŏ pèngjiàn nĭ māma de shíhòu, yídìng qĭng tā zhĭdiăn zhĭdiăn.

Dàwéi: Nĭ yóu de búcuò ma?

Rénmĕi: Nălĭ.

Xuéyŏu: Tā yóu de tài màn le.

Dàwéi: Zhēnde ma？Ràng wŏ kànkan.

Rénmĕi: Duì ma, wŏ jiāo nĭ Hànyŭ nĭ yĕ dĕi jiāo wŏ yóuyŏng.

Xuéyŏu: Dàwéi, shuō zhēnde, zuìjìn nĭ Zhōngwén shuō de hĕn liúlì.

Dàwéi: "Míngshī chū gāotú", Rénmĕi jiāo de hăo ma.

Rénmĕi: Nălĭ, nĭ xué de nŭlì. Tiāntian qĭ de nàme zăo, shuì de nàme wăn; zhĕngtiān búshì niàn shēngcí jiùshì tīng lùyīn, dāngrán jìnbù de hĕn kuài. Duìle, nĭmen è ma？Zhèr yŏu chīde, nĭ kàn, năilào, huŏtuĭ miànbāo, yīngyŏu jìnyŏu.

Dàwéi: Zhè shì shénme?

Xuéyŏu: Zhè shì wŏ māma zuò de Zhōngguó diănxīn.

Dàwéi: Zhēn hăo chī.

Xuéyŏu: Xĭhuān chī jiù zài chī diănr ba.

Dàwéi: Xièxie, wŏ chī de bù shăo le. Xiăng hē diănr shuĭ.

Xuéyŏu: Shuĭ zài chē shàng. Nĭ qù ná ba. Qĭng bāng wŏ ná yì píng kuàngquán shuĭ hăo ma?

Dàwéi: Xíng. Nĭ de chē tíng zài năr?

Xuéyŏu: Qián biān de hé biān.

Text

English

David learned swimming from his mom;

Both David’s parents are swimming coaches. David has studied swimming with his mom since his young age. Mom is an earnest coach and David is a diligent learner, that’s why he swims very well. Now, he is Renmei Ding’s swimming coach. Everyday afternoon both David and Ding will go to the gyms next to the students’ center to swim.

This afternoon when Ding arrived at the gyms, David was weight-lifting. Ding was embarrassed. She said: “Sorry. Today the teacher let us out late, so I'm... really embarrassed.”

“It’s alright. See, I don’t lack of things to do here.”

“You’re very nice. Nice personality, and a very nice swimming coach. Yesterday I told Xueyou that a nice coach like you is Bi l tio y”

“Biltioy？Renmei, what is Biltioy？I don’t understand.”

“Biltioy is an idiom. The Chinese meaning is ‘There is only one in the hundred’”.

“Then, it corresponds to English saying ‘one out of the hundred’. Right?”

“Exactly.”

“Me, a swimming coach out of hundred？I’m humbled. I’m humbled.”

Simplified

大为从小跟妈妈学游泳;

大为的爸爸妈妈都是游泳教练。大为从小跟妈妈学游泳。妈妈教得认真, 大为学得努力, 所以他游泳游得非常好。

现在他是丁人美的游泳教练。每天下午大为和小丁都要去学生中心旁边的那个健身房游泳。今天下午小丁到健身房的时候, 大为正在举重。小丁很不好意思。她说："真对不起。今天老师下课下得晚, 所以我....真不好意思。"

"没关系, 你看, 我在这儿也不缺事儿作。"

"你真好, 人好, 教游泳也教得很好。昨天我还跟学友说像你这样的好教练

真是百里挑一。"

"'百里挑一'？人美, 什麽是'百里挑一'？我不懂。"

"'百里挑一'是成语, 中文意思是'一百个里就这麽一个'。"

"那, 英文意思就是'one out of a hundred', 对不对？"

"对。"

"我, 百里挑一的游泳教练？不敢当, 不敢当。"

Traditional

大為從小跟媽媽學游泳;

大為的爸爸媽媽都是游泳教練。大為從小跟媽媽學游泳。媽媽教得認真, 大為學得努力, 所以他游泳游得非常好。

現在他是丁人美的游泳教練。每天下午大為和小丁都要去學生中心旁邊的那個健身房游泳。今天下午小丁到健身房的時候, 大為正在舉重。小丁很不好意思。她說﹕"真對不起。今天老師下課下得晚, 所以我....真不好意思。"

"沒關係, 你看, 我在這兒也不缺事兒作。"

"你真好, 人好, 教游泳也教得很好。昨天我還跟學友說像你這樣的好教練 真是百裡挑一。"

"'百裡挑一'？人美, 什麼是'百裡挑一'？我不懂。"

"'百裡挑一'是成語, 中文意思是'一百個裡就這麼一個'。"

"那, 英文意思就是'one out of a hundred', 對不對？"

"對。"

"我, 百裡挑一的游泳教練？不敢當, 不敢當。"

Pinyin

Dàwéi cóng xiăo gēn māma xué yóuyŏng;

Dàwéi de bàba māma dōushì yóuyŏng jiàoliàn. Dàwéi cóng xiăo gēn māma xué yóuyŏng. Māma jiāo de rènzhēn, Dàwéi xué de nŭlì, suŏyĭ tā yóuyŏng yóu de fēicháng hăo.

Xiànzài tā shì Dīng Rénmĕi de yóuyŏng jiàoliàn. Mĕitiān xiàwŭ Dàwéi hé Xiăo Dīng dōu qù xuéshēng zhōngxīn pángbiān de nà gè jiànshēnfáng yóuyŏng. Jīntiān xiàwŭ Xiăo Dīng dào jiànshēn fáng de shíhòu, Dàwéi zhèngzài jŭ zhòng. Xiăo Dīng hĕn bù hăo yìsi. Tā shuō "zhēn duìbùqĭ Jīntiān lăoshī xià kè xià de wăn, suŏyĭ wŏ zhēn bù hăo yìsi."

"Méi guānxì, nĭ kàn, wŏ zài zhèr yĕ bù quē shìr zuò."

"Nĭ zhēn hăo. Rén hăo, jiāo yóuyŏng yĕ jiāo de hĕn hăo. Zuótiān wŏ hái gēn xuéyŏu shuō xiàng nĭ zhèyàng de hăo jiàoliàn zhēnshì băilĭtiāoyī."

" Băilĭtiāoyī？Rénmĕi, shénme shì 'băilĭtiāoyī'？Wŏ bù dŏng."

" Băilĭtiāoyī shì chéngyŭ, Zhōngwén yìsi shì 'yì băi gè lĭ jiù zhème yígè'."

"Nà, Yīng wén yìsi jiùshì 'One out of a hundred', duì bú duì?" "Duì." "Wŏ？Băilĭtiāoyī de yóuyŏng jiào liàn？Bù găndāng, bù găndāng."

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl.
教练 | jiàoliàn | n. | coach
队 | duì | n. | team
兄弟姐妹 | xiōngdì jiĕmèi | n. | siblings
奶酪 | năilào | n. | cheese
火腿 | huŏtuĭ | n. | ham
面包 | miànbāo | n. | bread
矿泉水 | kuàngquán shuĭ | n. | mineral water
河 | hé | n. | river
成语 | chéngyŭ | n. | idiom, sayings
奇怪 | qíguài | adj. | strange, unusual
严格 | yángé | adj. | strict
流利 | liúli | adj. | fluent
早 | zăo | adj. | early
晚 | wăn | adj. | late
快 | kuài | adj. | fast, quick
慢 | màn | adj. | slow
饿 | è | adj. | hungry
认真 | rènzhēn | adj. | serious, earnest
努力 | nŭlì | adj. | diligent
游 | yóu | v. | to swim
游泳 | yóuyŏng | v.o. | to swim
指点 | zhĭdiăn | v. | to advise
停 | tìng | v. | to stop, to park
名师出高徒 | Mìngshī chū gāotú | idiom | a master of fame will produce excellent disciples
百里挑一 | Băilĭ tiāoyī | idiom | one out of a hundredone out of a hundred
没想到 | méi xiăng dào | idiomatic exp.idiomatic exp. | did not expect
哪里 | nălĭ | idiomatic exp. | an answer to other’s compliment
不敢当 | bù găn dāng | idiomatic exp. | an answer to other’s compliment

Grammar 语法

1. The complement of degree:

(1) Adjective or an adjective phrase as the complement of degree :

An adjective or an adjective phrase which follows the verb to express the degree of the action is known as THE COMPLEMENT OF DEGREE. For example :

她唱得好。 | She sings well.
他来得真早。 | He came really early
他们吃得不多。 | They did not eat much.
你睡得早吗？ | Do you go to bed early?
她妹妹玩得高兴不高兴？ | Did her sister play happily (did her sister have fun playing)?
她写得怎麽样？ | How well does she write?

Note that : 

The verb and adjective or an adjective phrase which function as the complement of degree must always be joined by the structural particle 得 .

The negation is formed by inserting 不 between structural 得 and the adjective complement.

To form a simple question, a question particle such 吗, 吧 can be added to the end of the statement.

An affirmative/negative question is formed in the complement section.

To question the complement of degree, the question pronoun 怎麽样 is used.

Summary:

Subject | verb | structural particle | negation | Adjective,  Adj. phrase,  Ques. Part. | Question Particle | English translation
她 | 想 | 得 |  | 太多了 |  | She thinks too much.
我 | 说 | 得 | 不 | 清楚 |  | I did not speak clearly.
你妈妈 | 买 | 得 |  | 多 | 吗 | Did your Mom buy a lot?
你弟弟 | 学 | 得 |  | 怎么样 |  | How well does your younger brother learn?

(2) When the verb has both an object and a complement of degree in a sentence, either the verb should be repeated or the object should be preposed. 

For example:

a) The verb is repeated:

她游泳游得很快。 | She swims very fast.
我开车开得很慢。 | I drive very slow.
她吃饭吃得多吗？ | Does she eat a lot of rice (does she eat rice a lot)?
你的朋友说汉语说得怎麽样？ | How well does your friend speak Chinese?

Summary:

Subject | Verb | Object | Repeated verb | Structural Particle | The complement of Degree
你妈妈 | 作 | 点心 | 作 | 得 | 非常好
你 | 看 | 书 | 看 | 得 | 快不快
她 | 回答 | 问题 | 回答 | 得 | 怎么样

b) The object is preposed:

这个问题他回答得很好。 | He answered this question perfectly.
他电影看得很多。 | He sees a lot of movies (she sees movies a lot).
这件事儿我们谈得很多。 | We talked about this matter a lot.We talked about this matter a lot.

Note that the position of the object can be before or after the subject.

Summary:

Object | Subject | Object | Verb | Structural Particle | Complement of degree
法文 | 他 |  | 说 | 得 | 不错
| 她 | 酒 | 喝 | 得 | 多不多
房间 | 她 |  | 整理 | 得 | 很乾净
| 他 | 报告 | 昨 | 得 | 怎么样

2.The pattern 不是....吗?

The pattern 不是....吗？can be used to expressed emphasis. This pattern is employed when one feels something is not in keeping with what is believed, and wants to express his doubt. For example:

他不是你哥哥吗？ | Isn’t he your older brother?
床上的那本书不是你的吗？ | Isn’t that book on the bed yours?
你不是认识她吗？ | Don’t you recognize her?
你妈妈不是明天来吗？ | Won’t your Mom come tomorrow?

Note that in the examples, the emphasized parts are highlighted, which could a noun, a noun phrase, a verb or a time word, etc.. No matter what it is, 不是 must be place right before the emphasized element, and 吗 always appears at the end of the sentence.

3. The pattern 再 V.(一)点儿(O.):

The pattern 再 V.(一)点儿(object) means “ do some more (of) something”. For example:

请再喝点儿矿泉水。 | Please drink some more mineral water.
我们再看点儿电视吧。 | Let’s watch some more TV.
再吃点儿饭, 好吗？ | Eat some more food, OK?
他们想再听点儿音乐。 | They want to listen to some more music.

(一)点儿 in this pattern can be substituted by 几 + measure word. For example:

请再写几个字吧。 | Please write a few more words.
我们 再买几张纸吧。 | Let’s buy a few more pieces of paper.

4. The correlative adverb (要是)...就...:

The correlative adverb (要是)...就... introduces a complex sentence of supposative relation. The subordinate clause introduced by 要是 puts forward an assumption, while the main clause signified by 就 states the results or inference drawn for the assumption. The English equivalent of the correlative adverb (要是)...就... is “if...then”. For example:

要是你想去, 我就跟你一起去。 | If you want to go, (then) I will go with you.
要是她喜欢吃, 我就买。 | If she likes to eat (it), (then) I’d buy (it).
你要是喜欢她, 就告诉她吧。 | If you like her, then tell her.
你想家, 就给爸爸妈妈 打个电话吧。 | If you are home-sick, then give Mom and Dad a call.

Note that:

In the subordinate clause, the subject can go before or after 要是 . But the subject in the main clause can only appear BEFORE 就 .

If the subjects in both clauses are the same, then one of them can be omitted.

Sometimes, the correlative adverb 要是 in the subordinate clause can be omitted.

5. 在 + O. as prepositional phrase VS. 在 + O. verb complements:

We are quite familiar with 在 + O. as preposition phrase, which gives setting for main action.

For example:

Subj. | Prep. phr. | V. | O. |
他 | 在图书馆 | 看 | 书。 | He reads in the library.
小丁 | 在家 | 写 | 报告。 | Ding writes a report at home.

From the above examples we can see that information as to where an action takes place is provided by the prepositional phrase 在 + O. which appears BEFORE the verb. But we also came across the following sentences:

Subj. | V. | Complement |
我的车 | 停 | 在河边。 | My car parks by the river.
他 | 住 | 在那间小卧室里。 | He lives in that small bedroom.

In these two examples, 在 + O. phrase is places AFTER the verb as a complement, which signifies where someone or something comes to rest as a result of the action. Most of the verbs in Chinese such as 学习, 工作, 锻炼 , 访问 etc. can only take 在 + O. as a prepositional phrase, for the actions they expressed are not concerned with a terminal point. There are a small number of verbs, such as 住, , 坐, 站, 走, 停, etc., can have 在 + O. BEFORE or AFTER the verb without any substantial difference in meaning. But that’s not the case with some verbs.

For example:

他在桌上写。 | He writes by the table.
他写在桌上。 | He writes onto the table.
你在哪儿录第十六课？ | Where (in what place) did you make the recording of Lesson 16?
第十六课, 你录在哪儿呢？ | Where (on which tape) did you record Lesson 16?

Speech patterns

1. The complement of degree:

今天你怎麽来得这麽早？我妈今天从台湾来。我得去接她。

你妹妹吃饭吃得慢吗？为什麽？因为她作事作得很慢, 所以我想知道她吃饭吃得慢不慢。

这两天晚上你睡得怎么样？大夫, 我睡得很好。今天几点起床？十点。昨天晚上几点睡觉？十点。你睡得太多了。

昨天我们请从北京来的那个留学生给我们介绍北京。他说得怎麽样？不错。他英文说得很流利, 介绍北京介绍得很清楚。

她一个人在那儿玩什麽玩得那麽高兴？玩电脑。玩电脑?她几岁了。五岁。五岁的孩子玩电脑玩得那麽好, 真有意思。

中国菜你作得怎麽样？我作得不怎么样。我先生作得好。那麽, 你们家谁作饭呢？谁下课下得早谁作。

Jīntiān nĭ zĕnme lái de zhème zăo？Wŏ mā jīntiān cóng Táiwān lái. Wŏ dĕi qù jiē tā.

Nĭ mèimei chī fàn chī de màn ma？Wèishénme？Yīnwèi tā zuò shìr zuò de hĕn màn, suŏyĭ wŏ xiăng zhīdao tā chī fàn chī de màn bú màn.

Zhè liăng tiān wănshàng nĭ shuì de zĕnmeyàng？Dàifu, wŏ shuì de hĕn hăo. Jīntiān jĭ diăn qĭ chuáng？Shì diăn. Zuótiān wănshàng jĭ diăn shuìjiào？Shì diăn. Nĭ shuì de tài duō le.

Zuótiān wŏmen qĭng cóng Bĕijīng lái de nà ge liú xuésheng gĕi wŏmen jièshào Bĕijīng. Tā shuō de zĕnmeyàng？Bú cuò. Tā Yīngwén shuō de hĕn liúli, jièshào Bĕijīng jièshào de hĕn qīngchŭ.

Tā yí ge rén zài nàr wán shénme wán de nàme gāoxìng？Wán diànnăo. Wán diànnăo？Tā jĭ suì le？Wŭ suì. Wŭ suì de háizi wán diànnăo wán de nàme hăo, zhēn yŏu yìsi.

Zhōngguó cài nĭ zuò de zĕnmeyàng？Wŏ zuò de bù zĕnmenyàng. Wŏ xiānsheng zuò de hăo. Nàme, nĭmen jiā shéi zuò fàn ne？Shéi xià kè xià de zăo shéi zuò.

Why did you come so early today？My Mom comes from Taiwan today. I have to go and pick her up.

Is your younger sister a slow eater (does your younger eat slow)？Why？Because she is slow in doing things (she does things slow), (so) I want to know whether she eats slow.

How well have you been sleeping these two days？Doctor, I’ve been sleeping well. When did you get up today？ Ten. When did you go to bed yesterday？Ten. You sleep too much.

Yesterday we invited the exchange-student from Beijing to give us a talk about Being. How well did he do？Not bad. His English was very fluent (he spoke English very fluently), (and he) gave a very comprehensive introduction of Beijing (he introduced Beijing clearly).

What is she playing with so enthusiastically (happily) all by herself over there？Playing with a computer. Playing with a computer？How old is she？Five. A five years old child is so good at computers ( a five years old child play with a computer so well. (It)’s very interesting.

How well do you make a Chinese dish ( how good are you at making a Chinese dish)？I’m not good at it ( I don’t make it well). My husband makes good Chinese dishes (my husband makes Chinese dishes well). Then, who cooks in your family？Who gets off early from class, who cooks.

2. The Pattern 不是...吗？ for emphasis:

你不是要去纽约接你妈妈吗？怎麽还在这儿？你知道我车开得不好。所以我跟我弟弟一起去。我在等他。

这两张地图不是一样吗？谁说一样？一张大, 一张小。那麽, 哪张是现在的中国呢？

这是什麽？这是我昨天买的新牛仔裤。你不是不穿牛仔裤吗？

妈妈, 我想买几张音乐光碟。你不是有不少光碟嘛？我的那些光碟都太旧了。我想买些新的。

你看, 这些汉字写得怎么样？真不错。是我的室友写的。她不是日本人吗？

这是我的宿舍。我住307号。有空来玩吧。你不是住在你姐姐的家吗？姐姐家离学院太远了。不方便。

Nĭ bú shì yào qù Niŭyuē jiē nĭ māma ma？Zĕnme hái zài zhèr？Nĭ zhīdao wŏ chē kāi de bù hăo. Suŏyi wŏ gēn wŏ dìdi yìqĭ qù. Wŏ zài dĕng tā.

Zhè liăng zhāng dìtú bú shì yìyàng ma？Shéi shuō yìyàng？Yì zhāng dà, yìzhāng xiăo. Nàme, nă zhāng shì xiànzài de Zhōngguó ne?

Zhè shì shénme？Zhè shì wŏ zuótiān măi de niúzăi kù. Nĭ bú shì bù chuān niúzăi kù ma?

Māma, wŏ xiăng măi jĭ zhāng yīnyuè guāngdié. Nĭ bú shì yŏu bù shăo guāngdié ma？Wŏ de nà xiē guāngdié dōu tài jiù le. Wŏ xiăng măi xiē xīn de.

Nĭ kàn, zhè xiē Hànzì xiĕ de zĕnmeyàng？Zhēn búcuò. Zhè shì wŏ de shìyŏu xiĕ de. Tā bú shì Rìbĕn rén ma?

Zhè shì wŏ de sùshè. Wŏ zhù 307 hào. Yŏu kòng lái wánr ba. Nĭ bú shì zhù zài nĭ jiĕjie jiā ma？Jiĕjie jiā lì xuéyuàn tài yuăn le. Bù fāngbiàn.

Isn’t it true that you will go to New York to pick up your Mom？Why are (you) still here？You know that I’m not a good driver (I don’t drive well). So I will go with my younger brother. I’m waiting for him.

Aren’t these two maps the same？Who say (that they are) the same？One is big (and) the other is small. Then, which one is the current China？

What is this？This is the new pair of jeans I bought yesterday. Isn’t it true that you don’t wear jeans?

Mom, I want to buy some music CD. Don’t you have a lot of CD？Those of mine are too old. I want to buy some new ones.

Look, how well are these Chinese characters written？Really not bad.( They) are written by my roommate. Isn’t she Japanese?

This is my dorm. I live in #307. Come and visit when (you) have time. Isn’t it true that you live in your sister’s house？My sister’s house is too far from the college. (It) is not convenient.

3. The pattern 再 V. (一)点儿 (O.):

这儿的中国花茶真不错。我想再买点儿。

我想再吃点儿你妈妈作的点心, 好吗？当然好啦。喜欢吃, 请吧。

我们的客厅缺什麽？我不知道。我说缺椅子。那儿不是有椅子吗？我想再买几张。

再喝点儿酒, 怎么样 ？你有什麽好酒呢？

你看, 她汉字写得真漂亮。请她再给我们写几个字吧。

Zhèr de huā chá zhēn búcuò. Wŏ xiăng zài măi diănr.

Wŏ xiăng zài chī diănr nĭ māma zuò de diănxin, hăo ma？Dāngrán hăo la. Xĭhuan chī, qĭng ba.

Wŏmen de kètīng quē shénme？Wŏ bù zhīdao. Wŏ shuō quē yĭzi. Wŏmen nàr bú shì yŏu yĭzi ma？Wŏ xiăng zài măi jĭ zhāng.

Zài hē diănr jiŭ, zĕnmeyàng？Nĭ yŏu shénme hăo jiŭ ma?

Nĭ kàn, tā Hànzì xiĕ de duō piàoliang. Qĭng tā zài gĕi wŏmen xiĕ jĭ ge zì ba.

The Chinese Jasmine tea here is really not bad. I want to buy some more.

Can I have some more of the pastry your Mom made？Sure. Please help yourself, if you like it.

What does our living-room lack of ？ I don’t know. I think (it) lack of chairs. Aren’t there chairs there? I want to buy a few more.

Have some more wine, OK？What kind of good wine do you have?

Look, the characters she wrote are really beautifully ( she wrote the characters really beautifully). Ask her to write a few more for us.

