Basic Chinese Grammar and Sentence Patterns

BASIC CHINESE GR
I'
AND SENTENCE PATTERNS
A D Syrokomla-Stefanowska
MabelLee
302
|lll|lllll
KUNIAJOINTLANGUAGE
BASICCHINESEGRM
Other Chinese language material published by Wild Peony:
Putonghua: A Pructicul Course in Spoken Chkese

Mabel Lee and Zhang ll/u-ai
Readings in Modern Chinese
Liu Wei-ping, Mabel ke, A' J. Prince, Lily Shaw Ize and R' S' W' Hsu
BASICCHINESEGRM
A. D. Syrokomla-Stefanowska
Mabel Lee
https://vk.com/readinglecture
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Published by WILD PEONY PTY LTD
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Copyright o A. D. Syrokomla-Stcfanowska and Mabel ke 1986
First printed 1986

lst Reprint 1989
2nd Reprint 1992
AI rights rcserved. No part of this publication may bc reproduced,
stored in a rctrieval system or transmitted in ariy form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwisc, without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Syrokomla-Stefanowsk4 A. D. (Agticszka D.).
Basic Chinese grammar & sentenoe pattems.
rsBN0959073515.
l. Chinesc language - Modern Chinese,
l9l9- -Grarnmar. 2. Chincse language -
Modern Chincse, l9l9 - -Sentcnces.
I. l,ee, Mabel. U. Title.
495.15
Cover &sign by Paul SoadY

Set in Times Roman by Frontier Technology, Sydtuy
Prin ed in Ausfialia rJ, Nstiond capitd Printing, Fyrhwict
t-1699
CONTENTS
heface
Introduction
LESSONS
One I
Number and Gender
Name and Titles
The Equative Sentence
Two 5
Numerals
Classifiers
The Sentence using ydu
Three ........ 11
The Sentence with an Adjectival predicate
Four ........ 15
Verb-Object Constructions
The Simple Sentence
Pivotal Constructions and Clause Objects
Sentences with Indirect and Direct Objects
Sentences with Auxiliary Verbs
Five ........ 19
The Connectives g4n and h6
The Subordinating particle de
Six .,...'',23
Time and Age
Interrogative pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs
Attributive Clauses formed with shihou and difung
Seven ..',,...27
Please
Colours
Directional Complements
Verbal Suffix gao Indicating past Experience
Eight
Monetary Expressions
Reduplication of Adjectives
Adverbial Modifiers
The Adverbial Suffix de
The Complement of Degree Formed with de
Nine ,..,,,..37
Yd uIndicating Existence
Yduxie and ydude
Yixie and Yididnr
Time Words and phrases
Days of the Week
Months of the year
Dates
Tonal Changes ofyi
The Modal particle Ie
The Verbal Suffix /e
Ten 43
Compass Directions
Location
The Aspect of Continuing Action zdi, zhCngzdi and ne
Continuing State or Result of an Action zhe
Eleven 47
The Prepositional use of ddo, c6ng, zud, qi and li
Auxiliary Verbs with Special Usages
Twelve 53
The Ordinal Prefix di
The Pretransitive Construction using bd
Thirteen 57
The (hdishi) ... hdishi... Construction
Comparisons with Predicative Adjectives
Fourteen 6I
Comparisons with the Complement of Degree
Differences and Varying Degrees of Difference in Comparisons
Prepositions
Fifteen 67
Resultative Complements
The Potential Complement
Sixteen 73
Decimals, Fractions and Percentages
Sequence Indicators jii,
cdi, and xiin ... zdi ...
Time Clauses Formed with ylqi6n and ylhdu
Complements of Time Used to Indicate Duration of an Action
Continuation of Time to the Present
Seventeen 79
Each and Every
The Reduplication of Verbs
Zdi, gdi, ddo and chtng used as Resultative Complements
The Indefinite Use of Interrogative words
Eighteen 85
Emphasis
Nineteen 97
The Modal Particles ne and ba
The Passive Voice
Twenty 95
The Prepositions dri (zhe), dui (yu) and gudnyu
Verbal Constructions in Sequence to Show Purpose or Means of an Action
Conjunctions and Conjunctive Phrases
PREFACE
This work is designed for students wishing to establish a solid
grounding in the basic grammatical structures and vocabulary of the
modern Chinese language with a view to reading modern chinese
literary works and other writings. A pre-pubricatioriversion has been
in
use in the Department of oriental studies at the university of sydney
since 1981. A growing demand for the work finally encouraged the
authors to revise the work and to prepare it for publication.
Associate Professor Lu Zengpu of the Beiiing Languages Institute
checked the manuscript against present-day ianguag" no*, and usage;
Dr Raymond Hsu and Mr steven Brent examined it meticulously anJ
rigorously in the light of their linguistic expertise. we acknowledge
here with gratitude and thanks their valuable assistance.
A. D. Syrokomla-Stefanowska
Mabel Lee
Department of Oriental Studies.

University of Sydney,
March 1986
INTRODUCTION
Beuus of cultural differences, smetimes apparently
The languages of the world have anlvd through the
simple *pressions will defa sxnct translation into
ages as a mmns ot' human communication' Natural
eivironment has shaped cultural qrlups and their social another language. We have tned to aplain the Chinese
language from the point ot' viw of an enquinng adult
organiution, customs and traditions. Traits in the
mind which demands to know why and tnes to discern
thinking of each cultural group led to differenus in the
differencts in shades of muning implicit in the dffirent
inherent otrganimtion of languages. Howwer, initiallg,
the anlution of all languages stems from the gradual
patterns adopted for use under different circumstances'
appurance of discernible and logical patterns in It is knowlelge of this kind basd on an understanding
utleranus which were imitated and thus reinforced and of the thinkinq behind the organimtion of words, which
a group. N civilintions makes for permanencz and depth in the lurning of a
frnallU adopted bq members of
foreign language, and it is this kind of knowldge
which
dwelopd, the wntten repre*ntation of spoken languages
emerged to record speech for posteity, permitting further
will constitute the more nlid foundation for darclopment
darclopment in languages and enabling mankind to
and atension of knowledge and facilita of us of a
express thinking of a hiqhla mmpla nature. foreign language.
For the effective lurning of a foreign language, adult
beginners too must be able to discern patterns in the The Chine* Sentcncc
language chosen t'or studr4. While rote lurninq plaqs a Generally the sentence in Chinese follows the pattern
signifiunt role in the language acquistion of small SUBIECT +PREDICATE, where the subiect may be
children, for the adult learner, knowledge of the defined as topic for discussion and the predicate as
structures and patterns ot' the nau language is essential comment on the topic. This definition is much wider
and rote lurning, while still important, plays a leswr than the more clmmln definiton of actor (subiect) and
rob. Knowled,ge of the patterns used in the organiution action (prediwte). While the definition actor and action
of the words ot' a language will provide adult lurners will in mang cases apply in Chines, in possibly an
with a framutork for using vocnbulary as it is equal number of cases it will be seen that a subiect plus
gradually acquired. prediute will translate naturally into the English
passive, hence there is a preferenu for the dfinition of
ln this book we have attempted to stnp the Chinese
language down to a skeletal framevtork, imlating for the topic and comment.
An important pnnciple in Chinese, a pinciple that
English speaker the structures and patterns which are
essentialand basic in the Chinev language. We have has apptied throughout the history of the Chinese
introduud a vocabulary of words which have a high language is that the qualifier must stand before the
have introduced words qualified. Thus adiectives, poswssives, numerals,
frequena4 in wntten Chinese and we
classit'iers and relative clauses preczde the nominal and
these in blocks of assciated words' lt is
generally agreed
all adverbs and adverbial phrases prec'ede the verb'
that the wntten language tends to be less verbose and
repetitious than spuch for in wnting one has more time Ddnite and indefinite reference generally depends on
in speech also there position in the sentence; elements standing at the
fo,r better organiution of thinking;
is the tendency to omit words when responding in a beginning of the sentence are more dfinite than thos
known cnntwt. N manq of the wprusions common to standing at the end of the wntmce. Thus the subiect
(the topic for discussion) is definite and the obiect (part
anrday speech do not have a hiqh frequency in wntten
Chines some ot' thes have not been introduced here' lt ot' the prdicnte or cnmment on the topic) is indefinite'
is recommended that Enqlish'speaking beginners of the One maq howarcr transpose the obiect to the position of
Chines lnnguage simultanwusly work through a courv topical subiect in front of the grammatiul subiect and
such as Putonghua: A Practiul C-our* in Spoken
this has the effect of making the obiect defmite.
Chinese bg Mabet Ue f" Zhang Wu-ai (Wild Peonu, A final point to obsewe is that the minimal answer
to questions which in English would be answered with
Sydneg,1984) to qain spoken fluency in Chinese in a
"Ues" 0r "no" is usuallg the main verb, the auxiliary
Western environment and then t'ollow up with the
vanous books on cnnversational Chinese in a Beiiing verb or the preposition; lnsutlrS to other types ot'
setting published in tuiiinq' questions, as in English, can cnnsist of a noun only'

Spelling C.onventions Moptcd in This Booft the negative alternative in an alternative tgpe
The systcm of romanimtion used is Hanyu pinyin and question pattern is generallq pronounced in the
generally the conventions for spelling and word neutral tone and personal pronouns used as objects of
boundaries follow those usd in Elementnry Chinese verbs are also often pronounced in the neutral tone.
(tuijinq Languages lnstitute, Beiiing, l9T5). tt is
recommended that bEinners lirst familiaria themselvu 3. Thtrd tones are generally pronounced as half-third
with Hanyu Pinyin and the sounds and tones of tones when they are followed by lst, 2nd, 4th and
Chinese bg refemng to the first 6lessons of this work neutral tone syllables. The third tone falls and rises in
and the tapes accnmpanging it.ln addition, the pitch i.e. 214 while the half-third tone drops from 2
following points regarding tones should be obsewed: to I in pitch but does not have the final nse of the
third tone.
5 high pitch
4. When a third tone is followed by another third tone
syllable, the first third tone is pronounced as a second
4 half-high pitch
tone, e.g. lixidng (ideal).
5. When a fourth tone syllable is followed by another

3 mid-pitch fourth tone syllable, the first of these onty falts to
mid-pitch i.e. 53, e.4 iinbt (progress).
2 halfJow pitch
6. The neutral tone is influenced by the tone of the
preceding syllable. Thus it is pronounced with a
half-low pitch when following a first tone (zhidao, to
I low pitch
know): with a midpitch when following a second tone
(sh6nme, what); with a half-hiqh pitch when
following a third tone (6rduo, ear); with a low pitch
lst tone e.g. ma 55 when following a fourth tone (bdba, father).
2nd tone e.g. md 35 7. The tone changes mentioned in 3 to 6 above are

not indicated as these changes occur naturally and
3rd tone e.g. md 2t4 are consistent changes; the original tone marks are
therefore given. However, when a third tone syllable is
4th tone e.g. md 5l
followed by another third tone syllable which has
become a neutral tone, in some words the first third
tone syllable is pronounced in second tone. ln such
cases the tone change is indicated,, e.g.liloshu (rat)
l. Tones are indicated with stress marks over the
and kdyi(may). In other words the first third tone
vowel of each syllable (see diagram above); in the case
will of course be pronounced in the half-third tone as
of diphthongs or triphthongs, over the most audible
indicated in 6 above.
vowel. Syllabbs pronounced in the neutral tone do
not bear a tone mark
2. Words pronounced in the neutral tone are

pronounced quickly and liqhtly. particles and suffixes
are usually pronounced in the neutral tone. ln
polysyllabic words, the second syllable may be
pronounced in the neutral tone. Words which are
usually pronounced with a tone may become neutral
in tone when used in particular grammatical
structures, e.g. shi L loses its tone when used in
equative sentences unless strong emphasis is intended,
LESSON ONE
VOCABIJLARY
1. gu6jia wx trx nation, country (cl. ge /fl )
2. Zh6nggu6 +tr trtr China
3. Ribdn EA Japan
4. Yinggu6 4E *tr England
5. Fdgu6 i*Eil i*tr France
6. M€igu5 IEil +tr America
7. Aoddliyd iFAfiUH i4tf|Ju Australia
8. r6n person
9. Zhongguor6n +E +tr Chinese (person)
10. Ribdnr6n HA Japanese (person)
11. Yingguordn 4Eil +tr/. English (person)
12. Fdguor6n i*tr^ i*tr^ French (person)
13. Mdiguordn +Eil +tr/\ American (person)
14. Aoddliyir6n iFAfUEE i4/(f|Jr[ Australian (person)
15. w6 fi I
you
16. ni {tt,
17. ta he
l&
18. ra she
^&
19. wdmen filFl +tf[ we
20. nimen {iffl Itrlll you (plural)
21. tamen lutl lfi,lt'1 they (masculine or masculine and femi-

nine)
22. tamen *Mtl l&t'l they (feminine onlY)
23. W6ng T (a surname)
24. Hu6ng F F, (a surname)
dF (a surname)
25. Zhang
*-f 'K (a surname)
26. Li
27. ldoshi Z,Hfr zt)fr teacher
28. xiansheng ft+. teacher; husband; Mr
29. tditai tt wife; Mrs
VOCABULARY
30. xudsheng ry+ v +. student
31. shi; shi E
E to be; yes (it is so)
32. bn
4 no, not (pronounced bd before lst.2nd
& 3rd tone syllables; bl before a 4th
tone syllable)
33. ma [,8 F4 interrogative particle
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Number and Gender pronounced in the 2nd tone, i.e. bfishi.

Personal pronouns are made plural by adding the suffix NOMINAL EXPRESSION + bfiShi + NOMINAL
men#l . This suffix may also be added occasionallv to EXPRESSION
nouns denoting persons to indicate plurality when it is
not obvious from the context, e.g. xuishenimen
I E 4s,T ft_ f @ I .
{f{ but generally number is determined by context.
Generally, too, there is no indication of gender in
ti,T,frfttF,
Chinese. For the third person pronoun there are three
6RKKT,ft-tR*-*1 frL,
written forms according to gender (malelg, female*t, +hE_r,zwL"
neuter il).but they are indistinguishable in speech. The
neuter td E is not frequently used and it has no plural The interrogative sentence is formed in the following
form. ways:
a)By placing the interrogative particle ma at the end
Names and Titles ".E
of a narrative sentence (eitheriffirmative oi negative).
In Chinese the order for names is surname, given name, The negative sentence with maexpects an answer in the
title. Given names commonly consist of two characters affirmative, e.g. 'Aren't you Chinese?, is Ni bishi
and less commonly of one character. For example in the Zhdngguordn ma?
2grye Z,*
U.Van S X ui min g
, W dn g is the surname and NOMINAL EXPRESSION + rt i + NOMINAL EX_
"fl the name
is the given name."In
{ueykS Zhang ldoshi PRESSION + za
**EF , Zhang is the surname and ldoshi means
teacher (male or female). In Chinese the married fi.&.+toLzbl ft, *,ft4&L
woman retains her own surname except when she is 4bft.qEzgt ft., M. ftryL.
addressed as tditai K K (Mrs) e.g. Li'tditai
4XX lk *, t- ft_ ft eqt "g ,, ft_ , 1&&- 2 a+ ,
means Mrs Li. In the people,s Republic of China the
term diren ft < (lit: ,loved one') is widely used for NOMINAL EXPRESSION
husband or wife in speech; this usage does not seem to + bfishi + NOMINAL
EXPRESSION+ za
have spread to Chinese communities elsewhere.
The Equative Sentence

4t9;r.ft.+E* ; t,fr, 4aft-ZaP"
In modern Chinese, sentences may be divided into
,tF. T, ft- rt, 67F ".F.0 1 fr-, *&.*6F,
several types. One is the equative sentence in which
both the subject and the main part of the predicate are b) By using both the affirmative and negative forms of
nouns or nominal expressions. The verb sfti€ equates the verb; in this case both are pronounced in the neutral
the two and is normally pronounced in the neutral tone: tone. The construction is called the ,alternative_type,
if the 4th tone is used it implies emphasis. question.
NOMINAL EXPRESSION + shibushi + NOMINAL
The affirmative narrative sentence: NOMINAL EX_ EXPRESSION
PRESSION + Shi + NOMINAL EXPRESSION
4,T.&.4ft_*@xt &. , fli t ts E A.
+i.&_4tsr-, 4{, f &., 4efr.a&tefr,
*\&-ft,cn.
NOMINAL EXPRESSION + Sfti + NOMINAL EX-
1Bt?1 fr.4 r-. PRESSION *
2,6fifra*-A, bushi
1.T,&_4?,"+ t 1. Tft- *\fr.*tQ,
In the negative narrative sentence the verb slri is negated lvfrtt1a4, €r ft-, ruft1-61,,
by the negative adverb bil T. which in this case is {dl€ }* 4 ( 4ft-0. ft_, ta&.>*,@,t.
EXERCISES
A. Translate into Chinese: C. Answer in Chinese the following questions on the

1. Huang: Are You Wang XueYing? dialogue in B:
2. Wang: Yes, I am Wang XueYing'
3. Huang: Are You a student? 1. a * X ft-* Y rft t
4. Wang: Yes, I am a student' 2. *.cFfr.48,t6&-;
5. Huang: Are You American? 3. 4e@ + ft- + @ k #, 1.
6. Wang: No, I am Australian'
B. Translate into English:

r. a * *, t\ E z /,, *,t *\,e-+L.
1r'ft + Lu$
2.4k El A &-, *\ft-qL,
,
3.2** t- 4, ft-
tlf,fr. a 4- ,.
4.4&-@+, T'fr-, +\&-+ EA.

5.t**, *6fift-4'ft+Er-I
6. 4f,. @+ e-, *,6f fr-+AL.
A,
'',.
* 4r'L r- ry Re'E ?
r€ ,tikl € R.
R-
j.S:\T.R-,?H?E?
,1 ,E',9o,ffifr€E.'
'G TE {rR,FEA?E'*
e<
'+t,*_;R fil{EA
t
-r. '
^ | t .L)
^"' ^ sltJt'f
a stvd(n'
wan$ nrre'rlr^5' 1 ' ht+ '/uv '
0,t, w6^5 l'4€i.1Tn9 : 1 orr
t LUai"1 G-'obi":\':, ! o-' o '$'Jt''*'
3. Frt y"q )agotol 1
u.-r,i^, Mii.tr.0 ,
,1 . Zh;^9 G^lob;^l No, J o^
('["'ne:c'
rvY'YT^61 ts l\" |totL"e' gltl'tst I
5 Wd^5
9 zvrigG'6bE^' Yts' {ht le^'k' i5 Cl^''est'
c.r E,{tLqy"
\. TP,+.6frft +@/-.
t ? g&tf,iFft +64"
LESSON TWO
VOCABIJLARY
x. zero (often represented in Chinese by
1. ling
zero,e.g.101 - 6 o- )
one (pronounced yibefore a pause e.g.

2.vi in counting; yi before a lst, 2nd, or 3rd
tone syllable; yi before a 4th tone syll-
able)
two (used in numbers and counting)

3. dr
-rYJ ru two (used for specifying two items of a
4. lidng
commodity, e.g. 'two students'; 'two
houses')
three
5. sdn
ru four
6. si
/. wu I. five
.L
six
8. lin
9. qi t seven
/\ eight
10. ba
11. jiti )L nine
12. shf + ten
hundred
13. bei E'
14. qian + thousand
15. wdn H n ten thousand
+ to have
16. ydu E
17. mdiydu iq H not to have
18. zhd IE a this
that
19. nd ilfi
20. zhdxie Er& El}-9 these
those
21. ndxie ffi,13
22. ge fE t classifier
wit li;
for person
-
polite form is
a general classifier
classifierfor book or magazrne r.e. a

23. bdn A particular coPY
24. shu -EI fl uook (cl. 4 )
dK classifier for flat objects e.g. sheet,

25. zhang dF
table, chair, paPer
frfi paper (cl. ffr )

26. zh\
VOCABTJLARY
27. fd,n
lfr h classifier for particular newspapers or
magazines, e.g. ,I subscribe to this
magazine'
28. bad(zhi) #(fft) tR.(ffi) newspaper (cl. 4hr, lF. )
29. zdzhi
ffi;s ^'+r0rr
Z\ magazine, journal (cl.A, /A\)
30. zhi ti JL classifier for long pointed objects, e.g.
pencil, branch
31. bi + % writing implement (ct.i{ )
32. m6obi €+ +% writing brush (cl. i{ )
33. qidnbi gj+ ffiH pencil (cl.& )
34. yu6nzhubi EilI*+ WTAEJ, ballpoint pen (cl. ft )
35. beizi t4'+ cup (cl. {ttrl )
36. boi t4 cup of, e.g.
- l"T.7K, a cup of water
J/. SnUl
water
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Numerals scientific language. In a large number, if an intermediate
1. The numbers 1l to 19 are formed in the following unit is '0', ling must be used. If the number has more
wavs: than one intermediate ,0' the first ling may be
omitted.
When numerals are read out as whei giving telephone
11 shiyi + 16 shiliil + ,< numbers, each'0'which appears must be realO as ling.
In
12 shi'4r += 17 shiqi +L such cases the character f is often written .0,while
it
13 shbdn +z 18 shiba -f , \ is still read as ling., e.g,. 007 will most likely
as
be written o
14 shbi t e 19 shijiti -t- t't o L and read ling lmg qr.
1,5 shiwil + fr-
6. Chinese numbers advance as follows: ten, shi I

2. If one of the numbers 11 to 19 occurs in a larger hundred, bli e ; thousand, qidn _f; ten thousan
;
number, sfti is usually preceded by yi, e.g. Sl2 wilbdi d, wdn

,tg;and rn this system any multiple which advances the
yishi'ir -h. A - -f -= . Note that here + iJpronounced number to the next place must bi called by the
in the neutral tone. appropri_
ate name, e.g. 1,900 cannot be designated .ninetien
hundred', instead yiqidn jiilbdi - "+ rt- A ,one
3.20,30,40 etc. are formed in this way: 20 Crshi
+. thousand nine hundred, must be used.
i.e. two tens; 30 sdwhi z_ + ; 4};ishi @ =
+ ",..
lgnsequently,2l irshiyi = + - ;31 sanshiyi L + _ ; 7. Approximate numbers are expressed in the
following
4l sishiyi @ + - etc. Note that here -t is pronounced ways: '3 or 4 persons'is :.
e 4@ x_and .30 or 40 books,
in the neutral tone. ii
= w+*9.
. etc.
4.There are two words for ,two': lr

=,which is used as 8,. Examples of compound numbers (note the use of
an abstract number and in compound numbers, and ting):
Iidng ffi. These rwo words differ in usage: lidng is
generally used before classifiers e.g . tfingzii Ui A 191
109
-Ef
- 1,100 -t*-+(a)
+r-
1,010
d fi .
If 'two' is part of a large number e-.g. t2l2O, 22 the word -QF -+-
110 - 6 - r+ t g,ggg )L + t7-
ir 111 *6-+- A h_ -f .h,
10,001 _e+-
is used. In the numbers 200, 2Cfl0 and20,000
either Cr
or lidng may be used. 119 -F -+-tL 10,010 _s*_+
l2O -6.-:(+) 10,100 -XX_ A
5.'Zero': tky 4 is used in compound numbers and in ree -6 *+ tu 1r,ooo _ 1S _ c+t
1,001 -+8- ffi,502,rS(g)E 6 B_
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
4. When there is an adjective qualifying a noun, it stands

Classifiers
in front of the noun after the classifier: NUMERAL +
In modern Chinese a numeral or a demonstrative adjec- CLASSIFIER + ADJECTIVE + NOUN
tive cannot be used directly with a noun' (There are a 'Three Chinese students' is sdnge ZhAnggu6 xu€sheng
and
few exceptions to this rule e'g. tian Kmeaning 'day' z ffi + @ ry L and'these three Chinese students' is
are
nidn 4 meaning 'year' and other such words which zhi sdnge Zhonggu6 xulsheng tr -1F + W + L '
themselves measure words and may be called 'quasi-
classifiers'.) Generally a classifier must stand between
5. When the adjective qualifies the classifier the adjec-
the numeral, demonstrative adjective and certain other
tive must stand before tlie classifier, e'g' 'a large sheet of
adjectives and the noun' Most nouns have specific classi-
paper' is - *. hk\&and 'three large cups of water' is =
fieis or else use the general classifier gel@' However'
these may be replaied by other classifiers when the xM.K,
context demands ihis' For example' 'one pencil'and'ten
pencils'would require the classifier zhi ti', but'a box of The Sentence Using Ydu h
pencils' and a 'bundle of pencils',would require the The affirmative narrative sentence: SUBJECT * ydu *
words'box' and'bundle' respectively as classifiers' The OBJECT
indefinite article 'a' is yi - ('one') * classifier, e'g''a t6fratutg
man' is yige rtn ' 1@A , while the definite article
'the' is
rna €i'ifti.') + classifier e.g. 'the man'is zhdge rin ft MA=-Mt4,+
,{E A. +\6anx
nrr4H+EAt- +€.
l. When both a demonstrative adjective and numeral
occur, the following pattern is used: DEMONSTRA-
Ew a * x A to+"
TIVEADJECTIVE + NUMERAL + CLASSIFIER + The negative narrative sentence: SUBJECT t mdiydu
NOUN + OBJECT
It should be noted that the numeral 'one' is usually 104?1 )L a np t't *1lt'L', '.
omitted in this pattern. Therefore, 'this student' is zhige
xuisheng \L 4fl{/-while 'these two students' is zhi \r.v+L"ka+Lkk,"
lidngge xudsheng € 6'flq & E . Emr;ya+*+,
it may
ttr;*.A6++'
2. When the noun is clearly defined in the context'
be omittedl the demonstrative adjective plus the classi-
tt,)€afT,+.
fier are sufficient, e.g' 'These three students are The interrogative sentence may be formed by the useof
Chinese, those two are Japanese' is Zhi sange xutshe.ng the interrogative particle ma o.*-'t or else the use of the
shi Zhangguortn, nd lidn[ge shi RibCnrh G^ z
lW& E 'alternative-type' question pattern.
ft.+lfll,rpft4Et 64/'-'
l,l,frz+qh? :kd.
fi,4|..*4f1 ha[@',
3. When 'these' and 'those' do not refer to a specific 1t,1f1 AtT,+'.$t
number, zhCxie €&' and ndxie Flp* are used' Note tf,4t1 6',tA€; ltA'
that the classifier is dropped. For eximple, 'these books' * L6 ,tA Ht""L' t lr3'fifitq'A '
is zhixie shu €E€- and'those magazines' is ndxie
zdzhi ilptl' *telt. . Znexie and ndxie may also be used
as tRh 49-;t-H 1 {!, )v-fr ,
demonstrative pronouns, e.g' 'These are books and
:E'
those are magazines' is Zhixii shi shfi, ndxie shi zdzhi
Y!ft* ,nPe!ft.#i a.
EXERCISES
A. Translate into Chinese:
1. 38; 87; 106; 115; l,N2; I,302;20,040; 23,t04;
20,307
2. They do not have these two books.
3. I have five sheets of paper.
4. Do you have a pencil? No, I do not.
5. This is a magazine and that is a newspaper.

