18 Unit 8
18.1 Introduction
18.1.1 Topics covered in this unit
More on duration phrases.
The marker
for new situations in negative sentences.Military titles and branches of service.
The marker
.Process verbs.
18.1.2 Material you will need
The C-l and P-1 tapes, the Reference List and Reference Notes.
The C-2 and P-2 tapes, the Workbook.
The 8D-1 tape.
18.2 References
18.2.1 Reference List
1. | A: | 你今天還有課嗎? | Do you have any more classes today? | |
B: | 沒有課了。 | I don’t have any more classes. | ||
2. | A: | 你從前念英文唸了多久? | How long did you study English? | |
B: | 我念英文唸了六年。 | I studied English for six years. | ||
3. | A: | 你現在念什麼呢? | What are you studying now? | |
B: | 我念法文 | I’m studying French. | ||
4. | A: | 你念法文唸了多久了? | How long have you studying French? | |
B: | 我念了一年了。 | I’ve have been studying it for one year. | ||
5. | A: | 你會寫中國字嗎? | Can you write Chinese characters? | |
B: | 會一點。 | I can a little. | ||
6. | A: | 去年我還不會寫。 | Last year, I couldn’t write them. | |
B: | 現在我會寫一點了。 | Now, I can write a little. | ||
7. | A: | 你父親是軍人嗎? | Is your father a military man? | |
B: | 是,他是海軍軍官。 | Yes, he is a naval officer. | ||
8. | A: | 我今天不來了。 | I’m not coming today. | |
B: | 我病了。 | I’m sick. | ||
9. | A: | 今天好了沒有? | Are you better today? (Are you recovered?) | |
B: | 今天好了。 | Today I’m better. |
18.2.2 Vocabulary
空軍 | Air Force | |
陸軍 | army | |
事兵 | enlisted man | |
做事 | to work | |
德文 | German language | |
病 | to become ill | |
德文 | German language | |
法文 | French language | |
海軍 | navy | |
軍官 | military officer | |
軍人 | military person | |
課 | class | |
寫 | to write | |
字 | character |
18.2.3 Reference Notes
18.2.3.1 Notes on №1
1. | A: | 你今天還有課嗎? | Do you have any more classes today? | |
B: | 沒有課了。 | I don’t have any more classes. |
, “additionally,” “also”: You have already learned the word used as an adverb meaning “still.” In this exchange you learn a second way to use .
Do you still want to leave? | |
What else do you want to study? |
: You will remember that in the negative of a completed action, or replaces the completion marker —is never used together with it.
He came. | ||||
He did not come. |
In the sentence
, is a new-situation marker, and is simply the negative of the full verb . (Remember that the verb is always made negative with , never with .)Now he has class. [Due to a change in the schedule, he now has class at this time.] | ||||
He doesn’t have any more classes. |
: When the marker for new situations is used with a negative verb, there are two possible meanings:
one is that something that was supposed to happen is now not going to happen.
the other is that something that was happening is not happening anymore.
Thus the following sentence is ambiguous:
He is not coining now. [Either he was expected to come but changed his mind, or he used to come at this time but now has stopped.] |
In the context of a conversation, the meaning of the sentence would become clear.
Here are more examples with the “anymore” meaning:
He is not going to study anymore.[He will no longer attend college.] | |
He is not my friend anymore. | |
There is no more. |
18.2.3.2 Notes on №2
2. | A: | 你從前念英文唸了多久? | How long did you study English? | |
B: | 我念英文唸了六年。 | I studied English for six years. |
More on duration: In Unit 6 of this module, you learned to express duration in a sentence with no object (
). In this unit, you learn one way to express the duration of an activity which involves using both a verb and an object (e.g. “studying economics”). In such cases, the verb appears twice in the sentence: first when the object is stated, and again when the duration is stated.He studied economics for one year. | |
He has been studying Chinese for three months. |
Notice that aspect markers do not occur after the first verb in each sentence, but only after the second verb and at the end of the second sentence.
18.2.3.3 Notes on №3
3. | A: | 你現在念什麼呢? | What are you studying now? | |
B: | 我念法文 | I’m studying French. |
is an aspect marker used to emphasize the fact that something is in progress. With action verbs, indicates that the action is going on.
