12 Unit 3
12.1 References
12.1.1 Reference List
1. | A: | |
哎,計程車! | ||
Hey, taxi! | ||
B: | ||
你到哪兒? | ||
Where are you going? | ||
A: | ||
到火車站。 | ||
To the train station. | ||
2. | *B: | |
只有這一件行李嗎? | ||
Is there only this one piece of luggage? | ||
A: | ||
是。 | ||
Yes. | ||
3. | *B: | |
我把行李放在前邊。 | ||
I’ll put the suitcase in front. | ||
4. | A: | |
你開得太快了! | ||
You are driving too fast! | ||
5. | C: | |
他開車,開得不快。 | ||
He doesn’t drive fast. | ||
6. | A: | |
我們有時間,來得及。 | ||
We have time. We can make it in time. | ||
7. | A: | |
輕慢一點開。 | ||
Please drive a little slower. | ||
8. | ** A: | |
別開那麽快! | ||
Don’t drive so fast! | ||
9. | B: | |
這是您的行李。 | ||
Here is your suitcase. | ||
A: | ||
謝謝,多少錢? | ||
Thank you. How much is it [the fare]? | ||
B: | ||
二十七塊。 | ||
Twenty-seven dollars. | ||
A: | ||
這是三十塊,不用找了。 | ||
Here’s thirty dollars. Keep the change. (literally, “No need to give me change.”) | ||
10. | A: | |
請你在前邊那個銀行停一下。 | ||
Please stop at that bank up ahead for a moment. | ||
B: | ||
好。我把車停在那邊等您。 | ||
Okay. I’ll park the car over there and wait for you. | ||
11. | ||
出租汽車 | ||
taxi (PRC) | ||
12. | ||
來不及 | ||
can’t make it in time | ||
13. | ||
汽車 | ||
car, motor vehicle | ||
14. | ||
這麽 | ||
so, to this extent, in this way | ||
15. | ||
怎麽 | ||
so, to this extent, in this way |
12.1.2 Vocabulary
把 | (prepositional verb which indicates the direct object) | |
別 | don’t | |
不 | no need to | |
出租汽車 | taxi (PRC) | |
放 | to put | |
火車站 | train station | |
件 | (counter for items or articles such as suitcases and clothing) | |
計程車 | taxi (Taipei) | |
開 | to drive (a vehicle) | |
快 | to be fast | |
來不及 | can’t make it in time | |
來得及 | can make it in time | |
慢 | to be slow | |
那麽 | so, to that extent, in that way | |
汽車 | car, motor vehicle | |
時間 | time | |
停 | to stop, to park | |
行李 | luggage, suitcase | |
一下 | a short amount of time | |
怎麽 | so, to this extent, in this way | |
這麽 | so, to this extent, in this way | |
吃飯 | to have a meal | |
盡量 | to exert all one’s effort, to do one’s best to | |
老 | Old (name) [familiar nickname for an older person among close friends] | |
摩托車 | motorcycle | |
拿出去 | to take (something) out | |
送 | to see someone off, to escort someone to a train station, airport, bus depot, or pier | |
正好 | Right on time. |
12.1.3 Reference Notes
12.1.3.1 Notes on №1
1. | A: | |
哎,計程車! | ||
Hey, taxi! | ||
B: | ||
你到哪兒? | ||
Where are you going? | ||
A: | ||
到火車站。 | ||
To the train station. |
This expression, like the English “Where to?” is not a full sentence. The taxi driver is using a shortened form of
12.1.3.2 Notes on №2-3
2. | B:a | |
只有這一件行李嗎? | ||
Is there only this one piece of luggage? | ||
A: | ||
是。 | ||
Yes. | ||
3. | B: | |
我把行李放在前邊。 | ||
I’ll put the suitcase in front. |
An object which follows the verb is nonspecific unless marked as specific with
or .: - is the counter for .
is a prepositional verb which often cannot be directly translated into English. Originally, as a full verb, meant “to hold something with one’s hands.” Today is usually used as a prepositional verb which brings the direct object to the front of the sentence, before the main verb. In some cases, may be translated as “take.”
|
他把這本書放在桌子上。 |
He put the book on the table. (He took the book and put it on the table.) |
But, in many cases, the meaning of “take” does not correspond to the function of
in the sentence.may be used with many types of objects, concrete and abstract. As a prepositional verb, shows that its object (the noun which follows) is the direct object in the sentence, even though it does not follow the main verb.
|
He sold his car. |
他賣他的汽車了。 |
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|
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他把他的汽車賣了 |
The next questions are “Why use
?” and “When is used?” On the next page are some basic rules for using .The object in a
phrase must be a particular known thing. This rule follows the general pattern in Chinese of an object preceding the verb, in topic position or in a phrase, being specific.* The object in a phrase should be translated by the English definite article “the” or by other words that indicate definiteness, such as “that” and “my.”你有行李嗎?
Do you have any luggage?
有。只有這一件。
Yes. I have only this one piece.
好。我把行李放在前邊。
Okay. I will put the suitcase in front.
The object of a
phrase must be at the disposal of the subject before the action begins. Thus the object of , “to see,” cannot be used with , nor can the object of , “to buy.”我買了那本書。
I bought the book.
我把那本書賣了。
I sold the book.
: The verb in a sentence is usually a transitive ACTION verb. An action verb refers to an activity that can be done voluntarily, either physically ( , “to sell”) or mentally ( , “to study”). Contrast this with a state verb, which refers to a quality or condition that the subject has no control over.