1. fr,rk_frar4€ "
z. N,tpld zlLf ,
3. ,l?, fifl fr 48. t$",.F.s t
4. la6 - & I @6d\eu,
s. iilPlE ffi*trd(.
6. €. 4 € 6h # , nP * &_ @ L++ .
7. +\,)t f €mt4.gt)6t,,
8. 1s6a+ +9,
9. nPil'l@+E,,Lh+.
to. 'L.tlA+EE+4,+.
fr.
l. =fz\, z\*t- ; -6Or-i -6-+E ) -+o- i -+= p o:;
-Hors+; -H =t -AoiEi Ho= 6or
a {e,fPl )ia K m +e ,
3. trA L 9€-,tft."
,{. 1r-A 6A+ ?q1 )iA"
' G-ft rtt x. , ilPRtB_tK"
g,
l. I Jon,| harr *ho.l- bool.,
2. tr.ey ho.ug |[-..qR p{^J
3 . D <, yo ra have nn- ,goge, s ?
q. Hq l.,n: loroor{ gieces .,{ p-per,
t Wq havs *wc, C,-{f s o{ 1.._lo.-[r.f
G.
-TL.o:t a(C n c i 1.,
pr , *l^,.o .bq arc b^\ I poin{ pr^s ,
1, J clon'i hr.vr ],1,,,5e {-., l.n,r..Xq.1i 615

Y, f\Q h". l,ooo book1.
Y TlauEt ".inr s{rJent, don,l l^,avc prns
10. Jh.st *-o SlwJcni-:, horvQ (\F',
10
tl
LESSON THREE
12
VOCABI]LARY
1. zh6ng fE f+ sort, type; a common classifier
2. jidn l+ item; classifier for clothing, event and

thing
3. ddngxi HE RW thing, object (c1.44, 4@)
4. fdngfa fr*' method (c1.46 )
5. p6ngyou HHk friend (cl.4E )
6. t6ngxu6 E4 E+ fellow-student (cl.'fH )
7. tai t too (excessive)
8. hdn 4F very
9. hdo *T good;,W*t?'How are you?','Hello';

... 4+ T11+?'How about..' ?', 'Will..'
be all right?'
10. da t big
11. xiio rJr small
12. xin ffi new
13. jit) HIH old (for inanimate objects)
zhdng -lE heavy

14.
15. qing +g +A light (not heavy)
16. ldo z old (of people, animals)
17. nianqing +$g ++A young (of people)
18. gui F fr expensive
le. pi6nyi tF.H-

cheap
20. gdoxing Hq HX happy, in high sPirits
21. shengqi Hffi, +-< angry
22. ...xingbuxing ftTrft 'Will... be all right?'
23. brcud 4ffi T+E not bad (i.e. quite good)
24. didnying EYI F,** movie (cl.l@; bilEP )
25. sud Ffr classifier for house, school
26. fdngzi E+ house (cl.lfr")
zl. wuzl B+ room (cl. jidnP.l )
28. xu6xiaro 4& +& school (cl.Ffr ,lE )

13
VOCABI]LARY
29. daxu6 ts /(+ university (cl.Fry, I@)
30. shangdiin ffitr shop (c1.7fi R,lA)
31. tfshfiguin
EilBAB KfiIH library (cl./E )
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Sentence with an Adjectivat hedicate The negative narrative sentence: SUBJECT + bi +
Chinese adjectives can function as verbs. hence in a ADJECTIVE
sentence with an adjectival predicate the verb .to be'ft jae*.a4{L. +\6LK.
is not used. For example, ,He is happy, is Ta hdn gaoxing
nPz4+*.eTE nP M nn T' a ry\.
4u /lF< 4. In an affirmative nariitive sentence of this
'i: adjective is generally
type, the modified by the adverb
€'&P.l8*T.t.. Ew#T4ftH"
^
hCn lF< ('very') which when used in this construction is
weak in meaning. Other adverbs may replace hCn to The interrogative sentence :
,tle is extremely happy, Td
Toqify 'is happy', e.g. SUBJECT+ADJECTIYE*MA
fEichdng gaoxing ,lE aF# A* or,This house iJtoo old' E[@fr,frfrc6? I^f.,4F.#.
Zhcsud fifrngzi tdi jin dfi
B + A fi . An adjectival t'tAI +a{l* q6 'l
ft g {r. #t d*.,
,tl<
lt .
predicate without a modifler implies comparison, e.g.
Zhdsyd fdngzi iin iE- ft E + ti (This house is old) E* Et ta 4f.*- zh t ft,\t * h fr q?. x .
would also imply N,isud fdngzi xin flp Ft E + *t {,That SUBJECT + ADJECTIVE + bt) + ADJECTIVE
house is new). In this alternative-type interrogative sentence the words
of the second part of the alternative are pronounced in
The affirmative narrative sentence: SUBJECT + the neutral tone. It should be noted thai hCnlf1 is not
ADVERB MODIFIER + ADJECTIVE used in this construction, e.g. ,Is this book good?' is
Using the adverbial modifer hCn !E<: Zhdbdn shu hdobuhao? F^€4+ T,-!,+?
4{.1t1 lR L ',*" , €ft + N?"RH^ . €fiAtfrr,ftt Etut-*6ft.
fl l1l 4P< -Er 4 , tPFtE+17.*tT. nPwh+itT.*t1 *t,
€ wg tRft "
g fr + Ntx.+r"U.
Using the adverbial modifier rdl zt_ (excessive):
fr-ry* ex.*, 6*#tfe lt,t,.
104P1K+4&, ilP4+*& Kf;-.
fi-ffi8 + NF fr FT E + X X"
^*. "
EXERCISES
A. Translate into Chinese: B. Translate into English:

1. Those students are not happy.
2.
3.
She is angry. 1. ;d +tm 4_#na T EE- ? ja.ffm
4,
Is this method good?
This magazine is too expensive.
**nle.e
5. Those two students are young. 2. El@)5 rhl.+T,!+ i ie rch Aff.T,
6. He is not old. 4"
7. Is the teacher angry? 3. € E zf 't. "..4 t R-,€*x,r'.
8. Are those two things heavy? 4. nP xo?rr B + ft t fr t 1P#rFtl,+
tf* ft
s. 4t,L Krh t e\mnfo,
6. ls lc 4 *LsE! r.
rc,^ x++4.,
7. €f- E ET.E t. fl +a ff*E "
t4
15
LESSON FOUR
16
VOCABI]LARY
+1. money
1. qi6n $E
2. m\ x rice (uncooked)
(cooked) rice; a meal of rice as opposed

3. mifin xgF xrn to a meal of noodles, bread, etc.
4. blo a classifier meaning'bag'
ry to want
5. yio
to want (aux. verb); to think
6. xidng fg
ftfiiE to know
7. zhidao
8. xihuan EW ElR to like
9. gdosu €-EF Eifr to tell
til to ask
10. wdn Ffi
bL to give
11. gEi f6 'E
12. xu6(xi) 4(H) +(z) to studY
Chinese language [In the early stages of

13. Zhongw6n* +a the movement to standardize the
spoken language, a national language
bised on the dialect of Beijing (Peking)
and known as Gu6Yri @ ?* was Prom-
oted. This term is still used in some
Chinese communities scattered
throughout the world. In the People's
Republic of China the term Piltonghud
*-&Zt is used when a distinction is
made between the standard sPoken
language and dialects. What is com-
*onty known as Chinese language is in
fact the language of the Han PeoPle
who constitute the largest section of the
population. The terms Hdnyit (spoken
iunguug" of the Han people) and Hdnzi
,X f (written language of the Han
people) are therefore favoured bY
icademics and language teachers']
14. Riw6n* EA Japanese language
15. Yingwdn* +a English language
16. Fdw6n* i*r French language
Russian language
t7. Ewdn* ffta
18. Egu6 fftE {fttr Russia
E7 written word
19. z\ t
to write
20. xi6 H E
t7
VOCABULARY
21. chi W to eat
22. shuigud * x fruit
23. h. rE
to drink
24. ch6 # tea
25. kafei rJJfrryF
coffee
26. jin iE wine
27. nildlnii +rtl milk (cow's milk)

28. jiao +, to teach
29. kdn E to look, to read, to watch
30. ting ffi nfi to listen
31. briyio
zi4 do not, must not
*when a specific
reference is ma91,o tpo-r,-"n language the following terms are used:
1!g
E 3€ (Japanese), Wngyil * it? (Englisq, Hdnyil)* lg (chine se), Riyti
rdyri )* i* (French), and Eyil 1*,?# (Russian).
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Verb-Object Constructions Thelegative narrative sentence: SUBJECT + NEGA_
In Chinese some verbs e.g. to teach, to eat (a meal), TrvE ADVERB + VERB ( + OBJECT)
to
read, to speak and to write cannot stand alone in
sentence without an object or an implied object.
a 4sT*iZgg, '
If a *\, "&ilo ")F ,

specified object does not exist a verb_bbject compound
is used, e.g. 'I teach' is Wd jidosh,ti
n ** whereas if ,tt 6
^ z llk x\, .
the object is specified e.g. ,I teactr Cninese, the verb_ 4& T,'L *.4:A .
object compound cannot be used and instead .Chinese,
wifl s,1anj as the object of the verb, i.e. Wd jiAo Zh6ng_
'tp, T'ko 16- .
w€n*\4{+ *- .
Other examples: The_ interrogative sentence: SUBJECT + VERB (+

'He reads' is ,tE fr f ,He reads OBJECT) + ma
, while newspapers,
is .te 6 te &. ae-*t*,.6t 4t4*,lv*X,
'He eats (a meal)'is \u,LM., while'He eats fruit' ,lrt, F4 * 6(t t.fr ?
is.lV,Lzk *, . tt r, ra , lt ?4 .
'He writes'is /@ H # , while 'He writes Japanese' 4f,g Aw t ".-5 ? *f * .
is{g€ai.
'He speaks' is ,10 iE tt , while ,He speaks French, The alternative-type question where the second
part of
is /O ?i,.r& if . the alternative is pronounced in the neutral tone:
SUBJECT + VERB + NEGATIVE ADVERB +
The Simple Sentence VERB (+ OBJECT)
The gramrnatical construction for a simple narrative 4* + ln ? {,*
,lrf,* ,
sentence in the affirmative follows the
+ VERB (+ OBJECT):
ordir SUBJECT 4v6 t,h +e- ? rcT, A
"
./@*6A,>r,,
SUBJECT + VERB (+
li,tfl 4g + *. " ADVERB + VERB
OBJECT) + NEGATTVE
ff'ffiq B q {. 4ary+X{^q? rc.^++*..
t\ tfr+rt nF m q t . 'llf. ,4,7K R T, oL t li 4 ol, .
tuFA rt 6tt .
ltr,'EJAz.&t +\r,,8.
18
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Sentences with AuxiliarY Verbs

Pivotal Constructions and Clause Objects
Affirmative: SUBJECT + AUXILIARY VERB
+
+
A pivotal construction consists of a VERB + NOUN
object of the VERB (+ OBJECT)
Ving sequence where the noun serves as
first verb and subject of the second' e'g' 'I watch the 4\#.+aft4o-,
teacher writing Cirinese' is Wd kdn ldoshi xiC
Zhong- x\N,*n.
wtn*,ttCqArF *-, ft e+2fik&.+ *. .
fi * t,f'*4\, , tX Zft( t<' tK *
&A 4f,,L*8 " /rV. * "A $z
oll ,
4u,+*?*\q+ L. NEGATM ADVERB + AU-
'tv. * *, t4 * till , Negative: SUBJECT +
XIiIARYVERB + VERB ( + OBJECT)
6f* K "tft'fe '
objects occur after verbs of thought or
Clause ^XE'Ai
percep- X\'4114'#,."L*e.
'as
tion .u"tt xidng (to think), zhidao f" if. (to know)' ,w h n M. a Nrli. .
that) and winf$
,iua in 6" say) , t"ingshuo lE' ifr' (to hear 4i ir1 6 N, !#.ts .
are generally intro-
ll" utf.l. rn 6ng[sh such clauses there are no 4s 4, e frR 4e *\ ''.y.2*
duced by 'that' oi 'whether' but in Chinese
for these. For example, '!e s-aYs that-this ,tv,1t1 4**r'h+
"l"iuuf"ntt
writins brush is expensive' is Taihuo zhizhi mdobi
hdn
Interrogative:
;i l6'tn fi lJ. +''* l1"i'is and 'He asked whether the
xidngbuxiang SUBJE-CT + AUXILIARY VERB + VERB ( + oB-
ieacher wants to drink tea, Td win ldoshi
winP"l (to IECT) + ma
he ch6 4up"q z6t, ta. T' t",'& h " Y!:n *,^fr,fr.
ask) and gdosu $ 'ef1 (to tell) tak-e an indlrect pronoun 4F,M.fr d il *{i -at, qS i
oUilr.t wliich is also the subject of the following clause'
1B ft Er,E fE )E
q5 t & 4 E,'4.
the pronoun is not rePeated' 4nA#k4X* r-sFrl 1?.4#R.
4F.AER&*wtht T,+1$r,
Sentences with Indirect and Direct Objects
When both an indirect object and a direct object are
+ SUBJECT + AUXILIARY VERB + NEGATIVE
used, the indirect object stands first: SUBJECT ADVERB + AUXILIARY VERB + VERB ( + oB-
VERB + INDIRECT OBJECT + DIRECT OBJECT
JECT)
4VhAi,tri.t{.4<, 4t,M.4M,ryU a *- ? 4fr,q, 1\E+
,tt,!l-fr,)L*aA, .++
>E)'"
40h4f.€_6i^>&. 4f,+fu,l"4#k'&nt +fik "A.
4s&.+i + 7 0
4tl,M.T, M,"1,*& t 4 E. oL
li ilL'tr, a x
EXERCISES

1. Teacher likes to teach French' 1. *+^ T, N. F"5 itz .
2. I want to give him this cuP of tea' 2. {ti, 4, "6 rK ,
3. He asked me whether you were Australian' J. ltlF"EfrRe+E+i"
4. They asked me whether I was Japanese' t-Zsft#.4\1?1 }4 t
5. He told me that you were too young'. 4. "
6. She said that this pencil is not expenstve' 5. |F,*Xtkr +ftk"hEFrt-* t

7. They told us not to drink coffee' 6. 1{,+ t+& $,&- a 4- ,<- "
8. I do not want to give her these things' 7. *1fr14 1\*T4"/t"4F
19
LESSON FIVE
20
VOCABIJLARY
EI early, 'Good morning!'
l. ziro
2. zdijlin tr.8 F'[, 'Goodbye!', 'See You again!'
3. xidxie ## ifltifll 'Thank you!'
4. he fr and
and
5. gen EF
M, to do
6. zud
H to use
7. ydng
8. tdolin =+=-L
nl Em i'lia to discuss
matter, event, haPPening

9. shiqing +{H
10. wdnti 16ffi tilu oroblem. matter, question
ydumtiydu wcnti 6 )!A P"1ff ? 'Are
e.g.
there any problems?', 'Do You have

any questions?'
,[E to understand, to comPrehend

11. ddng
12. mfngbai FEE to understand, to be clear about
L3. gOngzud IIF work, to work

EI
14. mdi -F. * to buy
15. mii F1 + to sell
16. ch6ng E K long
E tall, high
17. gao lEl
18. du6 t many, numerous
19. shdo ,, few
rich
20. y6uqi6n HfiX, H+h,
useful
21. yduydng Hffi
h+E nice-looking
22. hiokdn
fine-sounding, good to listen to
23. hdoting {+H*8,
'.TEfi simple
24. jidndan ffiH f"14
25. zhdngydo frry important
26. tiSo l# + classifier for longish, winding objects

e.g. snake, fish, road
27. y{t fR tu fish (cl. /A )

clock (cI.,{E )
28. zhdng ffi ++
27
VOCABULARY
29. shdubido +ffi +t wristwatch (cl.zhi fi.; kudi tft")
30. zhdyang E:tff a++ this manner e.g. Et* m, ,to use like
this'
31. ndyang
flttr flt3++ that manner e.g. flp it:ltk",to do in such
a way'
32. zhEyangde Effiffi a++F0 this manner of, such e.g. € tX6'!J 8 ,
'such books'
33. niyang de
ffiffffi fllst+H! that manner of, such e.g,flp tt61 nE &-
,
'such friends'
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Connectivu gEn EF< and h6 *o In a sentence with more than one attributive the de
The connectives gEn and h6 are used interchangeably between the more closely related elements is omitted.
to
connect substantives i.e. nouns and noun constructions
!.9. 'Jhis is a good student magazine' is Zhi shi yifdn hCn
but never verbal expressions or clauses. Thus ,He
reads hdo de xuisheng ztizhi tEfr. : n Np<i+tj + L" Hzii,-.
ley:plpers and magazines, is Td kdn bdozhi hC zdzhile. Generally, however, the following patterns are used
E #.l*"4" # it.while ,He reads newspapers and I read when nouns are qualified by adjeciives:
maga?ines' is Td kdn bdozhi, wd kdn iaini,rc,fr* 1-a) When the adjective is closely knit with the
{I f flf it, . In the latter case the connectives ge7 andtf\,
h6
noun and
the resulting adjective * noun phrase can be
cannot be used. considered
the name of a category de is notused, e.g. nAng
1\ #,fr *,*" ,K R . bi if
(red pen) as in .Give me a red pen' where .red
pen, is a
Lt.*" ae fr. r4 4 q$ t pen from the group which is reC.
1Ct. nang de bik ill F
€ ,t ,& ls fr tr ft i-"*k.**" ,
which means ,a./the pen which ii red, u. in ,Red
p"n,
(pens which are red) are expensive,. Here de
'\ft, VF<iv&_ nn &'q$ t grammatically introduce an attributive clause.]
wbuld
€ Wflr-ar.Xk, o monosyllabic adjectives belong to this category,
Many
e.g.
The Subordinating particle de 6\

-Ffr^,.1, E t@bighouse)
fr lfil +-(two small cups)
$tr,
l. Possessive case: ,My, isw6defQ,6i ,,your, or,yours, is =-+# E,#(,three n.* *iiting brushes)
n[de 4t, #J e:rc. Note however, that withnouns
personal relationships de is generally omitted
indicating :f ZR E Nttt.(ten magazinei)
old
But'that tall student (i.e. thit student who is tall), would
after prof
nouns e.g. 'my wifg' iswd tditai ii x x, .my husban-d,
is
beflpffi$fi+t-"
wd xiinsheng+\ h 4^. The particle de may b) Reduplicated adjectivps and polysyllabic
adjectives
sometimes
also be omitted after pronouns having close must occur with de, e.g..liiy6uy6u de yizi!*fr
rela_ ;& *u #.
tionships with nouns denoting institutionsind
organiza_
* (glossy green leaves).
country', wa gi6*\ & or wdmen gu6jid c).Disyllabic adjectives generally take de.But when
the
fir\"Atflly adjective modifies a literary *oid thut has its orieins
in
+\ at.& + *. .r, classical Chinese de is not used, e.g.
(important matters) and €
A* eEV"1e
€ 4 { tf,e.l , * gl ,<("important person)
npry^ft.*afrah, _ d)
*t3When* +h (important personalityj.
^ wordJ dua fi and shio' ,!. are used as
- adjective the
4i eh t fi<.y modifiers, they must be preceded by the
adverb hCn'l7r- and the particle de is generally not used.
Thus-'few people' is hin shdo rin /&. ,!. t,'and,many
3- T" particle de may be used with adjectives or adjec_ people' is hCn du6 r€n 4n
trvat equivalents to express qualification. Although
it is & \. Note that hCn shdi
cannot be used as an adjective modifier of
commonly used for this purpose it is not indispen-sable. the object of
In some cases the attributive may form an inieparable the verb. Hence a sentence such as ,I have
few books,
unit with its noun and de is noi used, e.g. when the must be changed to .My books are few, i.e. wdde
shrt hCn
attributive is the name of a country as in .Rissian
news_ 2hao
#i gl*-rc.'!' and,He has little money , is tdde qidn
paper' Ewdn bdo 1rli, *-#_. Oc"asionaif there hCn shdo4t ffirrtr, /rF<,r- .
may be a
difference in meaning it de_lsused, e.g.'Zhonggu6
p6ng_ 3. The particle de may be used to introduce
f k
you @ nn means,Chinese frie-nds' wnle Znani_ an attribu_
tive clause. Verbs or verbal constructions take
gud de pingyou *I
6\ hn h- means ,friends of China,. cle de to form an adjectival modifier that
the parti_
can generally
22
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
-'\ 4. The particle de joined to a noun, pronoun' adjective
be translated into the English'who was', 'which were"
or verb forms a nominal construction meaning 'mine"
'that were' etc. This construction follows the general
'ours', 'theirs', 'the one who'etc. Compare the sentence
rule that the qualifier precedes the word qualified'
with an adjectival predicate and the sentence with a
Hence the attributive clause stands before the noun and
nominal predicate:
not after as it does in English.
Adjectival predicate: -x4
Zhcbdn shil xinbuxin? fr-4*E ltr T t
VERB+dC+NOUN Nominal predicate' 'Fr Ah cla t
fr Al ltis 'the people who are watching'' Zhibcn shu shi xinde ma? if + € ft'
@ question is asked i.e' 'Is this
book new?' while in the second case an appraisal is
SUBJECT+VERB *dC* NOUN
asked for i.e. 'Is this book a new one?' Note that in
fi m et 6f S is 'the pencil which I am using'' Chinese the nominal predicate sentence is very common
and is often used to translate the English sentence which
VERB+OBJECTTdC*NOUN has an adjectival predicate' This is because sentences
##k A *E it' at 4 }. is 'the student who likes reading such as 'Is this book new?' usually imply 'Is this book a
magazines'. new one?'
The old one is mirre. E fr4 ft'+\' 61'
This cup is the one he us5:s. ri {E + ft tg ffi 6h "
SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT * dC l NOUN
ft,tr'f+ 64 R6 is 'the things which you give to me'' He is a fish seller.'f€ ft * ,fr' 61 ^1'
-
EXERCISES
C. Translate into English:

1. Those cuPs are mine. 1. nr. +, E-4n l+ ,
2. That is the house which he wants to sell' 2.

2Z :
.Jr( 1 +, L , 1n7+ t.
3. The book which I want to buy is too expensive'

J.
r $t,frR.fit
4. The matters which I want to discuss are few' z-e
#, fr, fr m 4'ft , E- re n, fr 4 fr1
5. There are few students in this school' 4.
6. He does not use a great deal of money' 5. T'fr, jz&.k.N?.&E
7. The fruit which he sells are too small' 6. 4r* , lt , tt+l\ {n 4'+,(L 4.nflat*k.)
ttt 4l r

l- ,aful
r. ztzh€t!ffi#an,<6er. 7.
29
.4 fur 4n,
2. F. en k 17".'t/
l
8. ?t<
.F..
"
3. \Lhb t tF 4'tA 4 .
4. fr-ft-*,fl.a\ Kfr "
s. 4\8,fr.{rE -
6. fiR-- 1@',4?<f+d\fr ',* '

23
LESSON SIX
24
VOCABI]LARY
1. kaishi ffiffi frth to begin
(to be) in, at, on

2. ziri f+.
3. shingkE l'# Ltx to go to classes, to attend classes
4. xidkd T# T'R to finish classes
5. jiioshi *\E classroom (cl. Ffi ;
,fi++ o'clock
6. di6nzh6ng x&ffi
7. bdn + half
quarter of an hour
8. kd (zhong) ,n(ffi) 4\(++)
9. fen (zhdng) h(ffi) hG+) minute
zJ.Ft zJ.EJ hour (cl.'16 )

10. xidoshi
11. zhongt6u ffiEF t+* hour (cl.,1g )
12. chd n almost, nearlY, not uP to
surname, to have the surname

1,3. xing W.
name, given name
t4. mingzi A+
to call, to be called (name), to tell or
15. jido [+ ask someone to do something
16. sh6nme ftM ITA what
HI which
17. nd
18. wdish6nme ffiITM hTTA why, for what reason
19. yinwei trH wh because
20. zlnme E,M RA how, whY
--rtr who
21. sh6i, shui 1E
22. ii # L how many (less than ten)
how many
23. dudshao *,,
24. sui ffi, t
rJ-l
years of age
25. zhEr EH EJL here (zhclifr-E

ûY
also be used)
E maY also be used)

26. ndr ffin flls)L there (ndli flV
ryiUL where (ndfi anl * maY also be used)

27. nir ry/rn
place
28. difang ,&,fr
E{{F time
29. shihou H{R
25
VOCABT]LARY
30. xidnzii ntr TNE now
31. le T modal particle indicating that a new
situation has developed
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Time and Age l. ShCnme fi rt
1. Time is told in the following ways_note the optional a) as an interrogative pronoun:
use of gzd ir$ , .past':
2.00,&.t*6i
flfr-,r+fr,t ;LZz+
2.10 frs.6 ( &) +^ frP gkat A t nP*N_ i"u. c
2.1.5 &tt ( €. ) + -fr-,i t,& y..& ( i& ) - A1

MLL 1l B, 1
2.30 &.r* + 40 E.$r.tt &, ,l

2.45 r&-f& ( i& ) @ + s;,1- i ,fii.Sj ( e) z- l,li
*.-u,J=p-& b). as an interrogative adjective:
a few minutes after five E.
a few minutes before sk t
*iG&) K, ht
# b xg&& 'Lftt+8,*a ? EL 2ff
how many hours? fr,m+ a+ I ; q+,,tg
4n,"qfift,a+ 1 *\ "4 *.4
&-l4.t tt
h, - tF
fifteen hours f -t-l@,J, 4 ; f E 4A,rtiyi 'tk,ttk 3i *t z ,l
llr'#.,Lfifr*-e t ii N,'L{,R
4rt v 4+ h'z+, ? fr, t + r.rt.
2. Age is denoted by the addition of s ui ffi,to anumerical
unit e.g. ten years of age-t fi,.
3. Enquiries about time and age often make use of the

2. ft is an interrogative adjective used for numbers
Ji
under 10:
modal particle le j to indicate that a new situation
has 4n*ft6l/-+-+ ,! .L F"- ,
arisen:
What is his age? lUftfr, 3 ? ftg.t& I t ,\ gb - *.4 .
What is the time? h|,X1tl t , 4e4{r^t ? =*-
4rt,* x *,t* p. ? rft 4,^ .
4. Responses to enquiries about time and age also make .tF,* K fr, a * ? a =
use of the modal particle te J .
It is,fogr o'clock (it has become four o,clock). 3...Duoshao t4 ,l'
may be used as an interrogative
@w&ift 1 . adjective or pronoun and may refer to any number:
He is ten years of age (he has become ten years of
4{-+fi1 age). 1n* , 'l., & t t\ * ,/ 4F<
,, ,a i,-
tf,,tfi. \F"'Y' o
lk* &,, rM?
Interrogative Pronouns, Adjectives and ln* g ., h^, ?
Adverbs hn* /, ^t+

,y t{ ,|.
tu+L.
Interrogative sentences may be formed by using inter_
4. NdoflF interrogative adjective:
rogative pronouns, adjectives or adverbs. In such sent_ -
'fr,ftqF@k? li&.,*,@x,
ences no further indication of the interrogative is
sary. The interrogative particle ma o.ft is-not used
neces_
at the
le€,np@.tr aAr.
end of the sentence. The word order in these sentences ffi*,n1#€ t € Zs .
remains unchanged and the position of the interrogative
pronoun, adjective or adverb is determined by wh-ether
th*qP**a ? €s.
it is the subject, verb, complement or obiect of the
qPq4 #it+ ? L Ft .
sentence. Hence Zhd shi yibCn sha E-&- - t* .This
is 5. Ndr'flF ff, interrogative pronoun:
lt,#.oAPiL -t
a book' could be the answer to the question ZhC shi
shCnme tA &- ft A'What is this?, (Thi, iryfrug and 4t',trtry#..
sentence Zhc shi Ewin bdo ri- € t* { *( ,This
the
is a
ay"ftnfll 51, ? rc,fr. a 4..
ly:rill newspaper'could_be the answer to the question 2eFhsflpg?-t lttl-ffigM
Zhd shi shinme bdo &-& fi E #. ,What 1[inO o9 4ketnh + ftlflF9?- t "
newspaper is this?'
@*fe ttdpV 1
26
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
6. Wiishtn*" k - 4t interrogative adverb: lO. Sh1ilshui iE is an interrogative pronoun:

40 h fi ft T *$ ]tr. t
h.t
@ f, tv''4f" L fu ' 4yft Af , 4{, ft fu, tl *. 6F .
[F,h4rftT.*E+91 EhR6. ae-alrffi -a s t ft z- *. E d'l ,

+'f,hfift,4,F.fr+1 6 fr ff ,kA &.
Attributive Clauses formed with shihou a+ 4*
7. Zdnme E, E be used as an interrogative adverb
and difang to fi
meaning'hgw': ûy
hi a+$. is used to translate 'when', 'at the time
ilm'+(E. fr, la, , when':
flp Rts--f-- B n
,t@ 1
-L-en,ffia+ & , 4* tu*& ,
ilh6h rt- a E, fr, oL t
* g+,aX.tt 6a a+ lq, T, * h t
E. ZCnme E E also function as an interrogative
adverb
"unis it that' or'why' while at the same
asking'how k\fe.'rt is used to translate 'where', 'the place
time denotin! surprise that the action has taken place: where':
4a lE, B, /t' 4" E 4f.z tF A4 ta h trLoaPt{ 1
'lk,E' h t, + dT 4{'
'.
7 r
tr-ftx\ 2â1 ,efr ,
4gE,ft4, ot- t
9. ZCnmeydng E' & tl.canfunction as an interrogative

pronoun meaning'what kind':
to frLJ *fT fr ?
E,B+ tl, rc, ett *4 A +'t1*lt.
ipmry* E, h4Lt t{'ft-'l@1?'!-+#J4
il-
3-D
EXERCISES

1. How old is she? She is eleven years old'
2. What time is it? It is half past six'
3. Where is he? He is in JaPan'
4. Whose chair is this? It is his'
5. What is his surname? His surname is Huang'
6. What does your friend want? I do not know'
1. t cfr .,t,?.'{ .tt ft * + r.
Z. 4 *-. ?i,ft.a t* fi #.ry+*-,

3, ft6r, a{*,4n*,ffi 71
4. qE, tl+fi1
s. tef .lf.hr*-frzqit
6. qL, h'e\,6ztL, - +Lfu ab,
,{st{Ur!.
n
LESSON SEVEN
28
VOCABI]LARY
4,tr*,51,,, child, children; the words hdir ti'91' ,

1. xiio h6ir tn+
xidohdizi,J'71+ andhdizi ?re
also commonly used
* to go
2.qn
* *< to come
3. l6i
4. shing t to ascend: shdngqu -L * to go uP;

shdnglai .L f- to come uP
to descend: xidqu 1 * to go down;

5. xid T xidlai T h to come down
to return: huiqu @ * to go back; huilai

6. hui tr tr *- to come back
7. iia x home
8. jiali XH XE home
to return home
9. huijia EX
10. chl toexit: chnqut * togoout; chulaif'
'u fi. to come out
11. jin iE it to enter: jinqu

S. to come in,
#-*to go in;
'Come in!'
jinlai&
12. qilai EX E* to get up
13. guo E iJ verbal suffix indicating that an action

took place in the Past
14. gud E tr to go past, to go over: gudqu t& *, to go

over; gudlai € f,- to come over
15. n6 + to take in the hand(s): naqu t * to

take away; ndtai t *- to bring; ndchu-
quts t I to take outside; ndchulqi t
'* [-totake out of.;ndqilai f, & Ato
pick up
16. zhdn frh to stand: zhdnqilai lU & *'rc stand uP

M to sit zudxialai * T * to sit down
r7. zud
18. zdu ft to walk, to depart: zduguoqufr-&*'

to go over, zduguolai rt- ft * to come
ovir; zdulil A fr$-to walk (as opposed
to running or moving from one place to
another by some other means)
to weep: kuchulai tr ff to burst into

19. k[ 9e
tears ^
20. xido xg to laugh, smile: xitiochulai
burst into laughter
Xt * to
to run
21,. p6o
29
VOCABTJLARY
22. biin \t
l@ time(s) i.e. to go through the process of
doing something, e.g. yibidn - &-,
lidngbidnfia €_ (once, twice)
23. ci w time(s) i.e. occunence of an action,
e.g. yici - )R,, lidngci trs * (once,
twice)
24. jintian +x today
25. jinni6n ++ this year

26. ydnse itr, ffiE colour
27. hudng(se) H(€) H(€,) yellow

28. h6ng(se) ffi(@,) tr(tr) red
29. hei(se) R(€) black
30. b6i(se) E@,) white

31. qing t+
=+.
EE lFi please, to invite
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Please What is this colour? E fr. 4I fr tF. e 't
In short commands, qin7ll is used alone, e.g. qing jinth This is (the colour) red.
E *t
E b.
i['please come in!'; qing zudt* b ,.please be seated, t P- 4,,
This is (the colour) black. €
or 'please take a seat'. However, in longer sentences e €
_What colour are these? G- frA L aPt
qing isusually followed by ni l!,or nime, tt,,lll . eing of These are red. g W &. fu E, tl
course may be used as a full verb meaning ,to invite'e.g.
Wd xidng qing ldoshi chfan *\ fr, ft * ifr ,Lft'Iwait
to invite the teacher to (eat) a meal'. Directional Complements
Please tell me his name. lt ltf, + Z+ 1. The simple directional complement: The verbs /rij
'To & to tl h {_
and qi ;k are often used after another verb as a comple-
ment which shows the direction of the action.
Please start writing. el ln ?fi +e ?" I If the
!!"u19 give me three sheets of paper. tlf, t6lt z ii action is towards the speaker, f.is used and if the action
1l\ 8" . is away from the speaker, * is used, e.g. qlng jinlat ,r*ilL
F would be said by someone in a room in answer to a
knock on the door, while qing jinqu Ai i{l* would be
Colours said by someone outside a room inviting another person
'What colour is this?': When the implied meaning is to go in. Note that the complement is pronounced in the
'What is the colour of this?' itis ZhC shi shtnme ydnse de neutral tone.
€ € ,tt k ilA A6t whereas if the implied meaning is X\ut v *,
'What is this colour?', it is ZhC shi shhnme vdnse € ft. lt
ft rtA At Similarly, 'This is red, i.e. ,This is red in colour,
rc,^re,-F *
is Zht shi h6ngse de € € *t Leh whereas if the implied 1e,/, k @ ,
,t{,4F1 & +
meaning is 'This is the colour red, it is ZhC shi hhngse &-
&, *t 6.
^-
,J, t^ tf, d, il3 A
What is the colour of this? rE€. t
B, frA LAn ?
"
What is the colour of this thing? iE tp R e &. ft 2. The compound directional complement: Verbs of
BlEaant motion can take * and * to form compound directional
What is the colour of this sheet of paper? tZ #. tal\, complements. In these cases the first element shows the
&- tt fr, tA
Q, a+t t direction of movement e.g. shdng L,up,, xid T,down',
This sheet of paper is white. iZ 4E *f', La P- A , in tlt 'in', chti fi ,out', hui @ ,back- and the second
30
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
element shows the direction of the action with regard to The Verbal Suffix Suo \& Indicating Past
the speaker. Thus the complement shdngqu ! * means Experience
'up' (away from the speaker) while shdnglai I * means Guoisused to indicate that an action or event did or did
'up' (towards the speaker). Both elements of the com- not occur in the past. The negative is formed by placing
plement are pronounced in the neutral tone. m6i )*-or mtiyou )VA befote the VERB + guo sequ-
Towards the speaker: ence. Guo may be used to indicate that the action or
,!, t)t fuEO)ftX " event occurred or did not occur at a specific time in the
1(91F1 Lna*. past or at least once in the indefinite past. Note that
when guo is used for a precise moment of time, it occurs
Away from the speaker: only in the affirmative, e.g. 'He came at eight o'clock'
1UfibT * "
(where the implication is that he*is no longer there) is Tri
4c1P1 L U t ia didnzhang'tdiguo 4@ ''-?-'E 4ft * € *ttereas 'He did
not come at eight o'clock' is Td bd didnzhong mdyou l6i
tl@ ,\Ptl'h/t(-A . nthe latter, m1iyouis the negative
3. The directional complement with an object: of the suffix /e (see Lesson Nine) for if he did not come at
^
a) The object of a verb with a simple directional comple- eight o'clock he still has not come; his coming is thus not
ment is placed between the verb and the complement' an event of the past and guo cannot be used.
.t.4^9L&.a** Affirmative pattern:
ry,8@E++i*-. 4V,+ + *q .
4t,4F1 k&B + +, .1t-+ + *fra ''n .
1\ fir,q F )et * Negative pattern:

b) The object of a verb with a compound directional .tu,+ +,kK&- .
complement usually is inserted between the two ele- 4i)kA tunp4-A .

ments which make up the directional complement. This
Interrogative patterns:
pattern is imperative when the object is a noun indicat-
ing locality.
a) 4E 4'4 t'&.v* t €., 4s * i&. z h' .
y\etk-E * 1n A \&-a * € 16 t ^ -e i,6., t\ fr t&.frfr.
.-
"+ E "
4t, ffi &-\ZM \tT I i*...4 t )k Fl-E-;
),tr.tLkfr.E+*"
lo+fl, 11 fr9-&&r
,r'4l,,gl,tn-^LL+^. b),rr,+x*&)kh ? A€, {€,\ F-}*@,
.tnfr&4@>k6, hfr-.
However, if the action of the verb causes the position of tn&&€+q4 )r.6 1 €iO - rR.
the object to change, the object may be placed after the
complement.
4!,F *, k z tt,a ++ c) ianwe', j,tr,afu>x-t' ti,hw
np ffi_R & , tl1, "LM-*-A t
.
'k."4,]e.-.
4g.til, A,alatT,+. fi-E*t >g , 4i,"A&-'k6 1. €iQ. .
4et t, * =- #,8U4 "
4ot fukE @,,t< * .
{t14'@Anmt4'+,
BXERCISES

1. What colour is your cuP? l. nPMh+,did€' fi 17" ,t *,
2. Why does he want to go uP? z.4e,A\8fr+fr.4t frfrA?, erJ 1
3. Why does he not want to come out?

4. They run into the house. 3. 40/>k*&A,n
5. He takes out (of something) a magazine. 4. €=-@,Y'F^fr.28 t *an ?
6. Have you used it? 5. qLhfth,vae &s * 'l

7. Yes, I have used it twice.
31
LESSON EIGHT
32
VOCABI]LARY
1. w6n(r) ,n(n) fr,oL) to play, to enjoY oneself
classifier for song or Poem

2. sh6u EI
song (ct. 6 )
3. ge trft
to sing; 'He sings' Ta chdngg7 4O'& 4k
4. chdng rB
together
). yrql -rte
together
6. yikuiir -ffin -*)L '
7. yigdng
-+ together
8. kuii (qi6n) ffircx) r (+k) yuan, dollar
10 cents
9. m6o (qi6n) +GF,) +(+*,)
1 cent
10. f€n (qi6n) h (frx,) h(+k)
11. yd & also
all
12. dou #[
again, also, furthermore
13. ydu X
14. xidn ft first
15. ziti E again
\r still, still more

16. h6i ]E i6
already
17. yijing e*s e94
18. yiding
-E certainly
19. zh\ tl only
often, frequentlY
20. ch6ngch6ng HH,
extremelY
21. feich6ng )Fffi
immediatelY
22. l\kd nAJ
just (short time ago)
23. gangcfli |nil+ FltJrj-
,R structural particle indicating adverb of
24. de manner
ffi, adverbial suffix

25. de
26. kudi t* fast
slow
27. min E
28. ldoshi
-+t
&t
aF. z* honest
clear
29. qingchu Faffi.
33
VOCABT]LARY
30. mingbai FEE clear
31. mdng 'rt busy
32. hdulSi t** tr* afterwards
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Monetary Expressions adverb is before the verb or its negative. The following
l.Documents such as contracts, receipts, cheques and are some common adverbs which are used under specific
price tags use the termsyudn Z(dollar) andjidb Fr (ten circumstances:
cents). Hence 10.55 yuan is *ir .a F a j}and 2.25 vuan
is:;, ' A L,rl . l..hdi fi'strtl (up to this time)' or .still (more),;,yet,;
'also'; 'in addition' (for additional action by tire same
2. The spoken form and other written forms use the actor; refers to the predicate); ,more' and ,iurther,.
terms kudi iA, mdo.$.andfEn,z\ in the following ways: Does he still like to sing? tA fr * $k
l.N yuan is - ,fu 4 "E # z6 1
I want another cup of coffee. *\, fr * - *I ,1" 4F"
0.50 yuan is E 4, U2 He still wants to read that book. 40 )fr N,. A np +
0.05 yuan is A *&. a.
2.00 yuan is frr ,fu& He is still in China. t@ IE f,*- + @
2.25 yuan is 'fr ,6 'ih +. a. h\ 4 Hasn't he told you yet? 4e ft- ,/1-
+ Zft qtr.
"h 1
2.L2yuanis ffi ,AF *a +
How much does this book cost? E * t yt .,t 4t 2. ydu .y( and zdi & meaning .again' in the sense of
How much does this pencil cost? &-X C*-1 ,, .y repetition or continuation of action. Both of these
&? adverbs may be used to indicate repetition or continua_
How.much do these two books cost?
')'&t ii 14 # t, tion of action. However, ydr referi to events in the past
while zdi refers to events in the future. Compare the
This house costs $50,000. tr pn B + -n- & +fu,r\" following sentences:
Reduplication of Adjectives {e- clme (once) at two o'clock and again at three
o'clock; he said that he.would come again at four or five
Some adiectives may be reduplicated to emphasize the
quality of the adjective; this reduplicated form may be
o'clock. le, fri gE +* * € - rR, : g& a*
used as an adverbial modifier. In such cases the adver_
€ - ;X ; ,l(g-sn,e _b-g..EA *.
bial suffix de r€ is used to join it with the verb it modifies.
He came at five o'clock, since then he has not come
Note the tone changes in the elements of a reduplicated
again. (Thegrction of cominghas not b_een repeated.)
adjective:
ft,, aeh e,^ €, lA--* >7 A A . k
1. When a monosyllabic adjective is reduplicated the
second syllable is pronounced in the first tone and fol- H-e asked me to repeat my name. 4O rq fu, A eH. -
lowed by the noun suffix er gl,. Tlte noun suffix er &.4i! ai h+.
however, is not usually represented in written material.
hdo llbecomes hdohdor l+ *+ 9t Note that zdi differs from other adverbial modifiers in
kudi 4'X becomes kudikuair ,fk t* 9L that it may be placed after the negative adverb as well as
before
mdn'ft becomes mdnmdnrt&.,1*. tL !t. Ydu may be used to indicate repetition of an
action in the present or future but only in cases where
2. When a disyllabic adjective is reduplicated, the first the action recurs periodically or is anticipated. Such
and last syllables are stressed and the middle two svll_ sen-tences are usually completed with the modal particle
ables are pronounced in the neutral tone: le 3 to indicate the new situation which has arisin, e.g.
Idoshi *F-becomesldolaoshishi t rt. X. X 'He's crying again!' ,f(1 X g( J and ,He wants to eat
mingbai 4 h becomes minRminsbaibdi aA sA A A again!'4@ x N, "t 1 .
gdoxing 64becornesgaoiaoxlnsxins A er q *
qingchu )f,t becom"" qtnlqtusriuri,il ft ft. M. rt \ ft 13,'also' (referring to the subject), .as well' and
'even'. The adverbyCindicates so-"ihing additional but
has no implications of time or duration,-e.g. .I am also
Adverbial Modiliers
The normal sentence order is that the qualifier must
going' & o * and,He wants to go to bniiu as well as
to Japan' ,fu e#,+ 4 @ , t,t!+ a 4-. ln sentences
precede the word it qualifies. Hence the pbsition of the
of this type the verb must be repeated in Chinese. When
34
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
yd is used to give the meaning of 'even' the object of the construction represents a comment or judgement on an
sentence is placed before the verb or subject for emph- action and henie refers to an action already completed
g ffi' or the way an action is normally performed. If the speak-
asis, e.g. 'Hi even understands Chinese' 4t1 + {'
er has not established what it is he wishes to comment
4. zhi X 'onlv', indicates limitation, e.g. 'I only want upon he will do so before presenting his comment, e'g'
one dollar' eU, n * ' tfu/r* ' 'Ae sings that song well' will follow the pattern SUB-
JECT i VENS + OBJECT + VERB + dC+ COM-
PLEMENT M("e)tp €
-dgE x4 itor the pattern
5. dou *F 'all'. As in the case of all adverbs, dou must
precede the verb. It is used in sentences with a plural TOPIC (i.e. oBJECT) + SUBJECT +JERB + de +
subject and its effect is to totalize the noun or nouns COMPLEMENT flp t
Ek 4f.' "a 44 ++ .,
before it. When yC E and dAu appear in the same
sentence yC alwaYs Ptecedes dAu. Affirmative:
We (all oi us) ahb fike reading newspapers. *, le1 s a) Where the action to be commented upon is already
aP 4 tlkd +R. established.
well. 4{' "A 'tVf! '
Both the teacher and the students are happy.2 a4' 4'" He sings well./He sang
q E*P 6 4+. He writes fast./He wrote quickly. & H 14 'fk '
th"r" three types of houses are all ugly. € z' fg 4 She writes too slowly./She wrote too slowly' J(u' E
+#PT.,.+fr, 44 +&.
^
b) Where the action to be commented upon has not been
established.
The Adverbial Suffix de
'+L He writes ' le
slowly. n ,? e 4+* .
Adjectives of more than one syllable or adjectives mod- I read slowly. t\ fr € A oL6<*'L4447"ty"
'44'lq.
ified by an adverb (e.g. hdn l&-or bil 4') may function as I eat a great deal of fruit. #,
adverbial modifiers when followed by the suffix de t&' Negative:
Adverbial modifiers with de are usually used in narrative
sentences; they describe the mannerin which the subject
4e,Er + lk "A 44 T' &
carries out the action. Such sentences are not restricted I\ "L -afr & 'L'+7 4, ,, .
by time. Compare this to the usage of the complement of *\ 'A ^ "8 /14 4' !+ .
dbgree which is restricted by time and which is descrip-
Interrogative:
tive rather than narrative. (See below.)
4e' H 4 'H 't4*+ z6 t
ADJECTIVE + de 4cfr h /14 \ft lft
a- 1
They angrily sat down. 'l{ 1',1 *- K * T * 1' 4&H. * e F. t+ e7 :Ft