With state verbs,
shows that the state exists. With some process verbs, indicates that the process is going on. may not be used with certain process verbs. (See also notes on No. 8, about verbs.)18.2.3.4 Notes on №4–5
4. | A: | 你念法文唸了多久了? | How long have you studying French? | |
B: | 我念了一年了。 | I’ve have been studying it for one year. | ||
5. | A: | 你會寫中國字嗎? | Can you write Chinese characters? | |
B: | 會一點。 | I can a little. |
: The verb , “to write” can occur with specific objects, such as , as well as with the general object . The combination can mean either “to write characters” or simply “to write.”
He wants to learn to write Chinese characters. | |
Little younger brother is four years old and already can write. |
In the reply
, is used as a main verb—not as an auxiliary verb, as in the question.As a main verb,
means “to have the skill of,” “to have the knowledge of,” “to know.”I know English. |
18.2.3.5 Notes on №6
6. | A: | 去年我還不會寫。 | Last year, I couldn’t write them. | |
B: | 現在我會寫一點了。 | Now, I can write a little. |
: Notice that here it is the auxiliary verb , not the verb , that is made negative. Auxiliary verbs such as and are STATE verbs and so are made negative with the prefix , regardless of whether the context is past, present, or future.
: The marker used is for new situations. It is always placed at the end of a sentence.
The time word
comes at the beginning of the sentence here. Most time words of more than one syllable may come either before or after the subject, but in either case before the verb.18.2.3.6 Notes on №7–8
7. | A: | 你父親是軍人嗎? | Is your father a military man? | |
B: | 是,他是海軍軍官。 | Yes, he is a naval officer. | ||
8. | A: | 我今天不來了。 | I’m not coming today. | |
B: | 我病了。 | I’m sick. |
The verb
, “to get sick,” “to become ill,” is a process verb; that is the activity described includes some changes in the situation. Process verbs tell of an action which has caused a change from one state to another, as from whole to broken (“to break”) and from frozen to melted (“to melt”). is typical of process verbs: not only is an action described (coming down with an illness) but also a resulting state (being ill). Because of this typical combination, process verbs are sometimes thought of as combining the semantic characteristics of action and state verbs.One of the main purposes of talking about verbs in terms of action, state, and process is to draw attention to the fact that the Chinese way of expressing something may not correspond to the English.
For instance,
“I am sick” in Chinese is
(“I have gotten sick”). For “I am not sick,” you say (“I didn’t get sick”).Process verbs are always made negative with
regardless of whether you are referring to past, present, or future.Are you sick? | |
No. I’m not sick. |
(State verbs are always made negative with
.)Another reason for putting verbs into categories according to the type of meaning is to discover how verbs behave in sentences. Knowing whether a verb is in the action, state, or process category, you will know what aspect markers and negatives may be used with that verb. In the following charts, an X mark means that this combination of verb and aspect occurs in the language.
Aspect Markers | ||||
Completion | Combined | New-situation | ||
Verbs | Action | X | X | X |
State | X | |||
Process | X | X | X |
Examples:1
Action | He worked yesterday. (completion | )|
He has already come. (combined | )||
Older brother goes to college now. (new-situation a | )||
State | He can write now. (new-situation | )|
Process | He got sick yesterday. (completion | )|
He is sick.(combined | )||
He has been sick for one month now. (new-situation | ) and completion )
In affirmative sentences containing action verbs, the marker
for new situations is used to describe a change in a general habit.Verbs | ||||
Action | State | Process | ||
Negation | X | X | ||
—negation of completion | X | X | ||
—negation of combined | X | X |
Examples:
Action | He doesn’t (isn’t going to) study | |
He didn’t study. | ||
He hasn’t studied yet, | ||
State | Last year, she didn’t want to study. | |
Process | He is not sick today. | |
He hasn’t yet recovered. |
Notice that only action verbs use the whole range of negatives to mark the negative of future or present action, completed action, or new situations. State verbs use the negative prefix
even when referring to past states. Process verbs use the negative prefix even when referring to something in the present.If you find a verb occurring with a negative or an aspect marker you had not expected, you might discuss with your teacher how the verb behaves in terms of these charts. You might discover that what you thought was a state verb is actually a process verb, or vice versa.
18.2.3.7 Notes on №9
9. | A: | 今天好了沒有? | Are you better today? (Are you recovered?) | |
B: | 今天好了。 | Today I’m better. |
: is one of many state verbs which can become process verbs. When such a verb becomes a process verb, it takes on a different meaning. While the state verb means “to be good” or “to be well,” the process verb means “to get better,” “to recover.” Compare these sentences:
He’s in good health. | |
Yesterday he became sick. Today he is already recovered. |
The difference between the state verb
and the process verb is even more evident in negative sentences. State verbs, as you remember, are made negative only with . Process verbs are made negative only with or .
