12 Unit 3

12.1 References

12.1.1 Reference List

1. A: Ài, jìchéngchē!
哎,計程車!
Hey, taxi!
B: Ní dào náli?
你到哪兒?
Where are you going?
A: Dào huǒchēzhàn.
到火車站。
To the train station.
2. *B: Zhǐ yǒu zhè yíjiàn xíngli ma?
只有這一件行李嗎?
Is there only this one piece of luggage?
A: Shì.
是。
Yes.
3. *B: Wǒ bǎ xíngli fàng zai qiánbian.
我把行李放在前邊。
I’ll put the suitcase in front.
4. A: Nǐ kāide tài kuài le!
你開得太快了!
You are driving too fast!
5. C: Tā kāi chē, kāide bú kuài.
他開車,開得不快。
He doesn’t drive fast.
6. A: Wǒmen yǒu shíjiān, láidejí.
我們有時間,來得及。
We have time. We can make it in time.
7. A: Qǐng màn yìdiǎn kāi.
輕慢一點開。
Please drive a little slower.
8. ** A: Bié kāi nàme kuài!
別開那麽快!
Don’t drive so fast!
9. B: Zhè shi nínde xíngli.
這是您的行李。
Here is your suitcase.
A: Xièxie. Duōshao qián?
謝謝,多少錢?
Thank you. How much is it [the fare]?
B: Èrshiqīkuài.
二十七塊。
Twenty-seven dollars.
A: Zhè shi sānshikuài, bú yòng zhǎo le.
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: Qǐng ni zài qiánbian nèige yínháng tíng yíxià.
請你在前邊那個銀行停一下。
Please stop at that bank up ahead for a moment.
B: Hǎo. Wǒ bǎ chē tíng zai nèibian děng nín.
好。我把車停在那邊等您。
Okay. I’ll park the car over there and wait for you.
11. chūzū qìchē
出租汽車
taxi (PRC)
12. láibují
來不及
can’t make it in time
13. qìchē
汽車
car, motor vehicle
14. zhème
這麽
so, to this extent, in this way
15. zènme
怎麽
so, to this extent, in this way

12.1.2 Vocabulary

(prepositional verb which indicates the direct object)
bié don’t
bú yòng no need to
chūzū qìchē 出租汽車 taxi (PRC)
fàng to put
huǒchēzhàn 火車站 train station
-jiàn (counter for items or articles such as suitcases and clothing)
jìchéngchē 計程車 taxi (Taipei)
kāi to drive (a vehicle)
kuài to be fast
láibují 來不及 can’t make it in time
láidejí 來得及 can make it in time
màn to be slow
nàme 那麽 so, to that extent, in that way
qìchē 汽車 car, motor vehicle
shíjiān 時間 time
tíng to stop, to park
xíngli (yíjiàn) 行李 luggage, suitcase
yíxià 一下 a short amount of time
zènme 怎麽 so, to this extent, in this way
zhème 這麽 so, to this extent, in this way
chī fàn 吃飯 to have a meal
jìnliàng 盡量 to exert all one’s effort, to do one’s best to
Lǎo (name) Old (name) [familiar nickname for an older person among close friends]
mótuōchē 摩托車 motorcycle
náchuqu 拿出去 to take (something) out
sòng to see someone off, to escort someone to a train station, airport, bus depot, or pier
Zhèng hǎo. 正好 Right on time.

12.1.3 Reference Notes

12.1.3.1 Notes on №1
1. A: Ài, jìchéngchē!
哎,計程車!
Hey, taxi!
B: Ní dào náli?
你到哪兒?
Where are you going?
A: Dào huǒchēzhàn.
到火車站。
To the train station.

Nǐ dào náli? This expression, like the English “Where to?” is not a full sentence. The taxi driver is using a shortened form of Nǐ dào náli qù?

12.1.3.2 Notes on №2-3
2. B:a Zhǐ yǒu zhè yíjiàn xíngli ma?
只有這一件行李嗎?
Is there only this one piece of luggage?
A: Shì.
是。
Yes.
3. B: Wǒ bǎ xíngli fàng zai qiánbian.
我把行李放在前邊。
I’ll put the suitcase in front.
a

An object which follows the verb is nonspecific unless marked as specific with zhèi or nèi.

Zhè yíjiàn xíngli: -jiàn is the counter for xíngli.

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.”

Tā bǎ zhèiběn shū fàng zai zhuōzishang.

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.

Tā mài tāde qìchē le.

He sold his car.

他賣他的汽車了。

Tā bǎ tāde qìchē mài le.

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 .

  1. 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.”

    Ní yǒu xíngli ma?

    你有行李嗎?

    Do you have any luggage?

    Yǒu. Zhǐ yǒu zhè yíjiàn.

    有。只有這一件。

    Yes. I have only this one piece.

    Hǎo. Wǒ bǎ xíngli fàngzai qiánbian.

    好。我把行李放在前邊。

    Okay. I will put the suitcase in front.

  2. The object of a phrase must be at the disposal of the subject before the action begins. Thus the object of kànjian, “to see,” cannot be used with , nor can the object of mǎi, “to buy.”

    Wǒ mǎile nèiběn shū.

    我買了那本書。

    I bought the book.

    Wǒ bǎ nèiběn shū mài le.

    我把那本書賣了。

    I sold the book.

