第十課 LESSON 10

LESSON 10

What’s in this lesson:

- Auxiliary Verbs ¨e-t`ang、¨¨e-h´iau、¨e-s´ai

- Action in Progress (teh)

EATING OUT

DIALOGUE t`ui-¨oe

[ Tˆan is Taiwanese. Lˆim is an American who is studying Taiwanese ]

Tˆan: Lˆim sian-sin, l´i beh ch`o-h´oe lˆai-kh`i ch’iah-p¨ng bô？

Lˆim: Hó. Lán beh lˆai-kh`i t´o-¨ui ch’iah？

Tˆan: Lí beh ch’iah m¨¨i ´a-s¨¨i ch’iah p¨ng？

Lˆim: Góa khah `ai ch’iah m¨i.

Tˆan: Lí s¨iun beh ch’iah s´im-m’ih m¨¨i？

Lˆim: L´ong ¨e-s´ai.

Tˆan: Lí ¨e-h´iau i¨ong t¨¨i h`o.n？

Lim: ¨E-h´iau！ Bô-b¨un-tˆe ！

Tˆan: A´n-ne, lán lâi-kh``i h’ak-h¨au ˆe chhan-thian ch’iah,

hó-bô？ In ˆe gˆu-bah-m¨i b¨e-b´ai.

159
LESSON 10 第十課

Lˆim: Hó. Lán lˆai-kh`i！

- - - - - -

[ Nˆg is Taiwanese. Tiun is an American who is studying Taiwanese ]

Nˆg: Lán chit-m´a ch`o-h´oe lˆai-kh``i ch’iah-p¨ng, hó bô？
Góa chiok iau！

Tiun: Hó, t¨an-s¨i lán s¨iong-hó t´an ch’it-¨e, góa s¨iun

Lˆim l¨au-su ¨ia ¨e lˆai.

Nˆg: Lˆim l¨au-su teh s¨iong kh`o, s´o.-´i b¨e-t`ang lˆai.

Tiun: O
´ ., s¨i an-ne. Bˆo, lán chit-m´a lˆai-kh`i ch’iah.

In the Restaurant [ t¨i chhan-thian l¨ai-b¨in ]

Nˆg: Lí s¨iun beh ch’iah s´im-m’ih？

Tiun: Góa seng kh`oan ch’it-¨e-´a chh`ai-toan.

Nˆg: H`an-j¨i lí ¨e-h´iau kh`oan bô？

Tiun: E
¨ -h´iau kh`oan ch’it-k´oa. K´ong Tiong-kok-¨oe khah
k´an-tan, kh`oan h`an-j¨i chin kh`un-lˆan.

Nˆg: ¨u-´ian to t’ioh.

Tiun: Góa s¨iun beh ch’iah pˆai-kut-p¨ng.

Nˆg: Góa beh ch’iah ch’it ˆe ke-th´ui-p¨ng.

Tiun: Lán beh lim s´im-m’ih thng？

Nˆg: Chhen-chh`ai t¨au-h¨u thng ´an-ch´oan？

160
第十課 LESSON 10

Tiun: Hó a. T¨oa ´oan ˆe ´a-s¨i s`e ´oan ˆe ？

Nˆg: Góa s¨iun s`e ´oan ˆe `eng-kai ¨u-k`au a.

(at the end of the meal)

Tiun: Góa ˆe g¨oa-ch¨e chˆˆin ？

Nˆg: ¨m-b´ian lah, góa chhían lí.

Tiun: Pháin-s`e.

Nˆg: B¨e-lah.

