第二課 LESSON 2

LESSON 2

What’s in this lesson:

- Action Verbs

- Indirect Object

- Question Word Questions

- Naming & Requesting

THE CLASSROOM

DIALOGUE t`ui-¨oe

Nˆg sin-sen: L¨au-su, gˆau-ch´a.

Lˆau l¨au-su: Gˆau-ch´a. Chh´ian-m¨ng, he s¨i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？

Nˆg sin-sen: Che s¨i p’eh-pang-pit.

Lˆau l¨au-su: Chh´ian l´i h¨o. g´oa, h´o bˆo ？

Nˆg sin-sen: H´o.

Lˆau l¨au-su: To-s¨ia.

- - - - - -
Lˆau l¨au-su: Oˆng Siok-koan, l´i beh `ai s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？

Oˆng Siok-koan: G´oa beh `ai chheh.

Lˆau l¨au-su: Chh´ian-m¨ng, s´iang ¨u chheh ？

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LESSON 2 第二課

Nˆg sin-sen: G´oa ¨u.

Lˆau l¨au-su: Chh´ian l´i h¨o. i, h´o bˆo ？

Nˆg sin-sen: H´o.

Lˆau l¨au-su: L´i ¨ia beh `ai pit, s¨i bˆo ？

Oˆng Siok-koan: ¨m-b´ian, to-s¨ia.

- - - - - -

L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong: L¨au-su, l´i h´o.

Lˆau l¨au-su: L´i h´o. L´i k`io s´im-m’ih mˆia ？

L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong: G´oa k`io L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong.

Lˆau l¨au-su: L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong, l´i ¨u poe-´a bˆo ？

L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong: Bˆo, ph´ain-s`e.

Lˆau l¨au-su: Bˆo-`iau-k´in.

黃先生： 老師，早。
劉老師： 早。請問，那是什麼東西？
黃先生： 這是白板筆。
劉老師： 請你給我，好不好？
黃先生： 好。
劉老師： 謝謝。
- - - - - -
劉老師： 王淑娟，你要什麼東西？
王淑娟： 我要書。
劉老師： 請問，誰有書？
黃先生： 我有。!

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第二課 LESSON 2

劉老師： 請你給她，好不好？
黃先生： 好。
劉老師： 你也要筆嗎？
王淑娟： 不用，謝謝。
- - - - - -
李自強： 老師，您好。
劉老師： 你好。你叫什麼名字？
李自強： 我叫李自強。
劉老師： 李自強，你有沒有杯子？
李自強： 沒有，不好意思。
劉老師： 沒有關係。

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE DIALOGUE 對 話 翻 譯

Nˆg : Teacher, good morning.
Lˆau: Good morning. May I ask, what is that object?
Nˆg: This is a whiteboard marker.
Lˆau : Please would you give it to me, okay? (note 2)
Nˆg: Okay.
Lˆau : Thanks.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Lˆau: Ong Siok-koan, what object do you want?
Oˆng : I want a book.
Lˆau : Excuse me, who has a book?
Nˆg: I have.
Lˆau: Please would you give it to her, okay?
Nˆg: Okay.
Lˆau : Do you also want a pen?
Oˆng : No thanks.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
L´i: Teacher, hello.
Lˆau : Hello. What is your name? (note 8)
L´i: I’m (called) Li Chu-kiong.
Lˆau : Li Chu-kiong, do you have a cup?
L´i : No, sorry.
Lˆau : Never mind.

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LESSON 2 第二課

NEW VOCABULARY sin-j¨i

1. Nˆg 黃 (SV/N) yellow (color) /

(a Taiwanese family name)

2. gˆau-ch´a 早 (EX) Good morning !

3. Lˆau 劉 (N) (a Taiwanese family name)

4. he 那 (SP) that

5. s´im-m’ih 什 麼 (QW) what?

6. m’ih-k¨ian 東 西 (N) things, goods, personal possessions

7. che 這 (SP) this

8. p’eh-pang-pit 白 板 筆 (N) whiteboard marker

9. chh´ian 請 (V) please ..; to ask to .; to invite

(note 3)

10. h¨o. 給 (V) to give (to) (neg. ¨m-h¨o.)

11. h´o bˆo 好 不 好 (EX) How about it? Okay?

