15 Unit 6

15.1 References

15.1.1 Reference List

1. A: Jǐdiǎn zhōng kāi?
幾點鐘開?
What time does it leave?
B: híbādiǎn wǔshiwǔfēn fā chē.
十八點五十五分發車。
It departs at 1855.
A: Nà hǎo.
那好。
That’s fine.
2. B: Qǐng ni bǎ nǐde hùzhào hé lǚxíngzhèng gěi wo.
請你把你的護照和旅行證給我。
Please give me your passport and travel permit.
A: Hǎo, gěi ni.
好,給你。
Okay, here it is.
3. A: Dào Shànghǎi qùde chē zài dìjǐ zhàntái?
到上海去的車在第幾站臺?
On which platform is the train to Shànghǎi?
B: Zài dìyī zhàntái.
在第一站臺。
It’s on Platform Number 1.
4. B: Bú yòng jí. Hái zǎo ne.
不用急。還早呢。
No need to be anxious. It’s still early.
B: Nǐ xiān zài zhèige jiēdàishì xiūxi xiuxi.
你先在這個接待室休息休息。
First, rest a bit in this waiting room.
5. A: Wǒ zhèijiàn xíngli zěnme bàn? Shì bu shi kéyi náshang chē qu?
我這件行李怎麽辦?是不是可以拿上車去?
What should I do about this suitcase of mine? May I take it onto the train?
B: Kéyi bǎ xíngli náshang chē qu.
可以把行李拿上車去。
You may take the suitcase onto the train.
6. A: Zhèibān chē yǒu cānchē ba?
這班車有餐車吧?
This train has a dining car, I suppose?
B: Yǒu. Yǒu Zhōngcān, yě yǒu Xīcān.
有。有中餐,也有西餐。
Yes. There’s Chinese food and there’s also Western food.
A: Hǎojíle.
好極了。
Great.
7. C: Xià yízhàn jiù shi Shànghǎi le.
下一站就是上海了。
The next station is Shànghǎi.
C: Kuài yào dào zhàn le.
快要到站了。
We are about to arrive at the station.
C: Nín zhǔnbèi xià chē ba.
您準備下車了。
Please get ready to get off the train.
8. bān
to move
9. náshangqu
拿上去
to take up
náshanglai
拿上來
to bring up
náxiaqu
拿下去
to take down
náxialai
拿下來
to bring down
10. pǎo
to run
11. wǎn
to be late
12. yuètái
月臺
train platform (alternate word for zhàntái. more common in Taiwan)

15.1.2 Vocabulary

bān to move (e.g., furniture) (new house)
bàn to handle, to manage, to do
cānchē 餐車 dining car
fā chē 發車 to depart (from the first terminal of a train route)
hǎojíle 好極了 to be wonderful, to be great
and
hùzhào 護照 passport
to be anxious
jiēdàishì (jiēdàishī) 接待室 waiting room
-jíle 極了 extremely, awfully
kāi to leave
kuài soon
lǚxíngzhèng 旅行證 travel permit
to pick up, to hold, to take
náshanglai 拿上來 to bring up
náshangqu 拿上去 to take up
náxialai 拿下來 to bring down
náxiaqu 拿下去 to take down
pǎo to run
wǎn to be late
Xīcān 西餐 Western food
xiūxi 休息 to rest, to relax
yào will, going to
yuètái 月臺 train platform
zǎo to be early
zhàntái 站臺 train platform
Zhōngcān 中餐 Chinese food
zhǔnbèi 準備 to prepare, to get ready
bāng to help
bú yào 不要 don’t
láilai-wǎngwǎng 來來往往 coming and going
qǐdiǎnzhàn 起點站 station where a train originates (literally, “starting station”)
shūfu 舒服 to be comfortable

15.1.3 Reference Notes

15.1.3.1 Notes on №1
1. A: Jǐdiǎn zhōng kāi?
幾點鐘開?
What time does it leave?
B: híbādiǎn wǔshiwǔfēn fā chē.
十八點五十五分發車。
It departs at 1855.
A: Nà hǎo.
那好。
That’s fine.

