Lesson 1 Are You American?

Topic: Self-Introduction

(w jio) (w sh) (m) (ne)

Dialogue
:

xi xie

Mark : :

n ho

n ho

Mark : :

Mark
w jio n ne

w jio wn wn xn n sh mi u rn m

Mark : :

w sh ji n d rn n sh bi jn rn m

b sh w sh shn hi rn

Mark : :

shn hi hn mi w x hun shn hi

n de zhn wn hn ho

Mark :

xi xie

Lesson 1 Are You American?

English Text
Wenxin: Mark: Wenxin: Mark: Wenxin: Mark: Wenxin: Mark: Wenxin: Mark: Thank you. Hello! Hello! My name is Mark. And yours? My name is Wang Wenxin. Are you American? I'm Canadian. Are you from Beijing? No, I'm from Shanghai. Shanghai is beautiful. I like Shanghai. Your Chinese is very good. Thank you.

Vocabulary
1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

xi xie n ho n ho w jio ne sh rn m b hn mi x hun n de de zhn wn

V CE Pr Adj Pr V QPr V N QPr Adv Adv Adj V Pr P N

to thank hello you good/fine/nice/O.K. I/me to call/to be called an interrogative particle to be/ yes people/person an interrogative particle (negative prefix) not/no very/extremely beautiful to like/to be fond of your a possessive particle Chinese language

Proper Nouns
15 16 17 18 19 20 21

bi jn

PN

Beijing (capital of People's Republic of China) Shanghai United States of America American person Canada Canadian person Wang Wenxin(Chinese name)

shn hi mi u mi u rn ji n d ji n d rn wn wn xn

PN PN PN PN PN PN

Lesson 1 Are You American?

Culture Points
Chinese Name A modern Chinese name includes a surname/family name (xn), and a given name (mn). Chinese people put the family name before the given name which shows the importance of the family.

For example:

wn wn xn

wn

wn xn

full name Country Names

family name

given name

zhn u

mi u

r bn

o d l y

China

America

Japan

Australia

yn u

f u

d u

ji n d

England

France

Germany

Canada

Language Points
1.i The verb (jio)
(jio) means to be called. When you introduce yourself to Chinese
people, you can say:

(w jio)+name. For example:

1 2

w jio wn wn xn

My name is Wang Wenxin. My name is Li Fei.

w jio l fi

2.i The question particle (ne)

(ne) often follows a noun or pronoun to form a question. The meaning
of the question will be decided by the context.

For example:
1 A:

My name is Wang Wenxin.

w jio wn wn xn n ne

And yours?

B:
w jio l fi

My name is Li Fei. And you?

2 A:

I'm American.
w sh mi u rn n ne

B:
w sh f u rn

I'm French.

3.i The verb (sh)

(sh) means to be. Fortunately, you never need to remember the verb conjugation in Chinese: am is and are are always (sh) . For example:
1 2 3 4

w sh mi u rn

I'm American. You're Chinese. He is German. She is French.

n sh zhn u rn

t sh d u rn

t sh f u rn

Lesson 1 Are You American?

4.i The question particle (m)

To change a statement to a true or false question, you can add the word (m) at the end. If the answer is affirmative, you can use (sh). If the answer is negative, (b) and b share used.

For example:
1 A:

n sh zhn u rn m

Are you Chinese? Yes, I am Chinese.

B:
sh w sh zhn u rn

C: No, I am not Chinese.

b w b sh zhn u rn

2 A:

t sh bi jn rn m

Is she from Beijing? Yes, she is from Beijing.

B:
sh t sh bi jn rn

C: No, she is not from Beijing.

b t b sh bi jn rn

5.i The negative adverb (b)

(b) means no or not. For example:
1 A:

n sh mi u rn m

Are you American?

B: No, I'm Canadian.

b w sh ji n d rn

2 3

w b sh mi u rn

I'm not American. My name is not Wang Wenxin.

w b jio wn wn xn

6.i Adjectives used as predicates

When an adjective is used as the predicate of a sentence in Chinese, you do not need to use a verb. This kind of sentence follows the structure: subject + (hn) + adjective. To say the negative, we use the structure subject + (b) + adjective.

For example:
1 2 3

shn hi hn mi

Shanghai is very beautiful.

People from Beijing are very nice.

bi jn rn hn ho

shn hi b mi

Shanghai is not beautiful.

7.i The particle (de)

(de) can be used to make possessive pronouns.

I or me

w de

my or mine

you

n de

your or yours

he or him

t de

his

she or her

t de

her or hers

Lesson 1 Are You American?

Reading
1

t sh zhn u rn t hn o

t jio yo mn

Beckham
t sh yn u rn t hn shui

t jio

Shawn
t sh mi u rn t hn pio lin

t jio

Bolt
t sh y mi ji rn t hn kui

t jio

Vocabulary
1 2 3 4 5

o shui pio lin y mi ji kui

Adj Adj Adj PN Adv

tall handsome pretty Jamaica fast

English Text
1.o Hes called Yao Ming. Hes Chinese. Hes very tall. 2.o Hes called David Beckham. Hes British. Hes very handsome. 3.o Shes called Shawn Johnson. Shes American. Shes very pretty. 4.o Hes called Usain Bolt. Hes Jamaican. Hes very fast.

Drills
Pronunciation
1. Practice your pronunciation.

2. Read the following sentences out loud. 1

w

sh mi u rn

2
n

sh zhn u rn m

3
w

x hun shn hi

4
n

de zhn wn hn ho

Vocabulary
Choose the right word from the box to fill in the blanks below.

jio

zhn wn

mi

x hun

1 2
w

shn hi

shn hi hn

3
n

de

hn ho

4
n

sh mi u rn

?
9

5
w

Mark

Lesson 1 Are You American?

Sentence Patterns
Write a correct response for the following questions or statements. 1 A: 2 A: 3 A: 4 A: 5 A:

B:
n sh mi u rn m

? B:
n sh shn hi rn m

!
n ho

B: B:

!
n hn mi

B:
n de zhn wn hn ho

Communication
Use the English in parentheses to complete the conversation in Chinese.

n ho

Mark
w jio wn hu n ne

( Hello. )

Mark
n sh yn u rn m

( My name is Paul. )

Mark
n x hun zhn u m

( No, I am German. )

Mark
n de zhn wn hn ho

( I like China very much. )

Mark
10

( Thank you. )

Useful Words
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t t w de t de t de o shui pio lin kui

Pr Pr Pr Pr Pr Adj Adj Adj Adj

he she my/mine his her/hers tall handsome beautiful fast

Proper Nouns
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zhn u zhn u rn yn u yn u rn f u f u rn d u d u rn o d l y

PN PN PN PN PN PN PN PN PN

China Chinese person U.K. British person France French person Germany German person Australia Australian person Jamaica

o d l y rn PN y mi ji PN

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