161
LESSON 10 第十課

[ 陳 is Taiwanese. 林 is an American who is studying Taiwanese ]

陳： 林先生，你要不要一起去吃飯？
林： 好。我們要去哪裡吃？
陳： 你要吃麵還是吃飯？
林： 我比較喜歡吃麵。
陳： 你想要吃什麼麵？
林： 都可以。
陳： 你會用筷子吧？
林： 會！沒(有)問題！
陳： 那麼，我們去學校的餐廳吃，好不好？ 他們的牛肉麵不錯。
林： 好。我們走吧！
- - - - - -

[ 黃 is Taiwanese. 張 is an American who is studying Taiwanese ]

黃： 我們現在一起去吃飯，好不好？ 我好餓 !
張： 好，但是我們最好等一下，我想林老師也會來。
黃： 林老師在上課，所以不能來。
張： 喔，這樣子。那麼，我們現在去吃吧。
In the Restaurant [ 在餐廳裡]
黃： 你想要吃什麼？
張： 我先看一下菜單。
黃： 漢字你會看嗎？
張： 會看一些。說中國話比較容易，看漢字很難。
黃： 沒錯。
張： 我想要吃排骨飯。
黃： 我要吃一個雞腿飯。
張： 我們要喝什麼湯？
黃： 青菜豆腐湯怎麼樣？
張： 好啊。大碗的還是小碗的？
黃： 我想小碗的應該夠了。
(at the end of the meal)
張： 我的多少錢？
黃： 不用啦，我請你。
張： 不好意思。
黃： 哪裡。

162
第十課 LESSON 10

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE DIALOGUE 對 話 翻 譯

Tˆan : Mr Lim, do you want to go together to eat?
Lˆim : Okay. Where shall we go to eat?
Tˆan : Do you want to eat noodles or rice?
Lˆim : I prefer eating noodles.
Tˆan : What sort of noodles would you like to eat?
Lˆim : Anything is fine.
Tˆan : You can use chopsticks, right?
Lˆim : Yes ! No problem !
Tˆan : In that case, let’s go to the school restaurant to eat, okay? Their beef
noodles isn’t bad.
Lˆim : Okay. Let’s go ! (note: Taiwanese = Lán lˆai-kh`i)
- - - - - -
Nˆg: How about us going together to eat now? I’m really hungry !
Tiun: Okay, but we had better wait a moment; I think Teacher Lim will also
be coming.
Nˆg: Teacher Lim is in class right now, so is unable to come.
Tiun: Oh, it’s like that, is it. In that case, we’ll go and eat now.

[In the Restaurant]

Nˆg: What would you like to eat?
Tiun: I’ll first take a look at the menu. (note 1)
Nˆg: Can you read Chinese characters?
Tiun: I can read a few. Speaking Taiwanese is easier, reading Chinese
characters is difficult.
Nˆg: That's really true. [Note: learn the Taiwanese as a complete phrase]
Tiun: I’m thinking of eating pork chops with rice.
Nˆg: I want to eat chicken leg with rice.
Tiun: What sort of soup shall we eat?
Nˆg: What do you think about bean curd with green vegetable soup?
Tiun: Okay. Large bowl or small bowl (of soup)?
Nˆg: I think that a small bowl (of soup) ought to be sufficient.
[At the end of the meal]
Tiun: How much will mine cost?
Nˆg: No need. I’ll pay for you. (see lesson 2 note 3d)
Tiun: I’m embarrassed.
Nˆg: It’s nothing really. (i.e. please don’t be embarrassed)
163
LESSON 10 第十課

NEW VOCABULARY sin-j¨i

1. m¨¨i (tˆiau) 麵 (條) (N) noodles (M: 條 tˆiau)

2. ¨e-h´iau 會 (AV) can (in the sense of ‘know how

to’, i.e. mastery of a skill)

3. ¨iong 用 (V) to use

4. t¨i 筷 子 (N) chopsticks

(M: 雙 siang for a pair)

5. bˆo b¨un-tˆe 沒 問 題 (EX) No problem !

6. chhan-thian 餐 廳 (N) restaurant (M: 家 keng)

7. gˆu-bah 牛 肉 (N) beef

gˆu 牛 (N) cow, ox, cattle (M: 隻 chiah)

bah 肉 (N) meat (M: 塊 t`e for ‘a piece of’)

8. b¨e-b´ai 不 錯 (SV) to be not bad (i.e. quite good)

9. iau 餓 (SV) hungry

10. t´an 等 (V) to wait (for)

t´an ch’it-¨e 等 一 下 (EX) wait a moment; in a moment

11. ¨e 會 (AV) will, shall (see note 4)