4. The correlative adverb 要是...就...：

妈妈, 我听说中国成语又有意思又有用, 对吗？对。要是你想学, 我就给你买一本 《 中国成语介绍》。

我们明天一定得去纽约吗？谁说一定得去？要是你不想去, 就在家看书吧。

这儿的咖啡真不错。要是你喜欢, 以後我们就天天来这儿喝咖啡。天天来？喝那麽多的咖啡, 好吗？

这个周末去郊外, 你说我们带点儿什麽？要是你想带你就带吧。我觉得在那儿买点儿吃的更方便。

昨天张老师作的那个报告怎麽样？哪个报告？那个关於日本经济的报告。我觉得非常不错。要是你觉得不错, 那一定不错。我也想请他给我们班的学生说一说。

Māma, wŏ tīngshuō Zhōngguó chéngyŭ yòu yŏu yìsi yòu yŏuyòng, duì ma？Duì. Yào shì nĭ xiăng xué, wŏ jiù gĕi nĭ măi yì bĕn 《Zhōngguó Chéngyŭ jièshào 》.

Wŏmen míngtiān yídìng dĕi qù Niŭyuē ma？Shuì shuō yídìng dĕi qù？Yào shì nĭ bù xiăng qù, jiù zài jiā kàn shū ba.

Zhèr de kāfēi zhēn búcuò. Yào shì nĭ xĭhuan, yĭhòu wŏmen jiù tiāntian lái zhèr hē kāfēi. Tiāntian lái？Hē nàme duō de kāfēi, hăo ma?

Zhè ge zhōumò qù jiāowài, nĭ shuō wŏmen dài diănr shénme？Yào shì nĭ xiăng dài, nĭ jiù dài ba. Wŏ juéde zài nàr măi diănr chī de gèng fāngbiàn.

Zuótiān Zhāng lăoshī zuò de nà ge bàogào zĕnmeyàng？Nă ge bàogào？Nà ge guānyú Rìbĕn jīngjì de bàogào. Wŏ juéde fēicháng búcuò. Yào shì nĭ juéde búcuò, nà yídìng búcuò. Wŏ yě xiăng qĭng tā gĕi wŏmen bān de xuésheng shuō yì shuō.

Mom, I heard that The Chinese proverbs are both interesting and useful, (Isn’t it) right？Yes. If you want to learn, I will buy you a copy of 《 Introduction to the Chinese Proverbs 》.

Do we have to go to New York tomorrow？Who say (we) have to go to？If you don’t want to go, (you) can read at home.

The coffee here is not bad. If you like (it), in the future we can come here everyday to have coffee. Come everyday？Is it good to drink that much coffee?

This weekend (we) will go to the suburbs. What do you think we shall bring？If you want to bring (something), you can (bring). I think it’s more convenient to buy food there.

How is the report given by Teacher Zhang yesterday？Which report？The report about the Economics in Japan. I think it’s great. If you think it’s good, then, (it) must be good. I also want to invite him to give a talk to the students in my class.

5. 在 + O. as a verb complement:

停在河边的那辆车是你的吗？不是。我的车停在学生中心的旁边。

昨天晚上你睡在哪儿？睡在客厅的那张大桌子上。真的吗？

坐在小丁旁边的那个男生是她的男朋友吗？小丁在哪儿？她坐在我们的前边。

这个字你说写在哪儿？写在这儿, 写在这儿。为什麽写这儿呢？不写在这儿, 写在哪儿呢？

走在我们後边的那个人正笑你呢。笑什麽？一边走一边吃的人很多, 这不奇怪。

Tìng zài hé biān de nà liàng chē shì nĭ de ma？Bú shì. Wŏ de chē tìng zài Xuésheng Zhōngxīn de pángbiān.

Zuótiān wănshàng nĭ shuì zài năr？Shuì zài kètīng de nà zhāng dà zhuōzi shàng. Zhēnde ma?

Zuò zài Xiăo Ding pángbiān de nà ge nánsheng shì tā de nán péngyou ma？Xiăo Dīng zài năr? Tā zuò zài wŏmen de qiánbiān.

Zhè ge zì nĭ shuō xiĕ zài năr？Xiĕ zài zhèr, xiĕ zài zhèr. Wèishenme xiĕ zài zhèr ne？Bù xiĕ zài zhèr, xiĕ zài năr ne?

Zŏu zài wŏmen hòubiān de nà ge rén zhèng xiào nĭ ne？Xiào shénme？Yì biān zŏu yì biăn chī de rén hĕn duō. Zhè bù qìguài.

Is the car parked by the river yours？No. My car is parked by the students’ center.

Where did you sleep last night？I slept on the big table in the living-room. Really?

Is the guy who sits next to Ding her boy friend？Where is Ding？She sits in front of us.

Where, do you think, (we) write the character？Write (it) here, write (it) here. Why do (we) write (it) here？(If we) don’t write (it) here, where do (we) write (it)？

The guy who walk in front us is laughing at you. For what？There are plenty of people who eat while they walk. That’s not unusual.　　

Lesson 26

Dialogue

English

Let's take a break;

Dawei: Ding, take a break.

Ding:But, I still don’t know how to do the butterfly.

Dawei: (We) will talk about (it) in the future.

Ding:OK. What time is it now?

Dawei: Four fifteen. We should leave now.

Ding:I’ll go to change (the clothes). Yes, can you give me a ride to the language lab?

Dawei: Sure. I’ll wait for you in the parking lot.

Ding:In which parking lot did you park your car？Is the one to the right of the gym?

Dawei: No. Is the one on the left of the gym.

Ding:Isn’t that a parking lot for teachers’？How come your car can park there?

Dawei: You forgot that its is Wednesday today. On Wednesday afternoon the students’ cars Can also park there.

Ding:Ha, I understand now. OK, We’ll meet later.

Simplified

我们应该走了;

大为 : 小丁, 休息一下儿吧。

小丁 : 可是, 仰泳我还不会呢

大为 : 以後再说吧。

小丁 : 好吧。 现在几点了？

大为 : 四点三十五了。我们应该走了。

小丁 : 我去换一下衣服。对了, 你能开车送我去语言实验室吗？

大为 : 好。 我在停车场等你。

小丁 : 你的车停在哪个车场？是健身房右边的那个车场吗？

大为 : 不是。是健身房左边的那个。

小丁 : 那不是老师的停车场吗？你的车怎麽可以停在那儿呢？

大为 : 你忘了今天是星期三。星期三下午学生的车也可以停在那儿。

小丁 : 原来是这麽一回事儿。好, 我们一会儿见。

Traditional

我們應該走了;

大為 ﹕ 小丁, 休息一下兒吧。

小丁 ﹕ 可是, 仰泳我還不會呢

大為 ﹕ 以後再說吧。

小丁 ﹕ 好吧。 現在幾點了？

大為 ﹕ 四點三十五了。我們應該走了。

小丁 ﹕ 我去換一下衣服。對了, 你能開車送我去語言實驗室嗎？

大為 ﹕ 好。 我在停車場等你。

小丁 ﹕ 你的車停在哪個車場？是健身房右邊的那個車場嗎？

大為 ﹕ 不是。是健身房左邊的那個。

小丁 ﹕ 那不是老師的停車場嗎？你的車怎麼可以停在那兒呢？

大為 ﹕ 你忘了今天是星期三。星期三下午學生的車也可以停在那兒。

小丁 ﹕ 原來是這麼一回事兒。好, 我們一會兒見。

Pinyin

Wŏmen yīnggāi zŏu le;

Dàwéi: Xiăo Dīng, xiūxi yíxiàr ba.

Xiăo Dīng: Kĕshì yăngyŏng wŏ hái bú huì ne.

Dàwéi: Yĭhòu zài shuō ba.

Xiăo Dīng: Hăo ba. Xiànzài jĭ diăn le?

Dàwéi: Sìdiăn sānshíwŭ le. Wŏmen yīnggāi zŏu le.

Xiăn Dīng: Wŏ qù huàn yíxià yīfu. Duìle, nĭ néng kāichē sòng wŏ qù yŭyán shíyànshì ma?

Dàwéi: Xíng. Wŏ zài tíngchēchăng dĕng nĭ.

Xiăo Dīng: Nĭde chē tíng zài năgè chēchăng？Shì jiànshēnfánng yòubiān de nàgè chēchăng ma?

Dàwéi: Búshì. Shì jiànshēnfáng zuŏbiānr de nàge.

Xiăo Ding: Nà búshì lăoshī de tíngchē chăng ma？Nĭde chē zĕnme kĕyĭ tíng zài nàr ne?

Dàwéi: Nĭ wàngle jīntiān shì Xīngqī sān. Xīngqī sān xiàwŭ xuéshēng de chē yĕ kĕyĭ tíng zài nàr.

Xiăo Dīng: Yuán lái shì zhème yìhuí shìr. Hăo, wŏmen yìhuĭr jiàn.

Text

English

Why do you study Chinese?;

(Ten Minutes Later)

David: What are you going to do in the lab?

Ding:I want to prepare the new lesson we are going to have tomorrow.

David: I’m going there too. I still don’t know the Vocabulary 词汇 for tomorrow’s ( class ). By the way, Ding, can I ask you a question?

Ding:What question?

David: Why do you want to study Chinese？Isn’t it because of the reason that Xueyou is a Chinese American?

Ding:It is not just that (But not that alone). Tell you the truth, Since young, I has been interested in Chinese history and culture. Every time, when I went to library with my Mom, I always looked for the books and pictorials which are related to China. Now I am attending college, (and) isn’t it natural for me to take Chinese classes and study the language？

David: So, what (kind of ) work do you want to do in the future？ Be an interpreter or a teacher?

Ding:I don’t know that yet. It is very interesting to be an interpreter. ( It ) will deepen the understanding of the people in two countries. It is also not bad to be a teacher.

“Teaching by example”, which is very meaningful.(So), being an interpreter or a teacher are the same (make no difference ).

David: Then, you have to enter the graduate school.

Ding:That’s for sure. I’m now busy with preparing my GRE.

David: What field are you going to be in?

Ding:Either History or Anthropology. I like to study Chinese history, and I also like to study Chinese culture.

David: Do you like Chinese literature?

Ding:I’m very interested in Chinese literature. I enjoy reading the quite a books written by the famous contemporary writers from China and Taiwan. But, I don’t want to study Chinese literature, for I’m more interested in Chinese history and culture.

How about you, David？Why do you study Chinese?

David: My learning Chinese is serendipitous. Foreign language is composure at college. I was not interested in European languages, therefore, I chose Chinese. Now, the more I learn, the more interested I become, and the more I learn the more I enjoy it.

Ding:Also (at the same time), the more Chinese you speak the more fluent you are.

David: Thank you. But, to tell the truth, it is not easy for an American to study Chinese.

Ding:“There is a will there is a way.

David: You are right.

Simplified

你为什麽要学中文;

(十分钟以後)

大为 : 你去实验室作什麽？

小丁 : 我想预习一下明天要上的新课。

大为 : 我也去那儿。明天的生词我还不会。对了, 小丁我问你一个问题, 好吗？

小丁 : 什麽问题？

大为 : 你为什麽要学中文呢？是不是因为学友是华裔的缘故？

小丁 : 是也不是。说实在的, 我从小对中国的历史, 文化就有兴趣。每次跟妈妈去图书馆, 我总是找跟中国有关的书和画报。现在我上大学, 选中文课, 学汉语, 不是很自然吗？

大为 : 那麽, 以後你想作什麽工作呢？当翻译还是当老师？

小丁 : 我还不知道呢。当翻译很有意思, 可以加深两国人民的了解。当老师也不错, "为人师表"也很有意义。当老师或者当翻译都一样。

大为 : 那你一定得上研究院了。

小丁 : 那当然。我现在忙着准备研究生的考试呢。

大为 : 你想选什麽专业呢？

小丁 : 不是历史学就是人类学。我喜欢研究中国历史, 我也喜欢研究中国文化。

大为 : 你喜欢中国文学吗？

小丁 : 我对现代中国文学很有兴趣。几个有名的中国和台湾现代作家写的书我都爱看。可是, 我不想研究中国文学, 因为我对中国历史和文化更有兴趣。你呢？大为, 你为什麽要学中文呢？

大为 : 我学中文很偶然。上大学, 外语是必修课。我对欧洲语言没有兴趣所以就学中文。现在我越学越有兴趣, 越学越爱学。

小丁 : 同时, 你的中文越说越流利。

大为 : 哪里。不过, 说实在, 美国人学中文真不容易。

小丁 : "有志者事竟成"嘛。

大为 : 你说得很对。

Traditional

你為什麼要學中文;

(十分鐘以後)

大為 ﹕ 你去實驗室作什麼？

小丁 ﹕ 我想預習一下明天要上的新課。

大為 ﹕ 我也去那兒。明天的生詞我還不會。對了, 小丁我問你一個問題, 好嗎？

小丁 ﹕ 什麼問題？

大為 ﹕ 你為什麼要學中文呢？是不是因為學友是華裔的緣故？

小丁 ﹕ 是也不是。說實在的, 我從小對中國的歷史, 文化就有興趣。每次跟媽媽去圖書館, 我總是找跟中國有關的書和畫報。現在我上大學, 選中文課, 學漢語, 不是很自然嗎？

大為 ﹕ 那麼, 以後你想作什麼工作呢？當翻譯還是當老師？

小丁 ﹕ 我還不知道呢。當翻譯很有意思, 可以加深兩國人民的了解。當老師也不錯, "為人師表"也很有意義。當老師或者當翻譯都一樣。

大為 ﹕ 那你一定得上研究院了。

小丁 ﹕ 那當然。我現在忙著準備研究生的考試呢。

大為 ﹕ 你想選什麼專業呢？

小丁 ﹕ 不是歷史學就是人類學。我喜歡研究中國歷史, 我也喜歡研究中國文化。

大為 ﹕ 你喜歡中國文學嗎？

小丁 ﹕ 我對現代中國文學很有興趣。幾個有名的中國和台灣現代作家寫的書我都愛看。可是, 我不想研究中國文學, 因為我對中國歷史和文化更有興趣。你呢？大為, 你為什麼要學中文呢？

大為 ﹕ 我學中文很偶然。上大學, 外語是必修課。我對歐洲語言沒有興趣, 所以就學中文。現在我越學越有興趣, 越學越愛學。

小丁 ﹕ 同時, 你的中文越說越流利。

大為 ﹕ 哪裡。不過, 說實在, 美國人學中文真不容易。

小丁 ﹕ "有志者事竟成"嘛。

大為 ﹕ 你說得很對。

Pinyin

Nĭ wèishénme xué Zhōngwén ?

(Shí Fēnzhōng Yĭhòu)

Dàwéi: Nĭ qù shíyànshi zuò shénme?

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ xiăng yùxí yíxià míngtiān yào shàng de xīn kĭ.

Dáwéi: Wŏ yĕ qù nàr. Míng tiān de shēng cí wŏ hái bú huì. Duì le, Xiăo Dīng, wŏ wèn nĭ yígè wèntí hăoma?

Xiăo Dīng: Shénme wèntí?

Dàwéi: Nĭ wèishénme xué Zhōngwén ne？Shì búshì yīnwèi Xuéyŏu shì Huáyì de yuángù?

Xiăo Dīng: Shì yĕ búshì. Shuō shízài, wŏ cóngxiăo duì Zhōngguó lìshĭ wénhuà jiù yŏu xìngqù. Mĕicì gēn māma qù túshūguăn, wŏ zŏngshì zhăo gēn Zhōngguó yŏuguān de shū hé huàbào. Xiànzài wŏ shàng dàxué, xuăn Zhōngwén kè xué Hànyŭ búshì hĕn zìrán ma?

Dàwéi: Nàme, yĭhòu nĭ xiăng zuò shénme gōngzuò ne？Dāng fānyì háishì dāng lăoshī?

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ hái bù zhīdào ne. Dāng fanyì hĕn yŏu yìsi, kĕyĭ jiāshēn liăng guó rénmín de liăojiĕ. Dāng lăoshī yĕ hĕn búcuò. "Wéirénshībiăo" Yĕ hĕn yŏu yìyì. Dāng lăoshī huòzhĕ dāng fānyì dōu yíyàng.

Dàwéi: Nà nĭ yídìng dĕi shàng yánjiūyuàn.

Xiăo Dīng: Nà dāngrán. Wŏ xiànzài mángzhe zhèngzài zhŭnbèi yánjiūshēng de kăoshì ne.

Dàwéi: Nĭ xiăng xuăn shénme zhuānyè ne?

Xiăo Dīng: Búshì lìshĭ jiùshì rénlèi xué. Wŏ xĭhuān Zhōngguó lìshĭ, wŏ yĕ xĭhuān yánjiū Zhōngguó wénhuà.

Dàwéi: Nĭ xĭhuān Zhōngguó wénxué ma?

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ duì Zhōngguó xiàndài wénxué hĕn yŏu xìngqù. Jĭgè yŏumíng de Zhōngguó hé Táiwān xiàndài zuòjiā xiĕ de shū wŏ dōu ài kàn. Kĕshì, wŏ bù xiăng yánjiū Zhōngguó wénxué, yīnwèi wŏ duì Zhōngguó lìshĭ hé wénhuà gèng yŏu xìngqù. Nĭ ne？Dàwéi, nĭ wèishénme Yào xué Zhōngwén ne?

Dàwéi: Wŏ xué Zhōngwén hĕn ŏrán. Shàng dàxué, wàiyŭ shì bìxiū kè. Wŏ duì ōzhōu yŭyán méiyŏu xìngqù, suŏyĭ jiù xué Zhōngwén. Xiànzài wŏ yuè xué yuè yŏu xìngqù, yuè xué yuè ài xué.

Xiăo Dīng: Nĭ Zhōngwén xué de hĕn búcuò.

Dàwéi: Nălĭ. Búguò, shuō shízài, Mĕiguó rén xué Zhōngwén zhēn bù róngyì.

Xiăo Dīng: "Yŏuzhìzhĕ shìjìngchéng" ma.

Dàwéi: Nĭ shuō de hĕn duì.

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
研究院 | yánjiūyuàn | n. | graduate school
仰泳 | yăngyŏng | n. | butterfly style
停车场 | tíngchēchăng | n. | parking lot
缘故 | yuángù | n. | reason
翻译 | fānyì | n. | translation
考试 | kăoshì | n. | quiz, exam
专业 | zhuānyè | n. | academic field, profession
人类学 | rénlèi xué | n. | anthropology
兴趣 | xìngqu | n. | interest
作家 | zuòjiā | n. | writer
必修课 | bìxiū kè | n. | compulsory course
换 | huàn | n. | to change
忘 | wàng | v. | to forget
选 | xuăn | v. | to select, to choose
当 | dāng | v. | to work as, to function as
加深 | jiāshēn | v. | to deepento deepen
了解 | liăojiĕ | v. n. | to understand, understanding
研究 | yánjiū | v. | to study, to do research on
自然 | zìrán | adj. | natural,
偶然 | ŏurán | adj. | accidental, serendipitous
有意义 | yŏu yìyì | adj.adj. | meaningful
有关 | yŏu guān | adj. | pertinent, relevant to
或者 | huòzhĕ | conj. | or
越...越 | ...yuè...yuè… | conj. | the more...the more
是不是因为....的缘故 | Shì bú shi yīnwèi...de yuángù |  | Isn’t it because that
对...有/没有兴趣 | duì... yŏu/méi yŏu xìngqu |  | to be (not) interested in
原来是这麽一回事 | Yuánlái shì zhème yì huí shì |  | Now, I understand.
有志者事竟成 | Yǒuzhìzhĕ shìjìngchéng. |  | There is a will there is a way.
为人师表 | Wéirén shībiăo |  | Teach by setting a good example
会 | huì | aux. v. | know how to, can
可以 | kĕyĭ | aux. v. | can, may
要 | yào | aux. v. | shall, will
能 | néng | aux. v. | may, can
愿意 | yuànyì | aux. v. | be willing to
应该 | yīnggāi | aux. v. | ought to, must

Grammar

1. Common auxiliary verbs and their usage:

Verbs which assist the main verb in a sentence to express necessity, possibility and willingness are known as AUXILLARY VERBS. The six most commonly used auxiliary verbs, their meanings, their negative verbs and examples of their usage are listed below:

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
会 |  Express the grasp skill through learning | Express possibility | 不会

Examples:

我会说汉语。 I can (learn how to) speak Chinese.

她不会游泳。 She can’t (don’t know how to) swim.

王老师会来吗？ Can Teacher Wang come?

她很忙，不会来。She is busy. (She) can’t come.

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
能 | Express capability | Possibility provided by circumstances | 不能

Examples:

不能 他能教你跳舞。 He can teach you dance.

她能不能开车？ Can she drive?

大夫说他能吃鱼 。 Doctor says he can eat fish.

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
想 | Express a desire to do something | Express an actual need | 不想,不用

不想,不用 我想上研究院。 I want to attend graduate school.

我不想学吸烟。 I don’t want to learn smoking.

你要去看你妈妈。You need to do and visit your Mom.

你不用给我打电话。 You don’t need to call me.

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
可以 | Express the ability | Express permission | 不可以

不可以 学中文可以了解中国。 Learning Chinese can understand China.

这儿不可以喝酒。 Drinking is not allowed here.

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
应该 | Ought to |  | 不应该

不应该 你应该去中国看看。 You ought to visit China.

他不应该看那本书。 He should not read that book.

Aux. verb | Meaning | Meaning | Neg. form
愿意 | To be willing to |  | 不愿意

他愿意跟你去纽约。 He is willing to go to NY with you.

2. 或者 vs. 还是:

Both conjunctions means “or” in English. But, 还是 is mainly used in an alternative question or in a subordinate clause following such verbs as 知道, 告诉 . For example:

明天她还是你去看爸爸？ | Tomorrow will she or you go to see Dad?
你想喝茶还是喝咖啡？ | Do you want to drink tea or coffee?
我不知道她是中国人还是日本人。 | I don’t know weather she is Chinese or Japanese.

或者 is used in declarative sentences or in questions except alternative questions. For example:

以後你想当翻译或者老师吗？ | n the future will you want to work as an interpreter or a teacher?
小王或者小张明天开车来接你。 | Tomorrow Wang or Zhang will come and pick you up.

3. The pattern 越...越....:

This is a construction for describing progression in one process that is related to another process. It’s English equivalent is “the more...the more...”. For example:

我越学中文越爱学。 | The more I learn Chinese, the better I like it.
他越走越快。 | The more he walked, the faster he got. (He walked faster and faster)
认识的字越多越好。 | The more characters one knows, the better.

Note that after the appearances of 越, we can use both adjectives : 越多越好; a verb and an adjective: 越走越快, or both verbs where the second verb stands for a feeling or emotion: 越学中文越爱学.

Summary of the pattern:;

Subject 越 | Verb/adjective 越 | Verb/adjective.

Speech patterns

1. Auxiliary verbs: 会, 能, 要, 可以, 应该, 愿意?

A. 要

要 (having a desire to do something, also indicating a future action):

明天我要去古老师那儿坐坐。你也去吗？我不想去。

妈妈这个星期天要去看朋友。她说没空给你作点心。

下午我们要跳舞。你也来吧。

这个周末我要去实验室工作, 所以, 我不想去散心。

要 (expressing a need):

老师, 今天我们要背生词吗？不用。

每个人都要学一门外国语言。

学外语一定要天天练习。

王老师说我们今天不用去语言实验室, 可是一定要念课文。

要 (having a desire to do something, also indicating a future action):

Míngtiān wŏ yào qù Gŭ lăoshī nàr zuòzuo. Nĭ yĕ qù ma？Wŏ bù xiăng qù.