'e' e+ L ?
1{,8 + j( 6 N7 4'* t' 'l* t

The'stud-enis happily walk into the classroom'
$*+t*-{!-*r,E*'. t,
They cheerfully discuss the problem. 4c 1?1 At a W 4t "L R A "LX+ tf 1.
4 +u;t 3# r"l ff ^
2. The complement of degree is often used in sentences
We like to drink tea slowly. +\, tpl * frR 4:ft t* 'o'
,&^. which would take a passive verb in English'
That song was sung well.
fJP 6
M "& 't41+ '
His work was done extremely well. 4o 4l t fi 4ri'
ADVERB+ADJECTIYE+de tEaFHl+"
He very quickly tells me. lP- lE' +k )a + z"+ & '
out. N' 4 A * +u' k *' * ' Those things were purchased very cheaply. aP V *
She un-happily walks
He very tio*iy picks up the book. 4f-- 4F '# 'l*- rut & fr1+4F<R'H-
ea*,o
The Complement of Degree Formed withdel.4
1. VERB * de * COMPLEMENTisapatternusedto
comment on the way an action is performed, i'e' the
extent or quality attained, e.g. 'Hoqis he doing it?'or
'How did ire do it?' is 1t.'.ltk1+8,8, i.iP. ? and'He is
doing it well' or 'He did it well' is idl'{dk 4ft4t ' This
35
EXERCISES
1. How much does this book cost?
2_. Thirty-two dollars and fifty-five cents. 1.
3. You are selling it extremeiy cheaplv.
4. He likes to eat things slowiy.
2. #,fr#fr +rt.
3. {t4tfirft"
5. That student sings well. 4.4nh+€4fttF,
6. We are all studenrs.
7. I also want to buy a writing brush. 5. to e' f':Yh h + 1
8. He does not want to go upagain. 6. 4v - k- d fr tfu& .
9. That book is selling cheaply.- 7. ft.'&8,46r
10. He immediately siti down.-
11. I already have a cup. 8.'tk*tot1<t-&,
12. They told me frankly that they only wanted 9. ,t, ,l 9L Ftl t lf. g, 4 .
money. 10. 4a f1 #P ti, t+ $\ t+ .
13. Are you busy? 11. iiTE,A*'-{r$,
14. He will certainly come.
15. They are still in China.
Iz. lt # # ft , rfr,fr *'* J
36
37
LESSON NINE
38
VOCABT]LARY
1. le 1 verbal suffix; modal Particle
!ll
sequence indicator; then
2. jiu E]L
3. tian X day
4. zu6tian WX yesterday
5. mingtian FBX tomorrow
6. xingqi trffi week (c1.4fl ); used interchangeably

with libdi l9r1
7. ni6n + year
8. mingni6n FE+ next year
9. qini6n x+ last year
10. qi6nni6n tfr+ year before last
month (cl.16l )
11. yud H
month (when reference is made to a
12. yudfdn Hlfr particular month, e.g' 'He will come in
August' 4t?, tY fl 'lb#- ')
13. hdo EF" E day of the month
14. ri B day (used in dates)
15. zhongwri ++ noon
16. shdngwri L+ a.m.
17. xidwti T+ p.m.
18. z6o
EI early, 'Good morning!'
zdoshang morning, in the morning

19. +-f
20. w6n Ffr late, evening
21. wdnshang Fft,L evening, in the evening
22. jintii iEx iE* recently
23. kinjian dn En to see
24. tingjian H,-8, Efr N to hear
there is, there are (indicates existence)

25. ydu H
some (i.e. some of)
26. y6ude HW
some (i.e. some of)
27. y6uxie H'bj
28. yixie _L3 some, a few
some, a little (i.e. a small portion ). In

29. yididnr
-,xf,tn -,fiJ1 the spoken language yididnr is often
shortened to didnr
39
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
ydu fr Indicating Existence
+'\e.Efa *, I
what day of the week is it?
'There are' and 'there is, are usually translated by the
verb ydu: Iod"y is Monday. AX p. E-
ffi - .
How,many days are there in a week?
h fr,x t - 4@ E tn
gtE.is a good library here. tr tL fr -
T"Tq lA !+VA
It's Wednesday 1gain. A X. r R_ E An
There are three shops there. np gL h
=_ E#l
=- J ,
last week I ,lE EXfl; next week T lE E *E
There are no houses here. tr gL -rk A & +
Is there a school there? np iA A si &. 76 ,.
There are no books in that place. ip l@ ta Months of the Year
t/k
a, January A February 'a' fl
Are there any problems? A /f. 6 flA *I March =n April tn n
May -LA June 7. fl
yduxie h e! and ydude fi a4 July +.n August ,\ n
September *rE October +
Because ydu 6 implies existence, both vduxie and
ydude refer to specific but unidentified persons or
November +-n December +
n
zfl
things
and not to indefinite quantity. yduxii and ydude bolh How many months in one year? - +
have the basic meaning of ,some of and therefore can_ A- e 46 A1.
not be used as objects of verbs. For example, neither can
How many days are there in September? ic
,'vx? na
be used to translate .some'in the sentenci .I want some,. In which month wilt he come? lp, 4r, n th'
In this case yixiE or yididnr (see below) would be used. 4( 7.
Yduxie and ydude are interchangeable.

He will come in October next vear. 4vsn
+ fn
4r|*-
Some students do not like this method. h 6h q E- "
4+tLk,awh*" What day of September is itt 4 rt_
a
7< lt, A t8 Ht
last month I
M n ; next month T 4@n
Some of them sing well. h *Y "g E i+ ,
Dates
yixiE - si and yididnr - Eh n what is the date today? 4- € #.4F.1.
These terms are used when referring to indefinite
quantity. Yididnr means ,a small portion of or ,a bit of
3rdJanuary, 1980. - )1-t\o^ + - fr z-a
In 1920I was in France. - )r' = o + 4i & A. @ .
and cannot be used to translate .some'when
it means .a
few'. When 'some' means .a few, yLrie is used.
I still want some. #, fr * -'w . Tonal Changes of yi -
Give me some water. # ?i - g.h ?- * Generally the tone of yiis determined by the tone
of the
I only wlnt_,ro give him some old things. +\ n &. * syllable which follows it- If followed by a athtone
4u-*IEAa" able or a neutral tone syllable with an originat
syll_
4th tone,
I want to sell some of them. +\ N. fr - yi is pronounced in the 2nd tone, e.gyigi ren ,l@ r
>R. If followed by any othJitlne, -
ry .
yici - yi is pro_
,
nounced in the 4th tone, e.g. yitido yrt

Time Words and phrases - +*',A_.. How_
ever, in counting and in listing numbers and when
A time word or phrase, being adverbial, used
always pre_ as an ordinal number (e.g. in days of the
week, months
cedes the verb it modifies. It may precede the subject and dates) the lst tone is used, e.g. January yiyut;
of
the sentence if it is emphasized more than the subject. November shiyiyui; Monday xingq{yi; l-{'lt yi1i,nqryi_
The general principle is that more important or larger nidn.
units precede less important or small,er units, e.g. in
names the order is surname + given name, and in
addresses the order is country + city + street * number. The Modal Particle /e J
Hence in time phrases such as .today at five o'clock A modal particle is used to indicate the mood of
in the
the afternoon' the order is today { afternoon * five clause or sentence at the end of which it stands.
Modal
o'clock, and 'this evening'is today * evening. particles are pronounced in the neutral tone.
The modal
He will come tomorrow evening. ,lL an k ;ft, y particle /e has a distinctly separate function
from the
We shall go_this evening at 6 otlock. +\ 4F1 ,* X 6fr, verbal suffix /e. Whereas the function of the verbal
r- i .e.b 6fr +
^. /e is. used to emphasize completed action,
suffix
the modal
They came early today. |s,,tl1 + X * l+ n , particle /e is used to indicate that a new stateor
situation
has emerged.
Days of the Week
l. When the modal /e is used to refer to a new state or
Monday E il - Friday Elna situation in present or future action it may assume
Tuesday E. l.E z Saturday Efa;; following meanings:
the
WednesdayE N =-
Thursday E 98 w
Sunday Eflx, & a) A new action which has started and is
continuing, e.g.
^lF a 'He is crying' is Td ku Ie ,(e, X
T. This sentence mav
n
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
imply that he was not crying before or that the speaker b) Where there is no object or where there is.no implied
trai iust noticed that he is crying although he rnay have oi stated specification of the object (see below) the
been crying for some time. The same implications may suffix /e is usually absorbed by the modal /e indicating
also occur in sections b, c, d, & e. action completed as of the presgnt'
He is no longer crying. 4O T ft 1. " He has gone home. 1!''@ '& 3
@* 1
He wants *on"Y again. ru ( * a{ I ' They ha:ve gone back. 4v' 4Fl
1P' -L * 7 '
She has gone uP.
I do not want to took at it any longer' *\ 4' M {+
E J.
b) Clauses and sentences with predicates indicating age The Verbal Suflix /e 3
or time (o'clock) generally make use of the modal parti- The verbal suffix /e 1 is only used when one wishes to
cle /e. With time expressions the modal /e indicates'that emphasize the completion of an action' It is used for
it has become ...o'clock'. With age expressions the mod- that are specific, quantified, have an inherently
al /e indicates that a person has become 'as old as " 'years "u"ntt
perfectivemeaning (e'g'site ft' f isdead'died'; wdngle
of age'. (See Lesson Six) ;t. 1 'forget, has forgotten') or if there are following
c) d mild command in response to a new situation: events rc.{. WA mdilehangxt 1td t rilia le fi\fr 1 R
e
let's eat! (i.e. it has now be"o-" time to eat) "L lL )tL@ * 3 'I went home after doing the shopping')' It is
1
not used to indicate past tense, e.g. in th9 sentence 'In
Don't cry! (i.e. it has now become time to stop crying) 1936I taught in china' ' tu;/:+ 1\fi * @*L€
6*'*1 the completion of the act of teaching is not emphasized,
d) Modal /e used with adverbs such as 'soon' e'g' ydo * ,
therefore the suffix /e is not used. The suffix /e can also
(t\
j i'n $ d o ) :1L and ku d v
i ( do)'lR (* ) implies immedi ate
be used to indicate completion of an action in the future,
or future imminent action whereby a new state or situa- e.s. 'My wife will come next year after I have bought a
'';i'E' $"i"1'-E-1-*\) ,( ?n {
tion will emerge: iol,"l" ^ "
He is about to cry. ',e, * 9{' 1 '
He will be goingihortlY. /tl'R * * 1
I shall be goinglome soon. & lt t @ n 1 ' 1. SUBJECT + VERB + SUFFIX /E + SPECIFIED
e) Used witn aajectival predicates th6 modal /e may be OBJECT
tianslated as 'is', 'am', 'are', 'has now become' etc' In In verb * object sentences where completion of the
some circumstances the sense'has now become'implies action is emphasized the object is usually specified in
excessive degree, although generally the adverb trii
lt it
some way. Even if the object is not specified in English
(excessivelyf will precede the adjective, e'g' A. 1
would usually be specified in Chinese, e'g' 'I bought the
(too big). ^ books'would be translated as'I bought those books'i'e'
it nur 6""o.ne big/It has grown big. 1 ' *\, F. i flF VE.The object of averb may be specified
He is old (i.e. HJhas become old)/He ^
is too old/He has
in a number of waYs:
grown old. 'lV rt J ' uj n"-"tur + classifier: fu, fr 1 - g
^
bi demonstrative or interrogative adjective: #[ k
2. Modal le may be used to emphasize that an isolated tip6€,4r.F.'1 fift4?. :
event occurred in the Past' e.g.
* 'I \E+1" pronoun *I F 1 le' 4t E
modifier: +
He bought a house last Year. 'l@ "j adjectival modifiers: 4e n 1 & 13.
I went Jhopping this morning. + k + -ze\*ft O; cor.rpte*
ahE+.
fr-al
However. modal /e is not used in sentences describing Pronouns and interrogative pronouns are already speci-
something which happened many times in the past or fic and cannot be made more specific and can be used in
which is a constant state, e.g. place of a specified object in this pattern'-Also, when
Last year he often came to !at. *. 4 rc H * * specification of the object is implied in Chinese, the
"Lfk , was studying Japanese in Japan' ' )t' '\ rnfti" ," can be used, e.g. 'He sold his house' is /ta tr
fn fqSOhe 1B+.
o+lt#a*#IB{
action com-
3. The modal le may be used to emphasize + SUFFIX /C + UNSPECI-
pleted as of the Present moment' 2. SUBJECT + VERB
'"i Witft quantifi,ed objects the verb suffix /e is used to FIED OBJECT
When specification of the object does not-occur and is
#pnasize that the utiion has been completed to
the
.p".ifi"d amount and the modal /e is used to indicate not implied, the sentence must be completed by the
been addition of:
tirat up to the present so rnuch of the action has
a) The modal le, e.g.'They have gone home' is 4e {Fl
@
but ihat there will be future continuation of
omitted as the main
"..pf'"r"0
the action. ti I * 1 . Usua$the suffixsituation and not the com-
/e is
point of emphasis is the new
it""a ft"f of it d{i * 1- *" (suffix /e) 4i A 1 pletion of the action.
I have-iread halfofit shall read the rest later)'
(t
-"} . fiere both-the verb suffix Ie and the modal /e L) Another clause. The second action can only take
piace after the completion of the first' Usually a sequ-
are used.)
41
NOTBS ON GRAMMAR
ence indicator, e.g. jiil )v.i is used to introduce the
5.
F"n-T1iu. sentence is formed by using mCi Wor
following clause.
mCiyou )3( €' before the verb.
We will go shopping after classes. Xi 4p1 I I f+.
.t*j* E i.a r M E fr X\ )k<frt iX. . t
We will go home after we have somethins to eat. {l; * 4 .tu ,k<fit * "
4f1 'L14q4.ft6afu, & )*.ufr) fr ,t< R
tv t*.(h) *
3. SUBJECT
In
+ VERB (+ SUFFIX /e) + Tvloo AL Ie
sentences without an object the aspect of the new
fr, )t-(h) g fl, te .
situation is stronger than the aspect of completion of the
The interrogative sentence may be formed by adding
6-.
action. Hence the suffix /e is absorbed bv the modal the interrogative particle ma ".6at the end of ihe sentl
particlele: l{1-E * ( I ) J-___-__+4{1r * j. enceir by using the alternative question pattern:
4. SUBJECT + VERB + SUFFIX/E
4f,nJrr1+g1zht
+ QUANTIFIED qh
OBJECT + MODAL /e rc 3 rp A +4-. )6 T t.8", I
This pattern is used to show that the general action is still 4tt""L1nFA**3"ht
progressing:
Teacher asked us to buy two writing brushes; I bought
1{9+L*1Aht
o.ne today and I shall buy another tomorrow.
l@tfraF k* 1 *.d 1.
Z AF
Xfrt{L#, ?i+xn 1_l{
"1 #,4?1
1, EX^{*fr-+t.
EXERCISES
1. He came early todav.
2. I did not ."" iri- yesterday.
3. There are 30 days in June.
!. IWe will go home after we do the shopping.
5. have already bought two books.
6. I did not hear you speak.
7. Did he come early last week?
8. Have they gone home?
1. I\Wl F. 1tut*.Q..
2. M,+14&te.F,3 *-a"$@d,.
3. + 4 ru e * @ 4r P i .
4. L 16 E *f rl E ft e +
"
5. 4t-##aft.L*"
6. &d F,hn 6ef 4tF.f;, 1xKF, 1-
f,{. .
7. flFfro Xr\ rkfr &,n,4sqflf t qk,
8. 4*.r Itra.*6ff."L,
s. #i v tg E An F. fir d( R & f'G-ra,
10. a 4 + E^ +*Rn \eM4ti yA"
42
43
LESSON TEN
44
VOCABI]LARY
1. zdi li to be in, at, on; indicates continuing

action
2. zhdngziri trft just in the process of
3. li
"# E in, inside
4. shdng t on, above, up
5. libian(r) trEGn) Eil(JL) inside; also limiin * &
6. shingbian(r) rE(,a) l.ia(JL) above, up there; also shdngmidn -r fr

below, under, down there; also xiri-
7. xiibian(r) TE(til,) TJA(JL) midn 5 6
front, in front, in front of; also qiin-

8. qi6nbian(r) ffiiE(,n) BfrJA(,'L )
midn fil &
9. hdubian(r) th&@) trtuoL) back, behind, at the back of; also hdu-
midn 4L a
10. wiibian(r) tliE(H) ,ftuoL) outside; also wdimidn ,f h
11. zu6bian(r) h&(n) rtuoL) left(side)
12. ydubian(r) fr&(n) trtuoL) right(side)
13. dongbian(r) HE(tf )

east, in the east
14. n6nbian(r) ^tuoL)

ffiE(H) Hil(JL) south, in the south
15. xibian(r) Ei€(H) tril(JL) west, in the west
16. b6ibian(r) )CEffi) JLfuUL) north, in the north
17. l6ushang f4l P*t upstairs
18. l6uxia fFT t4T downstairs
in the middle; in between

19. zhongjiin(r ) + rd (tc, ) +14 (JL )
20. m6n F5 n door (cl.s/rri" R )
21. zhudzi ++ table (cl. 5f. )
22. b6, classifier for chairs and other objects

+E
which may be grasped in the hand e'g.
knife, fan
23. yizi t6+ chair (cl.1e )
24. dishang r&t (on the) floor, (on the) ground
25. chdngli ffiH fiTE (in the) city
26. ch6ngshi ffifr city
27. xiangxia #[T 9T (in the) countryside

45
VOCABTJLARY
28. jieshang
"rhL (on the) street
29. ne IE modal particle indicating a continuing
action
30. zhe E verbal suffix indicating aspect of con_
tinuing state or result of an action
31. fing br. to place, to put
32. tdng qfr
to lie down (of animate objects)
33. chuiing
ffi bed (cl.5A )
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Compass Directions Points to observe when using specific location
indica-
tors:
lt a) Specific location indicators are generally disyllabic,
e.g. wdibianr ,f t41L, zudbianr i iL-ti, . '
OJ *: monosyllabic specific location
indicators shang
-L and Ii )& are used. for ,on' and ,in' respectively, e.gl
'on the table'is zdi zhu6z.i shang &- +r
* and:in th-e
house' is z.di fdngzi ti i-+- E +* . fhe disyllabic counter_
parts of shang-and /r i.e. sft dngmidyl'&
, shdngbianr
I € tL and limidn*_ 6 ,libianr*# n are used for
'top surface', 'top section', .above,
and .inside of . re_
spectively, e.g. 'The top of the table is not clean,
is
!!uo1i shdngmidn bnganjing * + t A 4 iLif and
'The inside of the house is quite .i"un, i, Ftingzi ii^fan
hcn gdnjins B + tA 4f__AL>?.
c) Some specific location indiiators have formed
lexical
units with their nouns, e.g. jiEshang
4!i I, chengh ,i*.
d) The specific location indicator /r
f ir-not used with
ge-ographical names, e.g. .He is in China,
ffi is Ta zdi
Zhdnggud 40i't-+@ .
e) The specific location indicator ti & may be omitted
Location
when the place word following zdj denotes ihe
l. Location can be expressed by adding zhirlzhdi or buildings, institutions and organizations etc. For
names of
ndrlndti ( QW iE * oi np ftJ np *) to riouns and pro_ exam_
nouns to form sentences of the type:
pl", l{" is reading in thelibrary' is Td zdi ttishugudn
kdnshfi |e, fz 6 € M A 6. Wtren li, limidn or
The houses over there-(where tre ii fiving; are all good. tibianr
are used in such sentences, .in'or.inside'is
tv tF 91,e4 ,* + tF l+ emphasized.
It is very good here (where we are). *, lF1;Z fL I?*!_t, 3. The prepositional use of zrii fi : When
zrij is used as a
preposition the whole adverbial phrase expressing
2. Construction with zdi li : Zdi means.in,, ,at,, .on,, loca_
'to.be,inf p_11g")',.to be on (something), e.g. Td zd.i tion is placed before the verb.
SUBJECT * zdi * NOUN/PRONOUN + SPECIFIC
zhir lrL Tz iE_rua ,Heis here,. When the object of zrii is a
noun or pronoun, e.g. .house, or ,us',
LOCATTON rNDrcAToR + VERB (+ OBJECT)
a specific location
indicator, e.g. 'in front of , ,behind;, is also required. 1@,f,t&JAe
The particle de el is understood to stand between the rc4ntu#pr#.t "
"
object and the specific location indicator although it is ?i tfr f,i $i"* fr. R,a
often omitted, e.g.
He is on my left. 4O fi ?i(#J ) L E
,)'tr,,<ift*+Tea€o
.
"
They are at the back of the house. ,lt,lll & h +fAl When location and time phrases occur together,
4*-6, time- phrase precedes the location phrase.'If
the
His house is_in front of the school. 1A
l*.rct1 fr $.
4.1 B t E ft emphasis is on the time phrase, it may precede
greater
the
" subject of the sentence.
46
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Aspect of Continuing Action zdi f,r, Continuing State or Result of an Action
zhingzdi E- ft and' ne oft. zhe 6
1. The verbal suffk zhe is used to indicate a state or
In Chinese the simple use of verbs can indicate the
result which persists and continues after the initial ac-
continuous tense of an English verb, e'g' 'He is teaching
in China' is Ta zdi Zhanglu6 iiaosha hp- fL +q&*- '
tion. It expresses state and not action, i.e' it describes
However, in Chinese the aspect of an action is impor- the result of an action
tant. Therefore if one wishes to stress the aspect of a He is looking angrily u, -". 10 tr "fu t'o 6 fr 1\ '
it is shown in one of the following He is lying o-n ttr-e ttoor. 4P- & to + 9F h "
continuing action
Iam nltalng a book. *\ F A - teg *
ways:
The students are listening happily. 4 a "
ru
fl*.a.
1. By the use of zdi meaning '(still) . . ' -ing', or zhingzdi Some old books were lying on the table' * +L fiy-
for greater emphasis: SUBJECT -l zdilzhingzdi * t - *tE € .

