8 Unit 1
8.1 References
8.1.1 Reference List
1. | A: | |
这里有英文报吗? | ||
Are there any English-language newspapers here? | ||
B: | ||
有。就在那里 | ||
Yes. They're right over there. | ||
2. | A: | |
这里有英文报没有? | ||
Are there any English-language newspapers here? | ||
B: | ||
有。就在那里。 | ||
Yes. They're right there. | ||
3. | A: | |
我想买英文报。 | ||
I would like to buy English-language newspaper. | ||
B: | ||
好。就在那里。 | ||
Fine. They're right here. | ||
4. | A: | |
这个多少钱? | ||
How much is this one? | ||
B: | ||
五块钱。 | ||
Five dollars. | ||
5. | A: | |
这个中文报多少钱? | ||
How much is the Chinese-language newspaper? | ||
B: | ||
三块钱一份。 | ||
Three dollars a copy. | ||
6. | A: | |
你们这里卖美国杂志不卖? | ||
Do you sell American magazines here? | ||
B: | ||
卖。我们这里卖。 | ||
Yes, we sell them here. | ||
7. | A: | |
这个多少钱? | ||
How much is this one? | ||
B: | ||
三十块钱一本。 | ||
Thirty dollars a copy. | ||
A: | ||
好。我买一本。 | ||
Fine, I'll buy one. | ||
8. | A: | |
你们这里有美国书没有? | ||
Do you have American books here? | ||
B: | ||
对不起,美国书我们不卖。 | ||
I'm sorry, we don't sell American books here. | ||
9. | A: | |
报、杂志、一共多少钱? | ||
How much are the newspaper, the magazine altogether? | ||
B: | ||
报无怪;杂志三十块。 | ||
The newspaper is five dollars; the magazine is thirty dollars. | ||
B: | ||
一共三十五块钱。 | ||
Altogether, it's thirty-five dollars. | ||
10. | A: | |
你们这里卖地图不卖? | ||
Do you sell maps here? | ||
B: | ||
卖。在那里。 | ||
We do. They are other here. | ||
11. | A: | |
您想买什么地图? | ||
What kind of map would you like to buy? | ||
B: | ||
我想买一张台北地图。 | ||
I would like to buy a map of Taipei. | ||
12. | A: | |
这张台北地图多少钱? | ||
How much is this map of Taipei? | ||
B: | ||
十二块钱。 | ||
Twelve dollars. |
8.1.2 Vocabulary
—份(儿)报纸 | one newspaper | |
一支笔 | one pen | |
一张纸 | one piece of paper | |
一本字典 | one dictionary | |
汉-英字典 | Chinese-English dictionary | |
英-汉字典 | English-Chinese dictionary | |
化学 | chemistry | |
数学 | mathematics | |
报(一份) | newspaper | |
报纸(一份) | newspaper | |
-本 | volume | |
笔(一支) | pen | |
地图(一张) | map | |
对不起 | I'm sorry | |
多少 | how much, how many | |
-份(儿) | copy | |
就 | right, exactly (with reference to space) | |
-块 | dollar (in context) | |
买 | to buy | |
卖 | to sell | |
钱 | money | |
书(一本) | book | |
想 | to want to | |
想一想 | to think it over | |
一共 | altogether | |
杂志(一本) | magazine | |
-张 | (counter for flat things, tables, paper, pictures, etc ...) | |
纸(一张) | paper | |
-支 | (counter for straight, stick-like objects) | |
字典(一本) | dictionary |
8.1.3 Reference Notes
8.1.3.1 Notes on № 1
1. | A: | |
这里有英文报吗? | ||
Are there any English-language newspapers here? | ||
B: | ||
有。就在那里 | ||
Yes. They're right over there. |
: The Chinese verb sometimes means "to have" and sometimes means "to be" in the sense of "to exist". In exchange 1, has the latter meaning. With this meaning, it often translates into English as "there is/are."
Topic-comment sentences: The subject of a Chinese sentence need not be the person who performs an action or experiences a state. Often, the relation ship between the subject and the rest of the sentence Is looser and can be analyzed as topic-comment.
A topic is a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence which sets the scene for the rest of the sentence. The topic is a starting point for understanding a sentence, giving background Information and establishing the perspective for listeners. For this reason, time and place phrases are often used as topics.