Māma zhè ge xīngqī tiān yào qù kàn péngyou. Tā shuō méi kòng gĕi nĭ zuò diănxīn.

Xiàwŭ wŏmen yào tiàowŭ. Nĭ yĕ lái ba.

Zhè ge zhōumò wŏ yào qù shìyànshì gōngzuò, suŏyĭ wŏ bù xiăng qù sànxīn.

要 (expressing a need):

Lăoshī, jīntiān wŏmen yào bèi shēngcí ma？Bú yòng.

Mĕi ge rén dōu yào xué yì mén wàiguó yŭyán.

Xué wàiyŭ yídìng yào tiāntiān liànxì.

Wáng lăoshī shuō wŏmen jīntiān bú yòng qù yŭyán shìyànshì, kĕshì yídìng yào niàn kèwén.

要 (having a desire to do something, also indicating a future action):

Tomorrow I’ll go to Teacher Gu’s place for a visit. Will you go, too？I won’t go.

Mom will go to visit friends this Sunday. She said she had no time to make desserts.

This afternoon, we’ll dance. Join us, will you?

This weekend I’ll go to work at the lab, so, I’ll not go out.

要 (expressing a need):

Teacher, should we memorize the new words today？No.

Everybody got to learn a foreign language.

Leaning a foreign language, (one) needs to practice everyday.

Teacher Wang says we do not need to go to language lab today, but we got to practice reading the text.

B. 会

会 (expressing the grasp of skills through learning ):

你为什麽天天走路去上课？你会开车吗？我会开车。可是我没有车。

你会不会写汉字？我会。可是, 我写得不好。

他怎么样？他很不错, 可是不会说汉语。

会唱这首歌的人不多。这首歌太难了。

早知道你会作中国点心, 我就不去买了。

会 (expressing possibility):

明天他会开车送你吗？不会, 他明天要上课。

你会来参加我的生日晚会吗？我一定会来。

你说他会帮我翻译吗？我不知道。我得打电话问他。

会 (expressing the grasp of skills through learning ):

Nĭ wèishénme tiāntiān zŏu lù qù shàng kè. Nĭ huì kāi chē ma？Wŏ huì kāi chē. Kĕshì wŏ méi yŏu chē.

Nĭ huì bú huì xiĕ Hànzi？Wŏ huì. Kĕshì, wŏ xiĕ de bù hăo.

Tā zĕnmeyàng？Tā hĕn búcuò, kĕshì bú huì shuō Hànyŭ.

Huì chàng zhè shŏu gē de rén bù duō. Zhè shŏu gē tài nán le.

Zăo zhīdao nĭ huì zuò Zhōngguó diănxīn, wŏ jiù bú qù măi le.

会 (expressing possibility):

Mìngtiān tā huìkāichēsòng nĭ ma？Bú huì, Tā mìngtiān yào shàng kè.

Nĭ huì lái cānjiā wŏde shēngrì wănhuì ma？Wŏ yìdìng huì lái.

Nĭ shuō tā huì bāng wŏ fānyì ma？Wŏ bù zhīdào. Wŏ dĕi dă diànhuà wèn tā.

会 (expressing the grasp of skills through learning ):

Why do you walk to class everyday？Do you know how to drive？I do know how to drive, but I don’t have a car.

Do you know how to write Characters？Yes. But my writing is not good.

How about him？He is not bad, but he does not know how to speak Chinese.

Those who know how to sing this song are not many. This song is difficult.

If I had known that you know how to make Chinese dim sum, I would not have bought it.

会 (expressing possibility):

Can he give you a ride tomorrow？No. He is going to class tomorrow.

Can you come to my birthday party？I certainly can come.

Do you think he can help me translate？I don’t know. I have to call him and ask.

C. 能

能 (expressing possibility):

下星期你能跟我一起去医院作义工吗？

这学期我太忙了, 所以不能选汉语。

王老师, 下午我得去看大夫, 不能帮你找资料。对不起。

我没有钱。我不能上研究院。我得工作。

能 (expressing capability):

他会游泳, 可是他游得不好, 所以不能教你。

她的身体不好, 不能工作。

我不会法文, 所以不能帮你翻译。你找我妈妈吧。她能。

我吃得太多了, 不能再吃了。谢谢。

能 (expressing possibility):

Xià xīngqī nĭ néng gēn wŏ yìqĭ qù yīyuàn zuò yìgōng ma?

Zhè xuéqī wŏ tài máng le, suŏyĭ bù néng xuăn Hànyŭ.

Wáng lăoshī, xiàwŭ wŏ dĕi qù kàn dàifu, bù néng bāng nĭ zhăo zīliào. Duìbuqĭ.

Wŏ méi yŏu qián. Wŏ bù néng shàng yánjiūyuàn. Wŏ dĕi gōngzuò.

能 (expressing capability):

Tā huì yóuyŏng, kĕshì tā yóu de bù hăo, suŏyĭ bù néng jiāo nĭ.

Tā de shēntĭ bù hăo, bù néng gōngzuò.

Wŏ bú huì Făwén, suŏyĭ bù néng bāng nĭ fānyì. Nĭ zhăo wŏ māma ba. Tā néng.

Wŏ chī de tài duō le, bù néng zài chī le. Xièxie.

能 (expressing possibility):

Can you go and volunteer together with me in the hospital next week?

This semester I am too busy, so I can not take Chinese.

Teacher Wang, this afternoon I have to see doctor. I can not help you to look for the materials. I’m sorry.

I don’t have money. I can not attend the graduate school. I have to work.

能 (expressing capability):

He knows how to swim, but he does not swim well, so (he) can not teach you.

Her health isn’t good, so (she) can not work.

I don’t know French, so (I) can not help you with the translation. Ask my Mom. She can.

I have eaten too muck. I can’t eat anymore. Thank you just the same.

D. 可以

可以 (expressing the ability):

学中文可以加深对中国的了解。

看书, 看报可以了解世界。

现在学中文, 以後就可以当翻译。

可以 (expressing permission):

你可以用这台电脑。我用那台。

我们可以从那儿走吗？不可以。那是车家的花园。

你才十八岁, 不可以喝酒。

喝酒以後, 不可以开车。

老师说上课的时候, 只可以说汉语, 不可以说英语。

可以 (expressing the ability):

Xué Zhōngwén kĕyĭ jiāshēn duì Zhōngguó de liăojiĕ.

Kàn shū kàn bào, kĕyĭ liăojiĕ shìjiè.

Xiànzài xué Zhōngwén, yĭhòu jiù kĕyĭ dāng fānyì.

可以 (expressing permission):

Nĭ kĕyĭ yòng zhè tái diànnăo. Wŏ yòng nà tái.

Wŏmen kĕyĭ cóng nàr zŏu ma？Bù Kĕyĭ. Nà shì Chē jiā de huāyuán.

Nĭ cái shìbā suì. Bù kĕyĭ hē jiŭ.

Hē jiŭ yĭhòu, bù kĕyĭ kāi chē.

Lăoshī shuō shàng kè de shìhòu, zhĭ kĕyĭ shuō Hànyŭ, bù kĕyĭ shuō Yīngyŭ.

可以 (expressing the ability):

Learning Chinese can deepen the understanding of China.

Reading books, reading newspaper can learn about the world.

Now (you) learn Chinese, later (you) can be an interpreter.

可以 (expressing permission):

You can use this computer. I use that one.

Can we go from there？No. That is Che family’s garden.

You are only eighteen. (You) can’t drink.

No driving after drinking.

The teacher says in class, (we) are only allowed to speak Chinese. (We) are not allowed to speak English.

E. 应该

应该 (should, ought to):

我学中文不是偶然的。我爸爸说中国人吃中国饭, 就应该学中文。

你才十九, 不应该喝酒。

我们都是朋友, 应该互相帮助。

你昨天应该去纽约看那个中国展览, 非常不错。

Wŏ xué Zhōngwén bú shì ŏurán de. Wŏ bàba shuō Zhōnguó rén chī Zhōngguó fàn, jiù yīnggāi xué Zhōngwén.

Nĭ cái shìjiŭ, bù yīnggāi hē jiŭ.

Wŏmen dōu shì péngyou, yīnggāi hùxiāng bāngzhù.

Nĭ zuótiān yīnggāi qù Nĭuyuē kàn nà ge Zhōngguó zhănlăn, fēicháng búcuò.

It is not an serendipitous act of me to learn Chinese. My Dad says that an Chinese who eats Chinese food should learn Chinese.

You are only nineteen. (You) should not drink.

We are all friends. We should help each other.

You should have gone to see the Chinese exhibits in New York. (It’s) very, very nice.

F. 愿意 (willing):

他说他愿意帮我 洗 车。

你明天愿意不愿意跟我去医院作义工？

他说他愿意去餐馆打工, 不愿意在家看妹妹。

Tā shuō tā yuànyì bāng wŏ xĭ chē.

Nĭ mìngtiān yuànyì bú yuànyì gēn wŏ qù yīyuàn zuò yìgōng?

Tā shuō tā yuànyì qù cānguăn dă gōng, bú yuànyì zài jiā kàn mèimei.

He said he is willing to help me clean the car.

Are you willing or not to go with me to volunteer in the hospital tomorrow?

He said he is willing to work in the restaurant, but not willing to look after the younger sister at home.

2. The expression 或者:

你什麽时候去中国？我明年六月或者七月去。

你以後想作什麽工作？当经理或者当工程师都很不错。你说对吧？

我们晚上吃什麽？中国饭或者美国饭都可以。

从这儿去纽约, 坐火车或者坐汽车都很方便。

我有一个问题。我想现在去学院跟王老师或者车老师谈一谈。

今天晚上我们在家看电视还是去电影院看电影？看电影或者看电视都一样。我都喜欢。

我星期三或者星期四要到纽约图书馆找资料。你也想去吗？

Nĭ shénme shìhòu qù Zhōngguó. Wŏ mìngnián liù yuè huòzhĕ qī yuè qù.

Nĭ yĭhòu xiăng zuò shénme gōngzuò？Dāng jīnglĭ huòzhĕ dāng gōngchéngshī dōu hĕn búcuò. Nĭ shuō duì ba?

Wŏmen wănshàng chī shénme？Zhōngguó fàn huòzhĕ Mĕiguó fàn dōu kĕyĭ.

Cóng zhèr qù Niŭyuē zuò huŏchē huòzhĕ zuò qìchē dōu hĕn fāngbiàn.

Wŏ yŏu yí ge wèntì. Wŏ xiăng xiànzài qù xuéyuàn gēn Wáng lăoshī huòzhĕ Chē lăoshī tán yì tán.

Jīntiān wănshàng wŏmen zài jiā kàn diànshì háishì qù diànyĭngyuàn kàn diànyĭng？Kàn diànyĭng huòzhĕ kàn diànshì dōu yíyàng. Wŏ dōu xĭhuan.

Wŏ xīngqī sān huòzhĕ xīngqī sì yào dào Niŭyuē túshūguăn zhăo zīliào. Nĭ yĕ xiăng qù ma?

When are you going to China？I’ll go in June or July next year.

What do you want to be in the future？It isn’t bad to be a manager or an engineer. Do you agree?

What do we eat tonight？Chinese food or American food are both fine.

It is very convenient to go from here to New York by train or by car.

I have a question. I want to go to the college now to talk to Teacher Wang or Teacher Che.

This evening, are we going to watch TV at home or watch a movie at the cinema？It makes no difference to see a movie or TV. I enjoy both.

I will go to New York library on Wednesday or on Thursday to look for materials. Do you want to go, too?

3. The pattern 越...越....:

这本书我越看越觉得有意思。你也看看吧。你一定也会喜欢。

你看, 他越唱越高兴。你想跟他一起唱吗？

这个星期我睡得很多, 越 睡越想睡。

今天来参加晚会的人真多。我妈妈说人越多越好。

你妈妈作的点心真好吃。我越吃越爱吃。那你就再吃一点吧。

他越游越快, 越游离我们越远。

现在的孩子跟以前的孩子不一样。你越说他们越不听。

Zhè bĕn shū wŏ yuè kàn yuè juéde yŏu yìsi. Nĭ yĕ kànkan ba. Nĭ yídìng yĕ huì xĭhuan.

Nĭ kàn, tā yuè chàng yuè gāoxìng. Nĭ xiăng gēn tā yìqĭ chàng ma?

Zhè ge xīngqī wŏ shuì de hĕn duō, yuè shuì yuè xiăng shuì.

Jīntiān lái cānjiā wănhuì de rén zhēn duō. Wŏ māma shuō rén yuè duō yuè hăo.

Nĭ māma zuò de diănxīn zhēn hăo chī. Wŏ yuè chī yuè ài chī. Nà nĭ jiù zài chī yìdiăn ba.

Tā yuè yóu yuè kuài, yòu yóu lì wŏmen yuè yuăn.

Xiànzài de háizi gēn yĭqián de háizi bù yíyàng. Nĭ yuè shuō tāmen yuè bù tīng.

This book, the more I read the more interesting I feel. Just read it yourself. You will definitely like it, too.

Look, the more he sings the happier he becomes. Do you want to sing with him?

This week I slept a lot, the more I slept the more I want to sleep.

Today the people who came to participate in the party are a lot. My Mom says the more the people the merrier.

The deserts your Mom made are delicious. The more I eat the more I like to eat. Then, you have some more.

He swims faster and faster. The more he swims the farther he is away from us.

Today’s kids are not the same as those before. The more you say the more indifferent they become (the more they would not listen).

4. The expression 忙着 + V. (be busy doing):

她现在忙着学中文, 没空看电视。

你忙什麽呢?我忙着作饭呢。

你看, 他们玩得 真高兴。你为什麽不玩呢？我忙着准备考试呢。

今天我打电话给老王。他不在。你知道他在哪儿？他在三楼, 忙着写他的书呢。

那个忙着吃饭的孩子是谁？她是对面张先生的女儿。

Tā xiànzài máng zhe xué Zhōngwén, méi kòng kàn diànshì.

Nĭ máng shénme？Wŏ máng zhe zuò fàn ne.

Nĭ kàn, tāmen wán de zhēn gāoxìng. Nĭ wèishénme bù wán ne？Wŏ máng zhe zhŭnbèi kăoshì ne.

Jīntiān wŏ dă diànhuà gĕi Lăo Wáng. Tā bú zài. Nĭ zhīdao tā zài năr？Tā zài sān lóu, máng zhe xiĕ tā de shū ne.

Nà ge máng zhe chī fàn de háizi shì shuì？Tā shì duìmiàn Zhāng xiānsheng de nǚér.

Now she is busy studying Chinese; (she) has no time to watch TV.

What are you busy with？I’m busy cooking.

Look, they are having a lot fun (playing happily). Why don’t you join them (why don’t you play)？I’m busy preparing for the exam.

Today I call old Zhang. He was not in. Do you know where he is？He is on the third floor, busy writing his book.

Who is the child busy eating？She is the daughter of Mr. Zhang who lives across.

5. The expression (这)是不是因为.....的缘故: (Isn’t this because?)

这是不是因为你喜欢喝茶的缘故?

你想去台湾, (这)是不是因为你女朋友在那儿的缘故?

她不想去饭馆吃饭, 是不是因为没有车的缘故?

是不是因为那个学院老师好的缘故, 你想去那儿学习?

你喜欢这个电视, 是不是因为想家的缘故?

是不是因为他在纽约工作的缘故, 所以你也想去纽约?

你说你不会写这个汉字, 是不是因为你不想帮我写?

他要你现在去图书馆, 是不是因为他要你帮他找资料?

Zhè shì bú shì yīnwèi nĭ xĭhuan hē chá de yuángù?

Nĭ xiăng qù Táiwān, (zhè) shì bú shì yīnwèi nĭ nǚ péngyou zài nàr de yuángù?

Tā bù xiăng qù fànguăn chī fàn, shì bú shì yīnwèi méi yŏu chē de yuángù.

Shì bú shì yīnwèi nà ge xuéyuàn lăoshī hăo de yuángù, nĭ xiăng qù nàr xuéxì?

Nĭ xĭhuan zhè ge diànshi, shì bú shì yīnwèi xiăng jiā de yuángù？

Shì bú shì yīnwèi tā zài Niŭyuē gōngzuò de yuángù, suŏyĭ nĭ yĕ xiăng qù Niŭyuē?

Nĭ shuō nĭ bú huì xiĕ zhè ge Hànzì, shì bú shì yīnwèi nĭ bù xiăng bāng wŏ xiĕ?

Tā yào nĭ xiànzài qù túshūguăn, shì bú shì tā yào nĭ bāng tā zhăo zīliào?

Isn’t it because you like to drink tea?

You want to go to Taiwan, isn’t this because your girl friend is there?

She does not want to go to the restaurant to have dinner. Isn’t this because she does not have a car?

Isn’t it because the teachers in the college are good, so you want to study there?

You like this TV (program), isn’t this because you are homesick?

Isn’t it because he works in New York, so you also want to go to New York?

You said that you don’t know how to write this character; isn’t that because you don’t want to help me write it？

He wants you to go to the library right now; isn’t that because he wants you to help him to look for the materials?

Lesson 27

Dialogue

English

Has the Party for the Spring Festival Started?;

Ding: Teacher Gu, Has get-together party started yet?

Gu:Not yet. The party won’t start until seven thirty. There are more than ten minutes to go. Do you want some drinks？

Ding: I want some orange juice. Thanks. Teacher Gu, Are there many people coming to the party today?

Gu:There are quite a large number of people who came. Some have already gone upstairs. Let’s go up, too.

Ding: Teacher Gu, You go up first. I’ll wait for my parents here. Tonight they will come to attend our department’s party for the Spring festival.

GU:Really？That’s great. When your parents arrive, please do introduce us.

Ding: Sure.

( Ten Minutes Later )

Ding: Teacher Gu, let me introduce: this is my Dad, and this is my Mom. Mom, Dad, this is teacher Gu from the East Asian Library. She teaches us calligraphy too.

Mom/Dad: Glad to meet you.

Gu:Welcome, Welcome.

Ding: Teacher Gu, my parents went to China last August.

Gu:Really？What places have you visited?

Dad: We have been to quite a few places. Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, (we) have visited. China is beautiful.

Gu:Do you want to go again?

Mom: Oh, yes.

Ding: Xueyou and I plan to go to Beijing this summer vocation. My parents said they would go together with us.

Gu:Will (you) go this summer vocation?

Ding: Right, (We) will go this summer vocation. But, it’s seven thirty now. We have to go to attend the get-together first.

Gu:Yes. Everybody, please.

Simplified

春节联欢晚会开始了吗？;

小丁 : 古老师联欢晚会开始了吗？

古老师 ：没有呢。晚会七点半才开始。还有十几分钟。你要喝点儿饮料吗？

小丁 : 我想喝点儿橘子水。谢谢。古老师, 今天来参加晚会的人多吗？

古老师 ：来的人真不少。有的已经上搂了。我们也上去 吧。

小丁 : 古老师, 您先上去吧, 我在这儿等我的爸爸妈妈。今晚他们也来参加我们系的春节联欢晚会。

古老师 ：真的吗, 那太好了。爸爸, 妈妈来的时候, 你一定要给我们介绍介绍。

小丁 : 好的, 一定。

(十分钟以後)

小丁 : 古老师, 我给你 们介绍一下：这是我爸爸, 这是我妈妈。爸爸, 妈妈, 这是东亚图书馆的古老师。她也教我们书法。

爸爸妈妈 ：认识您, 我们很高兴。

古老师 : 欢迎, 欢迎。

小丁 ：古老师, 我爸爸妈妈去年八月去中国。

古老师 : 是吗？你们参观了哪些地方？

爸爸 ：我们去了不少地方。北京, 上海, 西安, 都去了。中国真漂亮。

古老师 : 你们还想去吗？

妈妈 ：想, 想。

小丁 ：我和学友今年暑假打算去北京。我爸爸妈妈说他们要跟我们一起去。

古老师 : 今年暑假就去吗？

小丁 ：对, 今年暑假就去。不过, 现在已经七点半了, 我们得先去参加联欢会。

古老师 : 好, 大家请吧。

Traditional

初級第二十七課: 對話 春節聯歡晚會開始了嗎？

小丁 ﹕ 古老師聯歡晚會開始了嗎？

古老師 ﹕沒有呢。晚會七點半才開始。還有十幾分鐘。你要喝點兒飲料嗎？

小丁 ﹕ 我想喝點兒橘子水。謝謝。古老師, 今天來參加晚會的人多嗎？

古老師 ﹕來的人真不少。有的已經上摟了。我們也上去 吧。

小丁 ﹕ 古老師, 您先上去吧, 我在這兒等我的爸爸媽媽。今晚他們也來參加我們系的春節聯歡晚會。

古老師 ﹕真的嗎, 那太好了。爸爸, 媽媽來的時候, 你一定要給我們介紹介紹。

小丁 ﹕ 好的, 一定。

(十分鐘以後)

小丁 ﹕ 古老師, 我給你 們介紹一下﹕這是我爸爸, 這是我媽媽。爸爸, 媽媽, 這是東亞圖書館的古老師。她也教我們書法。

爸爸媽媽 ﹕認識您, 我們很高興。

古老師 ﹕ 歡迎, 歡迎。

小丁 ﹕古老師, 我爸爸媽媽去年八月去中國。

古老師 ﹕ 是嗎？你們參觀了哪些地方？

爸爸 ﹕我們去了不少地方。北京, 上海, 西安, 都去了。中國真漂亮。

古老師 ﹕ 你們還想去嗎？

媽媽 ﹕想, 想。

小丁 ﹕我和學友今年暑假打算去北京。我爸爸媽媽說他們要跟我們一起去。

古老師 ﹕ 今年暑假就去嗎？

小丁 ﹕對, 今年暑假就去。不過, 現在已經七點半了, 我們得先去參加聯歡會。

古老師 ﹕ 好, 大家請吧。

Pinyin

Chūnjié Liánhuān Wănhuì Kāishĭ le ma?

Xiăo Dīng: Gŭ lăoshī liánhuān wănhuì kāishĭ le ma?

Gŭ lăoshī: Mēiyŏu ne. Wănhuì qīdiăn bàn cái kāishĭ. Hái yŏu shíjĭ fēnzhōng. Nĭ yào hē diănr yĭnliào ma?

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ xiăng hē diănr júzi shuĭ. Xièxie, Gŭ lăoshī jīntiān lái cānjiā wănhuì de rén duō ma?

Gŭ lăoshī: Lái de rén zhēn bùshăo. Yŏude yĭjīng shàng lóu le. Wŏmen yĕ shàng qù ba.

Xiăo Dīng: Gŭ lăoshī nín xiān shàng qù ba, wŏ zài zhèr dĕng wŏde bàba māma. Jīnwăn tāmen yĕ lái cānjiā wŏmen xì de chūnjié liánhuān wănhuì.

Gŭ lăoshī: Zhēnde ma? Nà tài hăo le. Bàba, māma lái de shíhòu, nĭ yīdìng yào gĕi wŏmen jièshào jièshào.