(Is that a good idea?)

h´o 好 (EX) O.K.; Alright

12. to-s¨ia 謝 謝 (EX) Thank (you) ! Thanks !

13. beh `ai / `ai 要 (V) to want

14. chheh 書 (N) book(s)

15. s´iang 誰 (QW) who? (or s´im-m’ih-lˆang)

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第二課 LESSON 2

16. ¨u 有 (V) to have

(negative = bˆo 沒有)

17. ¨ia / m¨a 也 (A) also, too

18. pit 筆 (N) pen(s) (general term for

writing instruments)

gˆoan-ch´u-pit 原 子 筆 (N) ball-point pen

19. ¨m-b´ian 不用/不必 (EX) No need !

20. L´i 李 (N) (a Taiwanese family name)

21. l´i h´o 你 好 (EX) Hello !

l´i h´o bô 你 好 嗎 (EX) How are you? (as a greeting)

22. mˆia 名 字 (N) name; given name

23. poe-´a 杯 子 (N) cup, glass, tumbler, mug

24. ph´ain-s`e 不好意思 (EX) Sorry ! I 'm embarrassed

(note 6)

25. bˆo-`iau-k´in 沒有關係 (EX) It doesn’t matter ! Never mind !

26. k`au-sek 教 室 (N) classroom

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LESSON 2 第二課

ACTION VERBS (V)

S V O
I beh `ai chheh
他 要 書

He wants book(s)

Taiwanese Action Verbs are similar to English Action Verbs (e.g. run,
buy, read, walk) - expressing action or the occurrence of an event.
The sentence order is normally the same in Taiwanese as in
English: Subject - Verb - Object (I want a book).
You will be delighted to know that not only are all Taiwanese verbs
regular in form, but they are also not inflected, i.e. they do not
change according to person, number or tense (see Note 1).
Contrast this with English, e.g. you buy, he buys, I bought, etc.

SENTENCE PATTERNS
1. Repetition Drill (note: the negative of ‘¨u’ is ‘bˆo’)
S neg. V O bˆo ？
G´oa beh aì chheh !
L´i ! ¨u pit bˆo ？
I ! h¨o. g´oa !
Nˆg sio-ch´ia ¨u poe-´a bˆo ？
Lˆim sin-sen bˆo p’eh-pang-pit !
Lˆau-su h¨o. l´i
! !
我要書
你有筆嗎ĉ
她給我
黃小姐有杯子嗎ĉ!
林先生沒有白板筆!
老師給你

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第二課 LESSON 2

2. Progressive Substitution Drill

The teacher first gives the basic sentence pattern:

Example: G´oa beh `ai pit. 我要筆。

The student repeats the sentence:

Example: G´oa beh `ai pit. 我要筆。

The teacher then supplies a new word:

Example: In 他們

The student changes the sentence by substituting the new word in the
appropriate place in the sentence:
Example: In beh `ai pit. 他們要筆。

Teacher: G´oa beh `ai pit.! Student: G´oa beh `ai pit.
我要筆。 ! ! ! ! !! !我要筆。

Teacher: In Student: In beh `ai pit.

他們 他們要筆。

Teacher: bˆo？ Student: In beh `ai pit bˆo？

嗎？ 他們要筆嗎？

Teacher: ¨u ... bˆo 有沒有!! Student:

Teacher: chheh! 書!!! ! Student:

Teacher: Nˆg l¨au-su 黃老師! Student:

Teacher: poe-´a 杯子!! ! Student:

Teacher: l´i! 你!!! Student:

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LESSON 2 第二課

INDIRECT OBJECT (IO)

S 不 V IO DO
I (¨m) h¨o. g´oa chheh
他 (不) 給 我 書

He (not) give me book

He (doesn’t) give me a book

In Taiwanese, the Indirect Object precedes the Direct Object, as in

the English sentences: He gives me the book or Mr. Smith
teaches her French. The Direct Object represents what is being
transferred as a result of the action, and the Indirect Object
denotes who is being affected by that action.

Indirect Objects occur most frequently with the verb h¨o. (to give).