12. teh 在 (verb-prefix) in the midst of (doing

something)

t´u-teh 正 在 (MA) just in the middle of (doing

something) [see Grammar]

164
第十課 LESSON 10

t´u 正 (A) just

13. bˆo 那 麼 (EX) in that case, well

14. chh`ai-toan 菜 單 (N) menu

chh`ai 菜 (N) dish (i.e. menu item)

15. h`an-j¨i 漢 字 (N) Chinese characters (中國字)

j¨i 字 (N) (Chinese) character

Tiong-kok-¨oe 中 國 話 (N) Chinese (language)

¨oe 話 (N) (spoken) words, language

(M: 句 k`u for a sentence)

Tˆai-ˆoan-¨oe 台 灣 話 (N) Taiwanese (language)

(or 台語 Tˆai-g´i)

k´ong-¨oe 講 話 (VO) to talk, to speak (or 說話)

Tiong-kok 中 國 (PW) China

Tiong-kok-lˆang 中 國 人 (N) Chinese (people)

Tˆai-ˆoan-lˆang 台 灣 人 (N) Taiwanese (people)

16. k´an-tan 容 易 (SV) easy, simple (to do)

17. kh`un-lˆan 困 難 (SV) difficult, hard (to do)

18. pˆai-kut 排 骨 (N) (pork) chop

ti 豬 (N) pig (M: 隻 chiah)

ti-bah 豬 肉 (N) pork

165
LESSON 10 第十課

19. ke-th´ui 雞 腿 (N) chicken leg

ke 雞 (N) chicken (M: 隻 chiah)

ke-bah 雞 肉 (N) chicken (meat)

20. lim 喝 (V) to drink

21. thng 湯 (N) soup

(M: 碗 ´oan for ‘a bowl of’)

22. t¨au-h¨u 豆 腐 (N) beancurd

(M: 塊 t`e for ‘a piece of’)

23. t¨oa 大 (SV) big, large

24. ´oan 碗 (N/M) (rice) bowl / bowl (of)

25. s`e 小 (SV) small, little

26. s¨iun 想 (V) to think (that)

27. ¨u-k`au a 夠 了 (EX) enough ! plenty !

¨u-k`au 夠 (SV/A) enough, sufficient / sufficiently

(note 11)
28. b¨e-lah 哪 裡 (EX) It’s nothing really
(polite phrase)
29. kan-na … 只 … 而 已 (A) only, just
n¨ia-n¨ia

166
第十課 LESSON 10

Three special Auxiliary Verbs

會 ¨e-h´iau、能 ¨e-t`ang、可以 ¨e-s´ai

In English, the Auxiliary Verb ‘can’ has different shades of meaning:

I can speak Taiwanese = I know how to speak Taiwanese
I cannot come today = I am unable to come today
Sir, can I go now? = Sir, may I (have permission to) go now?

Taiwanese uses different words to express each of these differing

shades of meaning: ¨e-h´iau, ¨e-t`ang, ¨e-s´ai.

Our difficulty in understanding how to use these three Auxiliary

Verbs correctly is further compounded by the fact that these three
words can have more than one meaning ! So let us now look at
each one in detail, at the same time remembering that there is
some overlapping in the use of ¨e-t`ang and ¨e-s´ai.

Repetition Drills

會 ¨e-h´iau
1. a) ¨e-h´iau know how to (i.e. learned or acquired skills)
Góa ¨e-h´iau k´ong Tˆai-ˆoan-¨oe. 我會講台灣話
Góa b¨e-h´iau khˆia o.-t´o.-b´ai. 我不會騎摩托車
L´i ¨e-h´iau ¨iong t¨i bô？ 你會用筷子嗎？
I b¨e-h´iau kh`oan h`an-j¨i. 他不會看漢字
Hit-ˆe thˆau-ke ¨e-h´iau ch`o san. 那個老闆會做衣服

167
LESSON 10 第十課

1. b) ¨e will, shall (i.e. anticipated or possible occurrence of future events,

or expressing confident predictions)

L´i bˆin-´a-ch`ai to ¨e chai-´ian. 你明天就會知道

I ¨au kò.-g’oeh ¨e lˆai chia ch’iah-p¨ng 她下個月會來這裡吃飯
I bˆin-´a-ch`ai ch¨iu ¨e ch`o. 他明天就會做
Góa ¨e-po. ¨e k¨a l´i k´ong. 我下午會告訴你
L´´i s´io-ch´ia eng-`am ¨e h¨o. l´i. 李小姐晚上會給你
In s´im-m’ih sˆˆi ¨e k`au？ 他們什麼時候會到？

t¨o/ch¨iu = then (i.e. a consequential result or action); however 'then' is often left
untranslated in English.