Xiăo Dīng: Hăo de, yídìng.

(Shí Fēnzhōng Yĭhòu)

Xiăo Dīng: Gŭ lăoshī wŏ gĕi nĭmen jièshào yíxià zhè shì wŏ bàba, zhè shì wŏ māma. Bàba, māma, zhè shì Dōngyà túshūguăn de Gù lăoshī. Tā jiāo wŏmen shūfă.

Bàba, māma: Rénshi nín, wŏmen hĕn gāoxìng.

Gŭ lăoshī: Huānyíng, huānyíng.

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ Bàba, Māma qùnián bāyuè qù Zhōngguó.

Gŭ lăoshī: Shìma? Nĭmen cānguān le năxiē dìfāng?

Bàba: Wŏmen qù le bùshăo dìfāng. Bĕijīng, Shànghăi, Xī'ān, dōu qù le. Zhōngguó. zhēn piàoliàng.

Gŭ Lăoshī: Nĭmen hái xiăng qù ma?

Māma: Xiăng, xiăng.

Xiăo Dīng: Wŏ hé Xuéyŏu jīnnián shŭjià dăsuàn qù Bĕijīng. Wŏ Bàba, Māma shuō tāmen yào gēn wŏmen yìqĭ qù.

Gŭ lăoshī: Jīnnián shŭjià jiù qù ma?

Xiăo Dīng: Duì, jīnnián shŭjià jiù qù. Búguò xiànzài yĭjīng qīdiăn bàn le. Wŏmen dĕi xiān qù cānjiā liánhuān huì.

Gŭ lăoshī: Hăo, dàjiā qĭng ba.

Text

English

Ding’s parents went to China;

Last year Ding’s parents went to China for a visit. They left New York in Mid-July, and did not return until late August. In China, they visited a lot of places. (They) have been to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Guilin. Among these few cities, they liked Beijing the most.

In Beijing, they stayed a total of two weeks. Besides the forbidden city and the Great Wall,

they also browsed through five parks, visited three museums, saw two Peking operas, interviewed a school, and went to a lot of restaurants. Before (they) went to China, Mr. and Mrs. Ding liked to eat Chinese food very much. Every week, as long as they got a chance, they would have Chinese food once. You wouldn’t believe how happy they were, when Mr. and Mrs. Ding arrived in Beijing, and saw all kinds of restaurants. They tasted Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan cuisines, tried the famous Chinese Maotai, and also learned how to use Chinese Chopsticks. If it wasn’t for the sake of (their) health, Mr. and Mrs. Ding would have tried out all the restaurants in the city of Beijing.

Only a year ago did Mr. and Mrs. Ding return from China to the States. Now, they want to go

to China again. This summer vocation, their daughter Ding will go to study in Beijing. Mr. and Mrs. Ding want to go with her. It has only been a year since they came back from China, and (they) want to go again. Don’t you think (they) are too anxious?!

Simplified

爸爸妈妈去年去了中国

丁人美的爸爸妈妈去年去中国参观访问。他们七月中从纽约出发, 八月底才回来。 在中国, 他们参观了不少地方。北京, 上海, 西安, 桂林都去了。这几个城 市, 他们说他们最喜欢北京。

在北京, 他们一共呆了两个星期。除了故宫, 长城以外, 他们还跑了五个 公园, 参观了三个博物馆, 看了两场京剧, 访问了一个学校, 上了无数的饭馆。 去中国以前, 丁先生, 丁太太就很喜欢吃中国饭。每个星期只要有机会, 他们都要吃一次中国饭。到了北京, 见到了各种各样的中国饭馆, 丁先生, 丁太太别提有多高兴了。他们尝了北京菜, 上海菜, 四川菜, 还试了中国有名 的茅台酒, 还学会了用中国筷子。要不是为健康考虑, 丁先生, 丁太太还真要 吃遍北京城呢！

丁先生丁太太一年以前才从中国回美国。现在, 他们还想再去中国。今年暑假 他们的女儿小丁要去北京学习。丁先生, 丁太太也想跟她一起去。从中国回来 才一年, 就想再去, 你说是不是太着急了呢

Traditional

爸爸媽媽去年去了中國

丁人美的爸爸媽媽去年去中國參觀訪問。他們七月中從紐約出發, 八月底才回來。 在中國, 他們參觀了不少地方。北京, 上海, 西安, 桂林都去了。這幾個城 市, 他們說他們最喜歡北京。

在北京, 他們一共呆了兩個星期。除了故宮, 長城以外, 他們還跑了五個 公園, 參觀了三個博物館, 看了兩場京劇, 訪問了一個學校, 上了無數的飯館。 去中國以前, 丁先生, 丁太太就很喜歡吃中國飯。每個星期只要有機會, 他們都要吃一次中國飯。到了北京, 見到了各種各樣的中國飯館, 丁先生, 丁太太別提有多高興了。他們嘗了北京菜, 上海菜, 四川菜, 還試了中國有名 的茅台酒, 還學會了用中國筷子。要不是為健康考慮, 丁先生, 丁太太還真要 吃遍北京城呢！

丁先生丁太太一年以前才從中國回美國。現在, 他們還想再去中國。今年暑假 他們的女兒小丁要去北京學習。丁先生, 丁太太也想跟她一起去。從中國回來 才一年, 就想再去, 你說是不是太著急了呢？

Pinyin

Bàba māma qùnián qù le Zhōngguó

Dīng Rénmĕi de Bàba māma qùnián qù Zhōngguó cānguān făngwèn. Tāmen qīyuè zhōng cóng Niŭyuē chūfā bāyuè dĭ cái huílái. Zài Zhōngguó tāmen cānguān le bùshăo dìfāng. Bĕijīng, Shànghăi, Xī'ān, Guìlín dōu qù le.

Zhè jĭgè chéngshì tāmen shuō tāmen zuì xĭhuān Bĕijīng. Zài Bĕijīng, tāmen yígòng dāi le liănggè xīngqī. Chúle Gùgōng, Chángchéng Yĭwài, tāmen hái păo le wŭgè gōng yuán, cānguān le sāngè bówùguăn, kàn le liăng chăng jīngjù făngwèn le yígè xuéxiào, shàng le wúshù de fànguăn. Qù Zhōngguó yĭqián, Dīng xiānsheng, Dīng tàitai jiù hĕn xĭhuān chī Zhōngguó fàn. Mĕigè xīngqī zhĭyào yŏu jīhuì tāmen dōu yào chī yícì Zhōngguó fàn. Dào le Bĕijīng, jiàndào le gèzhŏng gèyàng de Zhōngguó fànguăn, Dīng xiānsheng Dīng tàitai bié tí yŏu duō gāoxìng le. Tāmen cháng le Bĕijīng cài, Shànghăi cài, Sìchuān cài, hái shì le Zhōngguó yŏumíng de Máotái jiŭ hái xuéhuì le yòng Zhōngguó kuàizi. Yào búshì wèi jiànkāng kăolù Dīng xiānsheng, Dīng tàitai hái zhēn yào chībiàn Bĕijīng chéng ne!

Dīng xiānshēng, Dīng tàitai yìnián yĭqián cái cóng Zhōngguó huí Mĕiguó. Xiànzài, Tānmen hái xiăng qù Zhōngguó. Jīnnián shŭjià tāmen de nŭ r Xiăo Dīng yào qù Bĕijīng xuéxí. Dīng xiānshēng, Dīng tàitai yĕ xiăng gēn tā yìqĭ qù. Cóng Zhōngguó huílái cái yìnián, jiù xiăng zài qù , nĭ shuō shì búshì tài zhāojí le ne?

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
春节 | chūnjié | n. | Spring Festival
联欢 | liánhuān | n. | get-together
饮料 | yĭnliào | n. | drinks
暑假 | shŭjià | n. | summer vocation
故宫 | gùgōng | n. | the Forbidden City
博物馆 | bówùguăn | n. | museum
筷子 | kuàizi | n. | chopsticks
健康 | jiànkāng | n. | health
城 | chéng | n. | city
菜 | cài | n. | vegetable, dishes
茅台 | máotái | n. | a strong Chinese liquor
西安 | Xī'ān | place n. | a city in China
桂林 | Guìlìn | place n. | a city in China
开始 | kāishĭ | v. | to begin, to start
出发 | chūfā | v. | to set out, to leave
呆 | dāi | v. | to stay
尝 | cháng | v. | to taste
试 | shì | v. | to try
学会 | xué huì | v. | to learn how to
到 | dào | v. | to arrive
见到 | jiàn dào | v. | to see
回 | huì | v. | to return
吃遍 | chī biàn | v. | to eat all of
中 | zhōng | suffix | mid
底 | dĭ | suffix | late
着急 | zháojí | adj. | anxious
无数 | wúshù | adj. | numerous
为...考虑 | wèi..kăolǜ | set phrase | for the sake of
除了...以外, ...还... | chúle..yĭwài, hái | conj. | besides
别提有多高兴了 | Biétì yŏu duō gāoxìng le | set exp. | You wouldn’t believe how happy sb. Is/are
先 | xiān | adv. | first

Grammar 语法

1.The Perfect Aspect and the aspectual particle 了:

In Chinese, the aspectual particle may 了occur after the predicate verb to indicate the completion of an action.

The basic patterns are as follows:

Affirmative:

Subject | Predicate verb | Aspectual particle | Object | Examples
我 | 吃 | 了 |  | I ate.
他 | 买 | 了 | 三本书 | He bought three books.
车老师 | 喝 | 了 | 那瓶橘子水 | Teacher Che had have that bottle of OJ.

Negative:

Subject | Negation | Predicate verb | Object | Examples
我 | (还) 没 | 吃 | (呢) | I haven’t eaten yet.
他 | 没有 | 买 | 三本书 | He didn’t buy three books.
车老师 | 没 | 喝 | 那瓶橘子水 | Teacher Che did not drink that bottle of OJ.

Interrogative:

Subject | Predicate verb | Aspectual Particle | Object | Question format | Examples
你 | 吃 | 了 |  | 没有/吗 | Did you eat?
他 | 买 | 了 | 三本书 | 没有/吗 | Did he buy three books?
车老师 | 喝 | 了 | 那瓶橘子水 | 没有/吗 | Did Teacher Che drink that bottle of OJ?

Notes:

(1). The completion of an action has nothing to do with time. A perfect aspect of an action can happen in the future.

For example

明天吃了早饭你可以看电视。 | Tomorrow you can watch TV after finish the breakfast.
老师, 下了课, 你有空吗？ | Teacher, Do you have class when the class is over?

(2). A complete action often takes place in the past, but it does not mean all actions that happen in the past should be in the perfect aspect. For example:

去年我常常去我妈妈家。 | Last year I often went to my Mom’s house.
昨天下午三点我看书。 | I read at three yesterday afternoon.

(3). In a sentence with verbal constructions in a series, the perfect aspectual particle 了 is usually suffixed to the second verb. For example:

我去图书馆找了你要的资料。 | I went to the library to look for the information you want.
今天我用法文写了两封信。 | Today I wrote two letters in French.

(4). When the verb is reduplicated, the aspectual particle is placed before the re-duplicted verb. For example:

她看了看书, 说: "这不是我的。" | She took a look at the book, and said: “This is not mine.”

2. The adverbs 再, 又, and 还:

The adverbs 再, 又, and 还 can all be translated into English as “again”. Although they all indicate the repetition of an action or a state, they are used differently in a sentence.

再 indicate that the action is going to recur. For example:

我三点给她打了一个电话。她不在。我六点再打。 | I called her at three. She was not there. I’ll calla gain at six.
你作的点心真好吃。我再吃一点, 好吗？ | The pastry you made are delicious. May I have some more.
你这次游得不好。再游一次。 | You did not swim well this time. Do it once more.

又 indicates that the repeated action had already taken place. For example:

她上午去了图书馆, 下午又去了, 所以现在她不在这儿。 | She went to the library this morning. (She) went again this afternoon. So she is not here right now.
我昨天给她打了个电话, 她不在。今天我又给她打了个电话, 她又不在。 | I called her yesterday. She was not in. I called her again today. She was still not in.
他昨天没吃饭。今天又没吃饭。 | He did not eat yesterday, and again he didn’t eat today.

还 is used in both interrogative and declarative sentence to express a repetition which is NOT YET realized but will be realized in the future. For example:

这个电影不错。你还看吗？我还看。 | The movie is not bad. Do you want to see again？I do.
明天你还来吗？我还来。 | Will you come again tomorrow？I will.

还 can also be used in an interrogative or declarative sentence with an auxiliary verb. It is placed before the auxiliary verb, and optional 再 can be placed after the auxiliary verb. For example:

你明年还想(再)去中国访问吗？我还想(再)去。 | Next year do you want to visit China again？I do want to go again.
你明天还能帮我去图书馆找资料吗？ | Can you go again to the library to help me look for some materials?

3. The expression 除了...以外, ..还/也... and 除了...以外, ...都...：

The expression 除了...以外, ...还/也... indicates an inclusion. Its English equivalent is “besides”.

For instance:

除了法文以外, 她还会说中文和英文。 | Besides French, she also speaks Chinese and English.
你除了喜欢玩电脑以外, 还喜欢什麽？ | What else do you like besides playing with computer?
每个星期我除了去健身房锻炼以外, 还去医院当义工。 | Every week besides going to the gym to exercise, I also go to the hospital to work as a volunteer.

Contrary to 除了...以外, ...还/也..., the expression 除了...以外, ...都... indicates exclusion. Its English counterpart is “except for”. For instance:

除了小王以外, 我们都去参加春节联欢会。 | Except for Wang, we'll all go to the get-together party for the Spring Festival.
除了周末以外, 他每天都有课。 | Everyday he has class, except for the weekend.

Sometimes, “以外”in the expression can be omitted. For example:

除了写汉字, 昨天晚上我还看了课文。 | Besides writing characters, I also read the text last night.
昨天的晚会, 除了酒, 茶和咖啡我都没有喝。 | Except for wine, I did drink neither tea nor coffee at yesterday's party.

4.Time word + 就 vs. time word + 才:

In a sentence, 就 and 才 can be placed after the time word and before the verb to indicate the speaker’s point of view as to whether the event expressed by the verb is later or earlier than expected. For example:

我五岁就开始学中文。 | At the age of five I began to learn Chinese. (earlier than expected)
我五岁才开始学中文。 | Only at the age of five did I began to learn Chinese. (later than expected)
她明天就可以走。 | She can leave as early as tomorrow.
她明天才可以走。 | She can’t leave until tomorrow.

Note that time word, sometimes can also be an event which take place first. For example:

我吃了饭(以後) 就去。 | After eating, I will go right away.
我吃了饭(以後)才去。 | I won’t go until I eat.
他来了(以後)就打电话。 | As soon as he came, he made phone calls.
他来了(以後)才打电话。 | He did not call until he came.

Note that, there is always a aspectual particle 了 placed after the first verb, which indicates the first event completes, before the second event takes place.

Summary:

Subject | Time phrase | Adverb 就/才 | Verb phrase | English translation
我妈妈 | 1995年 | 就 | 来这儿了。 | My Mom came hear as early as 1995.
我弟弟 | 昨天晚上很晚 | 才 | 回来。 | My younger brother did not come home until late last night.
我 | 看了新闻 | 就 | 去上课。 | I will go to class as soon as I watch the news.
她 | 去了邮局 | 才 | 跟我一起去找 车老师。 | He did not go with me to look for Teacher Che until he went to the post office.

Speech patterns

1. The Perfect Aspect and the aspectual particle 了:

你哥哥走了吗？没有, 他在门口等你。

今天的新闻你听了没有？听了。没有意思。

你说要给妈妈打个电话。你打了没有？才六点半。我想晚上八点打。

她吃了什麽？她吃了你作的点心。她说很好吃。

你学会了这个汉字吗？还没呢。我只会写这个字, 不会用这个字。

电影开始了吗？开始了。你上楼去看吧。

在中国, 你参观了几个博物馆？在北京, 我就去了三个博物馆。

她翻译的书多不多？她一共翻译了两本书。

喝了酒不能开车。那谁开呢？我开。今晚我没有喝酒。

。我尝了尝他介绍的茅台酒。真不错。你也试试吧。

Nĭ gēge zŏu le ma？Méi yŏu. Tā zài ménkŏu dĕng nĭ.

Jīntiān de xīnwén nĭ tīng le méi yŏu？Tīng le. Méi yŏu yìsi.

Nĭ shuō nĭ yào gĕi māma dă ge diànhuà. Nĭ dă le méi yŏu？Xiànzài cái liù diăn. Wŏ xiăng wănshàng bā diăn dă.

Tā chī le shénme？Tā chī le nĭ zuò de diănxīn. Tā shuō hĕn hăo chī.

Nĭ xuéhuì le zhè ge Hànzì ma？Hái méi ne. Wŏ zhĭ huì xiĕ zhè ge zì, bú huì yòng zhè ge zì.

Diànyĭng kāishĭ le ma？Kāishĭ le. Nĭ shàng lóu qù kàn ba.

Zài Zhōngguó, nĭ cānguān le jĭ ge bówùguăn？Zài Bĕijīng, wŏ jiù qù le sān ge bówùguăn.

Tā fānyì de shū duō bù duō？Tā yìgòng fānyì le liăng bĕn shū.

Hē le jiŭ bù néng kāi chē. Nà shéi kāi ne？Wŏ kāi. Jīnwăn wŏ méi hē jiŭ.

Wŏ cháng le cháng tā jièshào de máotái jiŭ. Zhēn búcuò. Nĭ yĕ shìshi ba.

Has your older brother left？No. He is waiting for you at the gate.

Have you listened to today's news？Yes. (They) are not interesting.

You said that you want to make a call to your Mom. Have you done that yet？It is only six now. I want to call her at eight tonight.

What did she eat？She ate the deserts you made. She said (they are) delicious.

Have you learned this character？Not yet. I only know how to write the character, but don't know how to use it.

Has the movie started？Yes. You go upstairs to watch it.

How many museums have you visited in China？I visited three museums in Beijing alone.

Has she translated a lot of books？She altogether translated two books.

(You) can't drive after the drinking. So, who will drive？I will. I didn't drink tonight.

I have a taste of the Maotai he recommended. (It) is really good. You have a try.

2. The expression 除了...以外, ..还/也... and 除了...以外, ...都...：

Using the expression to reconstruct the following Chinese sentences. Click to check the answers:

我认识这个字。我也认识那五个字。

我买了这本书。我也买车老师和古老师介绍的书。

在北京我去了故宫, 还参观了很多很有意思的博物馆。

这个房子有三个洗澡间。一楼 有一个, 二楼有两个。

我妹妹想当作家, 也想当翻译。

每个星期, 我星期三去医院当义工, 星期一, 星期 五我在图书馆打工。

这个系的老师我都认识。可是我不认识教书法的那个老师。

他们今天晚上都会来参加舞会。在三楼住的车先生不会来。

我弟弟有车。我哥哥, 我爸爸, 我妈妈, 我也都有车。

语言实验室每天都有很多听录音的学生。星期天听录音的学生不多。

除了这个字(以外), 我还认识那五个字。

除了这本书(以外), 我还买了车老师和古老师介绍的书。

在北京除了故宫(以外), 我也参观了很多很有意思的博物馆。

这个房子除了一楼有一个洗澡间(以外), 二楼还有两个洗澡间。

我妹妹除了想当作家(以外), 也想当翻译。

每个星期, 除了星期三去医院当义工以外, 星期一, 星期五我还在图书馆打工。

除了教书法的那个老师(以外), 这个系的老师我都认识。

除了在三楼住的车先生(以外), 他们今天晚上都会来参加舞会。

除了我弟弟(以外), 我哥哥, 我爸爸, 我妈妈, 和我也有车。

语言实验室除了星期天以外, 每天都有很多听录音的学生。

Chúle zhè ge zì (yĭwài), wŏ hái rènshi nà wŭ ge zì.

Chúle zhè bĕn shū (yĭwài), wŏ hái măi le Chē lăoshī hé Gŭ lăoshī jièshào de shū.

Zài Bĕijīng chúle Gùgōng (yĭwài), wŏ yĕ cānguān le hĕn duō hĕn yŏu yìsi de bówùguăn.

Zhè ge fángzi chúle yì lóu yŏu yì ge xĭzăojiān (yĭwài), èr lóu hái yŏu liăng ge xĭzăojiān.

Wŏ mèimei chúle xiăng dāng zuòjiā yĭwài, yĕ xiăng dāng fānyì.

Mĕi ge xīngqī, chúle xīngqī sān qù yīyuàn dāng yìgōng yĭwài, xīngqī yī, xīngqī wŭ wŏ hái zài túshūguăn dă gōng.

Chúle jiāo shūfă de nà ge lăoshī (yĭwài), zhè ge xì de lăoshī wŏ dōu rènshi.

Chúle zài sān lóu zhù de Chē xiānsheng (yĭwài), tāmen jīntiān wănshàng dōu huì lái cānjiā wŭhuì.

Chúle wŏ dìdi (yĭwài), wŏ gēge, wŏ bàba, wŏ māma, hé wŏ yĕ yŏu chē.

Yŭyán shìyànshi chúle xīngqī tiān yĭwài, mĕi tiān dōu yŏu hĕn duō tīng lùyīn de xuésheng.

Besides this character, I also know those five characters.

Besides this book, I also bought the books recommended by Teacher Che and Teacher Gu.

In Beijing I also visited many interesting museums besides the Forbidden City.

Besides the bathroom in the first floor, this house has two other bathrooms on the second floor.

Besides wishing to be a writer, my younger sister also wants to be an interpreter.

Every week, besides going to the hospital to be a volunteer on Wednesday, I also work in the library on Monday and Friday.

Except the teacher who teaches calligraphy, I know all the teachers in the department.

Except Mr. Che who lives on the third floor, all of them will come to the dance party tonight.

Besides my younger brother, my older brother, my Dad, my Mom and I, all have cars.

There are a lot of students listening to the recording in the language lab except Sundays.

3. Time word + 就  vs. time word + 才:

我小的时候就喜欢中国文化, 可是我上了大学以後才开始学中文。

她会说法文不是偶然的。她五岁就跟她妈妈学法语了。

你明年七月才去台湾吗？我早就想去, 可是我明年才有时间。

小京在家吗？你现在才来。他九点就出发了。

昨天晚上我有很多作业要作, 所以一点才睡觉。可是睡得不好, 今天六点一刻就起来了。

你怎麽还在这儿呢？我买了菜就走。

他昨天来了一下就走了。他几点到这儿？他说他吃了饭就开车来这儿, 可是他八点三刻才到这儿。

Wŏ xiăo de shìhòu jiù xĭhuan Zhōngguó wénhuà, kĕshì wŏ shàng le dàxué yĭhòu cái kāishĭ xué Zhōngwén.

Tā huì shuō Făwén bú shì ŏurán de. Tā wŭ suì jiù gēn tā māma xué Făyŭ le.

Nĭ mìngnián qī yuè cái qù Táiwān ma？Wŏ zăo jiù xiăng qù, kĕshì wŏ mìngnián cái yŏu shìjiān.