VERB + OBJECT 2. Sometirnes a verb with zhe is used as an adverbial
What is he doing? 1{ fr
fit}- 4t fr?
adjunct which describes the manner of an action' The
He is reading a book. 4g fu 'fi E puit"tn is: X while doing A zhe does.B, e'g' 'I eat
He is having dinner. 4& tl
oL aft' M' '
,tu.rding up' is llld zhdnzhe chifan 4i" nf * olfu' ln
The above construction can refer to action that was or is oiher wbrds there are two actions going on at the same
in progress at a particular time, e.g' 'Yesterday when I time, the first of which describes the manner of the
went to his home he was having dinner' is Zu6tianwd qi second. Nothing can come between the verb and the
ta jia de shihou ta zhingzdi chi wdnfdn 4 X *U *, 'lA *4\ stffix zhe. Zhe cannottake a complement and if there is
,i +*., rcn f,t "L sk f4 . The continuous aspect is not an object, it follows zhe.
often useO in reference to the future; when it is, the use Those two students are reading whilst lying on the bed'
of an adverb such as yiding - ;f ('certainly') is neces- flPffi4@4.Li-'Ethh#hq'
sary, e.B. 'If you go at 12 o'clock he will (certainly) be eat whilst sitting down' la 4'
ff" Oo"*ol wistr'to
eat-ins lunch' is Ydoshi ni sh!?r didnzhong qil fi yi4ing
zai ctifan* + = -e"h&*, +t' - ft- l-t- "L FK
ft-i.tr' E.tE"Llk"
ltdoshi * €, -"aning'if). 3. The difference between the aspect of continuation of
the action ofthe verb using zdi ot zhCngzdi and that of
continuation ofthe action after the initial action express-
2. The modal particle ne may be placed at the end of a ed by the use of the verbal suffix zhe may be seen by
sentence cont;ining z.ii or zhingzdi to heighten the comparing the following t"il_:lt^t::
aspect of continuati,on. In an established context, the
zdi He is getting (fetching) a newspaper'- 4t'
*h 4f1 t *fe_
"
oi zhingzdi may be omitted and ne will serve to convey He is holding a newsPaPer. rc + h *& .
the aspect of continuation' At times there is little difference between a continuing
'Haven't you read today's paper?' 'I'm reading it right action and the state of an action after it begins' [n such
now!' 4h,ft',A a+x
ah +{t- M, ""$ tr\ tft t-
cases the zdiconstruction may be used together with
h "Ll zhe.When this occurs, the modal ne is generally used'
'What are you-doing?' 'Reading '' 1ll' ft $I' at h I "'Q' ,'W e
e .g. Wdmen zhingzdi xiCzhe ne $a 1?! tr- l-t' 4
"fi,'1. 6E"n'. are in the process of writing it!'
4. In the negative sentence m,6i(you) is used:
3. The negative form of continuing. action: 'He is not I was not niding it. *\ ,*-(h ) 4 " t
reading' is fa Utizat kdnshu 4e 4' ft h E ' Were you not seated? W, *- (A I Y h "$ I
EXERCISBS

1. Whose are the things lying on the bed? 1. lLIFq 'fr ft tLt fu h q$ 1.
2. The houses on the south side of the city are expen- 2. * + -lil-h ,t+ ft. ?.
sive.
3. They are at home reading. 3. *+t-{*&frxl@t4'+
4. The children are on the street playing' 4. 4O f,z ',rr| r ,t& 'ft. ta *- )6.
411
5. He still has not told me! 5. li. 4 l't tt fu tft' E ,

.J,
6. There is no library there (where they are)' 6. tt\*\&.h1 fr +*P4P.E
7. rt1'8.a\*&4.ft.4\' A\,
8. n*#,t!fta'r+Lft-* @,<-"
47
LESSON ELEVEN
48
VOCABIJLARY
JTH Beijing (Peking)

1. Bdijing
2. Shinghdi tfe Shanghai
Nanjing (Nanking)
3. Nrlnjing l+J F
Guangzhou (Canton)
4. Gudngzhou H/,1,1 rr'l'l
fl| to arrive; to reach
5. ddo
6. c6ng tre A from
7. ti
"HE *' to be separated in distance
8. likai
"HfiT#
H+ to leave (place, Person)
9. yuin iE E distant, far
10. jin E close, near
11. gongli AE kilometre
classifier for boats, parts of the body

12. zhi F and most birds and animals
fiA boat, ship (cl.al ,l*',sdu&-1

13. chu6n
(cl. iid 4.)
14. fciji ftffi N.fJL aeroplane
:tHt motor car (cl. lidngffi, bn +t )

15. qiche i-rS I V-f
16. hudch€ ,k+ ,<+ train (cl. lie ,'l )
tram, trolleY car (cl' *# )

17. diinche €H ts+
to ride (astride)
18. qi ,ffi sf
19. md ,K EJ horse (cl. pi e )
H|1+ bicycle (cl.f,fr, *P I

20. zixingch€ E'ti4-
tu tA)
21. niti + cow (cl.
22. kai ffi fr to open, to operate/drive a machine or

vehicle
to be able (to)
23. n6ng ffi,
to be able (to) i.e. to know how (to); to
24. hui € know
25. k€yi
qD) to be able (to)
J']FE possibly, might

26. kdndng
27. yinggai re.er, finl ought, should, to be obliged to
hope, to hoPe
28. xiwdng fr'4
to dare (to)
29. gdn fr\ fry
49
VOCABT]LARY
30. yuinyi EH to be willing (to)
31. pi ,[E
to be afraid (of)
32. zhdngxiing trf,g just about to
33. zhdngyio
EF just about to
34. duo(me) *@) *(2) how? (i.e. to what extent)
35. briydng AH no need to, do not have to
36. bfbi 4,2, no necessity to, do not have to
37. r6ngyi
ED easy
38. ni{n
ffi tE difficult
NOTES ON GRAMIIIIIR
The hepositional Use of ddo 4,) , c6ng 4h, zud He says that he will go to Shanghai from Guangzhou.
t,qf & anitli ilL lg 2fr,1v. P 4tr_ fr. xj e,J t /e *
.zud, qi
D,!?,,:!ry9, li are prepositions (coverbs) He does not want to,go to Nanjing from Shanghai.
which linked with their9n!objects form constructions which 1u-6 fr,lt t 4r'l hl, +.-.
may then be used as adverbial modifiers of the main
verb; as adverbial modifiers, they will stand before 4. Purpose or reason for motion to or from a place
the is
verb. expressed by using two verbal constructions
in succes_
sion, the second one indicating the purpose. When
the
1. Motion to a place: While motion to a place may d22..,lailqu construction is use-d, the veiU lailquhasthe
be
expressed with the simple construction using /rii additional function of connecting the two verbal
*oi qd
'I.am;oing to Shanghai' isWd ydo-qil ShangiAi structions.
con_
*\ A:.g,
4..,
A )= ,& and,He oftJn comes here, is Ta chZng_ a) SUBJECT + VERB (t6ilqn) + PLACE WORD
+
chdng ldi zhCr 'lv- H # *, n n, a prepositional VERB (+ OBJECT)
con_
struction using ddo is also commonly ureC. tn this con_ He goes to the library to read. lp, * @ g ffi d
struction * and * are pronounced in the neutral tone. ?
SUBJECT * ddo + PLACEWORD + VERB (taitqu) u1. c11min-g to Guangzhou to teach English. 40
He is going to Shanghai. 1t * a,J r rt *' , 1--' T-h"I
tF1 * & { #{ g
H" 99T not wanr to go to Guangzhou. 4o T E, t!
fi iil *. ^ + ddo + PLACE WORD + VERB (/a/
b) SUBJECT
qu) + VERB (+ OBJECT)
He often comes to Nanjing. lx, ## ,,J ,h i, * . I do not want to go to Shanghai to work. +\, 4 N.
2. Motion from a place:
ttt.Aaa-tF.
SUBJECT * c6ng + PLACEWORD + VERB (taitcu)
I have come here to eat a meal. 1\ ,,J i3. ,f, t ,L
Do not enter from the left side. 4. * lt e'it EK,
G'
t 5. Travel in,-on, or by vehicle or animal: and qi may
He will come from the school. te, * ,tf + ,{ *. be used to form prepositional constructions with their
zud
objects (vehicle or animal) to express mode of travel.
3. Motion from one place to another:
pLAcE woRD(l) + VERB Zud (to sit) is used with vehicles where one is seated as
96ng +
+
i),:{?rEqT
+ PLACE
oppos-ed to riding astride.
ei (to sit astride) is used for
\tailqu) WORD(2) travelling on bicycles and animals
He will go from Guangzhou to Nanjing.
,{*fr.t it * ,{ft
fr a) SUBJECT * zud *VEHICLE (whereone is
seated)
They will come here from
+ VERB
Beijing. 4 ltr tU,
.l.A€z 4e, G1 He goes by car. 1O 4- )L c +*
2 ryBJIgf 96ns + ! pLAcE
woRD(t) * ddo *
They often come by tram. /U, #. jA p, fl # + *.
E" {g"q not want to go by aeroplane. 1u, 7.fr,A
PLACE woRD(2) + VERB (raitqu)
fr&*
50
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
qi + VEHICLE (bicycle/animal on affirmative sentences, e.g. 'I want to go to the city to

b) SUBJECT +
+ VERB shop' may beWd xidng ddo chfugli qu mdi-dongxi 4t E'
astride)
which one sits
He does not often come by horse' 4t' T' # # tt A;il -t'* .a. h E , or Wd ydo ddo ch4ngli qu mdi
ai"gri 4i 4 ,i +. H R 6 . However, in negative
E* there' Ja {' {3' ,".rt]".t"", expressing bi-
^L the meaning 'do not want goto'in'is
He does not want to ride a bicycle 'We donot want to
xidng T, €, ii preferied, e.g.
ErtA4l+tlttPtLa Wdilen bnxiing iinqu li, t14' €. {t * , and 'They do
by not want to come out' is Tamen buxidng chulai 4L1f1 T
6. Distance is shown between two entities or places
using /i in a prepositional construction' a,s*.
b\ Ydo may be used as an auxiliary verb in affirmative
AiIi +B+MEASUREPHRASE
sentences to express necessity or obligation, i'e' 'must"
How far is Shanghai from Beijing? -L & W )V F'
q fr1 'should', 'have to'. Used in this way it is commonly
preceded by the adverb y iding - f (certainly)' In nega-
I{ far from here. fli E fr' tt1"i& "
irluit" iive sentenies, however, the meaning of 'do not have to'
How far is your new house from your old one? It is not
+ W U h'r A (i.e. do not need to) is expressed with bilydng t' ft)
far. onlv two kilomet'*t.-'in un *t
tt&'t T.ft,cÊfrs^9- while 'do not have to' (i.e. no necessity to, not essential
that) is expressed with bilbi 4''*'.-
Auxiliary Verbs with Special Usages i*,r" buy some fruit. fi - n- * fl. -. e!'K Rnf"
You musiread those two books. n' ' F * 'E
l. Ntng hV and kiyi 6l h/. 'can" may express ability' do +A
,on."niby.ircumstances or permission and may be used
"
You do not have to come tomorrow (i'e' there is no need
interchangeably in affirmative sentences' In present day for you to come tomorrow.) llf, afl /< 6 n * 1 '
usage , kelt is glnerally not used with a negative ' so
that
'cannot'is generallY biln€ng 4 ffi , You do not have to tell him. (i'e. there is no necessity for
you to tell him.) llf' 4 'rL' + zfr 4e ,
Affirmative: c) Ydo may be used in affirmative sentences as an
He can tell you. 4E 6J "k / au E "e4 1tf' ,
auxiliary u"ib to express future action, i'e' 'will', 'shall"
We can all go. 4i, t?1 *V aI uA ,/ 6U. * .
'is/are gling to'. Thi expression brtydo 4'* is not used
as theiegitive of the iuxiliary in this sense' Instead'
Negative:
.tv + Z+ 1tr. , either the main verb is negated ot bt'ihui 6 C is used
He cannot tell You. hU,
None of us can go. ^
t\$fr*Y4'hV* o when improbability is implied. Therefore the alternative
* $
type interrogative ientence does not use ydobuyqo
Interrogative: 4^ to future action but huibuhui +
4'&when
Can you come? trt. 4
uk eU / * *.$
t "*pr"ri
i-ptoUuUitity is implied or else the simple use of positive
Can you all come? 4n pE*F E ,z frt *16 t and negative forms of the main verb'
Can you tell me? 4k ;J hv $
"x,/ '/1 4i, t.b t
-be
I shall teaching next year. +\ aH 4 * *L t I "
I shall not be working next month. *, 1 46 n 4'
2. Hili 6when used as a full verb means 'to know" i'e' rWill+. week? i E Xf,
to possess acquired knowledge or skill for performing ihey be coming next 4t' 1?1 1@
something, 'Do you know Japanese?' is Nihuibuhui #r.6^t 4 4
Riwdn? n*e * at ? and'No, Ionly knowChinese'
".e. rrr" n"guiiu"
O) of the auxiliary verb ydo i'e' brtydo
is Brthui, wd zhi hui Zhongwen 4 E, 7 @ + {' generally expresses prohibition, e'g' 'Do-not tell him!'is
-n,iyao
a) As an auxiliary verb hui may mean î (i'e' know
'can' [aoti ta T't +'a4 tO' Bil [-sl course occurs
how to): wittr ttre full verb yrio in sentences such as'I do not want
Cun you drive a car? 4n 6 $ ?A 4? coffee' Wd btiydo kdfei 4i 4, * orta 4F .
^
I can only ride a bicycle. 4i R e ffi A "L 4i + '
He can already write five hundred Chinese characters' 4. ZhCngxidng L ff, and zhingydo E* are used
tv,abL&-Aha16>7.? I interchaigeably to express immediate action, i'e' 'just
b) Hui may also mean 'could possibly', 'would probably' about to', 'just thinking of':
or 'will certainlY': I was just about to go io his place.?t E &,61/{9 nP
He will certainiy come today' 19 + X
-- R + e*
tuAo
It is not likely that he will come today. 1g + X ^" T I was just thinking of having something to eat' *li -E
6^" * oL-g.efi,Rie-,just about to go to the library'
He may come tomorrow. 1o aA K4 AU. 6* When he arrived I was
"
1ot,4t a+ 4& , *t r tC' r! A € ffi+
3.Ydo * and xidng ft. : When ydo is used as a full verb it
means 'to want' while xidng means 'to think' as a full 5. Yinggai E'?i,rn"unt 'ought to', 'should' and refers to
verb. Ydo and xidng are used as auxiliary verbs in the demand or necessity dictated by reason or duty'+o'^ .
following ways: We should tlrrt oi.lut. t-tti. ."it"t.

*\ +q fr-' +'
+"t),ba4@$ru"
a) Ydo and xidngmay be used interchangeably as auxili-
in You should go holie oft en. lF. ft, f^ '# # a *
ary verbs with tfie meaning of 'to want to', 'to wish to'
"
51
EXERCISES
1. His old house is close to the school.
?
3. lerling
is not near Guangzhou. r. 1f|,4EAt.qaft.**.a.
He is unwilling to travel by boat.
4. They are afraid of you. 2. &an+**tdFTr-1+ o
5. I was just about to tell vou. 3. 1t,*'itr-)u, f.,'Jfl1/ -*t# 0
6. Can they drive a car? 4. 40 a 1F aI )E t *tr fi_ ft, \fufi_ "

.. 7. That boat often goes from Nanjing to Beijing.
8. I do not dare to travel by
s. e,4gl!L+r!\,*@+,
9. Teacher said that we cannot""roilui". 6. rlf.fil 4 ngx+* , *\6rL+-,
10. You ought to tell them.
go.
7. z1?il,lirfua,
8. ft.61 *tT B + gt 4t-+W 9L ? ,L t
52
53
LESSON TWELVE
54
VOCABI]LARY
1. di ffi ordinal prefix
very, extremelY
2. ...de h6n R"R
trJE but, however
3. kdshi
{EE but, however

4. dinshi
5. btiguo 4)E 6iJ only, but, however
6. ju6de H:R ffi|+ to feel, perceive
meaning
/. ylsl H,B
to be meaningful, to be interesting
8. ydu yisi €H,B
preposition used in disposal construc-
9. bn +E
tions
10. ztigu6 rflE iHtr homeland (lit. land of one's ancestors)
ix to give as a Present, to escort to

11. sdng
12. jidshdo Jrtfr h% to introduce
to push
13. tui +E
Tv to drag, to Pull
14. ta
15. be... dekai +ts...+Iffi f8,... trfr to open (door, window, box etc.)
16. be... guanqilai +E...EBEX fE,...xE* to close (door, window, box etc.)
to resolve, to settle
17. ji6ju6 ffi,t
to forget
18. wdngle ffiT
news, information
L9. xiaoxi iH,g
contents (of a matter, storY etc.)
20. ndir6ng
21. jidoyn
â
EH education
24'tN economics
22. jingj\ *siA
23. gOngye I# IJL industry
24. shangyd ffi* H'it commerce
25. n6ngyd H+ f-]tt agriculture
26. w6nxu6, v,ry x.+ literature
27. kExtrf f+e t++ science
28. lishi Eq NF history
to carry out research; pronouncedydn-

29. y{nji.u ffin iirt when used as a noun
story, plot (of a novel etc.)

30. gishi ffi+
55
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Ordinal hefix di H hence giving emphasis to the object. In the sentence
The ordinal prefix di is used to form ordinal numbers: Qing ni bd zhibcn shu gdi wd l* aKte.E iE !461i\
diyi ff di'ir fr = ;ninth, dijiil ff n, (Please give me this book) zhibdn shfi ts +g is empha-
first, - ; second,
sized more than in the sentence Qing ni gdi wd zh?bdn
etc. When an ordinal number is followed by a noun (or
when a noun is implied) a classifier must be used, e.g shfr 'afi llf, h*\rt-*-€ . ttris subtle shade of difference
'The first lrouse is old' is Diyi sud fdngzi hdn ji:i- * - 4fT is often not obvious in the English translation.
h + +grE ; if the topic under discuision pertains to a
number of particular houses one might say 'The first 5. The bd construction must be used when a sentence
is old' i.e. Diyi sud hdn jiil fr - pt 4e_ E . In cases contains a complement and other elements which are
of nouns which are themselves measure words no classi- closely linked with the verb and cannot be separated
fier is used, e.g 'the next day' is di'ir tidn $: d, 'the from it, e.g'He put the things on the table' Ta bd dongxi
third time' is disan ci ff z ,F. and the 'the third year'is fdngzai zhuozi shang 4Eteh-tu tt_ftft + X .
disdn ni6n fr z 4.The prefix is not used when specified

dates are given, e.g.26th June 1980 is yiji'ilbAling nidn When using the bd construction the following points
liiyui irshilii ri - )t, t t o fi^ r, fl :- -t ;, fl .
should be observed:
a) There is usually a further element following the verb,
ffi such as a particle, a complement, an indirect object or
Whose is the third car? $ = 4 ft. ill Ut t.h-
else the verb itself must be reduplicated (see Lesson
This is the nineteenth room. fr + )7, nfr E
)Z ft.
*; )A.FaE+frH-r)Lpa Seventeen).
Directional complement:
Who is the fifth person? fr A lA ,<- &- ttl t
This is the first time I have been to Guangzhou. E- ft_ Bring the wine! Jg )A + *_
Modal particle le 'l indicating perfective sense:
I
*\fr_r,?r,lEill*. He has sold my house. le lg tn an & + * 3

He has forgotten my name.it!, +Ll\, #.J fu 4 E. L
The Pretransitive Construction Using bd iL Resultative complement:
Bd is a preposition used in a sentence-type called the Push aside the chair. iL l4 + ill po1 .
disposal form or the pretransitive construction. The pat- Put my money on the floor. fO f,/" #j t\ il ll !'&t,
tern is: Indirect object:
SUBJECT + bd + OBJECT + VERB + OTHER He told me the news. lp,lg ,H A, + #,f 1 &,
ELEMENT(S)
In this construction the object of bd is also the object of
He gave.me those old things. ,to le nf W It
(6 1fr, fr'a
o
the main verb. As the basic meaning of bd is to grasp, to Complement of degree:

seize or to hold, sentences using the disposal form imply You are selling those things too cheaply. iF,le,np%
that the object is'seized' (either in a physical or abstract
sense) and its state or position changed by the subject of
*eft.f+^tpR-.
Verb repeated:
the sentence. The preposition jidng H4 may be used Please open the door a tittle. it ttt' le, P1 f+1 Yfi
"
interchangeably with bd in a pretransitive construction, b) Bd always takes a definite object; even if no specific
however it is not as widely used as bd. modifier is used a definite object is always implied. The
reason for this is that the bd construction makes definite
The bd construction is used under the following cir- and emphasizes the object by transposing it in front of
cumstances: the verb. Compare: 'He gives me money' Td giiwd qidn
l. When a change in the position of the object is de- 1B h $k,&.gnd 'He gives me the money' Ta bd qidn gdi
scribed, as in the case of verbs with directional comple- wd 4O+L'r*h1\,. Other examples:
ments of the type 'He took out the money' TA bd qidn He has already given me the book. 40 e &*. +e' €
ndchulai le 1& +e,4t, t- !, * I . kt*\1 c
He has already told me the contents of the story. 1A

2. When a change in the state of the object is described a &*.t86L+ an tg *tr alT 1 t t\
as in the case of verbs with resultative complements (see They immediately told me the news. it? #q !- ll tp,
Lesson Fifteen) of the type 'Please take the books away' )H A, *'ct 1 *rli r
Qing n[ bd shu ndkai fl h
)e, e ffi . b He has already put the things in the car. 4fl a tg.
+L *- e #-ft y'a,4 L aI
3. When a sentence contains both a direct and indirect c) In many cases the bd construction is dispensable and a
object. In this type of sentence, bri precedes the direct simpler construction is possible. However, for the sake
object and the indirect object is placed after the verb, of clarity and emphasis the bri construction is prefer-
e.g. 'He gives me the money' is Ta bd qidn gdi wd lt,t8 able. Some bd constructions contain complements and
&.++\. other elements which are closely related to the verb and
there is no alternative construction for these sentences.
4. When one wishes to emphasize the object, the bd For example:
construction allows the object to stand before the verb, (i) Where ddo Al and zdi # follow the verb as resultative
56
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
complements (see Lesson Seventeen): d) The bd construction is generally used when both an
He put the book in front of me. 1g' +e' € fit' f,t' *, indirect object and a direct object occur with gCi *A'used
ah6fr1 to introduce the direct object. (See Lesson Seventeen)
He placed the cup of tea in front of her. lo +g nls t4' I have already introduced him to the teacher. N g
* r*,t *aai e fr l .4*. *s to,tt &3 t$ ft 3F 3
They pushed the chair to the left side of the door. lt' He gave those things to me (as a present). 10 4e. np
l1l +e' 14 + XZ t'J ?1 eh E i*- I 4.Rq,La*l d,
I escorted the child to the school. n\ +g 4x + )L e) Some verbs which have no sense of disposal cannot be
tJ 4 #,+ :1 . used in bd constructions e.g. ldi * , qil h , ddo 4l ,
(ii) Where a complement e.g. ci >{'time(s)' occurs with xihuan&M , kdnjian A fu, zhidao Qo ftand juideft,
the direct object, the complement will of course follow 41 One cannot say #Wd bd shu kdnjian le &,le e A ft-
the verb: J for seeing is an involuntary action and does not dis-
He told me the news three times. tfr-tL &- 1A >H pose. However,.one can say Nl ydo bd shiqing kdnqing-
chu th,**8? 'ft A "A F- 'You must look at the matter
E+z+1*.'=,R"
He only wrote your name once. M, 7 +o &, 64 k until it becomes clear' because one can voluntarily look
+81->r." at something.
EXERCISES
A. Translate into Chinese: C. Answer the following questions in Chinese:

1. He wrote his name very small.
2. Do not put my bag under the table.
r. + i 4 fr tI E a+ +A@ tre.@61 ?
3. He wrote his name on the left side of mine. z. €86ft.to#,-,RaM.@1
4. He refuses to introduce his friend to us. 3. +i*+Mqgf @(,Sq5 I
5. Please take those old things outside. 4. 4 t x ft, t+ e# te. /* A E, E,zft ;
6. Those three students are extremely tall.
7. The tenth one is yours.
s. + { 4 h tI b,iL4?*ff ,2+AP t, 11
8. Give these two chairs to him (as presents).
9. They pushed his car to the back of the house.
10. I have already forgotten his name.
1. { *, ln fi h at&fanbryu
6F., +
fBt4ant
2. +' *.+,
3. 4r", $,2fi\T,4fln.#u+ @.{4t
4. 4, 4F#afrR,6ffL,f E*ry',1r<6
Eh , 1U >*.t xl1,.tlL' ra*.)
ff w E b\ dt{,f,* f,t, Str N I tB_@ ,
4\+e'47.h >*+4n'1 , *tr')fr.