能 ¨e-t`ang
2. ¨e-t`ang able to (i.e. possibility due to circumstancial factors which
favor or obstruct the occurrence of events
or permission from friends and acquaintances)
(see note 7)

L´i b¨¨e-t`ang i¨ong góa ê pit. 你不能用我的筆。

Sit-l´e, góa b¨e-t`ang k¨a l´i k´ong. 對不起，我不能告訴你
I bˆin-´a-ch`ai ¨u t¨ai-ch`i, 他明天有事所以不能來
s´o.-´i b¨e-t`ang lˆai.
L´i ¨e-t`ang p¨an chit h¨ang t¨ai-ch``i b¨e？ 你能辦這件事情嗎？
Góa kin-´a-j’it chin bˆo-ˆeng, s´o.-´i 我今天很忙，所以只能
.
kan-na ¨e-t`ang lˆai g¨o hun-cheng n¨ia-n¨ia. 來五分鐘而已

168
第十課 LESSON 10

可以 ¨e-s´ai
3. a) ¨e-s´ai may (i.e. permission)

L¨au-su, góa chit-m´a ¨e-s´ai ch’iah b¨e？ 老師，我現在可以吃嗎？

Góa ˆe pˆeng-´iu ¨ia ¨e-s´ai lˆai b¨e？ 我的朋友也可以來嗎？
L¨au-su k´ong, h’ak-seng b¨e-s´ai k´ong-¨oe. 老師說學生不可以說話
Chia b¨e-s´ai khˆia o.-t´o.-b´ai. 這裡不可以騎摩托車
H’ak-h¨au g¨oa-b¨in b¨e-s´ai b¨e m’ih-k¨ian. 學校外面不可以賣東西
L¨o.-pin b¨e-s´ai thˆeng-chhia. 路旁邊不可以停車

3. b) ¨e-s´ai/¨e-t`ang suggesting an alternative approach or solution to

a problem

L´i ch´ai-kh´i bô-ˆeng, s¨i-bô？ A´n-ne, góa ¨e-s´ai ¨e-po. lˆai.

你上午沒有空嗎？ 那，我可以下午來

I bô pit s¨i bô？ Bô-`iau-k´in, góa ê ¨e-s´ai h¨o. i

他沒有筆嗎？ 沒(有)關係，我的可以給他

Kong-hˆng l¨ai ˆe lˆang siun ch¨e, s¨i bô？ Bô-`iau-k´in, l´in

¨e-s´ai lˆai góan chh`u.
公園裡的人太多嗎？ 沒(有)關係，你們可以來我家

L´i chit-m´a bô sˆi-kan, s¨i-bô？ A´n-ne, bˆin-´a-ch`ai ¨ia

¨e-sái lˆai p¨an.
你現在沒有時間，是不是？ 那麼，明天也可以來辦

T¨¨i chia ch¨e-chhia bô hong-p¨ian, s¨i-bô？ A´n-ne, m¨a

¨e-s´ai t¨¨`oa hia ch¨e.
在這裡坐車不方便嗎？ 那麼，也可以在那邊坐。

169
LESSON 10 第十課

3. c) ¨e-s´ai O.K.