Xiăo Jīng zài jiā ma？Nĭ xiànzài cái lái. Tā jiŭ diăn jiù chūfā le.

Zuótiān wănshàng wŏ yŏu hĕn duō zuòyè yào zuò, suŏyĭ yì diăn cái shuìjiào. Kĕshì shuì de bù hăo, jīntiān liù diăn yí kè jiù qĭlái le.

Nĭ zĕnme hái zài zhèr ne？Wŏ măi le cài jiù zŏu.

Tā zuótiān lái le yíxià jiù zŏu le. Tā jĭ diăn dào zhèr？Tā shuō tā chī le fàn jiù kāi chē lái zhèr, kĕshì tā bā diăn sān kè cái dào zhèr.

I like Chinese culture even when I was little, but I began to learn Chinese only when I attended college.

It is not accidental that she can speak French. She leaned the language from her Mom when she was only five.

You won't go to Taiwan until next July, right？I wanted to go long ago, but I only have time next year.

Is Xiao Jing at home？You finally came now. (Why didn't come early?) He left (as early as) at nine.

Last night I had a lot of homework to do, so (I) did not go to bed until one. But (I) did not sleep well. Today I got up at six fifteen (so early)!

Why are you still here？I'll leave as soon as I buy the vegetables.

Yesterday he dropped in for a moment and left. When did he get here. He said he drove here as soon as he had the diner, but he did not arrive here until eight forty-five.

Lesson 28

Dialogue

English

I applied for visa to China;

Shihai: Ding, yesterday morning I called you, and you were not here. Where were you?

Renmei: I went to the Chinese Consulate in New York to apply for visas. (I) was busy the whole day.

Shihai: Isn’t the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.？How come you went to New York?

Renmei: The one in D.C. is the Embassy; the one in New York is the Consulate. You can apply a visa in the Consulate, and you can also apply a visa in the embassy.

Shihai: Now I understand it. So, how many Chinese embassies and how many consulates are there in the United States?

Renmei: I know there is only one embassy, and ( it ) is in D.C.. As far as consulates, there is one in New York, one in California, and there is another one in Texas. I don’t know whether there are any others in others places.

Shihai: Then, where to apply for a visa if ( one wants to) go to Taiwan?

Renmei: To go to Taiwan, ( one ) needs to apply the visa in Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Office in the Unites States. I know that there is such an office in both D.C. and New York.

Shihai: I plan to visit Taiwan next year.

Renmei: Really？Have you had your passport ready yet?

Shihai: I’m in the process of applying. Oh, yes, yesterday I called you because I wanted to invite you and Xueyou to a ball game.

Renmei: What kind of game?

Shihai: Football game.

Renmei: American football or European football?

Shihai: Of course European football. I and you and Xueyou, we have been friends for many years. How can I not know what you guys like and what you guys don’t like？You were not home. I had no choice but to invite David and other guys.

Renmei: Who played with whom？And who won?

Shihai: New Jersey team played with Texas team. One to one tied. No (one) lost and (no) one won either.

Renmei: A tied game (no win no lose), no fun.

Shihai: Who says it’s no fun.

Simplified

我去纽约领馆办签证了;

世海 : 小丁, 昨天上午我给你打电话, 你不在。你上哪儿去了？

人美 : 我去纽约的中国领馆办签证了。整整忙了一天。

世海 : 中国领馆不是在华盛顿吗？你怎麽去纽约了？

人美 : 华盛顿的是大使馆。纽约的是领馆。你可以在大使馆办签证, 也可以在领馆办签证。

世海 : 原来是这麽回事。那麽, 中国在美国有几个大使馆, 几个领馆呢？

人美 : 我知道中国大使馆就一个, 在华盛顿；领馆嘛, 纽约有一个；加州有一个；德州也有一个。别的地方还有没有, 我就不知道了。

世海 : 那麽, 去台湾要到哪儿签证呢？

人美 : 去台湾得到台湾驻美国办事处办签证。我知道华盛顿和纽约都有台湾办事处。

世海 : 我想明年去台湾看看。

人美 : 是吗？那你申请了护照了吗？

世海 : 正在申请呢。对了, 昨天我打电话找你, 是因为我想请你和学友看球赛。

人美 : 看什麽球赛？

世海 : 足球赛。

人美 : 美式的还是欧式的？

世海 : 当然是欧式的。我跟你还有学友, 我们是多年的老朋友了。你们喜欢什麽不喜欢什麽, 我还不知道吗？你们不在, 我就只好请大为他们了。

人美 : 谁和谁赛？谁赢了？

世海 : 纽泽西队和德州队赛。一比一平。没输, 也没赢。

人美 : 没输没赢, 一定没有意思。

世海 : 谁说没有意思？

Traditional

我去紐約領館辦簽證了;

世海 ﹕ 小丁, 昨天上午我給你打電話, 你不在。你上哪兒去了？

人美 ﹕ 我去紐約的中國領館辦簽證了。整整忙了一天。

世海 ﹕ 中國領館不是在華盛頓嗎？你怎麼去紐約了？

人美 ﹕ 華盛頓的是大使館。紐約的是領館。你可以在大使館辦簽證, 也可以在領館辦簽證。

世海 ﹕ 原來是這麼回事。那麼, 中國在美國有幾個大使館, 幾個領館呢？

人美 ﹕ 我知道中國大使館就一個, 在華盛頓；領館嘛, 紐約有一個；加州有一個；德州也有一個。別的地方還有沒有, 我就不知道了。

世海 ﹕ 那麼, 去台灣要到哪兒簽證呢？

人美 ﹕ 去台灣得到台灣駐美國辦事處辦簽證。我知道華盛頓和紐約都有台灣辦事處。

世海 ﹕ 我想明年去台灣看看。

人美 ﹕ 是嗎？那你申請了護照了嗎？

世海 ﹕ 正在申請呢。對了, 昨天我打電話找你, 是因為我想請你和學友看球賽。

人美 ﹕ 看什麼球賽？

世海 ﹕ 足球賽。

人美 ﹕ 美式的還是歐式的？

世海 ﹕ 當然是歐式的。我跟你還有學友, 我們是多年的老朋友了。你們喜歡什麼不喜歡什麼, 我還不知道嗎？你們不在, 我就只好請大為他們了。

人美 ﹕ 誰和誰賽？誰贏了？

世海 ﹕ 紐澤西隊和德州隊賽。一比一平。沒輸, 也沒贏。

人美 ﹕ 沒輸沒贏, 一定沒有意思。

世海 ﹕ 誰說沒有意思？

Pinyin

Wŏ qù Niŭyuē Lĭngguăn Bàn Qiānzhèng le ;

Shìhăi: Xiăo Dīng, zuótiān shàngwŭ wŏ gĕi nĭ dă dinhuà, nĭ bú zài. Nĭ shàng năr qù le?

Rénmĕi: Wŏ qù Niŭyuē Zhōngguó lĭngguăn bàn qiānzhèng le. Zhĕngzhĕng máng le yìtiān.

Shìhăi: Zhōngguó lĭngguăn búshì zài Huáshèngdùn ma？Nĭ zĕnme qù Niŭyuē le?

Rénmĕi: Huáshèngdùn de shì dàshĭguăn, Niŭyuē de shì lĭngguăn. Nĭ kĕyĭ zài dàshĭguăn bàn qiānzhèng, yĕ kĕyĭ zài lĭngguăn bàn qiānzhèng.

Shìhăi: Yuánlái shì zhème huí shì. Nàme, Zhōngguó zài Mĕiguó yŏu jĭgè dàshìguăn, jĭgè lĭngguăn ne?

Rénmĕi: Wŏ zhīdào Zhōngguó dàshĭguăn jiù yīgè zài Huáshèngdùn; lĭngguăn ma, Niŭyuē yŏu yígè. Jiāzhōu yŏu yígè. Dézhōu yĕ yŏu yígè. Biéde dìfāng hái yŏu méiyŏu, wŏ jiù bù zhīdào le.

Shìhăi: Nàme, qù Táiwān yào dào năr qiānzhèng ne?

Rénmĕi: Qù Táiwān dĕi dào Táiwān zhù Mĕiguó bànshìchù bàn qiānzhèng. Wŏ zhīdào Huáshèngdùn hé Niŭyuē dōu yŏu Táiwān bànshìchù.

Shìhăi: Wŏ dăsuàn míngnián qù Táiwān kànkan.

Rénmĕi: Shìma？Nà nĭ shēnqĭng le hùzhào le ma?

Shìhăi: Zhèngzài shēnqĭng ne. Duìle, zuótiān wŏ dă diànhuà zhăo nĭ, yīngwèi wŏ xiăng qĭng nĭ hé Xuéyŏu kàn qiúsài.

Rénmĕi: Kàn shénme qiúsài?

Shìhăi: Zúqiú sài.

Rénmĕi: Mĕishì de háishì ōushì de?

Shìhăi: Dāngrán shì ōushì de. Wŏ gēn nĭ háiyŏu Xuéyŏu, wŏmen shì duōnián de lăopéngyou le. Nĭmen xĭhuān shénme bù xĭhuān shénme, wŏ hái bùzhīdào ma？Nĭmen bú zài, wŏ jiù zhĭhăo qĭng Dàwéi tāmen le.

Rénmĕi: Shuí hé shuí sài？Shuí yíng le?

Shìhăi: Niŭzéxī duì hé Dézhōu duì sài. Yī bĭ yī píng. Méi yíng, yĕ méi shū.

Rénmĕi: Méi shū méi yíng, yídìng méiyŏu yìsi:

Shìhăi: Shuí shuō méiyŏu yìsi?

Text

English

They got the visa for China;

Ding and her boy friend will go to Peking University to attend a short term language training class this summer vocation. So, yesterday they went to the Chinese Consulate in New York to apply for visas. They set out at ten o’clock in the morning. They did not get to New York until eleven forty. They altogether spent one hour and forty minutes on the road. There were a lot of people at the Consulate applying for visas. Ding and Xueyou got to the visa window only after standing in the line for about an hour. The consul who handled Ding and Xueyou’s application is a woman, whose) last name is Zhang, (and she ) was quite nice.

Consul Zhang Asked Ding why she wanted to go to study in China. Ding answered that the facilities in the United States were good, and the teachers taught very well. But the opportunities of speaking Chinese were not many. Except asking questions and answering questions in the class, there were almost no chance of using Chinese in daily life. So, (she) wanted very much to take advantage of the summer vocation to go to Beijing. In this way, besides learning Chinese, (she) can also know about the Chinese society. Ding said that she hoped that consul would support her plan and grand her visa to go to China.

When (they) got out of the consulate, it was already three in the afternoon. From ten o’clock in the morning to three o’clock in the afternoon, Ding and Xueyou were fully occupied for five hours. (they) did not eat, neither did (they) drink. Although Ding and Xueyou were both hungry and tired, they were very happy, because they got the visas and would go and visit China very soon.

Simplified

他们拿到了去中国的签证;

小丁和她的男朋友今年暑假要去北京大学参加一个短期语言训练班, 所以, 昨天他们到纽约中国领馆办签证。他们早上十点出发, 十一点四十才到纽约。路上一共花了一小时四十分钟。在领馆办签证的人很多。小丁和学友排了快一个小时的队才来到签证窗口。给小丁和学友办签证的领事是个女的, 姓张, 很热情。

张领事问小丁为什麽要去中国留学。小丁回答说美国大学的设备很好, 老师教得也很好, 但是说中文的机会不多。除了在课上用中文问问题, 回答问题以外, 平常几乎没有用中文的机会, 所以很想利用暑假去北京, 这样, 除了学习中文以外, 还可以了解一下中国社会。小丁说她希望领事能支持她的计划, 给她去中国的签证。

从领馆出来的时候, 已经下午三点了。从上午十点到下午三点, 小丁和学友忙了整整五个小时。饭也没有吃, 水也没有喝。虽然小丁和学友又累又饿, 但是他们很高兴, 因为他们拿到了签证, 很快就可以去中国了。

Traditional

他們拿到了去中國的簽證;

小丁和她的男朋友今年暑假要去北京大學參加一個短期語言訓練班, 所以, 昨天他們到紐約中國領館辦簽證。他們早上十點出發, 十一點四十才到紐約。路上一共花了一小時四十分鐘。在領館辦簽證的人很多。小丁和學友排了快一個小時的隊才來到簽證窗口。給小丁和學友辦簽證的領事是個女的, 姓張, 很熱情。

張領事問小丁為什麼要去中國留學。小丁回答說美國大學的設備很好, 老師教得也很好, 但是說中文的機會不多。除了在課上用中文問問題, 回答問題以外, 平常幾乎沒有用中文的機會, 所以很想利用暑假去北京, 這樣, 除了學習中文以外, 還可以了解一下中國社會。小丁說她希望領事能支持她的計劃, 給她去中國的簽證。

從領館出來的時候, 已經下午三點了。從上午十點到下午三點, 小丁和學友忙了整整五個小時。飯也沒有吃, 水也沒有喝。雖然小丁和學友又累又餓, 但是他們很高興, 因為他們拿到了簽證, 很快就可以去中國了。

Pinyin

Tā men nádào le qù Zhōngguó de qiānzhèng;

Xiăo Dīng hé tāde nán péngyŏu jīnnián shŭjià yào qù Bĕijīng Dàxué cānjiā yígè duănqī yŭyán xùnliàn bān, suŏyĭ, zuótiān tāmen dào NiŭyuēZhōngguólĭngguăn bàn qiānzhèng. Tāmen zăoshàng shídiăn chūfā, shíyīdiăn sìshícái dào Niŭyuē. Lùshàng yígòng huāle yìxiăoshísìshífēnzhōng. Zài lĭngguăn bàn qiānzhèng de rén hĕn duō. Xiăo Dīng héXuéyŏu pái le kuài yígèxiăoshíde duì cái lái dào qiānzhèng chuāngkŏu. Gĕi Xiăo Dīng hé Xuéyŏu bàn qiānzhèng de lĭngshì shì gè nŭde, xìng Zhāng, hĕn rèqíng.

Zhāng lĭngshì wèn Xiăo Dīng wèishénme yào qù Zhōngguó liú xué. Xiăo Dīng huídá shuō Mĕiguó dàxué de shèbèi hĕn hăo, lăoshī jiāo de yĕ hĕn hăo, dànshì shuō Zhōngwén de jīhuì bù duō. Chúle zài kèshàng yòng Zhōngwén tí wèntí huí dá wèntí yĭwài, píngcháng jĭhu méiyou yòng Zhōngwén de jīhuì, Suŏyĭ hĕnxiăng lìyòng shŭjià qù Bĕijīng, zhèyàng, chúle xuéxí Zhōngwén yĭwài, hái kĕyĭ liăojiĕ yíxià Zhōnguó shèhuì Xiăo Dīng shuō tā xīwàng lĭngshì néng zhīchí tāde jìhuà gĕi tā qù Zhōngguó de qiānzhèng.

Cóng lĭngguăn chūlái de shíhòu, yĭjīng xiàwŭ sāndiăn le. Cóng shàngwŭ shídiăn dào xiàwŭ sān diăn, Xiăo Dīng hé Xuéyŏu máng le zhĕngzheng wŭ gè xiăoshí. Fàn yĕ méiyŏu chī shuĭ yĕ méiyŏu hē. Suīrán Xiăo Dīng hé Xuéyŏu yòu lèi yòu è, dànshì tāmen hĕn gāoxìng, yīnwèi tānmen nádào le qiānzhèng, hĕn kuài jiù kĕyĭ qù Zhōngguó le.

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl.
领馆 | lĭngguăn | n. | consulate
签证 | qiānzhèng | n. | visa
大使馆 | dàshĭguăn | n. | embassy
办事处 | bànshìchù | n. | business office
护照 | hùzhào | n. | passport
球赛 | qiúsài | n. | ball game
足球 | zúqiú | n. | football
式 | shì | n. | style
训练班 | xùnliàn bān | n. | training class
分钟 | fēnzhōng | n. | minute
小时 | xiăoshí |  | hour
钟头 | zhōngtóu | n. | hour
队 | duì | n. | team
窗口 | chuāngkŏu | n. | window
领事 | lĭngshì | n. | consul
设备 | shèbèi | n. | facility
暑假 | shŭjià | n. | summer vacation
社会 | shèhuì | n. | society
计划 | jìhuà | n. | plan
华盛顿 | Huáshèngdùn | place n. | Washington
加州 | Jiāzhōu | place n. | California
德州 | Dézhōu | place n. | Texas
办 | bàn | v. | to handle
驻 | zhù | v. | to reside
申请 | shēnqĭng | v. | to apply for
赢 | yíng | v. | to win
输 | shū | v. | to lose
平 | píng | v. | to tie
排(队) | pái (duì) | v. | to line up
支持 | zhīchí | v. | to support
热情 | rèqíng | adj. | enthusiastic
累 | lèi | adj. | tired
饿 | è | adj. | hungry
短期 | duănqī | adj. | short term
整整 | zhĕngzhĕng | adj. adv. | Whole entire
几乎 | jĭhū | Adv.Adv. | almost
比 | bĭ | prep. | To compare to, than

Grammar 语法

1. The time-measure complement:

A word or phrase attached to a verb or adjective predicate to complete the meaning is known as a complement. A time-measure complement is a time phrase such as 一天, 一个星期, 三十分钟, 五个小时, which follows the verb to indicate the duration of the action. For example:

我要看五个小时。 | I will watch for five hours.
他吃了半个小时。 | He ate for half an hour.
她姐姐看电视看了一天。 | Her older sister watched TV for a day.
我听新闻要听二十分钟。 | I will listen to the news for twenty minutes.

Note that:

(1). An auxiliary verb such as 要, 想 can be used to express the intent: 我要看五个小时。

(2). Aspectual particle 了can be used to express the completed aspect: 他吃了半个小时。

(3). When the verb has an object,

a) the verb has to be repeated:

她姐姐看电视看了一天。 我听新闻要听二十分钟。

b)you can also treat the object and the complement as a unit of quantified object, and structure the sentence thus:

她姐姐看了一天的电视。

我要听二十分钟的新闻。

(4). To question the duration of the action such questions as 多久, 多长时间, 几天, 几个小时 can be used. For example:

你要听多久？ | How long will you listen?
她想了多长的时间？ | How long has she been thinking?
他弟弟作作业作了多长时间？ | How long did his younger brother work on the homework?
你去中国要去几个星期？ | How many weeks will you be in China?
你要坐几个小时的火车？ | How many hours’ train will you take?

2. Model Particle 了:

Model particle 了 is also known as “sentence particle 了”. Unlike the aspectual 了 , which comes after the verb, model particle is always found at the end of the sentence. The model particle 了 can be used to express various different shade of meaning. In the previous lessons, we have encountered “太...了” pattern. In this pattern, model particle了 works with the adverb 太 to indicate excessiveness. For example:

这本书太贵了。 | This book is too expensive.
汉字太难了。 | Chinese characters are too difficult.

In this lesson, we learn to use model particle to indicate that the event expressed in the narrative sentence has already taken place or accomplished. For example:

小张呢？她去实验室了。 | Where is Zhang？She has gone to the lab.
你已经买了五张光碟了。你还想买。不行。 | You have already bought five CD. You want more (You still want to buy). No.

Note that:;

(1) Both aspectual 了 and model 了 can be present in a sentence. 你已经买了五张光碟了。

(2) But when 了 comes after the verb and at the end of the sentence as well, it functions both as an aspectual and model particle. For example:

她来了。

我吃了。

(3) The model particle can be used to indicate that the action or event referred to is something which took place in the past, but past happenings do not always take the model particle.

Compare the below two sentences:

我去看他的时候, 他在打电话呢。 | When I went to see him, he was making the call.
我去看他的时候, 他打了电话了。 | When I went to see him, he had made the call.

(4) The negative form of the sentence with model particle 了 indicating accomplished event is made by putting the adverb 没(有 ) in front of the verb and at the same time dropping the 了.

For example:

她买书了, 没有买词典。 | She bought books, (but) did not buy the dictionary.

To form a question, you can add 吗 or 没有 at the end of the sentence. For example:

你看了那个电影了吗？ | Did you see the movie?
他回家了没有？ | Did he go home?

To form an affirmative-negative question, you can juxtapose the affirmative and negative form.

For example:

你吃没吃饭？ | Did you eat or not?
她去没去参加音乐会？ | Did she go to the concert or not?

Summary:;

| Subject | Negation | Verb | Object | Particle
Affirmative | 我妈妈 |  | 去 | 商店 | 了。
Negative | 她 | 没有 | 买 | 那本词典。 |
Question | 你 |  | 去 | 签证 | 了吗？了没(有)？
Affirmative- Negative | 你哥哥 | 喝没 | 喝 | 你作的汤？ |

3. Sequential actions:

We came across such a sentence pattern 我吃了饭就去 in Lesson 27. In this sentence there were two actions taking place: action 1 吃 ; action 2 去 . Action 1 吃 takes place before action 2 去, so it has an aspectual particle 了 right after the verb 吃 to indicate that the action 2 去 takes place only after action 1 is accomplished. Let’s see some more examples:

他看了电视 看书。 | He watches TV (then) reads books.
你买了那本书(就)去上课。 | You buy that book (first), (then) go to class.

Summary:;

Subject | Verb | 了 | + (object) | (就) | Verb2 | + (object)
她 | 买 | 了 | 书 |  | 回 | 家。

Note that this pattern can be used to refer to events that either talk about future plans or habitual behaviors. If one wants to talk about the events that happened in the past, one should add model particle 了 at the end of the sentence.

For example:

昨天她看了电影就回家了。 | Yesterday she saw a movie (then) went home.
上午我下了课去咖啡馆。 | This morning after got out of the class I went to the coffee house.

Summary:;

Subject | Verb1 | 了 | + (object) | (就) | Verb2 | + (object) | 了。
她 | 买 | 了 | 书 |  | 回 | 家 | 了。

Speech patterns

1. The time-measure complement:

昨天晚上你睡了几个小时？我睡了七个钟头, 可是我还觉得累。

我爸爸妈妈在北京呆了两个月, 去了五个城市, 参观了无数的博物馆。

上大学的时候, 我在医院当了几年的义工, 认识了不少大夫。

从这儿到华盛顿坐火车要坐几个小时？我不知道, 你问他吧。

昨天他念了几个钟头的书？他只念了五分钟的书。

今天上午我坐了 一个上午的火车。你去哪儿了？我去大使馆办签证了。

她在这儿一共只学了三个月的中文就去台湾了。

今天上午老师没来。这些孩子整整玩了一个上午。

Zuótiān nĭ shuì le jĭ ge xiăoshí？Wŏ shuì le qī ge zhōngtóu, kĕshì wŏ hái juéde lèi.

Wŏ bàba māma zài Bĕijīng dāi le liăng ge yuè, qù le wŭ ge chéngshì, cánguān le wúshù de bówùguăn.

Shàng dàxué de shìhòu, wŏ zài yīyuàn dāng le jĭ nián de yìgōng, rènshi le bùshăo de dàifu.

Cóng zhèr dào Huáshèngdùn zuò huŏchē yào zuò jĭ ge xiăoshì？Wŏ bù zhīdao, nĭ wèn tā ba.