X fl ft A\ L+ +^ €. *e rA W U t9. ?c1
* . E ft ry, ft lt a t. P,, . fr+

- t'v- flfl *- te- *tr +- 4 fb rr @ {+
#-1t \Lhh-*i , tt €, r *'Jq g'J+
6 t " {. € nF t@ s+ +* ?i, T' w"fit
PA )rp, K *'l L " * + 2 fl ii,fi -
,R a t,J ls@ ,
57
LESSON THIRTEEN
58
VOCABIJLARY
nxz maybe, perhaps; either...or..' (where

1. hudzhd both alternatives could be posssible)
2. h6ishi iE€ i6E either...or... (where a choice is to be

made)
E 7Ftr ideology, thinking, thought

3. sixidng /l)\ /l:J\
classifier for essay, article, poem, short

4. pi6n ffi story, novel etc.
zJ'ifi, novel, fiction

5. xidoshuo 'JtiH
6. jinbt w5 fr* progress, to progress, progressive
7. ludhdu w1* wffi backward
8. fdzhdn 4FR h.ffi to develoP, develoPment
9. fad6 af i* h,b flourishing, Prosperous
10. xudnchu6n HfS Ett to promote (an idea, thinking, ideology

etc.); propaganda
+E{E to advocate
11. tichang
12. fdndui trvf Ex{ to oppose
13. piping trt# +rti+ to criticize
14. zhfiyi t# +x ideology, -ism
system
15. zhidi ffilJH
politics, political
16. zhdngzhi &ifr
17. zhbngfil f\ffi government
18. g6ming 4fr revolution
to be the same
19. yiydng
-fx -t+
so (to this extent) e.g' 'so good', zhCme
20. zhBme; zdme EM tsA hdo rt- fr,4+
so (to that extent) e.g' 'so expensive',

21. nime; neme ffiM nls2
ndmegui 4^f.
tu preposition used in comParisons
22. bi
23. ziji H- oneself (i.e. personally) e.g. wd-ziii

hAa i myielf; ta ziji rce a he
himself; tamen ziji lE lfi A e- theY
themselves
#f classifier for letter

24. fEng
tra letter
z). xrn
*EtrFi influence
26. yingxiin s YIE
59
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The (hdisht € t ) ... hdishi € € ... 3. Expressing a choice between complements: SUB_
Construction
Hdishi is an adverb meaning .still' but may be used in
JECT + shi + coMpLEMENT (1) nami + CoM_
PLEMENT (2)
i
a
construction forming an interrogative sentence
which Areyou Chinese or Japanese? lf R + @ K,
will give the meaning ,or' in thi sense ,either...or..., €€ a t 1
where a choice is asked. In the basic construction Areihese new^(ones) or old (ones)? € g
alternative is preceded by hdishi but in practice
each
Et 6 err 1
€ n et ,
the first
hdishi is often omitted. At the same time it should
be
Is this coffee or tea? € t * , ft € ofto atf t
noted that the emphatic shi ft.may be used in place
of 4.
the first hdishi to give greater emphasis to the first Expressing an afterthought following a question
alternative. The effect of the emph itic shi in formed with an interrogative word: eUESflbNf
this con_ +
struction gives the meaning of ,is ii a case of...or...,.
For
qlyy +) ALTERNATTVE (1) + hdishi +
example, 'Do you want to buy it or does the teacher ALTERNATTVE (2)
want to buy it?' (i.e. Is it a case of your wanting What do you want to drink? Tea or coffee? [tr, fr,
to buy it
or the teacher wanting to buy i, i; Shi ni ydo mdi
hdishi "441 &. r **&.fi"tFt
ldoshiydomdi? ftttr,# m€€ tcn*frt Where do you. want to go? To Mr. Huang,s or
to the
library? 4f, d, El "ap eA, * 1 fr *, E af Ea E
In sentences where .or'is used to give the sense ,(either/ & ffi €ff r
neither) ...orlnor...VERB', i.e. sEntences which
do not
make,a the two alternatives, hudzhd fi Comparisons With predicative Adjectives
$91cg.Ugtween
a or hudshi 4 ft is used, e.g. .I am thinking of going to
1. The Di Ft, constru_ction: 6i is a preposition
f.l.ilng or Shanghai to teach English' is fia iiani q,n
meaning
'compared with'. It forms a pr"poiition"l construction
tlanlks_hy,o z hd. S hdng hdi j iao yin[w in +\
E A fr, A'
fr f W ** *- . In cases where the alternatives are
* which is used to describe superior degree of comparison
e.g.'He is taller than you' is Ta b{ ni
placed in the position of topic, a strongly
emphatic sent_ [ao rc, vZ lnb . ff,"
topic under discussion precedes bi-andpossesses
ence results and d6u.*p is used to intioduci a su_
the predi_ p_erior degree of the adjective than the
object of bi.
91t": ".9: ZhCzhdng zhidil hudzhd ndzhdng zhidi dou When-biis negated contradiction is implied L.g. .He is
ly17s iiap4 zhcge weyl :€ttft FJ E_ lit # ry'nnt n *p
ffi ffi >* ii lajl fi . (Neither this system nbi tt uf ,yrL.
r not taller than you!' is Td bnbi ni gdo'lA
+, i, lF,A .
can resolve this problem.)
Affirmative:
TOPIC + bi + OBJECT + ADJECTIVE
1..Fx_pressing a choice between the subjects: (hdishilshi
My house is cheaper than yours. #, an ,* + yV
+) SUBJECT (1) + PREDTCATE + hfuishi + suB- 1T,
6-1 47 rt. .
JECT (2) + PREDTCATE
This cup is more expensive than that one. :E lA
Is he going or are you going? lc * , *- fr- n 4 ', +,{.,
Is this political system progressive or is that political

+rr.nF4@fr
syste-qr progressive? e tL tb +,,1 R- fr, )tr , ft
ft. ap E*_ )h fit Y t't & t .l
Interrogative:
a) TOpIC + shibilshi + b; + OBJECT + ADJECTTVE
^Q
Is this nation's industrial development backward or is Is your car larger than his? th., 6tJ )L 4 ft_ + A
that nation's industrial development backward? €. ,lE Eu, 4&, al K ?
@ 4 no L
X. *
fr.,& 4L' :- &-fr.-;:i @ H q< b) Toplc + bl + oBJECT + ADJECT|yE * ma
tj'^lh1
llrtrj: batl-point pen more expensive than that one?
Will you tell them or will I tell them?
17, + 24 io ttj fr fr_ +\ E +"+ ,te,ft *F
tr- tfr. ffi vu nF t{ *. ,.6 t
Are his students fewer than-yours? ,M 6ll
"
4n AtJ ,y '.tJ 1.
ry t- vts
2. Expressing a choice between predicates: SUBJECT

+ (hdishilshi + ) PREDICATE O) + hdishi+ PREDI_
y.ildnS.- 4f construction is used when the topic
cArE (2) 1_Tt
under drscussion is said to possess the same degree oi a
Are you going or not going? fi * fr ft- T * 1 quality upon comparison e.g. ,He is the same f,eight
as
Is the government of that nation progressive or back_ the teacher' is gEn ldoshi yiydng gdo l&VF. * 6i _
ward?nF m @ *Af*-h \tr)t eft..*tAt .Ta +k
rr) . r ne negattve tbrms are used when
contradiction is
Are such pgob_lems
-ft numerous or few? g +t p"l ff implied e.g. 'I am not the same height as the teacher,
1P*, , ft 1?*l/ 1. - eith_er Wd bilgEn tdoshi yiydng
li
is
_ f& A
hg w-ant to teach literature or historv? 1e &-
gao 4, gg<Z 6F
_
Q_oe-q
M 4k:r ry, &
P re, fu-ti-/'-i'-''' ?:..Wd
gEn ldoshi bilyiydng gdo
th"T.the- inrerrogative foims

li,W^+ sF r, 4f. A
ui"d ihe question
.
Does he not wish to tell you or is he unable to tell vou? "r, compared possess
asked is whether the two things being
teft 4 EE i+ 6, { t zn hVE et t,?it the same degree of a quality, J.g. .aie French wines
and
Australian wines equally expensive?' may be either
60
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Fdgu6jin gEn Aoddliyd iiil shibtuhi vivllg gui *@)h Negative:

i fO"prC -r mdyou + OBJECT OF COMPARISON (+
Wfr +'l ft ,fr &-4' ft- - fL ft.2 or Fdgu6 ii'il shibilshi
eoaaiiva jii vivdng gui >L@ fr ft- 4 & wx'Q' /' +'J ndmelzhime) + ADJECTIVE
ii" This house is not as gooa u. that one' tr
rt & +
fr.A- rtfi? )k 6 nf Ft lt
The affirmative form of.the yfydng construction e'g' Ta "
good the one he
gEn tdoshi yiydng gao (he is the same.height as the The novel he wrote this year is not as a-s
ieacher) is atso used to convey the idea A is as " 'as B (he *ro," tu., y"ut' 1O +'+ fr dh A'- fil' >t' fr * +
is as tall as the teacher): Hwtt"
This type of fish is as cheap as that sort' E# R. Iriv house is not as far away as yours. At! 6hl 'E +
wn\#- )rL4fr.8, .L u2
rta tnrrr &,
These houses are as old as yours. lZ
!,,
h+ek
Interrogative:
tF. en - *1" E
This method is as good as the one we used. last year' TOPIC+ ydum€iyou + OBJECT OF COMPARISON
€ta i ,a,e|,#,+l 4,+ n4\'ll*at. (+ ndmelzhime) + ADJECTIVE
Do you have as rnuny ft" has? 4f 4 )k 6
4B nP
ft, ,f ^
3. The m€iyou ;kh ...(ndme tlP ft lzheme \f ft.)
1.
2'L A
of com-
construction is used to describe inferior degree Is this novel as long as that one? A E '\
"k
parison, e.g. 'I am not as tall as the teacher' is Wd anrtn+- ?.
meryou moitti ndme gdo 4\, *-fr *

6t1 {JV ts' 6
' Name Are agricultural problems as numerous as industrial
t #
and zhime mean'to such an extent'and are optional
in problems? fr, fa ffi >k A* W ffi, rf ? 6
this construction. The affirmative form of this construc-
tion is used to express contradiction e'g' 'I am as tall as
the teacher' is Wb ydu tdoshi gdo +\ rt il 6f h z ot-Wg
ydu ldoshi ndmelz-hime gao *, tZ 6f, nP ft | E fr' Er'
BXERCISES

1. Perhaps he is unwilling to tell you'
2. These books are not as expensive as those' 1. illt Pl fr- tt *ry6 !.+ ,
3. My house is not as old as Yours' 2. fi4isff€iL 6#L &
4. Comee is cheaper than wine but I would like to J. E *t .1, U-E 1+ *i s' fr. 4s IE 1*. ,
drink wine. 4. fi_M@fr,en n 4f. tgy
f'k- o
5. Ball-point pens are cheaper than writing brushes'

5. ff,htr fr,tu *.1 fr# € *e7
6. Do ybu want to go in the morning or in the after-
noon? 6. a**"frx *P 't1.4t *..
7. His novels all advocate this new type of thinking' 7. nPM 4l* ro ?. l.t Et+++8,8, *.&.
8. Are you afraid that he will criticize this new kind of 8. iz +t ilrA ,k6 #a+ aP
1,
thinking?
g. These people advocate revolution' g. le r-L 40 tft. 4A 6\L#/ va alf, **- E h4 L k,
10. The students often criticize the government'

ilzt
11. Is this system as good as that one? 10. * 4 ," 4n a"l '!'
*\ a'r
12. He does not want to go by himself' 11. "6 * Yvq+!fr|fr8
13. He says that social revolution and political revolu- 12. fi, * frh,"6+frft+ #. "6'fia 4F 1
tion are equallY imPortant'

13. ft 6r -HW w*&,
14. He says that his government is as progressive as
ours. 14. 1{ *p r'. tt i\ of a
4t1 +*+E*-.to
t1l 4P zL t\ ft,. t r'J * l4*.
1s. iL fr ,l^ li,arr +J * T,
^.
6l
LESSON FOURTEEN
62
VOCABULARY
1. gdng F more
2. zu\ F most
3. h6 f[ with
4. sEn EE with
5. gen...yiqi 88... together with

-tg
6. g€n...yikudir 8F... -rftn 8R... -I )L together with
7. gongchi AI( metre (gongli C Y,kllometre)
8. gongfen Ah centrmetre
9. ti E for, on behalf of
10. wdite ffiI hT onbehalfof,forthesakeof,becauseof

(wiizhe *e # maybe used interchange- .
ably with wdile)

bL
,E
11. gdi on behalf of, to, for, (i.e. to do some-
thing for someone)
12. xidng E to face. to. towards
13. ydng H to use, with, by means of
14. shdng t to (a place)
15. xi ifc, to wash
16. sh6u + hand (cl. t )
r7. fdizito EEC laundry soap (cl. A,'piece' ;lA'bar')

18. xiangzio 6e bathsoap (cl.tfo;,f*)
Ie. zhirc +t, to look for
20. jid lE a) to borrow. 'To borrow B from A':

xidng A ji;- B,ta AM B. In spoken
Chinese gEn YrP- may be used inter-
changeably with xidng in this construc-
tion.
b) to lend. 'To lend to': jiigei 4t !#
21. bixr 'L'rE 'Y'rn musr
22. xiiryu TN to rain (yd ft, rain)
23.shuifiino) ffi(H) ffi(ffi) tosleep
24. d|rzi +I+ to type (dd +T to strike/hit)
25. dddidnhud +T€Ff; +l tsifi to make a telephone call
if... (then)...
63
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Comparisons with the Comptement of Degree Interrogative patterns:

l. When the bi bli construction is used in a sentence + VERB * de * ydum4iyou + OBJECT OF
a) TOPIC
containing the complement of degree, bi andits object coMpARISON (+ ndmelzhime) + coMpLEMENT
may be placed either before the reduplicated form Does he,wash cups-as quickly as
verb or before the complement.
ofihe you? M h +t, +
a) Where bi andits object occur before the
fr ,k A fi, +* t
',x-'4+
reduplicated Djd he read that novel as quickly as you? 4g h Ap
form of the verb: ffi 'r, zL h 44 A * 6- rt':ifr;" '"*
He speaks Chinese better than {dr lL * @ 'e6
I do. D_id they use it as slowly as we did?
vui\ til, 4+ !.+ lR 4?q ffi & A
"
*. A +f, 4li4fr t
He writes letters more than I do. 1t, 6 n ,U +\ b) TOPIC * ydumhiyoa* OBJECT OF COMPARI_
H
4+?. SON + VERB + de (+ ndmetzhime) + COMPLE_
sp_okg more clearly than you did. /o tilri|
f9
zY,t+rhfr" vu m MENT
Djd q" wash his hands as quickly as I did? 4t i*. +
b) When bi andits object occur
He reads French novels faster than
before the complement: A',k 6 e\ ;n /1+ ,tR ?
,t, li-',h 1+ vv di ,f* I do. 1oE ,A i foegrle type as well as you? it
lT A *- + tX, A
4t 1+!+ !
He writes smaller than I do. M fr + E 44 vu #i
r *^--
D-oe1he, drink as much coffee as I do? 49 "ft vlo "lp
.J. o
A >k6?i,"q44?
Differences and Varying Degrees of
2. When the yiydng - *i construction is used it precedes Difference in Comparisons -
the complement in the following ways in affirmative Differences and varying degrees of difference
sentences: in com_
parison pay be expressed by the use
a) TOPIC + VERB * de r genthi + OBJECT of comparative and
OF superlative adverbs or by the use of complements
COMPARISON + (VERB +-de +) yiydng + COM_ of
degree indicating actual quantity (e.g. .one
PLEMENT inch, or .ten
years_o_f age') or qualities such
He speaks as clearly as the teacher. lC Eil, qg gg- p as late or early, many or
few. However, a complete sentence of this
-
6F(ifl, /{+ ) tl^ rfr ft. .
That child eats as much as you do. flp
mands a comparison either in the actuar
type de_
sentence or in
l@ 4^ + "L the context.
1+ V1.4F,UL 11) -
ttr, ?t .
He ate as little as vou. l& oL 4+ gF. in ("L The adve.rbs se"g
) 1,.
- +{..y 4+
the superlative 7 (more), ftdi E(sdlt, more), or
zui&(most) may itand before a predica_
b)TOPIC [subject * verb + object] + VERB * de * tive adjective to emphasize degree of difference:
gen/ht + OBJECT OF COMpAniSON + yiydng + I am very tall but he is taller. 4X ,+F. h , {
COMPLEMENT 4*
5Cr6J.
E le
{9 rp"u\. French as well as a Frenchm an. 1& ,ail-,
;*, t1e g ve]V tall but_you are even raller. 4E
ZE -al, lA gp" >*, @ L- , +1. i+ 6Ift. iB vv 4afr. & , ff< A ,
I1S r.lrg that song as well as you did.
14 u.P< t!t. -+l
dt? "A Ap 6 Ak 3"!g cars are all very good but that one is the
'z - l+ , )€ g >L +*p ql.i+", +€;FftH o+ .
best.
He reads Russian newspapers as quickly as they do. He is even younger than you. rc, vA
4e 6#t, t- *fta n
v'a rc, tll-:-'ii ft, ft.
He came even later than you. 4s * 44 /y aX,
+ +t .
+X ,
6 "g.
He writes Japanese even faster than you.
4E E A
* vu. tB.A 4+ & ,tk ,
3. The mdiyou )*-A ... (ndme 4p fr tzteme \i ft \
construction: 2.Tredicative adjectives may be followed by yididnr
Negative patterns: Ffr }&and yixie - Lu to show slight difference whilst -
the
a) TOPIC + VERB t de r m1iyou + OBJECT complement of degree ...de dub i4
COMPARISON (+ ndmetzhCmef + COt,tpt_EMENT
OF
show great difference:
| may be used to
I do nor.read as quickly u, you do. *, h E You are a little taller than I. ll$ vU *\ ",a
)k44tr,+*, h l+ This pencil is a little longer than that one.
- g.U A.
€ tS- dh
He did not eat as much fruit as you. ,ft,
)kh "Ld< R oL ffvuflptlF*-gJ9t
G tN,t , He has a few more books than L 4a *, €
b) TOPIC + miiyou + OBJECT OF COMPARISON 7f-ry, vU #i el
VERB + de (+ ndmelzhime) + COMPLEMENT Your house is a great deal more expensive than
_+_ his.
He does. not write 4ovels u, *"il as you ao. hh fr 4 vu. 4o 6h * /t4 ,/
zil,rkfr tt,%14t+" M fr .), Jf'
Is he a little taller than you?- tA ft. T
A vb 4F, A
They do _not do it as well as we do. lv 4tE W_ fr *\ - nE9f,?
t?1 4tt- 14 t+ , Is he a great deal younger than you?
tl 4#-841 t{ ft_ T fr_ rZ
64
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
l.GEngf<, he and t6ng Fl are interchangeable when
*a
3. Predicative adjectives may be followed by numerals not
used as prepositions meaning 'with', although r<ing is
and measure phrases to show precise difference:
You are three years older than I am' if,' va 4i
X = as commonly used as g€n and h6'
They are unwilling to-go with me. 1A 4?1 T' ftA *'
ffi" fi $ - 93.4n . *
I am one centimetre taller than he is' vV 4V
He is not likely to go with ZhangWenying' 4v T-
q
/,\ /,\
June has one day less than May. n vU' L H 'y- 97"1&l.*4"
. K, ^
2. .g€n $fu ... yiqi - @ and .. .gEn\l" " ' yikudir tfti
..
9L mean'together with' :
4. Measure words expressing actual difference may be
They will be-going with me tomorrow' 'lt3 'ffi
BE *
S(early)' wdna?'(late),duo
pi"*O
many)
after zdo
'y' (few,less) to show actual difference
and shdo
.97^(mote' g8<*\
ffi
- ru *
is'going to Japan with me next week' ft' n 4
between the time or result of one action compared
with
another:
*nqg.fi-&4'!a ++,
He went five minutes earlier than you' 1{' vU' 4K 4
3. Shdng-L means 'to', 'towards (a place)'' Used as a
* a'nt&, preposit"ion shdng is similiar to ddo 6'J although ddo is
Oia n" jo on" year later than Mr Zhang? 'lO fr T'
more widely used:
ftvu-ik+, Ldft,+, - + 1.
you' ll' vu $f' 4 Where ur" yo., going?

ah., t
'Y ry ?'
V
walked one kilomet?e more than
I
rt_1 ,;9, I am goingio ttre hdrary' &, t tA t EA A "
He slept one hour more than I did' 4{' vY ti 9 et'
4. XidngGl or xidngzhe 6 # as a verb means 'to face'
1- 4A 'l'
s+ '
e.g. 'Mihouse faceJthe west'Wdde fdngzi xidng xi 4\ti
5. Gradual change with the passage of time may be e"+ta € . Used as prepositions xidng and xidngzhe
mean'to' or'towardsi In speech chdo(zhe) *fr (6) is
expressed by using the bi construction as an adverbial
often used instead of xidng(zhe). Both are equally com-
modifier in the following waYs:
mon in the written language, e.g. 'They walked towards
These sorts of problems gradually (i'e' day by daY)
vtz - K the school' is Tamen ih1oltiargthe xutxido zduqu le
increased. g +t 14 ft - ?<
ufo
Year by year his letters became fewer' u u, ,u 40,4?1 4A/cr #+&L+.1.

s.Weile b 1 , weizhe hh (or wii h) be used to
-4vV'+')i give the meaning 'because of
ûypurpose or
expressing
i"uron for action of the verb or adjectival predicate:
6. Change with passage of time may !e expressed by
the Because of this matter we wanted to go home a day
using thJ bi consiruction as an adverbial modifier in
following waYs:
earlier. h I t4+ + ti,lt|€,, + - ka& .
Because of the children I must go to Nanjing tomorrow'
He is slower today than he was yesterday' 4V +
X'
vY df K'ft- fri I 17 + [tI 4i"'tt' rA afl Xr'! h i'
He is taller this year than he wa-s last year.by two cen-
^
* +A aa'a''n'' 6. Ydng ffi means 'with', 'by means of', 'using': .
ii-"o"r. 1fl + Y(' + I wash"my hands with soap. &, n 6L ft' +'
"*-'
with soap'
The children often do not wash their hands
'J,X,+ 'fF5ffifi T,nflLa'a'+ "
d
I do not like to write letters with a writing brush'
Prepositions 4z#kffi+-+Fo,'"'
A preposition plus its object forml a prepositional 7. Gdi*6 means 'on behalf of , 'to', 'for the benefit of':
phrase'which hai the function of modifying a verb' Pre-
Last year he wrote me three letters. * + 4{ ?'b fi\'
positional phrases are therefore adverbial and as such
precede thl verbs they modify. In previous lessons we
'hun"
4t =-rllz.
Fias'he written that letter for you? (e'g' a reference)
,""n the preposiiional use of. zdi f,i, qi'ffi, zud X '
ddol'l , c6ng 'aii ,li ilE , bi vu', bd le- etc. All prepositions 4e Ab 4r(,4 1 nP tl
1Z 1 tb t
possess original verbal meanings although in some cases
He often'goes itropping for me. lv' H* 46 4i' f'
ihey hau" Jeased to function as independent verbs' Be- aa.
cause of the basic verbal sense of prepositions, when a
prepositional phrase is modified by an adverb or when 8. Ii 6 means 'instead of' , 'on behalf of , 'for', 'in place
of':
an auxiliary virb is used, the adverb or auxiliary will 4' +
precede the preposition and not the main verb of the
I do not like to borrow books on his behalf' fiit
clause. frf'# lv4* € ,
65
EXERCISES

1. He is walking slowly towards me.
2. He told the children to wash their hands with soap. 1. le 4' E w 4\, - tu 4J y'& * "
4F1
3. Please open the door for me. 2. t#.rf R47.!+oL, ffi"L&lkh 1.
4. I am tall but Zhang Wenying is even taller. 3. +tsf { frtr+vY*\!+,44,/.

5. They told us that this is the best method. 4. dt & € t?, fi 8, nat tti T 'tT 1. t, ,41
6. Xiao Wang is three years older than you. ,
7. I shall go a month earlier than you. trfr. *, bF fr hra q"'"6 .