He’s not good. [He’s not a good person.] |
|
He hasn’t yet recovered. [He is still sick.] |
It can be difficult to remember that
and , sometimes translated as “to be sick” and “to be better,” are actually process verbs in Chinese, not state verbs.The English sentence “I am better (recovered)” translates as
(“I have become well”) and would be incorrect without the .Questions may be formed from statements containing completion or combined by adding at the end of the statements.
You will learn more about forming questions in the first unit of the next module.
Did he come? | |
Are you recovered (from your illness)? |
18.3 Drills
18.3.1 Response drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她今天還有課嗎?
Does he have any more class today? |
他/她沒有課了。
He doesn’t have any more classes. |
|
2. |
他/她今天還來嗎?
Is he/she still coming today? |
他/她不來了。
He/she is not coming. |
|
3. |
他/她現在還會説中國話嗎?
Does he/she still speak Chinese now? |
他/她不會説中國話了。
He/she can’t speak Chinese anymore. |
|
4. |
他/她現在還有中國書嗎?
Does he/she still have Chinese books now? |
他/她沒有中國書了。
He/she has no more Chinese books anymore. |
|
5. |
他/她還念歷史嗎?
Does he/she still study history? |
他/她不念歷史了。
He/she doesn’t study history anymore. |
|
6. |
他/她現在還在空軍工作嗎?
Is he/she still working in the Air Force? |
他/她不在空軍工作。
He/she does not work in the Air Force anymore. |
|
7. |
他/她現在還想走嗎?
Does he/she still want to leave now? |
他/她不想走了。
He/she doesn’t want to go anymore. |
18.3.2 Expansion drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她從前念歷史。
He/she formerly studied history. |
他/她從前念歷史,現在不念了。
He/she formerly studied history, but now he/she doesn’t anymore. |
|
2. |
他/她從前唸書。
He/she used to study. |
他/她從前唸書,現在不念了。
He/she used to study, now he/she doesn’t anymore. |
|
3. |
他/她從前在陸軍做事。
He/she used to be in the Army. |
他/她從前在陸軍做事,現在不在陸軍做事了。
He/she used to be in the Army, but he/she doesn’t anymore. |
|
4. |
他/她從前不會。
He/she used to not. |
他/她從前不會,現在會了。
He/she used to not, but now he/she does. |
|
5. |
他/她從前不知道。
He/she never knew before. |
他/她從前不知道,現在知道了。
He/she never knew before, but he/she knows now. |
|
6. |
他/她中文從前不很好。
He/she wasn’t very good at Chinese. |
他/她中文從前不很好,現在很好了。
He/she wasn’t very good at Chinese, but he/she is now. |
|
7. |
他/她從前會説法國話。
He/she used to speak French. |
他/她從前會説法國話,現在不會了。
He/she used to speak French, now he/she doesn’t. |
18.3.3 Transformation drill
Question | Cue | Answer | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她念過政治學。
He/she has studied political science. |
多久
how long |
他/她念政治學, 唸了多久?
How long did he/she study political science? |
||
2. |
他/她念過經濟學。
He/she has studied economics. |
幾年
how many years |
他/她念經濟學,唸了幾年?
How many years did he/she study economics? |
||
3. |
他/她念過中國文學。
He/she has studied literature. |
多久
how long |
他/她念中國文學,唸了多久?
How long did he/she study literature? |
||
4. |
他/她學過日文?
He/she has learned Japanese. |
幾個月
how many months |
他/她學日文,學了幾個月?
How many months did he/she learn Japanese? |
||
5. |
他/她在空軍做過事。
He/she has worked in the Air Force. |
多久
how long |
他/她在空軍做事,做了多久?
How long did he/she work in the Air Force? |
||
6. |
他/她念過中國歷史。
He/she has studied Chinese history. |
多久
how long |
他/她念中國歷史,唸了多久?
How long did he/she study history? |
||
7. |
他/她念過英國文學。
He/she has studied English literature. |
幾年
how many years |
他/她念英國文學,唸了幾年?
How many years did he/she study literature? |
18.3.4 Transformation drill
Question | Cue | Answer | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她現在念歷史。
He/she is studying history now. |
多久
how long |
他/她念歷史,唸了多久了?
How long has he been studying history? |
||
2. |
他/她現在學日文。
He/she is studying Japanese now. |
幾個月
how many months |
他/她學日文,學了幾個月?
