Standard Chinese, a modular approach.
Money Module, Unit 1, Comprehension Tape 1.
This unit is set in the ROC.
On this tape, you'll learn to understand some basic questions and answers
used in buying things at a newsstand.
Peter Crook is in the reading room of a library in Taipei
and is looking for an English language newspaper.
Listen as he asks another student if the reading room has any.
Are there any English language newspapers here?
这里有英文报吗?
Yes, they're right over there.
有,就在那里。
Here's the word for newspaper.
报,报。
And here's the word used for write in expressions like
right here or right over there.
就,就。
We can understand better how the question in this exchange is put together
if we listen to the full answer to it with a word for word English translation.
Listen, here there are English language newspapers.
这里有英文报。
In Chinese, the place word 这里 is followed directly by the verb 有.
In English, the word 这里 is added between the place word here and the verb are.
Here, there are English language newspapers.
In both English and Chinese, the place word 这里 is the topic of the sentence.
The word that lets you know what the sentence is going to say something about.
You'll remember an earlier case where the filler word 这里 was added to fill the subject position of an English sentence with no real subject.
There are five people in my family.
Chinese doesn't need to add a subject, saying simply 我家里有五个人。
Here's the exchange again.
Are there any English language newspapers here? 这里有英文报吗?
这里有英文报吗?
Yes, they're right over there. 有,就在那里。
有,就在那里。
Now listen to it live. 这里有英文报吗?
有,就在那里。
Again, 这里有英文报吗?
有,就在那里。
Check your comprehension. 这里有英文报吗?
Are there any English language newspapers here? 有,就在那里。
有,就在那里。
Yes, they're right over there. Now listen to another way Mr. Cook might have asked his question.
Are there any English language newspapers here? 这里有英文报吗?
Yes, they're right over there. 有,就在那里。
有,就在那里。
In asking a yes-no question, instead of using the yes-no question marker, ma, you may offer your listener a choice between the affirmative and the negative.
When the negative form is tagged on at the end, both syllables are usually in the neutral tone.
Listen to the exchange live. 这里有英文报没有?
有,就在那里。
The structure of this type of yes-no question, which we will call a choice type yes-no question, can be brought out by a more literal English translation.
这里有英文报没有?
Are there any English language newspapers here or not? Here's the exchange again. 这里有英文报没有?
有,就在那里。
Check your comprehension. 这里有英文报没有?
Are there any English language newspapers here? 有,就在那里。
Yes, they're right over there. Suppose the library hadn't had any English newspapers.
After leaving the library, Mr. Cook goes to a newsstand. Listen, I'd like to buy an English language newspaper. 我想买英文报。
I'd like to buy an English newspaper. 我想买英文报。
Fine, they're right here. 好,就在这里。
Here's the verb used for to like to or to want to. 想,想。
You've had the verb 想 before, meaning to think or to plan or intend to.
Here's the verb for to buy. 买,买。
Notice the use of the word 好, which has the basic meaning to be good. In situations like this, it's used for expressions like fine, sure, certainly, or all right. Listen to the exchange live. 我想买英文报。
好,就在这里。 Again, 我想买英文报。
好,就在这里。 Check your comprehension. 我想买英文报。
I'd like to buy an English language newspaper. 好,就在这里。
Fine, they're right here. Having spotted the English language newspaper he wants, Mr. Cook finds out the price from the clerk. Listen, how much is this one? 这个多少钱?
5块钱。 五块钱。 Here's the word for how much. 多少,多少。
And here's the word for money. 钱,钱。
Notice that the Chinese question about price has no word which corresponds to the verb is in English. Word for word, the question 这个多少钱 is this one, how much money? Listen to the exchange again. How much is this one? 这个多少钱?
5块钱。 五块钱。 Here's how you say one dollar. 一块钱。
Notice that quite is a counter for an amount of money, namely one dollar. The amount 五块钱, therefore, is literally five dollars money. The dollars in this exchange are, of course, Taiwan dollars. As of 1975, five Taiwan dollars was equivalent to about 13.5 cents in our terms. Here's the exchange live. 这个多少钱?
5块钱。 Again. 这个多少钱?
5块钱。 Check your comprehension. 这个多少钱?
How much is this one? 五块钱。
5 dollars. A clerk is also likely to quote a price as so much per unit, using the appropriate counter to indicate the unit. Listen. How much is this Chinese language newspaper? 这个中文报多少钱?