Zuótiān tā niàn le jĭ ge zhōngtóu de shū？Tā zhĭ niàn le wŭ fēnzhōng de shū.

Jīntiān shàngwŭ wŏ zuò le yì ge shàngwŭ de huŏchē. Nĭ qù năr le？Wŏ qù dàshĭguăn bàn qiānzhèng le.

Tā zài zhèr yígòng zhĭ xué le sān ge yuè de Zhōngwén jiù qù Táiwān le.

Jīntiān shàngwŭ lăoshī méi lái. Zhè xiē háizi zhĕngzhĕng wánr le yí ge shàngwŭ.

Yesterday how many hour did you sleep？I slept for seven hours, but I still felt tired.

My parents stayed in Beijing for two months; (they) had been to five cities, and visited numerous museums.

When I was in college, I was a volunteer in a hospital and met quite a few doctors.

How many hours will it take by train from here to Washington？I don’t know. Ask him.

How many hours did he study？He only studied for five minutes.

This morning I sat in a train for the whole morning. Where did you go？I went to the embassy to apply for a visa.

She studied here only for three months before she left for Taiwan.

This morning the teacher did not come. These kids played for the entire morning.

2. Model Particle 了:

上午你和你姐姐去哪儿了？我们去中国大使馆了。你们去那个新展览馆了吗？没有。

昨天晚上你看电影了没有？看了。你看了几个电影？我就看一个。

星期天你看足球赛了吗？看了。你没看吗？没有。我太太不让我看。

你买没买那件上衣？没买。为什麽呢？那件上衣太贵了。

你喝没喝我作的鱼汤？喝了。怎么样？很不错。那麽, 你再喝一点吧。

小张在吗？她去训练班了。晚上才能回来。

你吃早饭了吗？没呢。那我们一起去吧。不行, 我现在没空。

今天下午你跟张老师去实验室了吗？我去了, 张老师没去。你去的时候, 他在作什麽呢？他在跟学生说话呢。

Shàngwŭ nĭ hé nĭ jiĕjie qù năr le？Wŏmen qù Zhōngguó dàshĭguăn le. Nĭmen qù nàgè xīn zhănlănguăn le ma？Méi yŏu.

Zuótiān wănshàng nĭ kàn le diànyĭng méi yŏu？Kàn le. Nĭ kàn le jĭ ge diànyĭng？Wŏ jiù kàn yí ge.

Xīngqī tiān nĭ kàn zúqiú sài le ma？Kàn le. Nĭ méi kàn ma？Méi yŏu. Wŏ tàitai bú ràng wŏ kàn.

Nĭ măi méi măi nà jiàn shàngyī？ Méi măi. Wèishénme ne？Nà jiàn shàngyī tài guì le.

Nĭ hē méi hē wŏ zuò de yútāng？Hē le. Zĕnmeyàng？Hĕn búcuò. Nàme, nĭ zài hē yì diănr ba.

Xiăo Zhāng zài ma？Tā qù xùnliàn bān le. Wănshàng cái néng huílái.

Nĭ chī zăofàn le ma？Méi ne. Nà wŏmen yìqĭ qù ba. Bù xìng, wŏ xiànzài méi kòngr.

Jīntiān xiàwŭ nĭ gēn Zhāng lăoshī qù shìyànshì le ma？Wŏ qù le. Zhāng lăoshī méi qù. Nĭ qù de shìhòu, tā zài zuò shénme ne？Tā zài gēn xuésheng shuō huà ne.

Where did you and sister go this morning？We went to the embassy. Did you go to the new exhibit hall？No.

Did you see movies last night？Yes. How many movies did you see？I only saw one.

Did you watch the football game on Sunday？Yes. You didn’t watch it？No. My wife would not allow me to watch (it).

Did you buy the jacket or not？No. Why？It was too expensive.

Did you taste the fish soup I made？Yes. How was it？Not bad. Then have some more.

Is Zhang in？She went to the training class. She won’t be back until tonight.

Did you have your breakfast？No yet. Let’s go together. No, I don’t have time now.

Did you go with Teacher Zhang to the lab this afternoon？I went, (but) Teacher Zhang didn’t. When you went, what was he doing？He was talking with students.

3. Sequential action:

今天下了课你作什麽？我下了课去医院当义工。你要在那儿工作多久？我要工作半天。

昨天晚上你去哪儿了？我吃了饭就去图书馆了。我在那儿呆了一个晚上。

明天下午你有空吗？下午什麽时候？下午三点左右我想问你几个语法问题。不行。下午三点我要去台湾驻美国办事处。去了办事处, 我要去看一个朋友。

上个星期天上午我吃了饭就去纽约了, 所以你打电话的时候, 我不在。

昨天我参观了展览馆就去火车站接朋友了。那你为什麽没有告诉我呢？我在食堂等了你一个小时。真对不起。

Jīntiān xià le kè nĭ zuò shénme？Wŏ xià le kè qù yīyuàn dāng yìgōng. Nĭ yào zài nàr gōngzuò duō jiŭ ？Wŏ yào gōngzuò bàn tiān.

Zuótiān wănshàng nĭ qù năr le？Wŏ chī le fàn jiù qù túshūguăn le. Wŏ zài nàr dāi le yí ge wănshàng.

Mìngtiān xiàwŭ nĭ yŏu kòng ma？Xiàwŭ shénme shíhou？Xiàwŭ sān diăn zuŏyòu. wŏ xiăng wèn nĭ jĭ ge yŭfă wèntì. Bù xìng. Xiàwŭ sān diăn wŏ yào qù Táiwān zhù Mĕiguó bànshìchù. Qù le Bànshìchù, wŏ yào qù kàn yì ge péngyou.

Shàng ge xīngqī tiān shàngwŭ wŏ chī le fàn jiù qù Niŭyuē le, suŏyĭ nĭ dă diànhuà de shíhou, wŏ bú zài.

Zuótiān wŏ cānguān le zhănlănguăn jiù qù huŏchē zhàn jiē péngyou le. Nà nĭ wèishénme méi yŏu gàosu wŏ ne？Wŏ zài shìtáng dĕng le nĭ yí ge xiăoshí, Zhēn duìbuqĭ.

What do you do after class？After class I’ll go to hospital to volunteer. How long will you work there? I will work for half an hour.

Where did you go last night？After eating the dinner I went to the library. I stayed there for the whole evening.

Will you have time tomorrow afternoon？What time in the afternoon？Around three. I want to ask you a few grammatical questions. No. Three in the afternoon I will go Taiwan’s Business Office in the United States. After going the Office, I will visit a friend.

Last Sunday after the breakfast I went to New York, so when you called, I was not in.

Yesterday after visiting the exhibit, I went to the train station to pick up a friend. Then why didn’t you tell me？I waited for you in the dining hall for an hour.

4. 几乎没有时间/机会 V. + (object) or 几乎没有 V. + (object) 的时间/机会 = (almost don’t have the time/opportunity to...)

这几天我很忙, 几乎没有时间睡觉/几乎没有睡觉的时间。

老师教得很好, 可是在这儿我几乎没有机会说中文/我几乎没有说中文的机会。

那儿的人太多了。她几乎没有机会跟那个新来的学生说话/她几乎没有跟那个新来的学生说话的机会。

我们在北京就呆了几天, 几乎没有机会去参观那些有名的博物馆/几乎没有参观那些有名的博物馆的机会。

电影七点开始, 我们六点五十七分才到那儿, 几乎没有时间买票/几乎没有买票的时间。

Zhè jĭ tiān wŏ hĕn máng, jĭhū méi yŏu shíjiān shuìjiào/jĭhū méi yŏu shuìjiào de shíjiān.

Lăoshī jiāo de hĕn hăo, kĕshì zài zhèr wŏ jĭhū méi yŏu jīhuì shuō Zhōngwén/Wŏ jĭhū méi yŏu shuō Zhōngwén de jīhuì.

Nàr de rén tài duō le. Tā jĭhū méi yŏu jīhuì gēn nà ge xīn lái de xuésheng shuō huà / tā jĭhū méi yŏu gēn nà ge xīn lái de xuésheng shuō huà de jīhuì.

Wŏmen zài Bĕijīng jiù dāi le jĭ tiān, jĭhū méi yŏu jīhuì qù cānguān nàxiē yŏumìng de bówùguăn/jĭhū méi yŏu cānguān nàxiē yŏumìng de bówùguăn de jīhuì.

Diànyĭng qī diăn kāishĭ, wŏmen liù diăn wŭshì fēn cái dào nàr, jĭhū méi yŏu shíjiān măi piào/jĭhū méi yŏu măi piào de shíjiān.

These days I have been quite busy. (I) almost don’t have the time to sleep.

The teachers teach well, but I almost do not have the opportunity to speak Chinese here.

There were too many people there. She had almost no chance to talk to the students who just came.

We stayed in Beijing only for few days. (We) almost didn’t have the time to visit those famous museums.

The movie started at seven. We arrived there at six fifty-seven. (We) almost had no time to buy tickets.

5. 希望..能 = (hope that＿can/will)

我很想去台湾看看。我希望明年能有机会。

这本书很难, 生词很多。希望你能帮助我。

爸爸妈妈, 我想去中国学习, 希望你 们 能 支持我的计划。

这是我送你的生日礼物, 希望你能喜欢。

我希望你能让我听你的课。

Wŏ hĕn xiăng qù Táiwān kànkan. Wŏ xīwàng mìngnián néng yŏu jīhuì.

Zhè bĕn shū hĕn nán, shēngcì hĕn duō. Xīwàng nĭmen néng bāngzhù wŏ.

Bàba māma, wŏ xiăng qù Zhōngguó xuéxí, xīwàng nĭ néng zhīchì wŏ de jìhuà.

Zhè shì wŏ sòng nĭ de shēngrì lĭwù, xīwàng nĭ néng xĭhuan.

Wŏ xīwàng nĭ néng ràng wŏ tīng nĭ de kè.

I like it very much to visit Taiwan. I hope that (I) can have the opportunity next year.

This book is difficult. New vocabularies are many (there are many new vocabularies). Hope that you can help me.

Mom, Dad, I want to go to study in China. Hope that you can support my plan.

This is a gift for you (this is the gift I gave you). Hope that you will like (it).

5.I hope that you will allow me to audit your class (to listen to your class).

6. 已经 V. (O) 了 VS. 还没 V. (O) 呢 = already (did) VS.did not (do) yet:

你们都懂了吗？他们已经懂了。我不行, 我还没懂呢。

客人都来了吗？男的都已经来了, 女的都还没来呢。

你们三个吃饭了没有？我已经吃了, 他们俩还没吃呢。

你的中文作业都作了吗？语法作业我已经作了, 可是生词还没背呢。

护照你们都申请了没有？爸爸妈妈护照已经申请了。我还没呢。这两天太忙了。

Nĭmen dōu dŏng le ma？Tāmen yĭjīng dŏng le. Wŏ bù xìng. Wŏ hái méi dŏng ne.

Kèrén dōu lái le ma？Nán de dōu yĭjīng lái le. Nǚ de dōu hái méi lái ne.

Nĭmen sān ge chī fàn le méi yŏu？Wŏ yĭjīng chī le, Tāmen liăr hái méi chī ne.

Nĭ de Zhōngwén zuòyè dōu zuò le ma？Yŭfă zuòyè wŏ yĭjīng zuò le, kĕshì shēngcì hái méi bèi ne.

Hùzhào nĭmen dōu shēnqĭng le méi yŏu？Bàba māma hùzhào yĭngjīng shēnqĭng le. Wŏ hái méi ne. Zhè liăng tiān tài máng le.

Have you all understood (it)？They already did. I’m no good. I haven’t yet.

Have all the guests arrived？All of the male guests have already arrived. None of the female guests is here yet.

Have you three had food yet？I already did. They two haven’t yet.

Are all your Chinese homework done yet？I already did the Grammar 语法 homework, but (I) haven’t memorized the vocabularies yet.

Have you all applied for the passports？My parents already did. I have not yet. These two days have been quite busy.

Lesson 29

Dialogue

English

The Plane Is about to Take off;

(At the Airport)

Xueyou: Ding, look, David and Shihai are also here.

Ding:David, Shihai, (you are) so busy. How come you guys have time to come?

David: You are leaving for China soon. (You) will be gone for a year. It won’t be nice (if) we don’t come to say good-bye.

Ding:Thank you.

Shihai: Ding, the plane is going to take off. You are leaving for China. How do you feel?

Ding:I feel both excited and sad.

David: (Being) excited, I can understand, but, what are you sad about?

Ding:We are about to part. I really don’t want to leave you guys.

David: Don’t be sad. Next year we will go to China, too.

Xueyou: When do you plan to go to China？We will definitely go and pick you up at the airport.

David: I will go either next summer or autumn. Shihai has not made up his mind yet.

Ding:Shihai, why?

Shihai: This summer I have an opportunity to intern at the World Bank. I want to go to China, and I also want to intern in DC. That’s why I can’t make up my mind.

Ding:Write to tell us when you make the decision. OK?

Shihai: OK.

David: The plane is about to take off. Get ready for the boarding.

Shihai: Xueyou, Ding, wish you healthy and study well! Bon voyage!

Xueyou, Ding: Thank you. Bye.

Simplified

飞机就要起飞了;

(在机场 )

学友 : 小丁, 你看, 大为和世海也来了。

小丁 : 大为, 世海, 这麽忙, 你们怎麽有空来？

大为 : 你们就要去中国了, 一去就是一年。我们不来送别, 怎麽行？

小丁 : 谢谢。

世海 : 小丁, 飞机就要起飞了, 你们就要去中国了, 你觉得怎么样？

小丁 : 我觉得又激动又难过。

大为 : 激动, 我可以理解, 可是你难过什麽呢？

小丁 : 我们就要分别了。我真不愿意离开你们。

大为 : 别难过了。明年我们也要去中国。

学友 : 你们打算什麽时候去中国？我们一定到机场接你们。

大为 : 我明年夏天或者秋天去。世海还没决定呢。

小丁 : 世海, 为什麽呢？

世海 : 今年暑假我有一个在世界银行实习的机会。我又想去中国, 又想去华盛顿实习, 所以犹豫不决。

小丁 : 决定了就写信告诉我们, 好吗？

世海 : 好。

大为 : 飞机就要起飞了, 你们准备准备, 上飞机吧。

世海 : 学友, 小丁, 祝你们学习好, 身体健康！一路平安！

学友, 小丁: 谢谢, 谢谢。再见！

Traditional

飛機就要起飛了;

(在機場 )

學友 ﹕ 小丁, 你看, 大為和世海也來了。

小丁 ﹕ 大為, 世海, 這麼忙, 你們怎麼有空來？

大為 ﹕ 你們就要去中國了, 一去就是一年。我們不來送別, 怎麼行？

小丁 ﹕ 謝謝。

世海 ﹕ 小丁, 飛機就要起飛了, 你們就要去中國了, 你覺得怎么樣？

小丁 ﹕ 我覺得又激動又難過。

大為 ﹕ 激動, 我可以理解, 可是你難過什麼呢？

小丁 ﹕ 我們就要分別了。我真不願意離開你們。

大為 ﹕ 別難過了。明年我們也要去中國。

學友 ﹕ 你們打算什麼時候去中國？我們一定到機場接你們。

大為 ﹕ 我明年夏天或者秋天去。世海還沒決定呢。

小丁 ﹕ 世海, 為什麼呢？

世海 ﹕ 今年暑假我有一個在世界銀行實習的機會。我又想去中國, 又想去華盛頓實習, 所以猶豫不決。

小丁 ﹕ 決定了就寫信告訴我們, 好嗎？

世海 ﹕ 好。

大為 ﹕ 飛機就要起飛了, 你們準備準備, 上飛機吧。

世海 ﹕ 學友, 小丁, 祝你們學習好, 身體健康！一路平安！

學友, 小丁﹕ 謝謝, 謝謝。再見！

Pinyin

Fēijī Jiùyào Qĭfēi le

(Zài Jīchăng)

Xuéyŏu: Xiăodīng, nĭ kàn, Dàwéi hé Shìhăi yĕ lái le.

Dīng:Dàwéi, Shìhăi, zhème máng, nĭmen zĕnme yŏu kòng lái?

Dàwéi: Nĭmen jiùyào qù Zhōngguó le. Yí qù jiùshì yìnián. Wŏmen bù lái sòngbié zĕnme xíng?

Dīng:Xièxie.

Shìhăi: Xiăo Dīng, fēijī jiùyào qĭfēi le. Nĭmen jiùyào qù Zhōngguó le. Nĭ juéde zĕnmeyàng?

Dīng:Wŏ juéde yòu jīdòng yòu nánguò?

Dàwéi: Jīdòng, wŏ kĕyĭ lĭjiĕ, kĕshì nĭ nánguò shénme ne?

Dīng:Wŏmen jiùyào fēnbié le. Wŏ zhēn bú yuànyì líkāi nĭmen.

Dàwéi: Bié nánguò le. Míngnián wŏmen yĕ yào qù Zhōngguó.

Xuéyŏu: Nĭmen dăsuàn shénme shíhòu qù Zhōngguó？Wŏmen yídìng qù jīchăng jiē nĭmen.

Dàwéi: Wŏ míngnián xiàtiān huòzhĕ qiūtiān qù. Shìhăi hái méi juédìng ne.

Dīng:Shìhăi, wèishénme ne?

Shìhăi: Jīnnián shŭjià wŏ yŏu yígè zài Shìjiè Yínháng shíxíng de jīhuì. Wŏ yòu xiăng qù Zhōngguó, yòu xiăng qù Huáshèngdùn shíxí, suŏyĭ yóuyù bù jué.

Dīng:Juédìng le jiù xiĕxìn gàosù wŏmen, hăo ma?

Shìhăi: Hăo.

Dàwéi: Fēijī jiùyào qĭfēi le. Nĭmen zhŭnbèi zhŭnbèi, shàng fēijī ba.

Shìhăi: Xuéyŏu, Xiăo Dīng, zhù nĭmen xuéxi hăo, shēntĭ jiànkāng! Yí lù pīng ān.

Xuéyŏu, Dīng: Xièxie, xièxie. Zàijiàn!

Text

English

On the Airplane;

Xueyou and Ding was on board an Air China plane from New York to Beijing. The plane was quite crowded (the people on board were many). (Among them) there were people of different colors. All of them went to China. A few well-dressed young women were serving the passengers tea and water. (They) were cordials, and very attentive. They were stewards, and they spoke both Chinese and English. Xueyou and Ding told the stewards that they were American students going to China to study, and asked the stewards to speak Chinese with them. The stewards’ Mandarin were very good. Listening to their speaking Chinese, Xueyou and Ding had no problem at all (comprehending). (And) the stewards understood all Xueyou and Ding said in Chinese. The stewards asked Xueyou and Dong for how many years they had learned Chinese, (and) how they had made such a good progress. Ding said: “We have been learning Chinese for almost two years. I liked Chinese culture even when I was little. When I attended college, I had a chance to learn Chinese. I was very happy. So (I) was very serious about the study, and also worked very hard. In addition, we had some good teachers. (They) worked earnestly, and taught effectively. That’s why, all of us made tremendous progress.”

New York was far away from Beijing. It took twenty hours by air. During the trip (on the plane), Xueyou and Ding saw two Chinese movies: one feature film and one animated film. Both were very interesting. Ding and Xueyou also brought quite a lot of magazines and books to read on

the plane. So they felt the time flew. When the captain said through the loudspeaker that they were approaching Beijing, Ding felt a rush of excitement and uneasiness: what would be awaiting them in China, this beautiful and mysterious country？

Pinyin

在飞机上;

学友和小丁乘坐中国民航的飞机从纽约去北京。飞机上的人很多, 各种肤色的人都有。大家都去中国。几个穿得很整洁的年轻姑娘给旅客送茶倒水, 非常热情, 非常周到。她们是飞机上的航空小姐, 会说汉语, 也会说英语。学友和小丁告诉航空小姐他们是去中国留学的美国学生, 请航空小姐跟他们说中国话。航空小姐的汉语很标准。听他们说汉语, 学友和小丁一点问题也没有。学友和小丁说的汉语, 航空小姐也都懂。航空小姐问学友和小丁学汉语学了几年, 怎麽进步得这麽快。小丁回答说：" 我们学汉语学了快两年了。我从小就喜欢中国文化, 上了大学, 有机会学汉语, 我很高兴, 所以学得很认真, 也很努力。再说, 我们的老师也很好。工作非常认真, 教得也很好, 所以我们都进步得很快。"

纽约离北京很远, 坐飞机要二十个小时。在飞机上, 学友和小丁看了两个中国电影, 一个故事片, 一个动画片, 都很有意思。小丁和学友还带了很多杂志和书在飞机上看。所以, 他们觉得时间过得快。当机长在广播里告诉大家北京就要到了的时候, 小丁又激动又不安。中国, 这个美丽, 神秘的国家, 等待他们的将是什麽呢？

Traditional

在飛機上;

學友和小丁乘坐中國民航的飛機從紐約去北京。飛機上的人很多, 各種膚色的人都有。大家都去中國。幾個穿得很整潔的年輕姑娘給旅客送茶倒水, 非常熱情, 非常周到。她們是飛機上的航空小姐, 會說漢語, 也會說英語。學友和小丁告訴航空小姐他們是去中國留學的美國學生, 請航空小姐跟他們說中國話。航空小姐的漢語很標準。聽他們說漢語, 學友和小丁一點問題也沒有。學友和小丁說的漢語, 航空小姐也都懂。航空小姐問學友和小丁學漢語學了幾年, 怎麼進步得這麼快。小丁回答說﹕" 我們學漢語學了快兩年了。我從小就喜歡中國文化, 上了大學, 有機會學漢語, 我很高興, 所以學得很認真, 也很努力。再說, 我們的老師也很好。工作非常認真, 教得也很好, 所以我們都進步得很快。"

紐約離北京很遠, 坐飛機要二十個小時。在飛機上, 學友和小丁看了兩個中國電影, 一個故事片, 一個動畫片, 都很有意思。小丁和學友還帶了很多雜誌和書在飛機上看。所以, 他們覺得時間過得快。當機長在廣播裡告訴大家北京就要到了的時候, 小丁又激動又不安。中國, 這個美麗, 神秘的國家, 等待他們的將是什麼呢？

Pinyin

Zài fēijī shàng;

( Zài Fēijī Shàng )

Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng Chéngzuò Zhōngguó Mínháng de fēijī cóng Niŭyuē qù Bĕijīng. Fēijī shàng de rén hĕn duō, gèzhŏng fūsè de rén dōu yŏu. Dàjiā dōu qù Zhōngguó. Jĭgè chuān de hĕn zhĕngjié de niánqīng gūniáng gĕi lŭkè sòng shuĭ dào chá, fēicháng rèqíng, fēicháng zhōudào. Tāmen shì fēijī shàng de hángkōng xiăojiĕ huì shuō Hànyĕ, yĕ huì shuō Yīngyŭ. Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng gàosù hángkōng xiăojiĕ tāmen shì qù Zhōnguó liúxué de Mĕiguó xuéshēng, qĭng hángkōng xiăojiĕ gēn tānmen shuō Zhōngguó huà. Hángkōng xiăojiĕ de Hànyŭ hĕn biāozhŭn. Tīng tānmen shuō Hànyŭ. Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu. Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng shuō de Hànyŭ. Hángkōng xiăojiĕ yĕ dōu dŏng. Hángkōng xiăojiĕ wèn Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng xué Hànyŭ xué le jĭnián, zĕnme jìnbù de zhème kuài. Xiăo Dīng huída shuō "Wŏmen xué Hànyŭ xué le kuài liăngnián le. Wŏ cóngxiăo jiù xĭhuān Zhōnguó wénhuà. Shàng le dàxué yŏu jīhuì xué Hànyŭ wŏ hĕn gāoxìng, suŏyĭ xué de hĕn rènzhēn, yĕ hĕn nŭlì. Zàishuō wŏmen de lăoshī yĕ hĕn hăo, suŏyĭ wŏmen dōu jìn bù de hĕn kuài."