Q：L´i eng-`am ¨e-s´ai lˆai b¨e？ 你今天晚上可以來嗎？

A：¨e-s´ai. 可以。

Q：Góa ¨e-s´ai ¨iong i ˆe pit b¨e？ 我可以用他的筆嗎？

A：¨e-s´ai. 可以。

4. Fill in the blanks using ¨e-h´iau/¨e ， ¨e-t`ang or ¨e-s´ai

as appropriate:

1. Góa bē ﹍ k´ong Tˆai-ˆoan-¨oe. (skill not yet mastered)

1. 我不 ﹍ 講台灣話。

2. L´i b¨e ﹍ ¨iong i ˆe pit. (because I know he wouldn’t like it)

2. 你不 ﹍ 用他的筆。

3. I ﹍ lˆai b¨e？ (= your opinion as to whether he will come)

3. 他 ﹍ 來嗎？

4. A: L´i kin-´a-j’it ¨e-t`ang lˆai góan tau b¨e？ B: ﹍ (O.K.)

4. A: 你今天能來我家嗎？ B: ﹍ (O.K.)

5. I ﹍ kh`oan chheh. (because his eyesight is bad)

5. 他 ﹍ 看書。

6. L´i ﹍ k´ong k´ui k`u-´a ¨oe b¨e? (at today’s banquet) (able to)
6. 你 ﹍ 講幾句話嗎？。

7. K´eng-chhat k´ong chia b¨e ﹍ thˆeng-chhia. (not allowed to)

7. 警察說在這裡不 ﹍ 停車。

170
第十課 LESSON 10

ACTION WHICH IS GOING ON NOW (在 + V)

S teh V-O
In teh ch’iah-p¨ng
他們 在 吃飯

They are in the middle of eating

In ENGLISH, we express activity-in-progress by using the Verb to

be + verb-ing: He is (in the middle of) eating.

In TAIWANESE, in order to indicate the fact that an action is going

on at the moment of speaking, teh is prefixed to the Verb.

11. t´u (just) may be added for extra emphasis.

Repetition Drill

S t´u teh V-O

Góa t´u teh ch`o
I teh m¨ng chin ch¨e b¨un-tˆe
Hit-ˆe h’ak-seng teh th’ak-chheh
Thˆau-ke teh thˆeng-chhia
L¨au-su teh s¨iong kh`o
In teh k´ong-¨oe

我正在做
他在問很多問題
那個學生在讀書
老闆在停車
老師在上課
他們在講話

171
LESSON 10 第十課

12. Question & Answer Drill: answer the questions with the words supplied.

Example: Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ ( kh`oan chheh )

你在做什麼？ ( 看書 )
(What are you doing?)

Student: Góa teh kh`oan chheh. (I am reading)

我在看書。

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （kh`oan chheh） Student:

你在做什麼？ （看書）

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （k`ia phoe） Student:

你在做什麼？ （寄信）

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （p¨an t¨ai-ch`i） Student:

你在做什麼？ （辦事）

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （ch’iah-p¨ng ） Student:

你在做什麼？ （吃飯）

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （t´an chhia） Student:

你在做什麼？ （等車）

Teacher: L´i teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ （hioh-kh`un） Student:

你在做什麼？ （休息）

Answer the questions:

I (In) teh chh`ong s´im-m’ih？ 他(們)在做什麼？

172
第十課 LESSON 10

ACTIVITY 活 動 o’ah-t¨ang
Using the menu below, order noodles or rice + soup.

chh`ai-toan 菜單
ti-bah-m¨i 豬肉麵
gˆu-bah-m¨i 牛肉麵
pˆai-kut-m¨i 排骨麵
ke-th´ui-p¨ng 雞腿飯
pˆai-kut-p¨ng 排骨飯
chhen-chh`ai t¨au-h¨u-thng 青菜豆腐湯

TRANSLATION 翻 譯 hoan-’ek
1. He is probably resting now.
2. One is not allowed to ride bicycles in the park. (note 12)
3. Her child is only 1 year old and so can’t talk.
4. He is buying a few carrots right now.
5. Your clothes are beautiful.
6. He is going to the post office this afternoon to mail a registered letter.
7. Does this market sell beef?
8. He is studying at Taiwan University.
9. He is coming to me now.
10. They’re not allowed to get married.

