10 Unit 1

10.1 References

10.1.1 Reference List

1. A: Dào Xīméndīng qù, zuò jǐlù chē?
到西門町去,坐幾路車?
What bus do you take to get to Xīméndīng?
B: Zuò Shíbālù.
坐十八路。
Take Number 18.
2. A: Shíbālù chē duō bu duo?
十八路車多不多?
Are there many Number 18 buses?
B: Bù hěn duō.
不很多。
Not very many.
3. A: Měi gé duōshao shíhou yǒu yìbān chē?
每隔多少時候有一班車。
How much time is there between buses?
B: Měi gé èrshifēn zhōng yǒu yìbān.
每隔二十分鐘有一班。
There’s one every twenty minutes.
4. C: Wǒ měige Xīngqīliù dōu qù kàn diànyǐng.
我每個星期六都去看電影。
I go to see a movie every Saturday.
5. A: Zuìhòu yìbān chē shi jǐdiǎn zhōng?
最後一班車是幾點鐘?
What time is the last bus?
B: Shíyīdiǎn shífēn.
十一點十分。
Eleven-ten.
十一點十分。
6. D: Zhèbān chē shì bu shi qù Xīméndīng?
這班車是不是去西門町?
Does this bus go to Xīméndīng?
E: Shì. Shàng chē ba!
是。上車吧!
Yes, Get on!
7. A: Dào Xīméndīngde shíhou, qǐng gàosong wǒ.
到西門町的時候,請告誦我。
When we get to Xīméndīng, please tell me.
F: Hǎo.
好。
Okay.
8. A: Hái yǒu jǐzhàn dào Xīméndīng?
還有幾站到西門町?
How many more stops are there to (before) Xīméndīng?
F: Xià yízhàn jiù shi Xīměndīng.
下一站就是西門町。
The next stop is Xīméndīng.

DDITIONAL REQUIRED VOCABULARY

(not presented on C-1 and P-1 tapes)

9. shàng-
last, previous (something)
shàng-
10. tóu-
first (something)
11. gàosu
告訴
to tell, to inform (alternate pronunciation for gàosong)
12. shǎo
to be few
13. xià chē
下車
to get off the bus; "Out, please!"
14. yǒu(de) shíhou
有(的)時候
sometimes
15. chéng
city

10.1.2 Vocabulary

-bān (counter for regularly scheduled trips of buses, planes, subways, trains, etc.)
chē vehicle, bus, car
chéng city
duō to be many
-fēn a minute
gàosong 告誦 to tell, to inform
gàosu 告訴 to tell, to inform
to separate, to divide off
jǐlù chē 幾路車 what number bus
měi- every, each
shàng to get on
shàng- last, previous (something)
shǎo to be few
tóu- first (something)
xià to get off
xià- next (something)
xià chē 下車 to get off the bus; “Out, please!”
Xīmēndīng 西門町 (an area of Taipei)
yǒu(de) shíhou 有(的)時候 sometimes
zhàn a stop, a station
zuìhòu 最後 last, final (something)
(introduced on C-2 and P-2 tapes)
Běihǎi Gōngyuán 北海公園 (a famous park in Běijīng)
biěde shíhou 別的時候 other times
Dōngjīng 東京 Tokyo
fàng jià 放假 to close for a holiday
hǎowán 好玩 to “be fun (lit. , “good for relaxing”)
huì will
sījī 司機 driver of a hired vehicle
zǒu ba 走吧 let’s go

10.1.3 Reference Notes

10.1.3.1 Notes on №1-2
1. A: Dào Xīméndīng qù, zuò jǐlù chē?
到西門町去,坐幾路車?
What bus do you take to get to Xīméndīng?
B: Zuò Shíbālù.
坐十八路。
Take Number 18.
2. A: Shíbālù chē duō bu duo?
十八路車多不多?
Are there many Number 18 buses?
B: Bù hěn duō.
不很多。
Not very many.

Xīméndīng literally means “West Gate ding”—dīng being a Japanese term for “district.” Xīméndīng is the area of Taipei which surrounds the former west gate of the city. Today the district includes many shops, department stores, and movie theaters.

is the word for “route.” The question jǐlù? asks for the route number of the bus.