11. Repetition Drill

S ¨m V IO DO
L¨au-su !! h¨o. i p’eh-pang-pit
Lˆau th`ai-th`ai h¨o. g´oa poe-´a
L´i s´io-ch´ia ¨m h¨o. i chheh, s¨i bˆo ？
Nˆg l¨au-su ¨m h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？

老師給他白板筆
劉太太給我杯子
李小姐不給с書嗎ĉ
黃老師不給你什麼東西ĉ

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第二課 LESSON 2

12. Question & Answer Drill: answer the questions with a specified Direct Object

Example: Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian ? (p’eh-pang-pit)

我給你什麼東西？ (白板筆)

Student: L´i h¨o. g´oa p’eh-pang-pit.

你給我白板筆。
(You give me a whiteboard marker)

Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？ (p’eh-pang-pit)

我給你什麼東西？ ( 白板筆 )

Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？ (poe-´´a) Student:

我給你什麼東西？ ( 杯子 )

Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？ (chheh) Student:

我給你什麼東西？ ( 書 )

Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？ (gˆoan-ch´u-pit)

我給你什麼東西？ ( 原子筆 )

QUESTION WORDS (QW)

(WH-questions)

QW as Subject:
QW V O
S´iang beh `ai Pit?!
誰 要 筆!@
Who wants pen(s)?
S V O
G´oa beh `ai pit
我 要 筆
I want pen(s)

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LESSON 2 第二課

QW as Object:
S V QW
L´i beh `ai s´im-m’ihĉ
你 要 什 麼 ĉ
You want what?
S V O
G´oa beh `ai pit
ԧ ࢋ 筆
I want pen(s)

In ENGLISH the word order of the question is often different from

that of the answer: e.g. Q: What do you want? A: I want a pen.
However, in TAIWANESE the word order of the question is always
the same as the word order of the answer (see the examples above).
So, in the question, the Question Word must always appear in the
same place as the word which answers it does in the answer.
Remember that questions formed by using Question Words do not
need question particle bˆo.

21. Question Word acting as Subject.

S VO
Q: Síang s¨i B´i-kok-lˆang？
A: Ngˆo. Siok-tin! s¨i B´i-kok-lˆang.

Q: S´iang ¨u chheh？
A: Lˆau l¨au-su ¨u chheh.!

Q: S´im-m’ih-lˆang h¨o. l´i pit？

A: L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong h¨o. g´oa pit.

Q: 誰是美國人ĉ
A: 吳淑珍是美國人Ą
Q: 誰有書ĉ
A: 劉老師有書Ą
Q: 什麼人給你筆ĉ
A: 李自強給我筆Ą

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第二課 LESSON 2

22. Question Word acting as Object.

Repetition Drill

S VO
Q: Oˆng l¨au-su beh a
` i s´im-m’ih？
A: I beh `ai poe-´a.!

Q: Lˆau Siok-koan ¨u s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian？

A: I! ¨u chheh.

Q: L´i h¨o. s´iang？

A: G´oa h¨o. Lˆim Kok-kong.

Q: 王老師要什麼ĉ
A: 他要杯子Ą
Q: 劉淑娟有什麼東西ĉ
A: 她有書Ą
Q: 你給誰ĉ
A: 我給林國光Ą

23. Substitution Drill: substitute the Question Word in the appropriate place

Example: Teacher: G´oa beh `ai pit (s´iang)

我要筆 。 ( 誰 )

Student: S´iang beh `ai pit ？ (Who wants a pen?)

誰要筆？

Teacher: G´oa beh `ai pit (s´iang) Student:

我要筆。 ( 誰 )

Teacher: Lˆim th`ai-th`ai beh `ai pit (s´im-m’ih) Student:

林太太要筆。 ( 什麼 )
Teacher: H’ak-seng ¨u poe-´a (s´iang) Student:
學生有杯子。 ( 誰 )

Teacher: L¨au-su h¨o. g´oa chheh! (s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ian)

!!! Student:
老師給我書。 ( 什麼東西 )

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LESSON 2 第二課

ACTIVITY 活 動 o’ah-t¨ang

Naming, requesting and giving objects

(equip yourself with a ball-point pen, textbook, a whiteboard marker and cup/mug)

1. Teacher points to an object and says:

Chh´ian-m¨ng, che s¨i s´im-m’ih？ 請問，這是什麼？
Student replies: Che s¨i ..... 這是...