15.1.3.2 Notes on №2
2. B: Qǐng ni bǎ nǐde hùzhào hé lǚxíngzhèng gěi wo.
請你把你的護照和旅行證給我。
Please give me your passport and travel permit.
A: Hǎo, gěi ni.
好,給你。
Okay, here it is.

Kāi and fā chē: When referring to trains, the verb kāi, “to start,” means “to start off” or “to leave.” The technical term fā chē, “to send out the train,” is used in reference to a train which is departing from the terminal at the beginning of a trip, or line.

15.1.3.3 Notes on №3
3. A: Dào Shànghǎi qùde chē zài dìjǐ zhàntái?
到上海去的車在第幾站臺?
On which platform is the train to Shànghǎi?
B: Zài dìyī zhàntái.
在第一站臺。
It’s on Platform Number 1.

Hé, “and,” is a common alternate to gēn. Both hé and gēn are used as

“and” between nouns.

Bǎ nǐde hùzhào...: The prepositional verb bǎ points out the direct objects (passport and travel permit) and brings those objects to the beginning of the sentence, preceding the main verb. Without this construction, a “traffic jam” of sentence elements would follow that verb.

15.1.3.4 Notes on №4
4. B: Bú yòng jí. Hái zǎo ne.
不用急。還早呢。
No need to be anxious. It’s still early.
B: Nǐ xiān zài zhèige jiēdàishì xiūxi xiuxi.
你先在這個接待室休息休息。
First, rest a bit in this waiting room.

In exchange 4, the aspect marker ne emphasizes that there has been no change in the situation.

Tā zài zhèr ne.

他在這兒呢。

He is here.

When the adverb hái, “still,” “yet,” is used, the sentence very often ends with the marker ne.

Míngtiān wǒ hái bù zǒu ne.

明天我還不走呢。

I am not leaving tomorrow (yet), (i.e., I will still be here tomorrow.)

Verb reduplication: In Unit 3 of the Money Module, you learned that reduplication is one way to indicate ASPECT, although markers are more common. INDEFINITENESS is the aspect expressed when an action verb is reduplicated. The speaker does not commit himself to the duration or extent of the action.

In the last sentence of No. the speaker asks the listener to “rest a bit.” Instead of using additional words to indicate a short duration, the speaker reduplicates the verb, xiūxi, expressing some duration, but of no particular limit.

To reduplicate a two-syllable verb, simply repeat the whole verb. The repetition is unstressed, or even toneless: xiūxi xiuxi

Xiān: Since this use of “first” is not followed by an explicit “afterwards,” xiān might also be translated as “for the time being” or “right now.”

Wǒ xiān zǒu le, nǐmen mànmānr chī ba.

我先走了,你們慢慢兒吃吧。

Right now I’m going to excuse myself; you take your time eating.

Nǐ xiān bié jí, mànmānr zhǎo.

你先別急,慢慢兒找。

For the time being, don’t be anxious; take your time looking for it.

15.1.3.5 Notes on №5
5. A: Wǒ zhèijiàn xíngli zěnme bàn? Shì bu shi kéyi náshang chē qu?
我這件行李怎麽辦?是不是可以拿上車去?
What should I do about this suitcase of mine? May I take it onto the train?
B: Kéyi bǎ xíngli náshang chē qu.
可以把行李拿上車去。
You may take the suitcase onto the train.

Zěnme bàn means something like “how should [something] be managed” or “what should be done [about something].”

Náshang chē qu, “take onto the train,” is a COMPOUND VERB OF DIRECTION which has been separated by a noun object. Ná is the verb “to pick up,” “to hold,” “to take,” “to bring.” The directional endings -shàng, “up,” “onto,”* and qù, “to go,” tell you that the action takes place up and away from the speaker.

*You have seen shàng used as several different parts of speech:

shàng lóu

上樓

to go up (FULL verb)

shàng chē

上車

to get on (FULL verb)

shàngbianr

上邊兒

upper, above (IN PLACE WORDS)

shàngge yuè

上個月

last, previously (SPECIFIER)

zài chēshang

在車上

on (LOCATIONAL ENDING [with nouns])

náshangqu

拿上去

up, onto (DIRECTIONAL ENDING [with verbs])

ná shang qu

拿 上 去

(hold up/onto away)

“to take up/onto”

Compound verbs of direction are easily formed, as shown in the chart below. The first column contains action verbs you have learned which may be used. The endings in the middle column are relatively few. For the second part of the directional ending, only lái and qù may be used.