Zuò, “to ride/to go by/to take [a conveyance]”:

🛈︎
Note

Zuò appeared earlier in Zuò diàntī dào èrlou, “Take the elevator to the second floor.

Here zuò (literally, “to sit”) means to go by some means of transportation which the passenger is inside of (e.g., car, plane, boat, train, bus, elevator—NOT a motor- cycle or a horse). In exchange 1, zuò is used as a main verb. It can also be used as a prepositional verb, as in
Nǐ zěnme qù?
你怎麽去?
How are you going? (i.e., by what means of transportation)
Wǒ zuò huǒchē qù.
我坐火車去。
I am going by train.

Duō, “to be many/much,” is an adjectival verb. There are several points to remember about duō:

🛈︎

Note

Adjectival verbs are one type of STATE verb. See BIO, Unit 6.

  1. Adjectival verbs are sometimes used before a noun to modify it (e.g., xīn zhuōzi, “new table”; dà fángzi, “big house”). However, when duō is used in this way, it must be modified, for example, by hěn or tài.

    Tā mǎile hěn duō dōngxi.

    他買了很多東西。

    He bought a lot of things.

    Běijīng jiēshang yǒu hěn duō cèsuǒ.

    比較街上有很多厠所。

    There are many toilets on the streets of Běijīng.

  2. Much more often, however, duō is used as the main verb of a sentence.

    Nǐde shū zhēn duō!

    你的書很多。

    You really have a lot of books!

    Jīntiān jiēshangde rén hěn duō.

    今天的街上的人很多。

    There are a lot of people out today, (literally, “on the streets today”) [16]

  3. Often it does not occur to students to use duō as the main verb of a sentence because in English they do not usually say “The students are many.” They would say “There are many students,” with “many” as an adjective preceding “students.” Compare:

    Zhèrde rén hěn duō.

    這兒的人很多。

    There are a lot of people here.

    Láide rén hěn duō.

    來的人很多。

    A lot of people came.

    NOTE: Shǎo, “to be few,” is used in almost the same ways as duō. (See Notes on Additional Required Vocabulary.)

10.1.3.2 Notes on №3
3. A: Měi gé duōshao shíhou yǒu yìbān chē?
每隔多少時候有一班車。
How much time is there between buses?
B: Měi gé èrshifēn zhōng yǒu yìbān.
每隔二十分鐘有一班。
There’s one every twenty minutes.

Měi- is the word for “each,” “every.”

is a verb meaning “to separate,” “to divide.” It is used for intervals of time between regularly occurring events (e.g., “every half hour”). In exchange 3, gé refers to the length of time between buses.

měi gé duōshao shíhou

每 隔 多少 時候

(every divide-off [interval] how much time) “(every) how often”

The first sentence could also be translated as “How often is there a bus?” or “How often do the buses run?”

The counter -bān is used for scheduled trips, or runs, of a vehicle. Yìbān chē is one bus run.

Example 10.1.3.2.1 Yìbān chē:

The counter -fēn, for minutes, is usually followed by zhōng, “clock.” (Zhōng means “o’clock” in telling time.) “One minute” is yìfēn zhōng.

Example 10.1.3.2.2 Èrshifēn zhōng:

Měi èrshifēn zhōng yǒu yìbān chē.
二十分鐘 一班 車。
each interval twenty minutes there is one [run] bus
“There’s a bus every twenty minutes.”

10.1.3.3 Notes on №4
4. C: Wǒ měige Xīngqīliù dōu qù kàn diànyǐng.
我每個星期六都去看電影。
I go to see a movie every Saturday.

Měige: When used with a noun, měi- acts as a specifier and must be followed by a counter or a noun that does not require a counter.

měi(ge) rěn

每(個)人

every person

měizhāng zhuōzi

每個桌子

every table

měitiān

每天

every day

Dōu, “all”: Here the adverb dōu implies “each and every,” or “without exception”—“every Saturday, without exception.” When the subject of a sentence is specified by měi-, the following verb is usually modified by the adverb dōu.