How many months has he been studying Japanese? |
||
3. |
他/她現在念英文。
He/she is studying English now. |
幾個月
how many months |
他/她念了英文,唸了幾個月了?
How many months has he been studying English? |
||
4. |
他/她現在在海軍做事。
He/she is now working in the Navy. |
幾年
how many years |
他/她在海軍做事,作了幾年了?
How many years has he been working in the Navy? |
||
5. |
他/她現在學中國話。
He/she is learning Chinese now. |
多久
how long |
他/她中國話,學了多久了?
How long has he/she been learning Chinese? |
||
6. |
他/她現在在陸軍做事。
He/she is working in the Army now. |
幾年
how many years |
他/她在陸軍做事,作了幾年了?
How many years has he/she been working in the Army? |
||
7. |
他/她現在在銀行做事。
He/she is working in a bank now. |
幾年
how many years |
他/她在銀行做事,作了幾年了?
How many years has he/she been working in the bank? |
18.3.5 Transformation drill
Question | Cue | Answer | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她現在還念歷史呢。
He/she is still studying history. |
多久
how long |
他/她念歷史,還想念多久?
How much longer is he/she going to study history? |
||
2. |
他/她現在還念中國文學呢。
He/she is still studying Chinese literature. |
多久
how long |
他/她念中國歷史,還想念多久?
How much longer is he/she going to study Chinese literature? |
||
3. |
他/她現在還學日文呢。
He/she is still learning Japanese. |
幾個月
how many months |
他/她學日文,還想學幾個月?
How much longer is he/she going to learn Japanese? |
||
4. |
他/她現在還在陸軍做事呢。
He/she is still working for the Army. |
多久
how long |
他/她在陸軍做事,還想做多久?
|
||
5. |
他/她現在還學中國話呢。
He/she is still learning Chinese. |
多久
how long |
他/她學中國話 他/她在陸軍做事,還想學多久?
How long is he/she going to learn Chinese? |
||
6. |
他/她現在還念政治學呢。
He/she is still studying political science. |
多久
how long |
他/她念政治學,還想念多久?
How long is he/she going to study political science? |
||
7. |
他/她現在還唸經濟學呢。
He/she is still studying economics. |
多久
how long |
他/她念經濟學,還想年多久?
How long is he/she going to study economics? |
18.3.6 Transformation drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她現在念歷史。
He is studying history now. |
他/她念歷史,唸了多久了?
How long has he studied history? |
|
2. |
他/她念過歷史。
He studied history. |
他/她念歷史,唸了對久?
How long did he study history? |
|
3. |
他/她現在還念歷史。
He/she is still studying history. |
他/她念歷史,還想念多久?
How long does he/she plan to study history? |
|
4. |
他/她現在念中國文學。
He/she is now studying Chinese literature. |
他/她念中國文學,唸了多久了?
How long has he/she been studying Chinese literature? |
|
5. |
他/她念過中國文學。
He/she has studied Chinese literature. |
他/她念中國文學,唸了多久?
How long did he/she study Chinese literature? |
|
6. |
他/她現在還念日文。
He/she is still studying Japanese. |
他/她念日文,還想念多久?
How long does he/she plan to study Japanese? |
|
7. |
他/她念過日文。
He/she has studied Chinese. |
他/她念日文,唸了多久?
How long has he/she been studying Japanese? |
|
8. |
他/她學過英文。
He/she has learned English. |
他/她學英文,學了多久?
How long has he/she been learning English? |
|
9. |
他/她現在還學英文。
He/she is still learning English. |
他/她學英文,還想學多久?
How long does he/she plan to learn English. |
|
10. |
他/她現在在空軍做事。
He/she now works for the Air Force. |
他/她在空軍做事,做了多久了?
how long has he/she been working for the Air Force? |
18.3.7 Expansion drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她寫了嗎?
Did he/she write? |
他/她還沒寫。
He/she still hasn’t written. |
|
2. |
他/她來了嗎?
Did he/she come? |
他/她還沒來。
He/she still hasn’t come. |
|
3. |
他/她好了嗎?
Did he/she get better? |
他/她還沒好。
He/she still hasn’t got better. |
|
4. |
他/她懂了嗎?
Did he/she understand? |
他/她還沒懂。
He/she still hasn’t understood. |
|
5. |
他/她走了嗎?
Did he/she leave? |
他/她還沒走。
He/she still hasn’t left? |
|
6. |
他/她聽了嗎?
Did he/she listen? |
他/她還沒聽。
He/she still hasn’t listened? |
|
7. |
他/她學了嗎?