ACTION Plus DIRECTION

ná (to carry) -shàng (up) lái (towards)

拿 上 來

zǒu (to walk/go) -xià (down) qù (away)

走 下 去

bān (to move) -chū (out)

搬 出

pǎo (to run) -jìn (in)

跑 進

kāi (to drive) -huí (back)

開 回

(AND OTHERS)

Compound verbs of direction may be two or three syllables: chūqu, “to go out”; zǒuchuqu, “to walk out”

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It is possible to split up a two-part directional ending by placing an object or location before the final lái or qù.

náshang chē qu

拿上車去

take onto the train/bus

náchu yìběn shū lai

拿出一本書來

bring out a book

xià lóu qu

下樓去

go downstairs

A direct object (such as nèiběn shū) may be placed EITHER at the beginning of a sentence, using bǎ, OR later in the sentence, splitting up the directional ending. Locations which are the goal of the action (such as chē and lóu above) MUST be placed between the two parts of the directional ending.

Bǎ xíngli náshang chē qu: In the last sentence of exchange 5, the direct object, xíngli, is placed before the verb. The location of the action, chē, is placed before the final qu. When both a location and a direct object occur in a sentence with a multisyllabic directional verb, the location is placed between the two syllables of the directional ending, and the direct object is moved closer to the beginning of the sentence.

15.1.3.6 Notes on №6
6. A: Zhèibān chē yǒu cānchē ba?
這班車有餐車吧?
This train has a dining car, I suppose?
B: Yǒu. Yǒu Zhōngcān, yě yǒu Xīcān.
有。有中餐,也有西餐。
Yes. There’s Chinese food and there’s also Western food.
A: Hǎojíle.
好極了。
Great.

The ending -jíle, meaning “extremely,” “awfully,” may be added to adjectival verbs.

Nèige píngguo dàjíle.

那個蘋果大幾了。

That apple is huge.

Zuò huǒchē fāngbianjíle.

坐火車方便極了。

Riding the train is extremely convenient.

Tā zǒude kuàijíle.

他走得快極了。

He walks awfully fast.

-jíle is seldom used in Taiwan.

15.1.3.7 Notes on №7
7. C: Xià yízhàn jiù shi Shànghǎi le.
下一站就是上海了。
The next station is Shànghǎi.
C: Kuài yào dào zhàn le.
快要到站了。
We are about to arrive at the station.
C: Nín zhǔnbèi xià chē ba.
您準備下車了。
Please get ready to get off the train.

Kuài means “soon” in the second sentence of exchange 7. You have already learned another meaning for kuài: “to be fast”

In the sentence Kuài yào dào zhàn le, yào is an auxiliary verb meaning “will” or “to be going to.” Other meanings you have learned for yào are “to want,” “to need,” “to have to,” “to require.”

New-situation le: The aspect marker le for new situations occurs in the first two sentences of No. 7. In Xià yízhàn jiù shi Shànghǎi le, the speaker uses le to communicate a change in the circumstances: after passing through many stations, Shànghǎi will finally be the next station.

When a speaker uses le, he is saying that something has changed in reference to him or in reference to the listener. In the first sentence in No. 7, Shànghǎi itself has not changed, but what constitutes the “next station” for the speaker and the listener has changed.

In Kuài yào dào zhàn le, new-situation le marks a change which is about to take place—their arrival. Here are examples of references to future changes:

Tā míngnián jiù shísuì le.

他明年就十歲了。

He will be ten (years old) next year.

Wǒ zǒu le.

我走了。

I’m leaving now. (I’ll be leaving now.)

Piào kuài yào màiwán le.

票快要賣完了。

The tickets will soon be sold out.

Many speakers of English have trouble with new-situation le because they would not think of using it when the Chinese do. Take note of situations which the Chinese consider to be changes, and try to use new-situation le in your speech.

15.2 Drills