10.1.3.4 Notes on №5
5. A: Zuìhòu yìbān chē shi jǐdiǎn zhōng?
最後一班車是幾點鐘?
What time is the last bus?
B: Shíyīdiǎn shífēn.
十一點十分。
Eleven-ten.
十一點十分。

Zuìhòu yìbān chē: Zuì is the word for “most,” or “-est.” Zuìhòu means “latest,” or “last.” Note the order in which the elements of this phrase appear:

zuìhòu -ban chē
最後
last one run bus

“the last bus”

Both the number and the counter are required in this phrase.

Compare:

tóu -ban chē “the first bus”
xià -ban chē “the next bus”
shàng -ban chē “the last (previous) bus”

(See Note on No. 8 and Notes on Additional Required Vocabulary for xià-, “next”; shàng-, “last,” “previous”; and tóu-, “first.”)

10.1.3.5 Notes on №6

6. D: Zhèbān chē shì bu shi qù Xīméndīng?
這班車是不是去西門町?
Does this bus go to Xīméndīng?
E: Shì. Shàng chē ba!
是。上車吧!
Yes, Get on!

Shì bu shi qù, “does it go to”:* The use of shì bu shi qù rather than qù bu qu in this sentence implies that the speaker has an idea that the bus does go to Xīméndīng and wants to make sure. (Zhèbān chē qù bu qu Xīméndīng? would also be correct.)

*For a discussion of the use of shì bu shi before another verb to form a question, see MON, Unit 5, notes on No. 8.

Qù Xīméndīng, “go to Xīméndīng”: The destination directly follows the main verb . You now know two ways to indicate destination:

Wo dào Xīméndīng qù.

I am going to Xīméndīng.

我到西門町去。

Wo qù Xīméndīng.

我去西門町。

The two forms are equally widely used.

Shàng chē: This verb has several meanings. In the Directions Module, the meaning was “to go up” in Shàng lóu, yòubian jiù shi mài dìtúde. In this exchange, the meaning of shàng is “to get on/in [a vehicle].”

10.1.3.6 Notes on №7
7. A: Dào Xīméndīngde shíhou, qǐng gàosong wǒ.
到西門町的時候,請告誦我。
When we get to Xīméndīng, please tell me.
F: Hǎo.
好。
Okay.

Dào Xīméndīngde shíhou means “when we arrive in Xīméndīng.” If you want to say, in Chinese, “when [something happens],” add -de shíhou to the phrase which names the happening.

In English, “when” can mean either “during the same time” (e.g., “when I was a student”) or “immediately after” (e.g., “when the light turns green”). In Chinese, however, two different expressions are used for the two meanings: -de shíhou for “at the same time” and yǐhou for “immediately after.”

Wǒ zài Xiānggǎngde shíhou hěn xǐhuan qù kàn diànyǐng.

我在香港的時候很喜歡去看電影。

When [i.e., while] I was in Hong Kong, I liked to go to the movies very much.

Wǒ dàole Táiběi yīhòu, mǎile hěn duō Zhōngwén shū.

我到了臺北以後,買了很多中文書。

When [i.e., after] I got to Taipei, I bought a lot of Chinese books.

10.1.3.7 Notes on №8
8. A: Hái yǒu jǐzhàn dào Xīméndīng?
還有幾站到西門町?
How many more stops are there to (before) Xīméndīng?
F: Xià yízhàn jiù shi Xīměndīng.
下一站就是西門町。
The next stop is Xīméndīng.

Xià yízhàn: Here xià means “the next.” It is a specifier. Xià is usually followed by a numeral or a counter, as in the following examples:

xiàge yuè

next month

下個月

xià yíbān chē

the next bus

下一班車

The phrase xià yízhàn contains no counter because -zhàn, like -nián and -tiān, is not used with a counter.