3块钱一份。 三块钱一份。
The bound word 份, copy, is a counter for newspapers. Here's how you say one copy of a newspaper. 一份报。
The clerk is saying that the newspaper is three dollars per copy. Listen to the exchange live. 这个中文报多少钱?
3块钱一份。 Again. 这个中文报多少钱?
3块钱一份。 Check your comprehension. 这个中文报多少钱?
How much is this Chinese language newspaper? 三块钱一份。
3块钱一份。 Now Mr. Cook asks for something else. Do you sell American magazines here? 你们这里卖美国杂志不卖?
Yes, we do. 我们这里卖。 我们这里卖。
Here's the verb for to sell. 卖。
Notice that the verbs for to sell and to buy are the same except for tones. The word for to buy is 卖 in the low tone, while the word for to sell is 卖 in the falling tone.
Here's the word for magazine. 杂志。
In the topic positions in these sentences are the place phrases 女们这里 and 女们这里, which means something like your place here and our place here.
We might catch where the Chinese sentences are really saying by translating them. As for your place here, do you sell American magazines?
As for our place here, we don't. Listen to the exchange live. 你们这里卖美国杂志不卖?
我们这里卖。 Notice that the question in this exchange is a choice type question, with a negative choice 不卖, tagged on at the end in the neutral tone.
Here's the exchange again. 你们这里卖美国杂志不卖?
我们这里卖。 Check your comprehension. 你们这里卖美国杂志不卖?
Do you sell American magazines here? 我们这里卖。
Yes, we do. The conversation continues. How much is this one? 这个多少钱?
Thirty dollars a copy. 三十块钱一本。
Fine, I'll buy one. 好,我买一本。
The counter for magazines or books is 本。 When it's used with magazines, we translate it copy. When it's used with books, we translate it volume.
Here's how you say one copy of a magazine. 一本杂志。
Here's the exchange live. 这个多少钱?
三十块钱一本。 好,我买一本。
这个多少钱? 三十块钱一本。
好,我买一本。 Check your comprehension. 这个多少钱?
How much is this one? 三十块钱一本。
Thirty dollars a copy. 好,我买一本。
Fine, I'll buy one. The conversation continues. Do you have American books here? 你们这里有美国书没有?
I'm sorry, we don't sell American books. 对不起,美国书我们不卖。
Here's the word for book. 书。
You'll remember it from the phrase 念书, study books. Here's the expression used for I'm sorry.
对不起 对不起。
More literally, the expression 对不起 means something like I can't face you.
Now listen to the answer. We don't sell American books. Without the expression I'm sorry in front of it.
We don't sell American books. 美国书我们不卖。
In this sentence, the object 美国书 comes first in the topic position, followed by the subject, woman. We can do the same thing in English, as in the sentence, American books we don't sell.
Here's the exchange live. 你们这里有美国书没有?
对不起,美国书我们不卖。 Again, 你们这里有美国书没有?
对不起,美国书我们不卖。 Check your comprehension. 你们这里有美国书没有?
Do you have American books here? 对不起,美国书我们不卖。
I'm sorry, we don't sell American books. 对不起,美国书我们不卖。
As we said, the words for to buy and to sell are the same except for their tones, but which is which?
One way to keep them straight is to learn them in a fixed order, the order we would normally follow in English, buy and sell.
Listen, 买买.
Notice that they are in the same order in which the tones were originally presented with low tone followed by falling tone.
Listen to buy and sell again. 买买.
To help sort these two words out, try translating the following random sentences about buying and selling. 他买报.
He buys newspapers. 他卖报.
He sells newspapers. 你卖杂志吗?
Do you sell magazines? 我买杂志.
I buy magazines. 你买报吗?
Do you buy newspapers? 你买杂志吗?
Do you buy magazines? 他们买报不买?
Do they buy newspapers? 你们这里卖报不买?
Do you sell newspapers here? 我们这里不买报.
We don't sell newspapers here. 我们卖杂志.
We sell magazines. 我不买杂志.
I don't buy magazines. 我想买一份报.
I'd like to buy a newspaper. The next exchange involves getting a total. Listen. How much are the newspaper and the magazine all together?
报杂志一共多少钱?
The newspaper's five dollars. The magazine is thirty dollars.
报五块.杂志三十块.
All together it's thirty five dollars. 一共三十五块.
Here's the adverb all together. 一共一共.
Notice that the adverb一共 all together comes after the items it sums up and before the price.