WORTH NOTING 註 解
When learning languages, certain aspects become clear immediately while
others take more time. The subtle distinctions in the uses of ¨e-h´iau, ¨e-t`ang
and ¨e-s´ai is a good example of an area of Taiwanese that will probably take
you a little time to grasp. So don’t allow yourself to get frustrated if you don’t
understand the different uses of ¨e-h´iau, ¨e-t`ang and ¨e-s´ai the first time
you meet them. Gradually, all will become clear (hopefully !).

173
LESSON 10 第十課

TRANSLATION OF THE SENTENCE PATTERNS 句型翻譯

1a I can speak Taiwanese.
I can’t ride a motorbike.
Can you use chopsticks?
He can’t read Chinese characters.
That boss can make clothes.
1b You will know tomorrow.
Next month she will come here to eat.
He will do it tomorrow.
I will tell you this afternoon.
Miss Li will give it to you this evening.
When will they arrive?

2. You can't use my pen.

I’m sorry, I can’t tell you (- it’s a secret)
He’s busy tomorrow so is unable to come.
Are you able to handle this matter?
I’m very busy today, so I’m only able to come for five minutes.

3a Teacher, may I eat now?

Can my friend also come? (i.e. is my friend allowed to come too?)
The teacher said that the students are not allowed to talk (e.g. during
exams)
One’s not permitted to ride a motorcycle here (note 12)
One’s not allowed to sell things outside the school.
One’s not permitted to park by the side of the road.
3b You’re busy in the morning, right? In that case, I can come in the
afternoon (-- if this is more convenient for you)
Doesn’t he have a pen? Never mind, I can give him mine.
Too many people in the park? It doesn’t matter, you can come to my home.
You don’t have any time right now, right? In that case, you can come and
deal with it tomorrow instead. (¨ia = also, i.e. as an alternative)
Is taking the bus here inconvenient? In that case, you can also get on it
over there.
3c Q: Are you able to come this evening? A: Okay.
Q: May I use his pen? A: Okay.

11. I’m just in the middle of doing it right now.

He is asking a lot of questions (at this moment).
That student is in the middle of studying right now.
The boss is parking his car right now.
The teacher is in class (at this moment).
They are talking.

174
第十課 LESSON 10

NOTES 註 解
1. The following sentence appeared in the Dialogue: Góa seng kh`oan
ch’it-¨e-´a chh`ai-toan. ch’it-¨e(-´a), when added to a verb, can have two
different effects:

a) it has the idea of: a little while or a moment (see lesson 5)

t´an ch’it-¨e = wait a moment !
hioh-kh`un ch’it-¨e = rest for a moment !
L´i ¨e-s´ai ¨iong ch’it-¨e = you may use it for a little while
b) it makes the force of the verb less direct, hence more gentle or friendly:
L´i kh`oan ch’it-¨e = take (a little) look at it
L´i m¨ng i ch’it-¨e = ask him about it

Note that, when a noun follows ch’it-¨e, it becomes ch’it-¨e-´a.

NOTES on ¨e-h´iau、¨e-t`ang、e-s´ai
2. Note the overlapping in meaning when ¨e-s´ai and ¨e-t`ang both mean
‘possibility’:
I b¨e-t`ang lˆai, t¨an-s¨i góa ¨e-s´ai lˆai.
It isn’t possible for him to come (owing to other matters), but I am able to come.

3. When asking permission of someone, ¨e-t`ang is the more informal “Can

I ...?” whereas ¨e-s´ai is the more polite “May I ...?”. However, the answer to
both is ¨e-s´ai (O.K.).

4. The Future in Taiwanese: ¨e and beh can both be used to indicate future
events, but note the difference in meaning:
¨e = will i.e. anticipation of future events
beh/ài = want to i.e. intention to do something

I ¨e b¨e = He will sell it (expressing my anticipation that he will sell it)

I beh b¨e = He wants to sell it (expressing his intention to sell it)

5. ¨e-s´ai in the negative always indicates prohibition. Therefore, when

answering in the negative a friend’s question: “Góa eng-`am ¨e-s´ai lˆai b¨e?”
(May I come this evening?), if you said: “B¨e-s´ai”, the meaning would be
‘permission not granted’! You could therefore say, “Ph´ain-s`e, eng-`am bô
hong-p¨ian.”
175
LESSON 10 第十課