Did he/she learn? |
他/她還沒學。
He/she still hasn’t learned. |
18.3.8 Response drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她從前不會寫中國字。現在呢?
In the past he/she couldn’t write Chinese characters. And now? |
他/她還不會寫中國字。
He/she still can’t write Chinese characters. |
|
2. |
他/她從前不想學日文。現在呢?
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn Japanese. And now? |
他/她還不想學日文。
He/she still doesn’t want to learn Japanese. |
|
3. |
他/她從前不念歷史。現在呢?
In the past he/she didn’t learn history. And now? |
他/她還不念歷史。
He/she still doesn’t learn history. |
|
4. |
他/她從前不董法文。現在呢?
In the past he/she didn’t understand French. And now? |
他/她還不董法文。
He/she still doesn’t understand French. |
|
5. |
他/她們沒有孩子。現在呢?
In the past they didn’t have children. And now? |
他/她們還沒有孩子。
They still doesn’t have any children. |
|
6. |
他/她從前不會説德國話 。現在呢?
In the past he/she couldn’t speak German. And now? |
他/她還不會説德國話 。
He/she still doesn’t speak German. |
|
7. |
他/她從前不想學英文。現在呢?
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn English. And now? |
他/她還不想學英文。
He/she still doesn’t want to learn English. |
18.3.9 Response drill
Question | Cue | Answer | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
他/她從前不會寫中國字。
In the past, he/she couldn’t write Chinese characters. |
now he/she can |
他/她從前不會寫,現在會寫了。
In the past, he/she couldn’t write, now he/she can. |
||
2. |
他/她從前會寫中國字。
In the past he/she could write Chinese characters |
no longer |
他/她從前會寫,現在不會寫了。
In the past he/she could write, now he/she can’t. |
||
3. |
他/她從前不會寫中國字。
In the past he/she couldn’t write Chinese characters. |
still can’t |
他/她從前不會寫,現在還不會寫。
In the past he/she couldn’t write, now he/she still can’t. |
||
4. |
他/她從前不董法文。
In the past he/she didn’t understand French. |
now he/she can |
他/她從前不董,現在董了。
In the past he/she didn’t understand, now he/she can. |
||
5. |
他/她從前董法文。
In the past he/she did understand French. |
no longer |
他/她從前董,現在不董了。
In the past he/she did understand, now he/she cannot anymore. |
||
6. |
他/她從前不董法文。
In the past he/she didn’t understand French. |
still can’t |
他/她從前不董,現在還不董。
In the past he/she didn’t understand, now he/she still can’t. |
||
7. |
他/她從前不想學英文。
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn English. |
now he/she does |
他/她從前不想學,現在想學了。
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn, now he/she wants to. |
||
8. |
他/她從前想學英文。
In the past he/she did want to learn English. |
no longer |
他/她從前想學,現在不想學了。
In the past he/she did want to learn, now he/she doesn’t want to anymore. |
||
9. |
他/她從前不想學英文。
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn English. |
still doesn’t |
他/她從前不想學,現在還不想學。
In the past he/she didn’t want to learn, now he/she still doesn’t want to. |
||
10. |
他/她從前不念歷史。
In the past he/she didn’t study history. |
now he/she does |
他/她從前不念,現在念了。
In the past he/she didn’t study, now she does study. |
||
11. |
他/她從前念歷史。
In the past he/she did study history. |
no longer |
他/她從前念,現在不念了。
In the past he/she did study, now he/she doesn’t anymore. |
||
12. |
他/她從前不念歷史。
In the past he/she didn’t study history. |
still doesn’t |
他/她從前不念,現在還不念。
In the past he/she didn’t study, now he/she still doesn’t. |
18.3.10 Transformation drill
Question | Answer | ||
---|---|---|---|
1. |
我寫字了。
I wrote. |
我寫字了,他/她沒寫字。
I wrote, he/she didn’t write. |
|
2. |
我懂了。
I understood. |
我懂了,他/她沒董。
I understood, he/she didn’t. |
|
3. |
我來了。
I came. |
我來了,他/她沒來。
I came, he/she didn’t. |
|
4. |
我走了。
I left. |
我走了,他/她沒走。
I left, he/she didn’t. |
|
5. |
我坐了。
I sat. |
我坐了,她沒坐。
I sat, he/she didn’t. |
|
6. |
我聽了。
I listened. |
我聽了,他/她沒聽。
I listened, he/she didn’t. |
|
7. |
我學了。
I learned. |
我學了,她沒學。
I learned, he/she didn’t. |