Here | there are | English-language newspapers. |
A comment is the rest of the sentence which follows the topic. Here are some examples:
He has a pen; he doesn't have paper. (literally, "Pen he has; paper he doesn't) | ||
---|---|---|
A: | Where are you calling from? | |
B: | Taiwan University | |
As for this map, they sell it for ten dollars. |
Clearly, the last two examples are meaningful only when the relationship between the initial nouns/pronouns and verbs is understood to be one of topic-comment, not the usual subject-predicate relation of actor-action.
While there is no single rule that tells you when to use topic-comment sentences in Chinese, some helpful generalizations can be made. These generalizations will be discussed as example-sentences appear in the Reference lists.
, "They are right over here": You have learned as "only," a synonym of . In exchange 1, you see another use of : "right," "exactly," "precisely." This word is often used to describe "right" where something is, and is followed by , "in/on."
8.1.3.2 Notes on № 2
2. | A: | |
这里有英文报没有? | ||
Are there any English-language newspapers here? | ||
B: | ||
有。就在那里。 | ||
Yes. They're right there. |
: The first sentence in exchange 2 is a yes/no-choice question. This type of question is formed "by explicitly offering the listener a choice between an affirmative and a negative answer. The negative alternative is tacked onto the end of the sentence. Similar questions exist in English. But the English question would be an impatient one, while the Chinese question is an ordinary on:
Are there any English-language newspaper here, or aren't there?
Neutral tones: Whether or not a syllable is pronounced in the Neutral tone often depends on the speed of speech and the mood the speaker is trying to convey, In informal conversation between native speakers, there are many more Neutral tones than in the more careful, deliberate speech of a language teacher speaking to foreign student . (Bear this point in mind when you find a discrepancy between the textbook marking of a word and the pronunciation of that word on tape.)
Most syllables in any stretch of spoken Chinese are neither completely ”Neutral"(i. e., with no audible change in pitch for the duration of the syllable) nor completely "full" in length and amplitude, These syllables will usually be somewhere in between the two extremes.
Are there any English-language newspapers here?
Often a syllable will not Bound like a full tone. But if you ask "Then is this syllable in the Neutral tone?" the answer will be "No, not exactly." There is no distinct dividing line between a syllable with a tone and a syllable in the Neutral tone. Very often, the most helpful answer to the question "Should this be pronounced in the Neutral tone?" is "Pronounce it the way you hear it." The language is taught in terms of four tones, but your ears hear more.
8.1.3.3 Notes on № 3
3. | A: | |
我想买英文报。 | ||
I would like to buy English-language newspaper. | ||
B: | ||
好。就在那里。 | ||
Fine. They're right here. |
The auxiliary verb
is sometimes translated as "would like to" or "to want to." Here are some examples of translations you have learned for ;
I'm thinking of buying an English-language newspaper. OR I would like to buy an English-language newspaper. OR I want to buy an English-language newspaper. |
|
I think he is planning to leave tomorrow. | |
I very much want to study. | |
I don't want to go very much. (" | " meaning "too," "excessively," appears in Unit 3)
8.1.3.4 Notes on № 4
4. | A: | |
这个多少钱? | ||
How much is this one? | ||
B: | ||
五块钱。 | ||
Five dollars. |
In Chinese sentences that ask for and give prices, the word is usually omitted.
reappears, however, in negative and contrastive sentences: "This (item) isn't four dollars; it's five dollars."
literally means "five dollars money." The counter , "dollars," indicates the units of the general class "money" that are being counted (i.e., dollars as opposed to cents.)
8.1.3.5 Notes on № 5
5. | A: | |
这个中文报多少钱? | ||
How much is the Chinese-language newspaper? | ||
B: | ||
三块钱一份。 | ||
Three dollars a copy. |
Notice in the sentence
that the general counter is used rather than the specific counter , "copy." The counter is often used in talking about the KIND of thing. In this case the question is about the price of ea newspaper as a publication, not about the price of a copy. The specific counter would be used to talk about a particular concrete object, as in a sentence like: "This copy of the China Post is torn.": In Chinese, when you talk about the unit price of an item, the unit is a counter. Notice that comes at the end of the sentence, just as "copy" does in English.