6. ¨e-t`ang and ¨e-h´iau regarding learned skills: once you have mastered a
skill (e.g. swimming), you will always ¨e-h´iau it, but not necessarily ¨e-t`ang do
it under all circumstances - external conditions or other factors may impede you
from using this skill, e.g. the water is too shallow (therefore t¨i chia b¨e-t`ang
swim) or you are too busy today (therefore Góa ¨e-h´iau swim, ch´ong-s¨i
kin-´a-j’it góa siun bˆo-ˆeng, s´o.-´i b¨e-t`ang kh``i swim).

So if the water is too shallow, you won’t be able to swim there very well
(b¨e-t`ang). Alternatively, there may be a sign saying: “t¨¨i chia b¨e-s´ai
swim” (because it’s unsafe), i.e. permission to swim here is not granted.

7. ¨e can also be used to have the meaning ‘inherent capability or innate

capacity’. This use of ¨e, however, is rather limited:
Lâng b¨e poe. Humans can’t fly [poe = to fly]

NOTES on Action-in-Progress teh

8. For negative Action-in-Progress, use bô :
Q: L´i teh kh`oan-chheh, s¨i-bô？ Are you reading?
A: Góa bô teh kh`oan-chheh, góa teh ch’iah-p¨ng.
I’m not reading, I’m eating.

9. Summary of 在 t¨i/teh
t¨i/teh has now been introduced as three different parts of speech with
three different meanings:

Main Verb to be (located) in/at/on He is in China I t¨i Tiong-kok

Co-Verb (Preposition) in/at/on He studies in China I t¨i Tiong-kok
th’ak-chheh
Action-in-Progress to be V-ing He is studying (now) I teh th’ak-chheh

Note that the one V/CV t¨i is used for the different English Prepositions ‘at’,
‘in’, ‘on’, ‘above’, ‘in front of’, ‘behind’. The precise meaning is indicated by
the Place Word suffix:
t¨¨i ˆiu-k’iok l¨ai-b¨in (be) in the Post Office
t¨¨i toh-´a t´eng (be) on the table
t¨¨i h’ak-h¨au g¨oa-b¨in (be) outside the school
t¨¨i in hia (be) at their place
176
第十課 LESSON 10

10. Translating the English Verb ‘to be’ into Taiwanese:

The English Verb ‘to be’ is used in several different senses, each of which
has a distinct rendering into Taiwanese. We have met five so far:

Descriptive (SV) He is hungry I (chin) iau

Equative (EV) He is a student I s¨i h’ak-seng
Locative (V) He is at home I t¨i chh`u-nih
Impersonal There is someone here Chia ¨u ch’it ˆe lˆang
Present Continuous He is eating I teh ch’iah-p¨ng

11. Stative Verb ¨u-k`au (enough) cannot modify a Noun. Therefore, instead of
saying “I don’t have enough money”, Taiwanese says, “My money is not
enough” (Góa ˆe chˆin bô-k`au).

12. Impersonal ‘one’ and ‘it’s’ are not translated in Taiwanese.

Chia b¨e-t`ang thˆeng-chhia One cannot park here.
Chiok k`ui ! It’s so expensive !

¨m vs. bô : ¨m is always used with the

following words:

¨m-chai = don't know

¨m-si
¨ = be not
¨m-bián = not necessary to
¨m-ti’oh = wrong
¨m-kú = but
¨m-thang = don't
¨m-bat = never (experienced/acquainted)
¨m-na
¨ = not only
¨m-chiah = only then
¨m-kán = don't dare to
¨m-kam = unwilling to

Generally ¨m implies 'unwillingness to'.

177
LESSON 10 第十課

Memorize the Following Characters

什 s´im
what
麼 m’ih / mah
(interrogative
particle)

那 hit / he
that
哪 t´o / n´a
which?

這 chit / che
this
問 m¨ng / b¨un
to ask, inquire

都 l´ong / to.
all, both
city, metropolis 也 ¨ia / m¨a
also, too

178
第十課 LESSON 10

什麼那哪
這問都也

179