10.1.3.8 Notes on Additional Vocabulary
9. shàng-
last, previous (something)
10. tóu-
first (something)
11. gàosu
告訴
to tell, to inform (alternate pronunciation for gàosong)
12. shǎo
to be few
13. xià chē
下車
to get off the bus; "Out, please!"
14. yǒu(de) shíhou
有(的)時候
sometimes
15. chéng
city

The specifier shàng-, “last,” “previous,” is used in the same patterns as xià-.

shàngge yuè

last month

上個月

shàng yìbān chē

the previous bus

上一班車

Tóu-, “first,” literally “head”: Let’s contrast - and tóu-: - has no meaning of its own. Its function is to make a cardinal number into an ordinal number: for example, sān, “three,” becomes dìsān, “third,” as in dìsānge mén, “the third door.” Tóu- has a meaning of its own: “first,” as in tóusānge men, “the first three doors.”

Tóu- is always followed by at least a number plus a counter (or a noun that does not require a counter).

tóuliǎngge rén

the first two people

頭兩個人

tóusānběn

the first three volumes

頭三本

tóusìtiān

the first four days

頭四天

Notice that tóuliāngge, “the first two,” and dìèrge, “the second one,” must use different words for “two,” because

tóuliāngge

(COUNTING)

頭兩個

dìèrge

(NOT COUNTING)

第二個

Tóuyige, “the first one,” and dìyīge, “the first one,” are similar in meaning and often interchangeable.

Gàosu, “to tell”: Gaosong is the usual colloquial pronunciation in Běijīng speech. Gàosu is the usual colloquial pronunciation in many other places in China, including Taiwan. The fact that, in a Taipei setting, the first speaker in exchange 7 uses gàosong tells you that he is almost certainly not a native of Taiwan.

Shǎo, “to be few”: Most of the comments about duō in these Reference Notes (exchange 2) also apply to the adjectival verb shǎo. Most frequently shǎo is used as the main verb of a sentence.

Wǒde qián bù shǎo.

我的錢不少。

I have quite a bit of money.

Zài Táiwān méiyou gōngzuòde rén hěn shǎo.

在臺灣沒有工作的人很少。

There are few people in Taiwan who do not have Jobs.

One point deserves special attention: Although you may say hěn duō shū for “a lot of books,” you may not say hěn shǎo shū. Hěn shǎo can rarely modify a noun which follows—and neither can tài shǎo, zhēn shǎo, and related expressions.

Xià chē, “to get off [a vehicle],” may be used to signal that you wish to get off—that this is your stop. The expression would be translated as “Out, please,” or “Getting off, getting off,” used by passengers in crowded buses and elevators.

Yǒu(de) shíhou, “sometimes,” precedes the verb of a sentence, as other time expressions do.

Tā yǒude shíhou kàn Yīngwén bào.

He sometimes reads English newspapers.

他有的時候看英文報

Wǒ yǒu shíhou zuò Shíbālù chē.

Sometimes I take the Number 18 bus.

我有時候坐十八路車。

Originally, chéng meant “city wall.” This early meaning still affects modern usage: you must say “going INto the city,” not just “to the city.”

Tā jīntiān dào chénglǐtou qù.

He is going to the city today.

他今天到城裏頭去。

10.1.3.9 Vocabulary booster

Modes of Transportation

bicycle [Běijīng] zìxíngchē 自行車
[Táiwān] jiǎotàchē 脚踏車
boat chuán
motorboat qìtǐng 汽艇
rowboat huátǐng 划艇
sailboat fānchuán 帆船
sampan shānbǎn 舢舨
bus gōnggòng qìchē 公共汽車
coach (long-distance) chángtú qìchē 長途汽車
car (automobile) qìchē 汽車
chēzi 車子
chē
helicopter zhíshēngfēijī 直升飛機
horseback riding qí mǎ 騎馬
jeep jípǔchē 吉普車
motorcycle mótuōchē 摩托車
plane fēijī 飛機
jet [PRC] pēnqìshì fēijī 噴氣式飛機
[Táiwān] pēnshèshì fēijī 噴射式飛機
[Táiwān] pēnshèjī 噴射機
subway dìxiàtiě 地下鐵
dìtiě 地鐵
dìxià huǒchē 地下火車
taxi chūzū qìchē 出租汽車
[PRC] chūzū chē 出租車
[Táiwān] jìchéngchē 計程車
train huǒchē 火車
trolley diànchē 電車
truck kǎchē 卡車
walking zǒu lù 走路

10.2 Drills