  3. Fàng zai qiánbian: 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 (mài, “to sell”) or mentally (niàn, “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 xué is an action verb. But you cannot decide to know something, so zhīdao is a state verb. Although some state verbs, like zhīdao and xǐhuan, are transitive, the objects of these verbs cannot be put in a phrase because these verbs are not action verbs.

  4. 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 fàng is followed by zai and the destination qiánbian.

12.1.3.3 Notes on №4
4. A: Nǐ kāide tài kuài le!
你開得太快了!
You are driving too fast!

-de: To describe how action is performed, the marker -de 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: Tā kāi chē, kāide bú kuài.
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.

Tā shuō Zhōngguo huà shuō -de tài/hěn/bú man.

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 -de and the description of manner. Compare the pattern above with the pattern you learned in the Biographic Information Module, Unit 8: Wo niàn Yīngwén niànle liùnián, “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,” Wǒ bú huì shuō Zhōngguo huà hěn hào, 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 Wǒ shuō Zhōngguo huà shuōde bú tài hǎo.

12.1.3.5 Notes on №6-7
6. A: Wǒmen yǒu shíjiān, láidejí.
我們有時間,來得及。
We have time. We can make it in time.
7. A: Qǐng màn yìdiǎn kāi.
輕慢一點開。
Please drive a little slower.

Shíjiān: You now know two words for “time”: shíhou and shíjiān. Shíjiān is used for an amount of time. Shíhou is usually used for a point or period in time when something happens.

Láidejí is an idiom meaning “able to make it on time [to do some- thing].” The negative, “not able to make it on time,” is láibují. (See the Meeting Module for additional discussion of such idioms.)

Qǐng màn yìdiǎn kāi, “Please drive a little slower”: In the notes on exchange 5, yǒu learned a pattern for describing manner: verb + -de + adjectival verb. In this sentence, however, the adjectival verb màn + yìdiǎn precede the verb kāi. When the adjectival verbs màn, kuài, zǎo, and wǎn are followed by yìdiǎn, the phrases thus formed may either precede or follow the verb of the sentence.

Qǐng màn yìdiǎn kāi.

Please drive a little slower.

輕慢一點開。

Qǐng kāi màn yìdiǎn.

請開慢一點。

Qǐng kuài yìdiǎn kāi.

Please drive a little faster.

請快一點開。

Qǐng kāi kuài yìdiǎn.

請開快一點。

Qǐng ni zǎo yìdiǎn lái.

Please come a little earlier.

請你早一點來。

Qǐng ni lái zǎo yìdiǎn.

請你來早一點。

Qǐng ni wǎn yìdiǎn lái.

Please come a little later.

請你晚一點來。

Qǐng ni lái wǎn yìdiǎn.

請你來晚一點。

Many adjectival verbs + yìdiǎn must follow the sentence verb.

Xiě xiǎo yìdiǎn.

Write it a little smaller.

些小一點。

Xiě dà yìdiǎn.

Write it a little bigger.

寫大一點。

Zuò hǎo yìdiǎn.

Do it a little better.

做好一點。

The marker -de is optional, and usually omitted, before adjectival verb + yìdiǎn phrases.

12.1.3.6 Notes on №8
8. A: Bié kāi nàme kuài!
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:

Nǐ kāide tài kuài le!

你開得太快了!

You are driving too fast!

OR

Tā niàn shū niànde bú cuò.

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:

Qǐng màn yìdiǎn kāi.

Please drive a little slower.

請慢一點開。

Qǐng kāi màn yìdiǎn.

請開慢一點。

Now, in Bié kāi nàme kuài, you see a negative command. The modifying adjectival verb follows the main verb. The marker -de is optional, and usually omitted, as long as the adjectival verb is preceded by name or zhème (zènme).

Bié zǒu nàme màn le!

別走那麽慢了!

Quit walking so slowly!

Bié qǐlai zènme wǎn!

別起來那麽晚!

Don’t get up so late!

Nǐ zǒu nàme màn, zánmen jiu láibují le!

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: Zhè shi nínde xíngli.
這是您的行李。
Here is your suitcase.
A: Xièxie. Duōshao qián?
謝謝,多少錢?
Thank you. How much is it [the fare]?
B: Èrshiqīkuài.
二十七塊。
Twenty-seven dollars.
A: Zhè shi sānshikuài, bú yòng zhǎo le.
這是三十塊,不用找了。
Here’s thirty dollars. Keep the change. (literally, “No need to give me change.”)

Èrshiqīkuài: This money phrase does not contain the word qián because the counter kuài can stand alone if the reference could clearly be only to money. Other counters for money, such as máo and fēn, usually require the addition of qián.

Bú yòng zhǎo le: Bú yòng is an idiom meaning “no need to.” A more literal translation of the sentence is “No need to give me change.” Nǐ bú yòng kāi nàme kuài would be translated as “There’s no need for you to drive that fast.”1

12.1.3.8 Notes on №10
10. A: Qǐng ni zài qiánbian nèige yínháng tíng yíxià.
請你在前邊那個銀行停一下。
Please stop at that bank up ahead for a moment.
B: Hǎo. Wǒ bǎ chē tíng zai nèibian děng nín.
好。我把車停在那邊等您。
Okay. I’ll park the car over there and wait for you.

Yíxià, “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 (tíngyitíng). The first speaker in this exchange does not commit himself to an exact length of time.

12.2 Drills