Niŭyuē lí Bĕijīng hĕn yuăn. Zuò fēijī yào èrshí gè xiăoshí. Zài fēijī shàng, Xuéyŏu hé Xiăo Dīng kàn le liănggè Zhōngguó diànyĭng, yígè gùshì piān, yígè dònghuà piān, dōu hĕn yŏu yìsi. Xiăo Dīng hé Xuéyŏu hái dài le hĕnduō zázhì hé shū zài fēijī shàng kàn. Suŏyĭ tāmen juéde shíjiān guò de kuài. Dāng jīzhăng zài guăngbō lĭ gàosù dàjiā Bĕijīng jiùyào dào le de shíhòu, Xiăo Dīng yòu jīdòng yòu bù ān. Zhōngguó zhègè mĕilì shénmì de guójiā dĕngdài tāmen de jiāngshì shénme ne？

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
飞机 | fēijī | n. | airplane
机场 | jīchăng | n. | airport
身体 | shēntĭ | n. | health
中国民航 | Zhōngguó Mìnháng | n. | Air China
肤色 | fūsè | n. | skin color
旅客 | lǚkè | n. | traveler, passenger
航空小姐 | hángkōng xiăojiĕ | n. | steward
故事片 | gùshì piān | n. | feature film
动画片 | dònghuà piàn | n. | animated film
机长 | jīzhăng | n. | captain
广播 | guăngbō | n. | broadcast, loudspeaker
送别 | sòngbié | v. | to see somebody off
觉得 | juéde | v. | to feel
起飞 | qĭfēi | v. | to take off
分别 | fēnbié | v. | to part
离开 | líkāi | v. | to leave, to depart
理解 | lĭjiĕ | v. | to understand
实习 | shíxí | v. | to intern
决定 | juédìng | v. | to decide, to make up one’s mind
准备 | zhŭnbèi | v. | to prepare, to get ready
乘坐 | chéngzuò | v. | to board
倒 | dào | v. | to pour
送 | sòng | v. | to send, to deliver
进步 | jìnbù | v. | to progressto progress
带 | dài | v. | to bring
过 | guò | v. | to pass
等待 | dĕngdài | v. | to await
激动 | jīdòng | adj. | excited
难过 | nánguò | adj. | sad
健康 | jiànkāng | adj. | healthy
整洁 | zhĕngjié | adj. | clean
周到 | zhōudào | adj. | attentive
标准 | biāozhŭn | adj. | standardized
认真 | rènzhēn | adj. | serious, earnest
努力 | nŭlì | adj. | hard-working, studious
不安 | bù'ān | adj. | uneasy
美丽 | mĕilì | adj. | beautiful
神秘 | shénmì | adj. | mysterious
犹豫不决 | yóuyù bùjué | set phrase | can’t make up one’s mind
一路平安 | yìlù pìngān | set phrase | bon voyage
送茶倒水 | Sòngchá dàoshuĭ  | set phrase | serve tea and beverages
将 | jiāng | aux. verb | will, shall
别 | bié | negation in an imperative sentence | don't
再说 | zài shuō | conj. | also, in addition

Grammar 语法

1. The Impending Aspect:

In Chinese, when indicating an action is going to happen very soon, one can (1) put any of the adverbs 要, 快, 就要, 快要 before the main verb or the predicative adjective; and (2) put the particle 了 at the end of the sentence. For example:

飞机 | 就要 | 起飞 | 了。 | The airplane is about to take off.
subj. |  | v. |  |
电影 | 快 | 开始 | 了。 | The movie is going to begin soon.
subj. |  | v. |  |
晚饭 | 要 | 冷 | 了。 | The dinner is going to be cold soon.
subj. |  | pred. adj. |  |

Note:

(1) To form a question, one can add 吗 or 吧 to the end of the sentence.

For example:

你爸爸快起床了吗/吧？ | Is your Dad getting up soon?
你就要回台湾了吗/吧？ | Are you about to return to Taiwan?

The affirmative answer to the question is 对 or 是 .The negative answer will be 没 (有) or 还没(有)呢 .

For example:

天气快热了吧？ 对/是。 | Is the weather getting hot？Yes.
你们就要考试了吗？ 还没呢。 | Are you having an exam？Not yet.

(2) If there is a time phrase such as 明天, 五点, in the sentence to indicate the specific time when the action is going to take place, ONLY 就要...了 can be used.

For example:

我弟弟五点半就要吃饭了。 | My younger brother is having dinner at 5:30.
他说他妈妈明天就要来了。 | He said that his mom is coming tomorrow.
他们十一点就要到北京了。 |  They are arriving at Beijing at 11:00.

2. The Imperative Sentence:

We have come across sentences such as:

吃饭！ | Eat!
请喝茶！ | Have tea, please!
我们走吧。 | Let’s go.

Sentences like those are known as IMPERATIVE SENTENCE. An imperative sentence is used to express a suggestion, advice, or to make a command. To form a negative imperative sentence, one can put either 别 or 不要 before the main verb or the predicative adjective.

For example:

别/不要吃饭！ | Don’t eat!
请别/不要喝茶！ | Please don’t drink tea.
我们别/不要走吧！ | Let’s not go.

Note that to soften the tone of an imperative sentence, one can add the particle 了 to the end of the sentence.

For example:

上飞机了！ | On borad (the plane)!
别说话了！电影就要开始了。 | Don't talk! The movie is about to start.

3.The expression 怎麽行:

The expression 怎麽行 is often used as a rhetorical question. It translates into English roughly as “Would it be OK?” For example:

你不吃饭, 怎麽行？ | You won’t eat. Would it be OK?
学汉语不作作业, 怎麽行？ | Study Chinese, and won’t do the homework. Would it work?

Speech Pattern

1. The impending aspect:

下星期一她就要来了.你整理整理你的房间.她来了, 就住在你的房间里.

暑假快要到了.你有什么打算吗?我要到世界银行实习.

火车就要进站了.请大家准备下车.

你要走了吗?对, 你有事儿吗?我作了一些点心, 你带给你妈妈, 好吗?

天气快要热了.你为什么现在才买大衣?

张老师什么时候来?快来了, 快来了.

我们就要吃饭了.谁说就要吃饭了?我还没作饭呢.

Xià xīngqī yī tā jiù yào lái le. Nĭ zhěngli zhěngli nĭ de fángjiān. Tā lái le, jiù zhù zài nĭ de fángjiān lĭ.

Shŭjià kuài yào dào le. Nĭ yǒu shénme dăsuàn ma？Wǒ yào dào shìjiè yínháng shíxí.

Huǒchē jiù yào jìn zhàn le. Qĭng dàjiā zhŭnbèi xià chē.

Nĭ yào zǒu le ma？Duì, nĭ yǒu shìr ma？Wǒ zuò le yìxiē diănxīn, nĭ dài gěi nĭ māma, hăo ma?

Tiānqì kuài yào rè le. Nĭ wèishénme xiànzài cái măi dàyī?

Zhāng lăoshī shénme shíhou lái？Kuài lái le, kuài lái le.

Wǒmen jiù yào chī fàn le. Shéi shuō jiù yào chī fàn le？Wǒ hái méi zuò fàn ne.

She will come next Monday. You tidy up your room. When (she) comes, (she) will live in your room.

The summer vocation is about to com. Do you have any plan？I will intern in the World Bank.

The train is approaching the station. Please get ready to deboard.

Are you going to leave soon？Yes. What can I do for you (do you have any thing you want me to do)？I made sine desert. Would you take some to your Mom?

The weather is getting warm soon. Why didn’t buy a overcoat until now?

When will Teacher Zhang be here？Very soon, very soon.

We are going to eat soon. Who says we are going to eat soon? I haven’t cooked yet.

2. The Imperative Sentence:

别看电视了.快十点了.睡觉吧.明天还要上课呢.

不要难过了.我们明年在台北再见.

我的书在哪儿呢?别找了.为什么呢?你哥哥借给对面的小丁了.

今天你喝酒喝得太多了.别开车了.喝酒以后不能开车.

你爸爸的身体怎么样?别问了.昨天他又住院了.

Bié kàn diànshì le. Kuài shí diăn le. Shuìjiào ba. Míngtiān hái yào shàng kè ne.

Búyào nánguò le. Wǒmen míngnián zài Táiběi zàijiàn.

Wǒ de shū zài năr ne？Bié zhăo le. Wèishénme ne？Nĭ gēge jiè gěi duìmiàn de Xiăo Dīng le.

Jīntiān nĭ hē jiŭ hē de tài duō le. Bié kāi chē le. Hē jiŭ yĭhòu bù néng kāi chē.

Nĭ bàba de shēntĭ zěnmeyàng？Bié wèn le. Zuótiān tā yòu zhù yuàn le.

Stop watching TV (Don’t watch TV). It’s about ten. Go to bed. Tomorrow (you) have to go to school.

Don’t be sad. We’ll meet again in Taibei next year.

Where is my book？Don’t look for it. Why？Your brother lent it to Ding across.

Today you drank too much alcohol. Don’t drive. (You) can’t drive after drinking.

How is your Dad’s health？Don’t ask. He was admitted the hospital yesterday.

3. The Expression 怎么行:

中国, 不签证, 怎么行?

你饭吃得这么少, 怎么行?

学中文, 不学汉字, 不学语法, 怎么行?

客人来了, 你不送茶倒水, 怎么行?

纽约离加州很远, 你不坐飞机, 怎么行?我坐火车.

Qù Zhōngguó, bù qiānzhèng, zěnmexíng?

Nĭ fàn chī de zhème shăo, zěnmexíng?

Xué Zhōngwén, bù xué hànzì, bù xué yŭfă, zěnmexíng?

Kèrén lái le, nĭ bú sòngchá dàoshuĭ, zěnmexíng?

Niŭyuē lí Jiāzhōu hĕn yuăn, nĭ bú zuò fēijī, zěnmexíng？Wŏ zuò huŏchē.

Going to china, and not applying for visa, would it be OK?

You eat so little, would it be OK?

Learning Chinese, but not learning character, would it be OK?

The guests are here, and you are not serving tea and beverages. Is it right?

New York is far away from California, but you don’t take a plane. Would it be OK？I’ll take the train.

4. The pattern Subj. V. phrase 一点问题也没有 = Subj. have no problem V. phrase; or It would be no problem for someone to V. phrase:

他学汉语学了三年了.听, 说, 读, 写, 一点问题也没有.

我们家的房子很大.你在这儿住一点问题也没有.

他开车开得很好.送你去机场一点问题也没有.

别犹豫不决了.你妹妹那么聪明, 学经济一点问题也没有.

今天下午我有空.教你开车一点问题也没有.

他的汉语很标准, 英语也不错.当翻译一点问题也没有.

Tā xué Hànyŭ xué le sān nián le. Tīng, Shuō, Dú, Xiĕ, yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

Wŏmen jiā de fángzi hĕn dà. Nĭ zài zhèr zhù yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

Tā kāi chē kāi de hĕn hăo. Sòng nĭ qù jīchăng yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

Bié yóuyù bùjué le. Nĭ mèimei nàme cōngming, xué jīngjì yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

Jīntiān xiàwŭ wŏ yŏu kòng, jiāo nĭ kāi chē yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

Tā de Hànyŭ hĕn biāozhŭn, Yīngyŭ yĕ bú cuò. Dāng fānyì yìdiăn wèntí yĕ méiyŏu.

He has learned Chinese for three years. (He) has no problem in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Our family’s house is big. It would no problem for you to live here.

He drives well. He will have no problem giving you a ride to the airport.

Don’t be hesitated. Your sister is smart. (She) will have no problem learning Economics.

This afternoon I’m free. (I) will have no problem teaching you driving.

His Chinese is good, and his English is not bad. (He) will have no problem to be an interpreter.

5.The patter V. phrase 要 some length of time = It takes some length of time to V. phrase.

从这儿到纽约坐火车要一个小时.开车要多长时间呢?

从日本到美国坐飞机要多少小时?到美国的东部还是西部?

作这些汉语作业要多长时间?今天的作业很难, 我想要一个晚上.

写一百个汉字要一个小时.写五百个汉字要多少时间?

Cóng zhèr dào Niŭyuē zuò huŏchē yào yí ge xiăoshí. Kāi chē yào duōcháng shíjiān ne?

Cóng Rìbĕn dào Mĕiguó zuò fēijī yào duōshăo xiăoshí？Dào Mĕiguó de dōngbù háishì xībù?

Zuò zhèxiē Hànyŭ zuòyè yào duōcháng shíjiān？Jīntiān de zuòyè hĕn nán, wŏ xiăng yào yí ge wănshang.

Xiĕ yì băi ge Hànzì yào yí ge xiăoshí. Xiĕ wŭ băi ge Hànzì yào duōshăo shíjiān?

It takes an hour to go from here to New York by train. How long will it take by car?

How many hours will it take to go from Japan to the States by air？It will go to the East or the West of the States?

How long will it take to do these homework？Today’s homework is very difficult, (it) will take a whole evening.

It takes an hour to write a hundred characters. How long will it take to write five hundred characters?

6. The pattern Subj. 一V. phrase 就是 some length of time = Once Subj. V. phrase, it would be some length of time:

别看电视.别看电视.你一看电视就是几个小时.我们没有时间.

这个孩子很努力.一学习就是几个小时.所以他学得很好.

他爸爸去英国了.一去就是几年.你认识他爸爸吗?不认识.

昨天我去她宿舍谈工作.我们一谈就是一个晚上.时间过得真快.

他说他去医院看看, 就回来.可是, 一去就是四十分钟.你为什么不跟他一起去呢?

6. 她很喜欢锻炼.每次她在健身房一呆就是一个下午.

Bié kàn diànshì. Bié kàn diànshì. Nĭ yí kàn diànshì jiùshì jĭ ge xiăoshí. Wŏmen méiyou shíjiān.

Zhè ge háizi hĕn nŭlì. Yì xuéxí jiùshì jĭ ge xiăoshí, suŏyĭ tā xué de hĕn hăo.

Tā bàba qù Yīngguó le. Yí qù jiùshì jĭ nián. Nĭ rènshi tā bàba ma？Bú rènshi.

Zuótiān wŏ qù tā sùshè tán gōngzuò. Wŏmen yì tán jiùshì yí ge wănshang. Shíjiān guò de zhēn kuài.

Tā shuō tā qù yīyuàn kànkan, jiù huílái. Kĕshì, yí qù jiùshì sìshí fēnzhōng. Nĭ wèishénme bù gēn tā yìqĭ qù ne?

Tā hĕn xĭhuan duànliàn. Mĕi cì tā zài jiànshēnfáng yì dāi jiùshì yí ge xiàwŭ.

Don’t watch TV. Don’t watch TV. Once you watch, it will be several hours. We don’t have time.

This kid is diligent. Once (he) studies it will be several hours, so he studies well.

His did went to England. Once he left, it is a couple of years. Do you know his Dad. No.

Yesterday I went to her dorm to talk about work. Once we talked, it went for a whole evening. Time flew.

He said he went to the hospital to take a look. Once he left he was gone for forty minutes. Why didn’t you go with him?

She likes exercise very much. Every time she went to the gym, she stays for a whole afternoon.

Lesson 30

Dialogue

English

What would you like to do this summer vacation?;

Shihai: Do you know how long the flight is from here to Beijing?

Dawei: Beijing is far from here, it is probably more than ten hours.

Shihai: Xiao Ding and Xueyou will arrive in Beijing tonight.

Dawei: Yes.

Shihai: They both want to study in China. I think they must be very happy right now.

Dawei: I am envious. Next year I would like to have a chance to visit China.

Shihai: China has a long history. I heard of many tourist attractions in China. But "ba3i we2n bu4 ru2 yi1 jia4n"(hearing about it is nothing compared to seeing it).

Dawei: "ba3i we4n bu4 ru2 yi1 jia4n" is a chinese idiom?

Shihai: Yes. The meaning is "seeing is believing".

Dawei: I see.

Dawei: Shihai, what would you like to do this summer vacation？

Shihai: First I will go back home to see my parents, and see what is happening then. How about you?

Dawei: I have registered for two courses. So I will be in class at school.

Shihai: What are you studying?

Dawei: One is a psychology course, the other one is a Chinese history course. I am very interested in Chinese History, but I don't know much about it. So I want to take advantage of the summer to learn something more about Chinese history.

Shihai: China has a long and rich history. It is not easy to study.

Dawei: I know. That is precisely what attracts me.

Shihai: It is said people who study history will become smarter. What do you think ?

Dawei: I also think that. Learning history not only lets us know what was going on in the past, but also helps guide us in the future. That is what is meant by the idiom " Gu3 we2i ji1n yo4ng"(make the past serve the present). I hope I become little smarter by studying Chinese history.

Shihai: You will.

Dawei: You are already quite a smart guy. So you do not need to study Chinese History.

Shihai: Not at all. Don't joke about me!

Simplified

今年暑假你做什麽？;

世海：大为, 你知道飞机从这里起飞到北京需要多长时间？

大为：这儿离北京很远, 大约十多个小时。

世海：小丁和学友今天晚上就到北京了。

大为：是的。

世海：小丁和学友很想去中国学习。我想他们现在一定很高兴。

大为：我很羡慕他们, 明年我一定要到中国去看一看。

世海：中国是一个古老的国家, 听说有很多名胜古迹, 不过“百闻不如一见”。

大为：“百闻不如一见”是中国成语吗？

世海：是的, 意思是：自己看见的才可信。

大为：我明白了。

大为：世海, 今年暑假你做什麽？

世海：我先要回家看爸爸妈妈, 他们很想我。然後, 再作决定。你呢？

大为：我已经注册了两门课, 所以我还在学校里继续上课。

世海：你学什麽？

大为：一门是心理学, 一门是中国历史。我对中国历史很感兴趣, 可是我知道的不多, 所以我想利用暑假多学习一些中国历史知识。

世海：中国的历史很久远, 也很丰富, 学起来一定不容易。

大为：我知道。这正是它吸引我的原因。

世海：有人说学历史, 人会变得聪明, 你说呢？

大为：我也这麽认为。学历史不仅仅是为了解过去, 而且是为了指导未来, 所谓“古为今用”就是这个意思。我希望学习中国历史後, 我会更聪明些。

世海：你会的 。

大为：你已经够聪明的了, 所以你不用学习历史了。

世海：哪里 。你别开我玩笑了。

Traditional

今年暑假你做什麼﹖;

世海﹕大為﹐你知道飛機從這裡起飛到北京需要多長時間﹖

大為﹕這兒離北京很遠﹐大約十多個小時。

世海﹕小丁和學友今天晚上就到北京了。

大為﹕是的。

世海﹕小丁和學友很想去中國學習。我想他們現在一定很高興。

大為﹕我很羨慕他們﹐明年我一定要到中國去看一看。

世海﹕中國是一個古老的國家﹐聽說有很多名勝古蹟﹐不過“百聞不如一見”。

大為﹕“百聞不如一見”是中國成語嗎﹖

世海﹕是的﹐意思是﹕自己看見的才可信。

大為﹕我明白了。

大為﹕世海﹐今年暑假你做什麼﹖

世海﹕我先要回家看爸爸媽媽﹐他們很想我。然後﹐再作決定。你呢﹖

大為﹕我已經註冊了兩門課﹐所以我還在學校裡繼續上課。世海﹕你學什麼﹖

大為﹕一門是心理學﹐一門是中國曆史。我對中國歷史很感興趣﹐可是我知道的不多﹐

所以我想利用暑假多學習一些中國歷史知識。

世海﹕中國的歷史很久遠﹐也很豐富﹐學起來一定不容易。

大為﹕我知道。這正是它吸引我的原因。

世海﹕有人說學歷史, 人會變得聰明﹐你說呢﹖

大為﹕我也這麼認為。學歷史不僅僅是為了解過去﹐而且是為了指導未來﹐所謂“古為今用”就是這個意思。我希望學習中國歷史後﹐我會更聰明些。

世海﹕你會的 。

大為﹕你已經夠聰明的了﹐所以你不用學習歷史了。

世海﹕哪裡 。你別開我玩笑了。

Pinyin

Jīnnián Shŭjia Nĭ Zuò Shénme ?;

Shìhăi: Dàwéi, nĭ zhīdao fēijī cóng zhèli qĭfēi dào Bĕijīng xūyào duōcháng shíjiān?

Dàwéi: Zhèr lí Bĕijīng hĕn yuăn, dàyuē shí duō ge xiăoshí.

Shìhăi: Xiăo Dīng hé Xuéyŏu jīntiān wănshang jiù dào Běijīng le.

Dàwéi: Shì de.

Shìhăi: Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu hěn xiǎng qù Zhōngguo xuéxí. Wǒ xiǎng tāmen xiànzài yídìng hěn gāoxìng.

Dàwéi: Wǒ hěn xiànmù tāmen, míngnián wǒ yídìng yào dào Zhōngguo qù kàn yi kàn.

Shìhăi: Zhōngguo shì yí ge gǔlǎo de guójiā, tīngshuō yǒu hěn duō míngshèng gǔjì, búguò “bǎiwén bùrú yíjiàn”.

Dàwéi: “bǎiwén bùrú yíjiàn”shì Zhōngguo chéngyǔ ma?

Shìhăi: Shì de, yìsi shì: zìjǐ kànjiàn de cái kěxìn.

Dàwéi: Wǒ míngbai le.

Dàwéi: Shìhăi, jīnnián shǔjià nǐ zuò shénme ?

Shìhăi: Wǒ xiān yào huí jiā kàn bàba māma, tāmen hěn xiǎng wǒ. Ránhòu, zài zuò juédìng. Nǐ ne ?

Dàwéi: Wǒ yǐjīng zhùcè le liǎng mén kè, suǒyǐ wǒ hái zài xuéxiào lǐ jìxù shàngkè.

Shìhăi: Nǐ xué shénme?

Dàwéi: Yì mén shì xīnlǐxué, yì mén shì Zhōngguo lìshǐ. Wǒ duì Zhōngguo lìshǐ hěn gǎn xìngqu, kěshì wǒ zhīdao de bù duō, suǒyǐ wǒ xiǎng lìyòng shǔjià duō xuéxí yì xiē Zhōngguo lìshǐ zhīshi.