8. You are a great deal taller than Xiao Wang. 5. a hg 1 & * tt 8,'et .48 ts .
9. This one is a bit longer. ^'X.E
6. +OVW.fi|, 4t 1 = t tfrtdl ,
10.
11 .
He went home a few minutes earlier than you.
They all ran quickly towards the back of the house.
7. Efrffip.vy,npfe k,* ++ ? o
12. They want to go with me to the city. 8. 4\,1f" 4\, til'-'-.6 at'-J a1 4&, , T * {z- * A r
13. Because of the children he still has to work. s. ffi ,e, ,^ + x, +L r- lF (t\ *_, ,
14. I do not know how to do it. Please do it for me. 10. -e6 4fi S *\ n ia 4 6 flrlt,*pt*.f*ny.
15. Please put those things on the table for me.
16. He does not speak as slowly as you do.
17. He speaks more clearly than you do.
18. The houses on the left side and the houses on the
right side are equally expensive.
19. The houses on the west are as expensive as the
houses on the east.
20, This new wine is more expensive than the one we
drank yesterday.
21,. He likes sleeping on the floor, I like sleeping on the
bed.
ffi
67
LESSON FIFTEEN
68
VOCABT]LARY
1. ddo #lJ to arrive, to reach; used as a comple-

ment indicating arrival or achiev€ment
of an action:
kdnddo 6 9'J to see
tingddo #.5l| to hear
shuoddo til'4! to speak ofl about
xidngddo fi, E:l to think ofl about
f{ to borrow
jiDddo ,l*
mdiddo F tr.J to buy
zhdoddo di 2J to find
2. jidn H n to perceive with the eyes; used as a

complement indicating perception:
kdniian ftR' to see
tin[jian l6.fu to hear
3. hdo good, to be good/well; used as a com-

plement indicating proper discharge/
completion of an action:
zudhdo 'lit lt to finish doing
xidhdo 4!+ to finish writing
r+
4. wdn 7E to be finished; used as a complement
indicating that an action is finished:
chiwin "1.'?-, to finish eatine
hlwdn 'h*'to finish drinkitg
kdnwdn A 2' to finish reading
zudwdn 1t( ts to finish doine
s. ji ;d id, to remember
6. zhir f+ to live in/at; used as a complement to

indicate that the result of an action is
secured:
ndzht) f {r to hold on to
jizhn ie li to remember, to bear in
mind
t. Kal ffi * to open, to drive a mechanized vehicle;

used as a complement to indicate de-
parture or separation:
likai iln frl to leave a person or place
tuikai tlt F"! to push aside/open/away
ndkai t fn5 to take away
ldkdi tr. F+! to drag away
8. hui c ,A
6 (refers to learned or acquired abilities
or skills) to be able to, to know; used as
a complement indicating that under-
standing or comprehension (acquired
or learnt) has been achieved:
xudhui & * to have learnt
,IH
9. ddng to understand, to comprehend; used as
a complement to indicate that compre-
hension or understanding has resulted
from an action:
kdnddng 6 rff to understand (on
readins)
tingdd";g 4t' '\fi to understand (on
hearing)
69
VOCABI]LARY
10. cud
hL
to be wrong; used as a complement to
'E indicate that an action has been done
incorrectly:
kdncud *ffi to misread
tingcud {* A$to hear incorrectly
mdicud V.ft to make a mistake in
buying
xidcud H& to write wrongly
ndcud t 6E to take by mistake
11. qingchu iH*e clear, to be clear/distinct; used as a

complement to indicate that clarity is
achieved or results from an action:
tingqingchuW,fr ft^ to listen until clar-
ity results
xidqingchu 4 rt fr- to write clearly
12. ddo HJ to overturn, to spill; used as a comple-

ment to indicate that overturning, fall-
ing over or spilling results from an ac-
tion:
tuiddo fli ftl to push,/knock over
ddddo tr #{ to strike down, overthrow
13. rd F,{ hot (temperature); to be hot

.A
14. ldng {lI cold; to be cold
15. e trt rft hungry; to be hungry
16. lei R to be tired
17. si ,E to die; used as a complement to indi-

cate that an action is so severe that
death results (often used figuratively):
ddsi tt fu tobeat to death
rtsi * fa to die of heat
tdnssi 't {z rc die of cold
lei;i F. {a rc die of fatigue
Csi M{u to die of starvation
18. ganjing trl+ +t+ clean
19. dui vf xt to be correct (often used with the mod-

al le to indicate the new situation which
has arisen e.g. dui le tt J , 'that is
correct'):
duibuqi t+ t'fu to be sorry, to have
wronged someone
20. xid to go down; usually used as a direction-

al complement. When used as part of a
potential complement it indicates
whether an object or a person can be
accommodated in the space available:
zuddexid t- Xq 1 able to seat
zudbuxid g 4'T unable to seat
fdngdexid fr!. 1+ 7 able to fit in
fdngbuxid i( n T unable to fit in
70
NOTBS ON GRAMMAR
Resultative Complements In the affirmative, the potential complement and the

A resultative complement may be either an adjective or complement of degree are formally indistinguishable
verb joined to a verb to indicate the result of the verb's and can be identified only by context. Thus 1r->a1,44/r1
action. Any adjective or verb may act as a complement may mean either'He is able to speak well' (potential) or
providing the resulting combination makes sense. Once 'He speaks/spoke well'(degree). The interrogative sent-
the combination is established. a close unit is formed ence using the particle ma o.9andcontaining a potential
which cannot be divided by any other element. Hence complement in the affirmative is subject to this same
suffixes and objects are placed after the complement. ambiguity, e.g. id I#,14!+ r$ lmay mean 'Is he able to
The only exception to this rule is de 't4 and its negative speak well?' (potential) or 'Does/Did he speak well?'
bu T. which transforms the combination into a potential (degree). However, ambiguity of this type is limited to
complement. complements formed from adjectives. When the com-
plement is another verb the ambiguity disappears, e.g.
The action of the verb with a resultative complement is zhdodeddo *\, '14 b'J'able to find' and h€dewdn& /l+ Z
by definition completed, hence the negative is formed 'able to finish drinking' can only be potential comple-
with mti(you) )k(fr ), The negative bu 4, is used only ments.
when the action implies intention or is conditional e.g.
'He is unwilling to remove his things' (negative inten- In the negative, the potential complement and the com-
plement of degree are quite different in form and there is
tion) is Ta brtyudnyi ndkdi tdde dAngxi lt, frA S. t f"l
no ambiguity. Compare fuW-{. tt meaning'He is not
1V, ah *. & and'If you do not immediately pull ^ him away able to do it well' (potential) and iO 1l\44 \,ltmeaning
he will beat the child to death' (negative conditional) is
Rrigud ni bfiliki lakai ta, ta jiil hui bd ndge hdizi ddsi lefa
'He does/did not do it well' (degree).
t t
4 4ll'4 n A,J +n lA 4a , lo .-tt ts rJF t@ t|^ tt fu 1 .
As the alternative form interrogative sentence uses a
negative complement there is also no ambiguity. Com-
Affirmative:
pare ,lt 1&-/14r'.+4&Tt+?'Is he capable of doing it well?'
When I was in Beijing I saw many Japanese students.
(potential) and .{O 4tt 1+ {+ f. t+ ? meaning'Does/
fr,ElV.-r,4a+ A7.Ag,Jff"$ a i,4L.
He immediately pulled me aside. rc. n ,'J 4e 4i tL Did he do it well?'(degree). In sentences where a poten-
?4. tial complement occurs with its object, the object is
placed after the complement if it is a simple object, e.g.
I took your pencil by mistake. ik S A€ 1 tR e\ lc
& A 4+ fu)a \ can see him'. Complex objects are
+. usually transposed to the beginning of the sentence, e.g.
4a nP kZt dzJ ,A*- , 4F,W,1+4:fi S r,Were you able to
Negative:
understand the French he spoke that day?'
I still have not found those two letters. f\ & )k 6
++i t'J 4P ffi *f le .
Affirmative:
He has not finished writing it; teacher said that he could
not go home. 4t! $ )k E *' ; rt tF ZXr le T' If you go personally you will certainly be able to borrow
ffi@& it. to #, tn a L a , "
ttt.tL F hY t# ,1+ ,'J.
Will you be able to remember it? 4ll, hU, ta '14 4L o-h t
I did not use up all the money. *, >k 4e 4i, ta z
" This table is heavy but I can push it aside. iA *. *,
lnterrogative:
+'lkfr., Ek*\; Effi+t++e"1 .
Did you find them? 1tr,4\ t'J |t' iFI -l cfr I He spoke very quickly but I could still understand him.
Are you holding your writing brush properly? (i.e. Do 4C '6ft' Xq '1?- t* ,
a.J €
*t ;fr ffi 4,t. 1+ '1ifi. .
you have a proper grip on your writing brush?) {f,, ?6
L+tn+1%1 Negative:
In the countryside one cannot buy these things.
Did you wash the cups clean? 4n +a 44, + )*.' 4L ,+
\e,r! * & $ ilp 7 fl T, e,J
1 1 "
'kh If one does not use hot water one will not be able to wash
it clean. l" R 4 ffi fi[ n( ;4,1a;L 6 14, .,+ ,
The Potential Complement
I cannot decipher his writing. lt, H hLJ + fr" h {,
The potential may be expressed by the use of the auxili- ,lE ,
ary verb ning fu, e.g. 'He can tell you' is Td ning gdosu ni
I have written it three times but I cannot write it well.
4e fu + "y'T llf,. However, in sentences with directional or
resultative complements it is often more idiomatic to use
*\ H 1 :^ >k 1, dT -ft '& H t. t+
"
a potential complement. The potential complement is Interrogative:

formed by inserting ae 44 (wnich retains its classical You have so much work to do. How can you finish doing
meaning of 'to be able') to express ability or bu T, to
it? 4n,44 r- 4F E ft. Yr E, AV 'ltt-'t4 t
, ft n
express inability between the verb and the complement
You have brought so much wine. How shall we be able
i.e. Verb * de I Complement, or Verb * bu * Comple-
to drink it all? ln b rt E '/t ,h *,?i, lll tr, B,
ment. For emphasis, n€ng ffi (though redundant in Eng-
lish) is often used together with the potential comple-
Ht"h'&8,.
ment.
7t
EXERCISES
1-. After he learnt how to drive a car he often came to
our home. 1.. 4r, fi +t >L # x 4+ T ffi. t@ L
1
2. The water is too hot; do not give it to him. 2. ##t*t)"1,+ 1t 4qn @ t@x .
1 IIf cannot
you do not go immediatetylhey will be angry.
! I went threesee you. please stand up.
3. 11 rf itfr6fr[F ,\-, E,Effi*. 14Tt
5. times but I still not buv it.
4. lh 9.1 4 t ap ft ,t. , 4t 4+ T ,r r-
,f@ q.6r
6. You have not washed this cup"ooidclean. 5. Lt,ehy"*€,f .r., #,6.Jt9- Aqi
7. He remembered my name wrongly. E,fr frt 44r ?
He pushed aside the old magazines.
!9. He finished writing that novel last month.
6. #,At&.+e,flFffafi,t,ilt,fr 3 fr&J,
10. )F9" he speaks Japanese can you understand 7. *! + t ,tL' ,A +L€ 6 ,t, *J.6 F.
him? 8. ao 4 ft, 4 fra*, # 4i, H 18, & irfl a
I
12.
He wrote my name wrongly again.
I am too tired at present. pleaG come again at five
B,
o'clock.
13. If you do not tell him then I shall.
72
73
LESSON SIXTEEN
74
VOCABT]LARY
1. didn(r) F* ( H) ,fi ( .rL ) ,sed in expressing decimals
2. ...fen zhi... .'i 2 . . .

.. used in expressing fractions
3. jin -FJi' consequently, then, soon
4. ydoshi...jii. F8... -F,tt... if... (then)...
5. yi... jiil... -Bli.,. as soon as... (then)...
6. zhdngxidng... jin ... Effi. ..-Ni.,. just as... (then)...
7. zhdngydo... jii... trF... Ft... just as... (then)...
8. cdi + until, just; formerly also

;iil:l.iA"ot
g. zii...
xian... tr...F... first... then...
10. yiqirin Dl Bt formerly, in the past
11. yihdu UIk D)tr afterwards, in the future
l2....yiqir{n ...DlBt ...ago,before...
13. ...yihdu ...D)1*. ...Utr after...
14. ddng S to wait
ls. yihuir -@ n -+ )L a (short) while
16. yixid(r) -T(JL)

-T(rn) a (short) while
17 . jit L a long time. In present day usage, there

is a growing preference to use chdng
shijian -f.- a+ 1,1 (ht. 'long period of
time') rather than jiil A
18. duo ji[ *h (of time) how long?; dud chdng shijian
,/ +- 4 14 is alsi widely used
19. xiingqi fgfrs to think of
20. z6u fr to leave
21. (zic6ng)... yikii

,Erc).,.D)X ( H rr., )...D)X since... (a specified time)
22. ...16i
...x ...X for the past... (specified period)
23. c6ng... ddo xidnzdi

tre...ftJnfr. A...ilInfl froln.,.uptothepresent(usedforshort
periods)
75
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Decimals, Fractions and Percentages He arrived just as I was about to go home. fi, f f;'
l. The decimal system is used extensively in China; it is @Tr,4E-'t*'*1,
the most common method of expressing parts of whole He began to sing just as I was about to go to sleep.
numbers. The decimal point is denoted by didn'F"h e.g. 4u"L* e* fr, . M,trfa,:h "4 4?, I
55.5 is w,ilshiwil di.dn wil -fr- + -L% h . Today Arabic c) Yi - ...jiilfiL...In this construction yi is used as an
numerals are widely used and w,ilshiwri didn wil will adverb meaning'as soon as'; jiil meaning'immediately'
often be written 55.5 while still retaining the Chinese introduces the main clause and the total effect is to
reading. convey the idea of 'as soon as', e.g. Wd yi kdn iin ddng le
X\'d,'rd '19 I means 'I understood as soon as I had a
2. Fractions are expressed in the following ways: look' or 'As soon as I had a look I understood'.
As soon as I heard him speak I knew he was French.
fEn zhi yi = h' L - (one out of two parts)
r/z is Cr
Yt is san fEn zhi yi z- L' (one out of three parts) fiU,' ft,6,1 lolil,'ta, l.t' 4o fi. ru fu * ffi a 1'
3/e is si zhi sdn € ^
ht Z z (three out of four parts) As soon as I think about this matter I become angry.
f€n
In this construction zhi z is borrowed from classical &'E,1li4+*,\h, it"'1€. L K "
Chinese and is the equivalent of. de 6{ in the modern As soon as they told me I went to look for the teacher.
language. Fen'l means 'part'. When fractions occur 1v.' lfl - + #r *
fx,in N fr, stl,
d) Jld may be used as an adverb meaning'immediately'
with whole numbers, the decimal system is used in ^,,
or 'soon'. The auxiliary verb ydo * and/or the modal
Chinese, e.g.7 3/n would automatically be converted to
7.75. When an immediate conversion is not possible a particle /e J are often used withiiD to indicate imminent
translation may be made by using ydu X- meaning 'and action, e.g. Ta jin ydo l6i le 1t t$ * * J 'He will be
in addition', e. g. 37 % could be rendered sanshiqi y du ba here soon' or'He will come soon'.
The train viill be here soon. X + l*,, * 1o
fEn zhi sdn Z+ {i X-'r 2\ 2 : .
I shall be finished soon. (i.e. I shall finish doing it soon.)
^
3. Percentages are expressed in the following way: d la*-4rkn1
2O"h is bdi fen zhi irshi 6 t L = + They will be going out soon. 4L 111 :t'L * H, +' 3.
95% is bdi fen zhi jirishiw,ir A ,l 2 x. + a
gZ.z%isbdif€nzhijiilshi'Crdidnir A't 2 m t 2. Cdi indicates that the action of the clause in which it
-9r-
+ !r.€ _ o
occurs is dependent on the action of the preceding
clause. The meaning of 'only then' or'not until'is thus
expressed. Action A * cdi * Action B means that not
Sequence Indicators jin xL , cdi 4 and xidn until Action A has happened will Action B take place.
h... zdi 4 I did not notice (see) his book until after he had left.
l. Jii may be used to introduce a main clause to show ,lofr-1, 4ttfr6!4ahh€
that the action in the main clause is immediately conse- I understood. 1o tX,
He said it ihree times before tr
quent to that in the subordinate clause. z & , '*\ t {f,,tf .

a) ,IiD used to express 'then', 'consequently': Note that neither the suffix /e nor the modal le can be
He put the book on the table and then slowly walked used in the same clause as cdi. Cdi can also mean 'just' in
over (to me). lC te
trct € * tk E t * + t- ,
."r*, ,l* ,lt simple sentences, e.g. Td cdi ldi 4t' t t- 'He just
. arrived'; Td zu6tian cdi qi 4t ,f 7-l + 'He just/only
_When I heard him speak like this
I became very angry. went yesterday' and Ta cdi wti sui fit- t a ilX 'He is just
fu, ilt,I'l ,tt g :ta 4fu
+1" N, t-
'^ . five years of age'.
If you cannot go I can ask Li Wenying to go' A" #
1tr,ThU* fi\lr'61 '.A"tl +t4*. The choice between usingiii andcdi depends largely on
the attitude of the speaker, that is, the two adverbs
If you do not want to drive the car, I can drive it for you.
*"*1t.:f''g,,Hl +, {i.?,t{ vÊ4Lf, lA" express the modal tone of the sentence. The adverb criiis
Often the verbal suffix /e J is used with the verb of the used when the action is delayed or does not happen
subordinate clause to emphasize the completion of ac- promptly or when the speaker feels that the action is
tion in relation to consequent action in the main clause. delayed. Jid is used when the action (in the opinion of
The effect in this case would be like'after Action A took the speaker) will happen very soon; it indicates immedi-
place, then Action B followed': ate consequence. Compare the following sentences:
After he did the s_hopping he went home. 1€ X 1 When I heard him speak I knew that he was French.
Refne R1 fh' - W. 4,1 4t ,fr, #, l"L 4" ff 'to fr * 6 ,t,
When he comes tomorrow we can ask him. 1B sfr K I onlv realized that he was French after I heard him
A1 *t 4Fl .-sr, q u{ F"5 ru, "
rp"u{. d[ {9, 9J 4o 'afret, t *" id 'ttr ft. *. ffi A.
I shall be able to go to the city with you when I finish
writing this letter. X\ P- &- 1.+ 4t 4
, X .-r.t 3. Xian... zdi... is used when emphasis is purely on
4 ,AVT<4F.- tutt+ii,fr-* l ". sequence of events without any implication of one action
b) When zhCngxidng -rr. d, or zhingydo E * occur in being dependent on another or that one action im-
the subordinate clause and jiil meaning 'then' intro- mediately followed another. Xian meaning 'first' pre-
duces the main clause, the idea of 'just' is conveyed: cedes the verb of the first clause and zdi meaning 'then'
76
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
precedes the verb of the second clause. Complements of Time Used to Indicate
I shall go to England and then France. tU Yo t * Duration of an Action
14, EA rt.q, Complements of time are used to indicate the duration
I shall eat first then go to your place. ft f" 'L 1
of time an action continues i.e. how long an action lasts.
?, 45'JW,nptf,+,
1. Complements of time without an object to the verb:
Please wait for a while. li tF, 4- &n ,
Time Clauses Formed with yiqidn
"A fr and I waited there for three hours. 1\, ft Ap ,L 4 1
yihdu vA'ah- 2 4a,.l. !t ,
l. Yiqidn and yihdu may be used as ordinary adverbs of I watched for about half an hour before going home.
time: 4\fr1+,fE,r'ql@&"
Yiqidnmay mean'formerly'or'in the past'e.g. 'I did not
know Chinese before' is Wd yiqidn bilddng Zhdngwin 2. Complements of time with an object to the verb:
dlr,Ait4i&fx. When the verb possesses a complement of time as well as
an object the following pattern may be used:
Yihdu may mean 'afterwards' or 'in the future' e.g. I waited one hour for him. 1t * I {c - {tr ,1. a+.
'Afterwards he did not come again' is Yihdu tu meiyou
I waited a long time before they came out. fi I
zdildi vA lLto rU 6 4 * . lL tll |P\ &. "4 P"1 , lp t?l t d, * ,
X
Howlong did you wait for Zhang Wenying? 4f, 4

2. Yiqidn and yihdu may be used to mark off time 11&.d*r+"d*1"1 t
words/phrases or verbal expressions in the following
Or the time phrase may be inserted between the verb
ways:
and its object. Because of an inherent de A\, the time
a) Meaning 'ago' or 'after'l'later' respectively when used phrase becomes a modifier of the object, e.g. yige
with an expression indicating a period of time: xidoshi (de) winxud - 4q,l.E+(cb) {4 (onehourof
Three years ago he was in Shanghai studying history.
z4"Afrlaftrfi+Et literature) and as a unit follows the verb. This construc-
tion can only be used when the sense of doing certain
Three weeks later he came to see me. z 4@ E XA
units of time of an action is conveyed, e.g. Td jiaole san
ut th_ te X. +! t\ ,
=- 4 E * ,
nidn lishi 4cX- 3 'He taught history for
b) Meaning 'before' or 'after' respectively when used three years'.
with a time word/phrase or verbal expresion: He studied five months of English. +t-' 4 X A M
Before having dinner I must finish reading this novel. E*{_"
+\ "r"tn ii,t * *flEH
4,^tuh ,
'.^ he was teaching English.
t, I have studied one year of history and also two years of
Prior to 1968 - )b /' ,t Japanese literature. +\ 4 1 - + E Y, '+fi
4"xffi4ufxft*d, iAs+a+l-€'
After reading this novel he began to study Japanese
literature. 4e ft *, 1 E H ,t, lL u), ,tll ia FA lb 3. Complements of time the negative sentence:
4a4*-+. The negative mdiyou lk -6 is generally used when an
It was only after he had left that I remembered his name. action or state did not last for a certain period. Miiyou
10 ft- 1 4h x\ t N,tu 4t, 44 tu + being the negative of the suffix /e 1 will precede the
^
The following points should be observed when using
verb, e.g. Wd mdiyou ddng hdn chdng shijiai li )k A 4
'f" E- at P,j 'I did not wait a long time'. However, the use
yiqidn and yihdu with verbal expressions: of.mtiyouwith a complement of time tends to be empha-
(i) Verbal expressions followed by yiqidn are often ne- tic or else expresses contradiction and'I did not wait for
gated by mdi )k or ev en hdi mii it ;& despite the fact that long'is often translated as Wd ddngle bilchdng shijian*\
this is seemingly redundant. (Before something has hap-
pened and before something has not happened are in
4 I + +< 4fA i.e. 'I waited for not long'. The negative
adverb bil 4- is used when an action or state happens/
fact the same.) The use of.mii and hdi m6i are for greater exists frequently, occurs in the present or is a supposi-
emphasis. tion, e.g. 'If you do not sleep for a while you will feel too
(ii) Verbal expressions followed by yihdu are often link- tired'_is Rtigud ni bfishui yihuir, ni jii hui judde tdi lti le
ed with the main clause by jiil t/., cdi I , or zdi 4
showing the various types of sequence. In such cases
l"4,ffTtt -4a,vt,.nria&ft n1.
yihdu may seem redundant. It is used to give greater ^
emphasis. Continuation of Time to the Present
(iii) Verbal expressions followed by yiqihn or yihdurefer 1. Continuation of time to the present: Specified period
to the time of which one is speaking and not the time at plus ldi.fr- gives the meaning'for the past...'; an adverb
which one is speaking. Thus yiqidn and yihdu may refer Iike dou #P is usually used to totalize the period.
to 'time before' or 'time after' a particular event which +
For the past five years I have been in Nanjing. -L
occurred or will occur in the past, present or future, e.g. * 4\ *f fe 'fi .i,
'We shall ask him after he arrives tomorrow' is Ta ming- He has been teaching history for the past seventeen
tian ldite yihdu, wdmen jiil win ta 4P, aA K *- I * 4, Xi years. + +, + t,,tt *P ft 4{ E *_
"
ffli.t, ?44t, .
77
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
2. Continuation of time to the present starting from a 3. Continuation of time to the present: For short periods
specified point of time: (zic6ng E |tr- lc6ng lft- +) speci- *
ldi *, andyildt "l. are not used. Instead the construc-
fied point of time + yil6i 'rA 4- gives the meaning tion c6ng lft...ddo xidnzdi 4tn'# is used:
'since. . . '. Since yeiterday he has been here three times. !& dF
Since 1936 he has been teaching history and literature K!,J t4,tL , ae*_&-z t
here. A /rft. )u *, - z +
qA *,lp, h- &- rL Since two o'clock he has not done any reading. &- rt1
4Lft.*-*, 1,4. Y.b &I,l tfl,E, {e )t A f i€ A .
Since 1977 agriculture has been flourishing in Australia.
|tft- - )1- L r: .+ "l A, )9, X +'l fr. & H *.
t7* 4t fi- .
EXERCISES

1. 99.5"h, 518, 415,0.067% 1. tx E 8. "'<.&-, te., ln * *{ d 1 .
2. As I was about to go to sleep he asked me if I
wanted to drink coffee. z. *\ - d 9'J ls , f.'ti + t4 to 4n ?-' ?.*. k 1"
3. ZhangWenying put the things in the car and came 3. fi,xx+r@,1'84 l@i&.
over to talk to us.
4. When I had bought a newspaper I went to look for 4. *\ + 3 - l@'t' "4, 4o t +I E'# *+
Zhang Wenying.
-4 a\ rc,4- @ * J'
5. As soon as I found him I told him why you refused s. &fi-tut.tYt z+"
to lend him your car. 6. 4r,ffifrrt,4 {il l&aifdt
6. He will have finished eating soon, you may come 7. 4n L 3 u|'th- , 4e'lrt@ L 'rt' t, 1 o
8. *\i, *k 1 ,\ + f L , eF, ft 4 E,a *-1.

in.
. I shall first write letters and then read some novels.
7
8. You must tell them before telling Li Wenying. f. i"+ *Ml?1 *P i rt-9Lt* 8 a + {s.
9. They will all be going home soon. 10. " )u /, 4 "^ *, M A &+ @ i,R.,
10. Previously I did not have a house but now I have ^
11. ttT,fu,ltl,tt tra+ 1tl+24r.0 lr
two houses.
12. laf. te L .F ltt 2 t q @ F,
11.
12.
In future you must first tell me.
After he had pushed aside the chair he slowly sat
^ i& * "Llk,
13. 'l 4& h *e- 1 ;t' 1,4')+ e
1r,4
down on the floor. t4. aP4nt*El+a.ffi.