2. Teacher asks the student: L´i ¨u .... bˆo ？ 你有沒有...？

Student replies appropriately.

3. Teachers says: Chh´ian l´i h¨o. g´oa .... 請你給我...

Student hands the object to the teacher.

4. Teacher then asks the student:

L´i beh `ai s´im-m’ih m’ih-k¨ia？ 你要什麼東西？
Student replies: G´oa beh `ai ..... 我要...

TRANSLATION 翻 譯 hoan-’ek
1. Who also has a cup?
2. What is her name?
3. Teacher Lau, are you British?
4. Please give me a pen.
5. A: (I’m) sorry. B: It doesn’t matter.

WORTH NOTING 註 解
GREETINGS:
Apart from Gˆau-ch´a (Good Morning) and L´i h´o (Hello), when greeting
someone close to meal times, Taiwanese usually ask: L´i chi’ah pá b¨oe?
(Have you eaten yet?). Reply: Chi’ah pá a (Yes) or iáu b¨oe (Not yet).

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第二課 LESSON 2

TRANSLATION OF THE SENTENCE PATTERNS 句型翻譯

1. I want a book.
Do you have a pen?
She gives it to me. (note 2)
Does Miss Ng have a cup?
Mr. Lim doesn’t have any whiteboard markers. (note 4)
The teacher is giving it to you.

11. The teacher gives him a whiteboard marker.

Mrs. Lau gives me a cup.
Isn’t Miss. Li giving her a book?
What object isn’t Teacher Ng giving you?

21. Who is American?

Ngo. Siok-tin is American.
Who has a book?
Teacher Lau has a book.
What person is giving you a pen?
Li Chu-kiong is giving me a pen.

22. What does Teacher Ong want?

He wants a cup.
What object does Lau Siok-koan have?
She has a book.
Who are you giving it to? (note 2)
I’m giving it to Lim Kok-kong.

NOTES 註 解

1. Tense: in this lesson, the present tense has been used to translate the
Taiwanese into English. However, because Taiwanese Verbs are not inflected for
person, number or tense, the sentences could also be future (e.g. I will want a book)
or past (e.g. I wanted a book), according to the context of the sentence. Means of
distinguishing these tenses (or rather aspects) will become clearer later on.

2. Impersonal Pronoun ‘it’: the impersonal pronoun ‘it’ is not translated in

Taiwanese, e.g. I don’t want it = G´oa bˆo `ai.

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LESSON 2 第二課

3. chh´ian has four basic meanings:

a) to request/ask someone to do something

G´oa chh´ian i h¨o. l´i I asked him to give it to you

b) Please (would you) ...

Chh´ian l´i h¨o. Lˆau l¨au-suPlease would you give it to Teacher Lau

c) to invite (someone)
G´oa ¨ia chh´ian i lˆai I also invited him to come
(lˆai= to come)
d) to pay for (someone) [e.g. a meal, movie, etc.]
G´oa chh´ian l´i. I’ll pay for you

Note that chh´ian only takes statements as its Object.

4. In English, unstressed ‘some’ (or ‘any’ in negative sentences) indicates an

indefinite amount. In Taiwanese, no word is required to translate either ‘some’ or
‘any’:
Do you want some? L´i beh `ai bˆo？
Don’t you want any? L´i bˆo `ai, s¨i bˆo？
He doesn’t have any books. I bˆo chheh.

5. WH-questions: what, when, where, why, who (and how).

6. The polite response to ph´ain-s`e is bˆo-i`au-k´in.

7. Question Words can also stand before Nouns:

A: L´i beh `ai s´im-m’ih pit？ What (kind of) pen do you want?

B:!G´oa beh `ai gˆoan-ch´u-pit. I want a ball-point pen.

8. The answer to L´i k`io s´im-m’ih mˆia？ (What is your name?) can be the
person’s full name L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong or their given name only Ch¨u-kˆiong
or G´oa s¨i L´i Ch¨u-kˆiong. You cannot say G´oa k`io L´i nor G´oa k`io L´i
sin-sen.

When asking children their name or asking someone about another person’s
name, you simply say:
L´i/I k`io s´im-m’ih mˆia？ (when requiring their given or full name)
L´i/I s`en s´im-m’ih？ (when only requiring their surname)

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