8.1.3.6 Notes on № 6
6. | A: | |
你们这里卖美国书不卖? | ||
Do you sell American magazines here? | ||
B: | ||
卖。我们这里卖。 | ||
Yes, we sell them here. |
, "to sell," differs from the word , "to buy," only in its tone.
, "your place here," literally, "you here": Use when talking to someone who represents a stores a bank, or other institutions. By putting , "here," or , "there," after a person's name or a pronoun, you make a phrase referring to a place associated with the person. For example, means "over there where you are now," and means "here where I am now," Use these phrases when you want to express the idea of an item being close to a person (not necessarily ownership).
Do you have a pen over there? (i.e., Is there a pen over there where you are?")
This kind of phrase is also used to mean a person's home:
, "your place" (used when the speaker is not at "your house"); : "my place" (used when the speaker is at home.)A:
Where is Miss ?B:
She is at Mrs. house.In this sentence, is used as a topic. Literally, the sentence means: "As for your place here, are American magazines sold?"
8.1.3.7 Notes on № 7
7. | A: | |
这个多少钱? | ||
How much is this one? | ||
B: | ||
三十块钱一本。 | ||
Thirty dollars a copy. | ||
A: | ||
好。我买一本。 | ||
Fine, I'll buy one. |
The counter
, "volume", "copy," is used for both books and magazines.8.1.3.8 Notes on № 8
8. | A: | |
你们这里有美国书没有? | ||
Do you have American books here? | ||
B: | ||
对不起,美国书我们不卖。 | ||
I'm sorry, we don't sell American books here. |
, literally means "unable to face (you)." This word is used to say "I'm sorry" when you bump into a person, arrive late, and so on. It is not the word for "I'm sorry" when you sympathize with someone else's misfortune (e.g., when a relative dies.)
: In this sentence, , the object of the verb , occurs at the beginning, in topic position. Here the order of the sentence element is : topic - subject - verb. Some speakers of English use the same word order. Compare:
American books | we | don't sell. |
Notice that
is not the ending of a yes/no-choice question. The phrase keeps its tones in this sentence.8.1.3.9 Notes on № 9
9. | A: | |
报、杂志、一共多少钱? | ||
How much are the newspaper, the magazine altogether? | ||
B: | ||
报无怪、杂志三十块。 | ||
The newspaper is five dollars; the magazine is thirty dollars. | ||
B: | ||
一共三十五块钱。 | ||
Altogether, it's thirty-five dollars. |
, "altogether,": In totaling something up, the items being totaled begin the sentence, in topic position, and are followed by the adverb .
In many situations you will hear prices given without the word qián.
8.1.3.10 Notes on № 10-11
10. | A: | |
你们这里卖地图不卖? | ||
Do you sell maps here? | ||
B: | ||
卖。在那里。 | ||
We do. They are other here. | ||
11. | A: | |
您想买什么地图? | ||
What kind of map would you like to buy? | ||
B: | ||
我想买一张台北地图。 | ||
I would like to buy a map of Taipei. |
literally means "what map." In exchange 11, this phrase is used to mean "what kind of map."
: the counter is used for flat objects. Literally, means "one sheet Taipei map." In exchange 11, the phrase is translated as "a map of Taipei."
8.1.3.11 Notes on № 12
12. | A: | |
这张台北地图多少钱? | ||
How much is this map of Taipei? | ||
B: | ||
十二块钱。 | ||
Twelve dollars. |
: compare the two phrases which follow.
- | this map | |||
- | these two maps |
In the first phrase, the counter -
does not have a number in front of it. In effect, the number 1 was dropped after the specifier . Notice that when a specifier and a number occur together in Chinese, the word order is just like English: , "these two maps."13. | 一份(儿)报纸 | one newspaper | |
14. | 一支笔 | one pen | |
15. | 一张纸 | one piece of paper | |
16. | 一本字典 | one dictionary | |
17. | 汉英字典 | Chinese-English dictionary | |
18. | 英汉字典 | English-Chinese dictionary | |
19. | 化学 | chemistry | |
20. | 数学 | mathematics |
and , two words for "newspaper," are interchangeable.
: The counter for pens, , is the counter for straight, stick-like objects.
: The word for "Chinese" in these expressions comes from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 219.) is often used in titles to refer to the Chinese people and their language.