In this exchange, the money expressions have been abbreviated by omitting the word 钱, money.
You will only be required to understand this kind of abbreviation, not to produce it.
Here's the exchange live. 报杂志一共多少钱?
报五块,杂志三十块. 一共三十五块.
Again. 报杂志一共多少钱?
报五块,杂志三十块. 一共三十五块.
Check your comprehension. 报杂志一共多少钱?
How much are the newspaper and the magazine all together?
报五块,杂志三十块.
The newspaper is five dollars. The magazine is thirty dollars. 一共三十五块.
All together it's thirty five dollars. altogether it's thirty five dollars.
Mr. Cook thinks of something else he wants. Listen. The UCL maps here.
你们这里卖地图不卖? 你们这里卖地图不卖?
We do. They're over there. 卖在那里,卖在那里.
Here's the word for map. 地图,地图.
Listen to the exchange live. 你们这里卖地图不卖?
You sell maps here. 你们这里卖地图不卖?
卖在那里. Again. 你们这里卖地图不卖?
卖在那里. Check your comprehension. 你们这里卖地图不卖?
Do you sell maps here? 卖在那里.
We do. They're over there. The conversation continues. Listen.
What kind of map would you like to buy? 您想买什么地图?
I'd like to buy a map of Taipei. 我想买张台北地图.
By itself, the phrase 什么地图 can be translated simply as what map. In this exchange, it's used to mean what kind of map. Here's how you say one map. 意张地图,意张地图.
The word 张 is the counter for maps and other flat objects. We don't have to translate 意张 here with anything more explicit than the indefinite article A, but you may think of it as meaning one sheet.
Listen to the exchange lot. 您想买什么地图?
我想买一张台北地图. Again. 您想买什么地图?
我想买一张台北地图. Check your comprehension. 您想买什么地图?
What kind of map would you like to buy? 我想买一张台北地图.
I'd like to buy a map of Taipei. The conversation continues. Listen. How much is this map of Taipei? 这张台北地图多少钱?
12块钱. 12块钱. This map is 这张地图, literally this sheet map. Notice that in this phrase the counter 张 has a specifier in front of it instead of a number. Listen to the exchange lot. 这张台北地图多少钱?
12块钱. Again. 这张台北地图多少钱?
12块钱. Check your comprehension. 这张台北地图多少钱?
How much is this map of Taipei? 12块钱.
12块钱. The conversation continues live. Remember that so far Mr. Cook has bought a newspaper, a magazine, and a map of Taipei. Listen. 你们这里也有台湾地图吗?
有,二十块钱一张. 好,我买一张,一共多少钱?
报,杂志,三十五块. 这两张地图三十二块,一共六十七块.
Notice that the noun phrase these two maps is 这两张地图 with a specifier first and the number following it. Again. 你们这里也有台湾地图吗?
有,二十块钱一张. 好,我买一张,一共多少钱?
报,杂志,三十五块. 这两张地图三十二块,一共六十七块.
Check your comprehension. 你们这里也有台湾地图吗?
Do you have a map of Taiwan here too? 有,二十块钱一张.
We do, twenty dollars each. 好,我买一张,一共多少钱?
Fine, I'll buy one. How much is it all together? 报,杂志,三十五块.
The newspaper and the magazine were thirty-five dollars. 这两张地图三十二块.
These two maps are thirty-two dollars. 一共六十七块.
All together, it's sixty-seven dollars. A review dialog for this unit will be found at the beginning of the C2 tape. Now try translating random sentences from the target list.
I'd like to buy an English-language newspaper. 这里有美国杂志没有?
Are there any American magazines here? 报,杂志,一共多少钱?
How much are the newspaper and the magazines all together? 报,杂志,一共多少钱?
Number four. 对不起,美国书我们不卖。
I'm sorry, we don't sell American books. 不好意思,我们不卖美国书。
Number five. 你们这里卖美国书不卖。
Do you sell American books here? 这里卖美国书不卖。
Number six. 这个报多少钱?
How much is this newspaper? 这里没有美国杂志。
There aren't any American magazines here. 这两张地图多少钱?
How much are these two maps? 这两张地图多少钱?
Number nine. 这个报五块钱一份。
This newspaper is five dollars a copy. 这个报五块钱一份。
Number ten. 一共三十五块。
All together, it's thirty-five dollars. 全部是三十五块。
If you're ready, go on to the P1 tape. This is the end of the tape. 这个报五块钱一份。