For instance, you can decide to study or to learn something, so
is an action verb. But you cannot decide to know something, so is a state verb. Although some state verbs, like and , are transitive, the objects of these verbs cannot be put in a phrase because these verbs are not action verbs.A
sentence does not end with only a verb of one syllable. Either the verb has several syllables or a phrase follows the verb. In the final sentence of exchange 3, the action verb is followed by and the destination .
12.1.3.3 Notes on №4
4. | A: | |
你開得太快了! | ||
You are driving too fast! |
-
: To describe how action is performed, the marker - is added to the verb describing the action, and that verb is followed by an adjectival verb which expresses the MANNER in which the action takes place.Cultural information: Taxi drivers are not offended by comments about their driving such as the exclamation in exchange 4. If ignored, a request to slow down should be repeated.
12.1.3.4 Notes on №5
5. | C: | |
他開車,開得不快。 | ||
He doesn’t drive fast. |
Verb, object, and the description of manner: If an action verb with a direct object is to be described in terms of how the action is done, use the following pattern.
|
他 説 中國話 説得 太/很/不 慢。 |
(he speak Chinese speak too/very/not slow) “He speaks Chinese too/very/not slowly.” |
Notice that the main verb and direct object occur first; then the main verb is repeated, followed by -
and the description of manner. Compare the pattern above with the pattern you learned in the Biographic Information Module, Unit 8: , “I studied English for six years.”The main verb is repeated when BOTH the direct object and a duration phrase or a description of manner MUST follow the verb directly. In such a case, Chinese handles this post-verb “traffic jam” by making a topic out of the more general information (what is being done): the verb and direct object. The more specific information about how the action is done becomes the comment. A literal translation of the pattern example above is “As for (the way) he speaks Chinese, (he) speaks too/very/not slowly.”
A special point to observe: In English, we may say “He doesn’t speak Chinese slowly,” putting the negative word before “speak.” In Chinese, the negation must be placed directly in front of the word that is referred to (in the example, man, “slow”—not saying that he doesn’t speak, but saying that his speech is not slow).
Linguists have pointed out the potentially comical effect of using English word order for sentences in Chinese with manner descriptions.
If you were to use English word order to say “I can’t speak Chinese very well,”
, your sentence would mean, literally, “(The fact that) I can’t speak Chinese is very good.” The right way to say “I can’t speak Chinese very well” is .12.1.3.5 Notes on №6-7
6. | A: | |
我們有時間,來得及。 | ||
We have time. We can make it in time. | ||
7. | A: | |
輕慢一點開。 | ||
Please drive a little slower. |
: You now know two words for “time”: and . is used for an amount of time. is usually used for a point or period in time when something happens.
is an idiom meaning “able to make it on time [to do some- thing].” The negative, “not able to make it on time,” is . (See the Meeting Module for additional discussion of such idioms.)
, “Please drive a little slower”: In the notes on exchange 5, learned a pattern for describing manner: verb + -de + adjectival verb. In this sentence, however, the adjectival verb + precede the verb . When the adjectival verbs , , , and are followed by , the phrases thus formed may either precede or follow the verb of the sentence.
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Please drive a little slower. |
輕慢一點開。 |
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請開慢一點。 |
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Please drive a little faster. |
請快一點開。 |
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請開快一點。 |
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Please come a little earlier. |
請你早一點來。 |
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請你來早一點。 |
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Please come a little later. |
請你晚一點來。 |
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請你來晚一點。 |
Many adjectival verbs +
must follow the sentence verb.
|
Write it a little smaller. |
些小一點。 |
|
|
Write it a little bigger. |
寫大一點。 |
|
|
Do it a little better. |
做好一點。 |
The marker -
is optional, and usually omitted, before adjectival verb + phrases.12.1.3.6 Notes on №8
8. | A: | |
別開那麽快! | ||
Don’t drive so fast! |
Here you see a third way to describe the performance of an action.
First, you saw a straight description:
|
你開得太快了! |
You are driving too fast! |
OR
|
她念書念得不錯。 |
She is doing pretty well in her studies. |
Then, you saw a command in which an adjectival verb + yìdiǎn phrase could be placed either before or after the main sentence verb:
|
Please drive a little slower. |
請慢一點開。 |
|
|
|
請開慢一點。 |
Now, in
, you see a negative command. The modifying adjectival verb follows the main verb. The marker - is optional, and usually omitted, as long as the adjectival verb is preceded by name or ( ).
|
別走那麽慢了! |
Quit walking so slowly! |
|
別起來那麽晚! |
Don’t get up so late! |
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你走那麽慢,咱們就來不及了。 |
If you walk so slowly, we won’t make it in time! |
12.1.3.7 Notes on №9
9. | B: | |
這是您的行李。 | ||
Here is your suitcase. | ||
A: | ||
謝謝,多少錢? | ||
Thank you. How much is it [the fare]? | ||
B: | ||
二十七塊。 | ||
Twenty-seven dollars. | ||
A: | ||
這是三十塊,不用找了。 | ||
Here’s thirty dollars. Keep the change. (literally, “No need to give me change.”) |
: This money phrase does not contain the word because the counter can stand alone if the reference could clearly be only to money. Other counters for money, such as and , usually require the addition of . : is an idiom meaning “no need to.” A more literal translation of the sentence is “No need to give me change.” would be translated as “There’s no need for you to drive that fast.”
12.1.3.8 Notes on №10
10. | A: | |
請你在前邊那個銀行停一下。 | ||
Please stop at that bank up ahead for a moment. | ||
B: | ||
好。我把車停在那邊等您。 | ||
Okay. I’ll park the car over there and wait for you. |
, “awhile,” is used to indicate a short, indefinite amount of time. The use of this word communicates indefiniteness, just as reduplicating the verb would have done ( ). The first speaker in this exchange does not commit himself to an exact length of time.