Shìhăi: Zhōngguo de lìshǐ hěn jiǔyuǎn, yě hěn fēngfù, xué qǐlái yídìng bù róngyi.

Dàwéi: Wǒzhīdao. Zhè zhèngshì tā xīyǐn wǒ de yuányīn.

Shìhăi: Yǒu rén shuō xué lìshǐ, rén huì biàn de cōngming, nǐ shuō ne ?

Dàwéi: Wǒ yě zhème rènwéi. Xué lìshǐ bù jǐnjǐn shì wèile liǎojiě guòqù, érqiě shì wèile zhīdao wèilái, suǒwèi “gǔwéi jīnyòng” jiù shì zhè ge yìsi. Wǒ xīwàng xuéxí Zhōngguo lìshǐ hòu, wǒ huì gèng cōngming xiē.

Shìhăi: Nǐ huì de.

Dàwéi: Nǐ yǐjīng gòu cōngming de le, suǒyǐ nǐ búyòng xuéxí lìshǐ le.

Shìhăi: Nǎlǐ. Nǐ béi kāi wǒ wánxiào le.

Text

English

Home in Beijing;

After Xiaoding and Xueyou left (for China), one day, Shihai went to see Teacher Wang. Teacher Wang was very happy to see Shihai come. Teacher Wang asked Shihai to sit on the sofa, and made a cup of Longjin tea for him.

While drinking the tea, Teacher Wang asked Shihai:"Xiaoding and Xueyou took the plane to China. Did everything go well?" Shihai told Teacher Wang, everything went well. Teacher Wang said, he had to go to the Chinese Embassy to get some business done that day, therefore he could not see Xiaoding and Xueyou off. However, he had already given Xiaoding and Shihai the phone number and the address of his home in Beijing, and asked them to call his wife Xijing as soon as they arrived in Beijing. Teacher Wang said, for last year's Thanksgiving he celebrated the holiday with Xiaoding's family, and he felt like he was in his own home. He hoped that Xiaoding and Xueyou could also visit his home in Beijing frequently and have a good time. Teacher Wang also asked Shihai:"This is the first time for Xiaoding and Xueyou to go to China, China is far away from here, do their parents worry about them?" Shihai said:"Because Xiaoding's parents are going to go to China and visit them soon, Shihai's parents are not worried at all." Teacher Wang said:"That's great. Soon my wife Xijing and my son Kaikai will meet Xiaoding's family and Xueyou. They must be very happy (about this)!"

Simplified

北京的家;

小丁和学友走了以後, 这一天, 世海去看王老师。王老师看见世海来了, 非常高兴。王老师请世海坐在沙发上, 并给他沏了一杯龙井茶。喝茶的时候,

王老师问世海：“小丁和学友坐飞机去中国, 一切都顺利吗？” 世海告诉王老师, 一切都很顺利。王老师说, 那天他正好要去中国大使馆办事, 不能送小丁和学友。不过, 他已经给了小丁和学友北京的家的电话和地址, 请他们到了北京就给他太太西静打电话。王老师说, 去年感恩节, 他和小丁的家人一起欢度佳节, 觉得就像在自己的家一样。他希望小丁和学友也能常常去自己在北京的家玩儿。王老师还问世海：“这是小丁和学友第一次去中国, 中国离这儿很远, 他们的爸爸﹑妈妈放心吗？”世海说：“因为小丁的爸爸﹑妈妈很快就要去中国看他们, 所以学友的爸爸﹑妈妈一点儿也不担心。” 王老师说：“那太好了。 我太太西静和我儿子开开很快就要认识小丁的一家和学友, 他们一定很会高兴。”

Traditional

北京的家;

小丁和學友走了以後﹐這一天﹐世海去看王老師。王老師看見世海來了﹐非常高興。王老師請世海坐在沙發上﹐並給他沏了一杯龍井茶。

喝茶的時候﹐王老師問世海﹕“小丁和學友坐飛機去中國﹐一切都順利嗎﹖” 世海告訴王老師﹐一切都很順利。王老師說﹐那天他正好要去中國大使館辦事﹐不能送小丁和學友。不過﹐他已經給了小丁和學友北京的家的電話和地址﹐請他們到了北京就給他太太西靜打電話。王老師說﹐去年感恩節﹐他和小丁的家人一起歡度佳節﹐覺得就像在自己的家一樣。他希望小丁和學友也能常常去自己在北京的家玩兒。王老師還問世海﹕“這是小丁和學友第一次去中國﹐中國離這兒很遠﹐他們的爸爸﹑媽媽放心嗎﹖”世海說﹕“因為小丁的爸爸﹑媽媽很快就要去中國看他們﹐所以學友的爸爸﹑媽媽一點兒也不擔心。” 王老師說﹕“那太好了。 我太太西靜和我兒子開開很快就要認識小丁的一家和學友﹐他們一定很會高興。”

Pinyin

Běijīng De Jiā;

Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu zǒu le yǐhòu, zhè yì tiān, Shìhǎi qù kàn Wáng lǎoshi. Wáng lǎoshi kànjiàn Shìhǎi lái le, fēicháng gāoxìng. Wáng lǎoshi qǐng Shìhǎi zuò zài shāfā shang, bìng gěi tā qī le yì bēi lóngjǐng chá. Hē chá deshíhou,

Wáng lǎoshi wèn Shìhǎi: “Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu zuò fēijī qù Zhōngguo, yíqiè dōu shùnlì ma?” Shìhǎi gàosu Wáng lǎoshi, yíqiè dōu hěn shùnli. Wáng lǎoshi shuō, nà tiān tā zhèng hǎo yào qù Zhōngguo dàshǐguǎn bàn shì, bù néng sòng Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu. Búguò, tā yǐjīng gěi le Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéeyǒu Běijīng de jiā de diànhuà hé dìzhǐ, qǐng tāmen dào le Běijīng jiù gěi tā tàitai Xījìng dǎ diànhuà. Wáng lǎoshi shuō, qùnián Gǎn’ēn jié, tā hé Xiǎo Dīng de jiārén yìqǐ huāndù jiājié, juéde jiù xiàng zài zìjǐ de jiā yíyàng. Tā xīwang Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu yě néng chángcháng qù zìjǐ zài Běijīng de jiā wánr. Wáng lǎoshi hái wèn Shìhái: “Zhè shì Xiǎo Dīng hé Xuéyǒu dì yī cì qù Zhōngguo, Zhōngguo lí zhèr hěn yuǎn, tāmen de bàba, māma fàngxīn ma ?” Shìhǎi shuō: “ Yě bù dānxīn.” Wǎng lǎoshi shuō: “ Nà tài hǎo le. Wǒ tàitai Xījìng hé wǒ érzi Kāikai hěn kuài jiù yào rènshi Xiǎo Dīng de yì jiā hé Xuéyǒu, tāmen yídìng huì hěn gāoxìng.”

Vocabulary 词汇

Chinese Words | Pinyin | Part of Speech | Engl. Trans.
大约 | dàyuē | adv. | about, approximately
羡慕 | xiànmù | adj. | envious
古老 | gŭlăo | adj. | ancient
名胜古迹 | mìngshènggŭjì | n. | tourist attraction: famous places and ancient sites
百闻不如一见 | băiwénbùrúyījiàn | idiom | hearing about it a hundred times is not as good as seeing it once
明白 | mìngbái | v. | to understand
先 | xiānad | v. | before, first
然後 | ránhòu | adv. | then
决定 | juédìng | v. | to decide, to determine
已经 | yĭjīng | adv. | already
继续 | jìxù | v. | to continue, to go on
门 | mén | measure | subject, class
心理学 | xīnlĭxué | n. | psychology
历史 | lìshĭ | n. | history
感 | găn | v. | to feel, to have
兴趣 | xìngqù | n. | interest
知识 | zhīshì | n. | knowledge
久远 | jiŭyuăn | adj. | long and far
丰富 | fēngfù | adj. | plentiful, rich
吸引 | xīyĭn | v. | to attract
原因 | yuányīn | n. | reason
聪明 | cōngmìng | adj. | Smart, clever
认为 | rènwéi | v. | to think
不仅(仅) | bùjĭnjĭn | conj., adv. | not only
而且 | érqiĕ | conj. | but also
过去 | guòqù | n. | the past
未来 | wèilái | n. | the future
所谓 | suŏwèi | v. | so called
指导 | zhĭdăo | v. | to teach, to instruct, to guide
古为今用 | Gŭwéijīnyòng | idiom | to make the past serve the present
意思 | yìsi | n. | meaning
希望 | xīwàng | v. | to hope, to wish
够 | gòu | adj | enough
玩笑 | wánxiào | n. | joke, kidding
开(玩笑) | kāi(wánxiào) | v. | to make (a joke)
沙发 | shāfā | n. | sofa
沏 | qì | v. | to make (tea)
龙井茶 | lóngjĭngchá | n. | longjing tea, Dragonwell tea
一切 | yīqiè | n. | everthing, the whole thing
顺利 | shùnlì | adj. | (go) well, (do) fine
正好 | zhènghăo | adv. | just happened to, coincidentally
办事 | bànshì | v. | to take care of (some) business, to handle matters
不过 | búguò | conj. | however, but
欢渡 | huāndù | v. | to celebrate (a holiday)
佳节 | jiājié | n. | festival, holiday
一点儿也不 | yīdiănryĕbù | idiomatic exp. | not at all
担心 | dānxīn | v. | to worry about serve the present
枯燥 | kūzào | adj. | boring, dull
逛 | guàng | v. | to go (shopping)
商店 | shāngdiàn | n. | shop, store
日裔 | rìyì | n. | (of) Japanese origin
手机 | shŏujī | n. | cell phone
阅读 | yuèdú | n. | reading
T恤衫 | Txùshān | n. | T-shirt

Grammar 语法

1. The Preposition 离

The preposition 离 means "from" . It is used to form a prepositional structure indicating distance in space or time. The two commonly used structures are:

(1) A 离 B 很远 (A is far away from B)

(2) A 离 B 很近 (A is very close to B)

For example:

A 离 B 很远 (A is far away from B)

1.) 这儿离北京很远, 大约十多个小时。Here is far away from Beijing, (it takes) over about 10 hours (to travel to Beijing).

2.) 中国离这儿很远, 他们的爸爸妈妈放心吗？ China is far away from here, do their parents worry about them?

3.) 现在离冬天很远, 你为什么想买皮夹克？ Now is far away from winter, why do you want to buy a leather jacket?

A 离 B 很近 (A is very close to B)

1.) 我的家离我的大学很近, 所以我不住校。 My home is very close to my university, therefore, I don't live on campus.

2.) 母亲节离我妈妈的生日很近, 我想给妈妈买一个礼物。 The Mother's Day is very close to my mom's birthday, I would like to buy a gift for my mom.

2. The Prepositional Phrase 像......一样

The prepositional phrase 像......一样 means "to be like something or somebody". Often, people add "就" before "像", to express the meaning of "to be JUST like something or somebody". Sometimes, "一样" is left out of the sentence as the speaker uses a single character "像" to express the meaning of "to resemble something or somebody".

1.) 去年感恩节, 他和小丁的家人一起欢度佳节, 觉得就像在自己的家一样。Last Thanksgiving, he and Xiaoding's family celebrated the holiday together, (he) felt just like he was in his own home.

2.) 小丁是我的好朋友, 就像我的妹妹一样。 Xiaoding is my good friend, just like a younger sister to me.

3.) 她长得很漂亮, 像她妈妈。 She looks very pretty; (she) resembles her mom.

3. The Pronoun 自己

The pronoun 自 己 means "self, one's own". It can be used to describe things that belong to someone (one's own). It can also be attached to all personal pronouns and nouns to express the meaning of "self". For example:

1.) 妈妈说她可以开车送我去纽约, 可是我喜欢自己开车去。 My mom said she can drive me to New York, but I like to drive by myself (to New York).

2.) 小丁和学友觉得, 王老师的家就像他们自己的家。 Xiaoding and Xueyou felt, Teacher Wang's home is just like their own home.

4. The Expression 一点儿也不

The expression 一点儿也不 means "not at all". It is used for complete negation. For example:

1.) 因为小丁的爸爸、妈妈这一次也跟他们一起去中国, 所以学友的爸爸、妈妈一点儿也不担心。 Because Xiaoding's parents are traveling with them this time to China, Xueyou's parents do not worry about them at all.

2. 世海非常喜欢中国历史, 他觉得中国历史一点儿也不枯燥。 Shihai likes Chinese History very much, he feels that Chinese History is not boring at all.

Speech patterns

1. The Preposition 离

东亚图书馆离东亚系很近, 走路十分钟就能到。

长城离北京大学很远, 坐公共汽车大约两个小时。

王老师的家离北京语言文化大学不远, 他每天骑自行车去上班。

今年的中国新年(春节)离我妹妹的生日很近, 她感到很高兴。

现在离期末考试不远了, 我们应该努力学习

Dōngyà túshū guǎn lí dōngyà xì hěn jìn, zǒulù shí fēnzhōng jiù néng dào. 

Chángchéng lí běijīng dàxué hěn yuǎn, zuò gōnggòng qìchē dàyuē liǎng gè xiǎoshí. 

Wáng lǎoshī de jiā lí běijīng yǔyán wénhuà dàxué bù yuǎn, tā měitiān qí zìxíngchē qù shàngbān. 

Jīnnián de zhōngguó xīnnián (chūnjié) lí wǒ mèimei de shēngrì hěn jìn, tā gǎndào hěn gāoxìng.

Xiànzài lí qímò kǎoshì bù yuǎnle, wǒmen yīnggāi nǔlì xuéxí.

The East Asian Library is close to the East Asian Department, (it takes) 10 minutes to walk there.

The Great Wall is far away from the Beijing University, (it takes) about two hours on a bus to get there.

Teacher Wang's home is not far away from the Beijing Language and Culture University, he rides bicycle to go to work every day.

This year's Chinese New Year (the Spring Festival) is very close to my younger sister's birthday, she feels happy (about this).

It (Now) is not far away from the final exam, we should study hard.

2. The Prepositional Phrase 像......一样

小丁的中文说得很好, 像中国人一样。

大为游泳游得非常好, 就像游泳运动员一样。

北京的冬天很冷, 就像新泽西一样。

小丁和学友很喜欢去王老师在北京的家, 王老师的家就像他们自己的家一样。

Xiǎo dīng de zhōngwén shuō dé hěn hǎo, xiàng zhōngguó rén yīyàng. 

Dà wéi yóuyǒng yóu dé fēicháng hǎo, jiù xiàng yóuyǒng yùndòngyuán yīyàng. 

Běijīng de dōngtiān hěn lěng, jiù xiàng xīnzéxī yīyàng. 

Xiǎo dīng hé xuéyǒu hěn xǐhuān qù wáng lǎoshī zài běijīng de jiā, wáng lǎoshī de jiā jiù xiàng tāmen zìjǐ de jiā yì yàng.

Xiaoding's Chinese is very good, just like a native Chinese person's.

Dawei (David) swims very well, just like an athletic swimmer.

Beijing's winter is very cold, just like the one in New Jersey.

Xiaoding and Xueyou like it very much to go to Teacher Wang's home in Beijing, Teacher Wang's home is just like their own home.

3. The Pronoun 自己

我妈妈不喜欢自己一个人吃饭。 她常常等爸爸回来一起吃。

小丁喜欢逛商店。有的时候她和朋友一起去, 有的时候她自己去。

在爸爸、妈妈的家, 我有自己的房间。在大学里, 我和我的室友一起住。

现在, 很多大学生都有自己的电脑和手机。

Wǒ māmā bù xǐhuān zìjǐ yīgè rén chīfàn. Tā chángcháng děng bàba huílái yīqǐ chī. 

Xiǎo dīng xǐhuān guàng shāngdiàn. Yǒu de shíhòu tā hé péngyǒu yīqǐ qù, yǒu de shíhòu tā zìjǐ qù. 

Zài bàba, māmā de jiā, wǒ yǒu zìjǐ de fángjiān. Zài dàxué lǐ, wǒ hé wǒ de shìyǒu yīqǐ zhù. 

Xiànzài, hěnduō dàxuéshēng dōu yǒu zìjǐ de diànnǎo hé shǒujī.

My mom does not like to eat by herself. She always waits for my dad to come home and eat with him together.

Xiaoding likes to go shopping. Sometimes she goes with her friends, sometimes she goes by herself.

At my parent's home, I have my own room. At the university, I live with my roommate.

Now, many college students have their own computer and cell phone.

4. The Expression 一点儿也不

小丁的妈妈真年轻, 一点儿也不像五十多岁的人。

昨天的考试一点儿也不难, 同学们都很高兴。

小丁和学友上个星期去中国了, 可是我一点儿也不知道。

我的室友是日裔美国人, 可是他一点儿也不会说日文。

Xiǎo dīng de māmā zhēn niánqīng, yīdiǎn er yě bù xiàng wǔshí duō suì de rén. 

Zuótiān de kǎoshì yīdiǎn er yě bù nán, tóngxuémen dōu hěn gāoxìng.

Xiǎo dīng hé xuéyǒu shàng gè xīngqí qù zhōngguóle, kěshì wǒ yīdiǎn er yě bù zhīdào. 

Wǒ de shìyǒu shì rì yì měiguó rén, kěshì tā yīdiǎn er yě bù huì shuō rìwén. 

Xiaoding's mom is (looks) very young, she doesn't look like a person in her fifties at all.

Yesterday's exam was not difficult at all, all the students were very happy.

Xiaoding and Xueyou went to China last week, however, I knew nothing about it.

My roommate is a Japanese American, however, he does not speak Japanese at all.

5. The conjunction 不过 “but, however”

我和我姐姐都很喜欢看中国电影。 不过, 我更喜欢看美国电影。

学友的中文说得很好。 不过, 他的汉字写得不太好。

王老师每星期都给他太太打电话。 不过, 这个星期他太忙了, 没有给他太太打电话。

中国的历史很久远, 也很丰富。 不过, 学起来很不容易。

Wǒ hé wǒ jiějiě dōu hěn xǐhuān kàn zhòng guó diànyǐng. Bùguò, wǒ gèng xǐhuān kàn měiguó diànyǐng. 

Xuéyǒu de zhōngwén shuō dé hěn hǎo. Bùguò, tā de hànzì xiě dé bù tài hǎo. 

Wáng lǎoshī měi xīngqí dōu gěi tā tàitài dǎ diànhuà. Bùguò, zhège xīngqí tā tài mángle, méiyǒu gěi tā tàitài dǎ diànhuà. 

Zhōngguó de lìshǐ hěnjiǔ yuǎn, yě hěn fēngfù. Bùguò, xué qǐlái hěn bù róngyì. 

Both me and my sister like to see Chinese movies. But I like to see American movies even more.

Xueyou speaks very good Chinese. But he does not write good Chinese Characters.

Teacher Wang calls his wife every week. But this week he was too busy, and (he) didn't call his wife.

China has a long and rich history. But it is not easy to study.

6. The expression 正是 "happens to be just the ..."

这正是我要的那本书, 请问我可以借一下儿吗？

小丁正是我的中文班的同学, 怎麽, 你也认识她？

这个月的十号正是我二十岁的生日, 我想请几个好朋友来我家玩儿。

你想找一位从台湾来的老师吗？谢老师正是从台湾来的。

Zhè zhèng shì wǒ yào dì nà běn shū, qǐngwèn wǒ kěyǐ jiè yīxià er ma? 

Xiǎo dīng zhèng shì wǒ de zhōngwén bān de tóngxué, zěnmó, nǐ yě rènshì tā? 

Zhège yuè de shí hào zhèng shì wǒ èrshí suì de shēngrì, wǒ xiǎng qǐng jǐ gè hǎo péngyǒu lái wǒ jiā wán er.

Nǐ xiǎng zhǎo yī wèi cóng táiwān lái de lǎoshī ma? Xiè lǎoshī zhèng shì cóng táiwān lái de. 

This just happens to be the book that I want to borrow, may I borrow it for a while?

Xiaoding happens to be a classmate in my Chinese class. What？Do you also know her?

The tenth of this month just happens to be my twentieth birthday, I would like to invite some good friends to come over and have fun.

Do you want to look for a teacher from Taiwan？Teacher Xie just happens to be from Taiwan.

7. The pattern 不仅...而且... "not only...but also"

学历史不仅是为了了解过去, 而且是为了指导未来。

小丁不仅会说中文, 而且会唱中文歌儿。

大为今年暑假不仅注册了一门心理学的课, 而且注册了一门中国历史的课。

王老师不仅教小丁口语, 也教小丁阅读。

Xué lìshǐ bùjǐn shì wèi liǎo liǎojiě guòqù, érqiě shì wèile zhǐdǎo wèilái. 

Xiǎo dīng bùjǐn huì shuō zhōngwén, érqiě huì chàng zhōngwén gē er.

Dà wéi jīnnián shǔjià bùjǐn zhùcèle yī mén xīnlǐ xué de kè, érqiě zhùcèle yī mén zhōngguó lìshǐ de kè. 

Wáng lǎoshī bùjǐn jiào xiǎo dīng kǒuyǔ, yě jiào xiǎo dīng yuèdú. 

Studying history is not only to understand the past, but also to guide us to the future.

Xiaoding not only knows how to speak Chinese, but also can sing Chinese songs.

Dawei not only registered for a psychology class this sumemr, but also registered for a Chinese history class.

Teacher Wang not only teaches Xiaoding Conversation, he also teaches Xiaoding Reading.

8. The expression 所谓 "so-called", usually used when a speaker or writer wants to quote from a source, e.g. slang, idioms, proverbs etc.

所谓“古为今用”, 意思就是历史上的经验可以用在现在。

所谓“百里挑一”, 意思就是一百个人里最好的一个。

所谓“百闻不如一见”, 意思就是听了很多, 不如亲自去看一看。

所谓“有志者事竟成”, 意思就是有决心的人, 事业一定会成功。

Suǒwèi “gǔwéijīnyòng”, yìsi jiùshì lìshǐ shàng de jīngyàn kěyǐ yòng zài xiànzài. 

Suǒwèi “bǎilǐtiāoyī”, yìsi jiùshì yībǎi gèrén lǐ zuì hǎo de yīgè. 

Suǒwèi “bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn”, yìsi jiùshì tīngle hěnduō, bùrú qīnzì qù kàn yī kàn. 

Suǒwèi “yǒuzhì zhě shì jìng chéng”, yìsi jiùshì yǒu juéxīn de rén, shìyè yīdìng huì chénggōng.

What is said "gǔwéijīnyòng", means that the experience in the past can be used for the present ("make the past serve the present").

The phrase that goes "bǎilǐtiāoyī", means "one of the best in one hundred people" ("one in a hundred").

The saying "bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn", means that (even if you) have heard a lot about something, it would be better to have a look at it with your own eyes("seeing is believing").

The saying "yǒuzhì zhě shì jìng chéng", means that as long as you have the will, you will succeed in your career/efforts("where there is a will, there is a way").

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by Luca Calcinai