13. After I told him why you were angry he began to
cry.
t4. They have already departed.
15. You must finish the work before you may go
home.
16. After he finished writing those three novels he
went to Japan.
17. Before going to Japan he wrote two letters to me.
18. I have already waited two hours, I cannot wait any
longer.
79. How long have you been waiting for them?
20. I listened for half an hour before going home.
21,. We all studied two years of Chinese history.
22. For the past two months he has been in France.
23. Since January they have been gtudying English
literature.
24. From this morning I have been studying French
historv.
78
79
LESSON SEVENTEEN
80
VOCABI]LARY
1. mdi E each, every
2. shi
-frrt iil to try
r--E
3. kdn FI to be willing to
4. ji ffi to send by post
5. kdolt 4tr. 2ffi, to consider (i.e. to turn over in one's

mind)
6. huii bad
7. hudi le ffi-r to be spoiled (of food); to be out of

order, to have broken down
--rt' +
6. wenznang xF. essay; journal or newspaper article (cl.
ffi)
9. bdnfa Wt* lJ,l* way, means (of dealing with a matter)
10. ydu bdnfa HWt*, trilnX to have the means (of dealing with
matter)
a
11. m6i(ydu) bdnfa ipE)w*, ik€)iln* unable to deavcope (with)
12. gudnxi BAFrt XA relationship, consequence
13. m6i(ydu) guanxi ik G )EFfS iY.(H ) XA of no consequence, does not matter
14. fangbiin fi {F convement
15. chdng BEI

&
E to taste
16. duo t more, many
17. shdo ,, few, less
h
18. Cdi ffi tn to let (i.e. to give a person a chance to
do something), used as a complement
meaning'to (someone)'
19. ziri tr used as a complement meaning 'in',

'on'
20. ddo Sl| used as a complement meaning 'to

(place)' or'until (time/state)'
21. ch€ng FT used as a complement meaning'(make/

turn) into' or '(to treat) as'
22. f.anyi Fll# ffiti+ to translate
23. fdnyichlns ffi{#Ft ffii+FI to translate into

81
VOCABT]LARY
24. b-angzhi HEI #Ex to help. Bangmdng il,8 ir more com-

monly used in spoken Chinese for'to
help', having the literal meaning of 'to
help one in what one is busy doing'.
Bangmdng, however, cannot be used
with an object or complement as mdng
(busy) is the object of bang.
25. bdngbangmrdng HHtI +rf +tf 'ft to help out; 'to give a hand' (also bdng
ge mdng *,1@,lr )
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Each and Every Please have a look. ?* B, . A fr
There is a limited number of idiomatic expressions in He does not understand; please say it again for him.
which the noun is reduplicated , e.g. shdn shan ydu hil A ,t1 T ,tE ,
zh af, h
l61e,lLr"fr, "
il k E, 'There is a tiger on every mountain'; shi shi rrt I shall introduce you to each other. &
ht 4R 1?1 'ft
yi + 41u f,, 'May everything be as you would have it'. ?etn.
This type of fruit is very good. Have a try. rt +9 ,K
Most classifiers may be reduplicated: tian tian k *- n 4r<*+, if.,f g
'each./every day'; nidn nidn 4 4 'eachlevery year'; g0 gi
xudsheng 4A 4n + 4 'each/every student' etc. The An effect similar to the reduplication of the verb may be
adverb dou *F may be used for emphasis, e.g. 'He goes achieved in the following ways:
every day' is Ta tidn tidn dOu qn +o x- X *F + . 1. Monosyllabic verbs may take the complementyi - +
The adjective mCi -4 may be used with any noun to give the same verb.
the meaning 'each'. Usually a classifier will stand be- I would like to have a look at the essay you wrote this
tween mCi and the noun it qualifies e.g. mdige xuisheng morning. 1\ 8,6 'A +k
ln + .€ 6t n -t
6 1@ +E is 'each student'. However, those nouns +.
which normally do not use classifiers because they are in Please wait for a while. # $, + - +
a sense themselves classifiers will of course stand im- 2. Monosyllabic or disyllabic verbs may take the comple-
mediately after mCi without a classifier, e.g. mCinidn @ ment yixid ' j
4 is 'each yeat' , mCitian -q k is 'each day' and mdici 4 We shall have to give some consideration to the matter.
>2 is 'each time'. The adverb ddu *P is usually used g4a?"1 #,4i11 *4&.,-I o
before the predicate of a subject qualified by 'each' This (particular type of) wine is excellent. Please try it.
whether it be a noun qualifiedby mdi or a reduplicated tL**.;a * # r+ , zoh t.?,t -I
3. The verbal suffix /e may be used with monosyllabic
.
noun or classifier. The adverb ddu emphasizes that there
is no exception and the whole construction may be trans- verbs which have been reduplicated. When used it is
lated as 'every'. placed between the two verbs.
Each year he helps me many times. tA g + Al fl He spoke for a while about past events and then went
flh 4i, 4l< q >R , home to sleep. lel#, 7 l*, ul' fr 44 + 'ft .in' ,
Everyoneunderstands. A ,.i. 4 E , @ *stft * 3
Every student should consider this matter. E l@ + He had a look and told me that he did not want to buv it.
LZFft.zift E A4@p4tr. 1e& 3 A fL + n+il )x,4 4, g. 3,
Every character was written wrongly. E 1@ + Al FQ Zdi fL, gdi !:6, ddogl and ching d Used as
&t1c Resultative Complements
1. Zrii shows that someone/something is in or at a certain
The Reduplication of Verbs place as a result of a particular action. This use of. zdi is
Some verbs may be reduplicated to express short, quick, only possible with a limited number of verbs and a place
informal or random action, action repeated over and word must follow.
,6
over again and action denoting trial or attempt. The He was seated at the back. 4L *. f,*. 'lb. 1g- ,
reduplicated section is pronounced in the neutral tone; He is living in the country. |t' |i- tL tl,f F
in the case of disyllabic verbs only the first syllable of the In 1975 he was still living in Shanghai. - t. v. A
reduplicated verb is stressed, e.g. kdnkan I& 'tohave +1v&. lilrL/+"
alook' and kdolilkaolil * E. * E.'to Eiveamattersome He wrote his name on mv book. 1t' ig M *r fu '+
thought'. Htr't\e\gL"
82
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
2. Gii links the verb with its indirect object; the indirect Any amount of money will do. ,f.yAtFri"
object must be used although the direct object may be You may purchase any number. Lr,F, q 'y *l
E
omitted if it is clear from the context. GCi may be trans- D("
lated as 'to (someone)'. You may give me any number (up to 10) of pencils.
The letter he wrote me was extremely long. aC 6 *b 4tr. 4stue^Le*+AF{"A
&6\12)Y#r- It does not matter how long I wait for yo,r. *t € ln
,/ E" ai ?"X *f *- fuf, 1'+, "
The fruit you sold me this morning has already gone bad.
h. + i 4 t fr # &, hH i< + a *ilg 1 o It does not matter how far away you live. I have my own
He sent me (by post) many things last year. t + 4L car.lf,4rtt\L*P*,fra6, *t d Lhh+,
4*5+ihF.2q*,h"
Please introduce your friend to us. Zh 4F 4a ln 6tl 2. Interrogative words may also be used to convey the
nn fr- 1r le b it, 4?1 " indefinite meaning of 'some place', 'some person',
'some amount'etc. which cannot be specified or which
3. Ddo followed by a place word means 'to'. When it is one does not wish or feel the need to specify, or the
followed by a time word or a state it means 'until'. indefinite meaning of moderation in negative sentences
We readuntilthreeo'clock andthenwent home . 4\ 1Fl e.g. 'not so', 'not very', 'not particularly'. In both of
h 4'J = ^9..t&t , iv7-a * * 1 these cases the word order is the same as for an inter-
He sent the letter to Beijing but I had already left. it: rogative sentence. However used with an indefinite
le nF N 4z 6 4,! )Y' 1., { ft. +\ L !^9. ft 1 . meaning the interrogative word is not stressed i.e. it is
pronounced in the neutral tone whereas used as an
4. Chdng has a basic meaning of 'to accomplish', 'to be interrogative word it is stressed, e.g.
successful'. It may be used as a complement indicating Ta xidng chi didnr shdnme? 4+L 19.'
"LY"E
4l /*? means
successful completion of an action with certain types of 'What does he want to eat (a little of)?'"1-'
verbs and may be translated as '(to treat/regard) as' or whereas
'(to make/convert) into'. Td xidng chi didnr s henme t& E, " L YJ €t- 1-f li' means'He
I want to translate this novel into French. & re' f' wants to eat a little of something.'
,E H ,t, #" *11i+ fi ra n .
He regards me as a fifteen year old child. ru te *\ Apart from the stress or lack of stress in pronunciation
htu-t@+akafi+ often the context as well as other elements in the sent-
He wants me to help him translate this article into ence itself will clarify the meaning. An interrogative
Chinese but I am too busy. 4t * +\ # gfi 1B tL word may have an indefinite meaning in a sentence
E % r 4 ffi rZ di, f r q ft,t! l" while another interrogative word or interrogative clause
^,li serves to form the question.
The Indefinite Use of Interrogative Words 'some place', 'some person', 'some amount':
1. Most interrogative words may be used to convey the How about it if we go somewhere to buy some fruit?
indefinite idea of 'any' (person, place, amount, thing, *\ lrl Z 'tY 91, H. E.u e,k * , ft+ 4' !.+ 1.
manner) or every member of a category. The interroga- The car has broken down. How about it if we find
tive word is stressed and followed by dAu #f or yd tt someone to help us? l:< 4 t* I , t! ?tf A tf,
before the verb. When the verb is negated the sense is '4+t !+4,!+1
'no-one', 'nowhere', 'no amount', 'nothing', 'not any',
'no matter how' etc. The use of shdnme 41 B. and shtil 'not so', 'not very', 'not particularly':
shui lE in this way is common but the use of other His new house is not particularly good. ht, fi *n E
interrogative words is limited and less common. +Ê,B!+.
He has everything. 4t 4t B, Air 6 " lhis novel is not particularly well-written. € ffi ,t.
He has every type of book. 4t 4l E, € *P A . rLH ft 4 E, E T+ ,
He is incapable of doing anything well. ,1t' 4I fr, 4
tP ttt, T !+ " 3. Interrogative words may be used in an indefinite sense
Everyone likes him. 'eli *Y & #1, tt' " to convey the meaning of 'whichever one', 'whatever',
No-one was willing to help. ''"lrfrP 4 nA fr,, td ,yt D
'however much' etc. In this case the interrogative word
Nowhere are things as cheap as they are here. efrf ,(' is used in the subordinate clause and repeated in the
h*.eal)kh &-9t fi\e.i^. main clause. Usually the repeated interrogative word is
In no year were things
as expensive as they are now.
dn\+h\*h4V>kAztu#ahft" preceded by the sequence indicator,[0.-r;t. The construc-
tion is balanced and the effect is emphatic.
However he said it he was unable to say it clearly.
lt E, E tX,4 ril, 4. )+ &, He did whatever came to his mind. |1d' 8, r'J 4t ft
tt 4tk tl Ft ,
However he wrote it he was unable to write it well. !# fr, f,
I shall use however much you give me.
4t,K,ft4#P46r+ " ')/ , +\l.LA ? y, -
43,
No amount of money will be able to buy it. I 'y ft I shall go wherever you go. |tr, * -tl;
TPfr 4 'nP 9L ,
',J
4. of,P i"tu ^
83
EXERCISES

1. We shall come whenever it is convenient for you. 1. *
2. I shall buy whatever you buy. 4a 'zt 4i, LE- lfr *rT )5 >^ 4?. !+ , fi d,
3. We did whatever the teacher told us to do. ?{ rr\ "
4. He is not particularly good at driving a car. 2. |f!8,8*P^ft+Z+*,.
5. You may put those old magazines anywhere. 3. 4\*nc4E,-+
6. However much you buy does not matter. 4. '*xe\r't"?r&t 4*?{; +iR,
7. The place where I am staying is very inconvenient.
It is too far from the school. 4!-P.AVttry*,"
8. Please have a try. 5. fg, +"1 ', "A g.b st, )6 , ? "& uu tL + rr5,
lX,
9. No-one can understand the Japanese he speaks. 6. rc.fiI rb fi F1 el e lt tt .
10. He goes to Nanjing each year.
11. Please wait for a while, they will come soon. 7. tfu fz lL ft di*. , fr. e rf{fr I*_
XV, .
12. He had a look and then slowly walked over (to 8. 4!,*,+LiirL''JL/8, ^d 4&.tftY
me). @ r'l{]11 *.
13. I want to introduce Zhang Wenying to him.
74. He takes the children to school and then goes to
9. 1T,"Et1+ft, ft,
*,tt"6 11
10. ?6 f {- &21'sF r\ 4 {_ 4 tr A , 4 ft_
work.
15. Teacher asked me to translate these two essavs *e&{#tE#dl+{2T,trAr,
into French. 11. 'nfr $r, 4 4' + 4e-t.1tu* *- 3 "
16. They live in Guangzhou. 12. #, ,rt_h il+ >*,4 fi +e,v H *- 4 at 4
17.
18.
Please sit at the front.
Do not treat me like a child.
d+r- o
19. No-one dares to help him.

20. No-one is willing to do it for him.
84
85
LESSON EIGHTEEN
86
VOCABI]LARY
R must
*EFI +ffi relative
a*E B+ mother; also mama lh rFt

9*n J.* father; also bdba E '&
trtr older brother
ffiffi younger brother
,Ef{E older sister
,*fr younger sister
Effi'K Et8*- on looking at, in appearance
ffifrsx {fiE* on doing, to begin to do
im fr negative intensifier giving the sense

'not by any means' (used with T or /i)
*+
12. h6o negative intensifier giving the sense
'not the slightest' (used with {. or it )
13. kdren EA guest, visitor
14. kdqi EM, &< polite, courteous, to act like

stand on ceremony
a guest; to
\+ rJ-
15. lir{n iE rS used in emphatic constructions
16. shi E used for emphasizing the affirmative
17. l6ohu zR, tiger (cl. f;. )
18. gdu \fr dog (cl. al , 1'f^ 1
x++
19. m6o tffi 4H cat (cl. 1{ )
20. pdochu ffi,t to run out (from somewhere)
21,. shi... de 8... ffi construction stressing time, place,

means or the agent of an action
87
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
Emphasis 4. Emphatic negation may be achieved in the followrng

The position of a word in an earlier part of a sentence ways:
gives it definite reference and also greater emphasis in a)fr. * + CLASSIFIER + NOUN * dou *f tye a +
relation to other words of the sentence. Therefore the NEGATIVE ADVERB + VERB
object of a sentence is emphasizedby transposing it to a In this construction the numeral 'one' gives the total
position in front of or immediately following the subject. effect of'not even one' or 'not even a'.
Previous lessons have shown the use of the pretransitive I do not have even one dollar. {n ' 4" *, *f /7-
bd *g construction and the use of yd &, and dAu frf 6"
following an interrogative adjective plus the object; I cannot lend you even one dollar. *i - tfu& #P
both these constructions transpose the object to empha- 6hv4+1{#|n,
size it. The following are other common constructions We do not even have a chair. fi lfi - te, tt + A
used for achieving emphasis. )t6 ,
<L + NOUN + d6u *f tyd
b) Yididnr - 9-v t +
1. Simple transposing of the object: NEGATIVE ADVERB + VERB
It is possible to emphasize the object simply by transpos- I do not understand even a little Chinese. fi - p"l
ing it either to a position at the front of the sentence or 9L+i.ta4,ilt,

immediately after the subject. He cannot speak even a little Japanese.
a+"**f{'f
40 - g-E tL
'c/.',
OBJECT (+ SUBJECT + ADVERB) + VERB (+ c) By the use of negative intensifiers such as bing fi- and
TNDTRECT OBJECT) hdo'E:
I must finish writing this essay this evening . E- m I- He is not by any means as tall as my father. 4V {1
**;.+KaF,v-k_*15R," >y.a$,tbfika.
(SUBJECT +) OBJECT (+ ADVERB) + VERB (+ Without the slightest reservation, he told, me that my
INDIRECT OBJECT) novel was written badlv. 40 4 * F" n + Zfr
Before he had finished eating his meal he angrily left. ii,,4), e 'r zt 4 14 4,t+. ^
M tk -A'h"
& %, ls I.
ft, +e., rt_ . 1
5. The (lidn &-)... dlu #P lyA a construction may be
2. The rhetorical question: used to emphasize the subject, object or verb of a sent-
The negative question may be used for emphasis of the ence. The use of /irin is optional in most cases while ddu
affirmative, e.g. Td shi ZhOngguordn 4e &+ @ /, (He or yd of. this construction is the essential element.
is Chinese) is given emphasis by the rhetorical question
Td bfuhi Zhongguor(n ma 4t\ T, &- + @ ,<-26 ? (Is he a) Emphasizing the subject: (lidn) + SUBJECT * ddul
not Chinese?) yd+VERB+OBJECT
Is this not yours? fi- f, &- Lt' ab u6 t Even a child knows how to doit. How is it that you do
Are you not going? 1F' T t '.6 ? not? Lf \L + rtpt, 'tF, F,. B r' t t
Won't you buy it? 1F, 4 fl ".6 1 Even he wants to & go. 4E o ffi, +.
b) Emphasizing the object: SUBJECT (+ lidn) + OB-
3. The double negative: JECT+doulyd +VERB
A strong affirmative may be achieved by the use of two He was unwilling to see even his father. 4b E L *L
negatives in the following ways:
a) A negative verb followed by a further negative which
t' n# nr .
He refuses to drink even water. {O iiL zk AP T' ER
modifies an expression of sanction , e.g. bi...bixing T,
... 4, 4i :
9."4"
or
You must buy some. itr' 4 fr. * 4 4t , (lidn +) OBJECT + SUBJECT + ddulyd + VERB
You must go. 4n *, 6 t, ',t7
In 1936 he sold even (his) bed. - +1r =' + 8-
You must buy those two books. tf, T g. np fr t-,r, 4s 4l fr 1 . ^
*t,'ii. ^ c) Emphasizing the verb:
b) A negative occurring in each of the two clauses linked SUBJECT (+ lidn) + VERB + dautyc + NEGATIVE
with 7iD .itj.In each of these sentences the modal particle . ADVERB + AUXILIARY VERB (+ VERB)
le 1 may be used to emphasize the new situation which or
has arisen: SUBJECT (+ Iidn) + VERB + doulyd + NEGATIVE
Without his help I would have no means of coping by ADVERB + VERB + OTHER ELEMENT
myself. l, ft, tv 4 ?[ +r , +\ a ,rr.,p *nl In this construction note the following:
i The verb must be repeated after dOu or yd.
'rt 1 "
ii Generally this construction is used with a negative
Without his sending money to me I would not be able to adverb and/or an auxiliary verb; these stand before
cgPe. i' 4 tu 4. ?r & h *\, *\, lL *. t& r*, the repeated verb.
J, iii When an auxiliary verb is used, the repeated verb
may be omitteo.
88
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
iv Often a complement will follow the repeated verb 9. The shi... de construction is used to stress the cir-
when an auxiliary verb is not used. cumstances (time, place, means or agent) of a com-
v If there is an object, it generally stands before the pleted action. This construction gives an explanatory
subject. tone to the sentence and hence places emphasis on the
He would not even look at it. 1u i* * El T + # circumstances of the action and gives the sense 'it was
-T" onlatlby... that an action took place'. In the construc-
He was not willing to even try. {tl € Itl frP 4 t tion sfti may be omitted in affirmative sentences.
id,-f. However, in negative sentences sfti must be retained and
I cannot even read his writing. 10 H UJ + *V, *. linked with the negative adverb bd.
t*ph{.,8. Emphasizing the time: I arrived yesterday. 4i e- 'F
k *-44
6. The use of shi fr- to express assertion: Emphasizing the means: He came by plane. 18 ft. t-
a) S/ri may be used to give emphasis to verbs and adjec- ft r# *€r.
tival predicates by expressing assertion with the sense 'it Emphasizing the place: He comes from China. .{t1 €
or'it is the case that'.
is true that' 4t-+@*.ut,
He does live in Nanjing. 4O € it #- ta l. " Emphasizing the agent: I wrote this essay. (lit. 'It was I
Chinese do write with brushes. +6 ,(* ft- nZ who wrqte this essay.') trft- N I *i X- # or tL
*B+"
b) be used to give a contrast between verbs
ffi r- + &. #i, 8'an "
may also
Sftr The negative form of this construction also refers to
and between adjectival predicates. completed action; it refers to action not having been
This thing is heavy, not big. €. i+ R E € a , completed at a certain time, in a certain place or in a
T.€li. certain manner.
I am telling you not asking you. *' € * Z/1 tN. , He did not come by train. le T ft_Ax.+*t1.
T ft?"I.n. I did not arrive yesterday. +\ {. ft-,Fx*-64,
I want to buy fish not fruit. *k fr f' H .fr. ' T' He did not come from China. {O 6 X- tttr-+ @ Rfl,
ftf,E,K*
10. Emphasis on appearance, disappearance and state of
7. The use of ,[D ?6 to emphasize the assertive shi fu : existence of things with indefinite reference is achieved
Jinshi has the meaning of 'nothing but', 'simply', 'just'. by changing the word order:
He simply likes drinking wine. ,lt i.L fl. * ftt "6 fi emphasize state of
a) VerUs otiction follow edby zhe
>@" existence.
I just do not like him. { il ft 6 S ilf rc , Some books were lying on the table. * + t if- E
-*€.
8. The subject of a subject * verb * object sentence or a A few students were still standing outside. t| i{ €
sentence with an adjectival predicate may be stressed by 'vB#&lEt+L.
converting such sentences into sentences with equation- Several guests were seated inside. * i8. +. # *U m
al constructions, e.g. in the subject * verb + object E,<- "
sentence 'He sells fish' (Ta mdi yrt rc.? F.- ), the subject
'he' may be stressed by rendering 'sells fish' (mdi yrt t. b) Verbs of arrival or departure followed by the suffix /e
,€. ) into the.nominal expression 'one who sells fish' J or any verb with its complement emphasize appear
(mdi yrt de fi fu. 4t ) and equating the subject and ance or disappearance.
nominal expression with the verb shi, i.e. Ta shi mdi yti A guest just arrived. n'l t f- 1 lEE,<-,
de tt! ft- ?, fr.6t . Similarly, in the subject * hdn + Yesterday three tigers escaped. af k EE1=E
adjectival predicate sentence'This house isold' (Zhisud ft.tu.
fdngzi hdn jiil €Ft 4 + ff. G ) stress may be placed on
'this house' (zhisud fdngzi &- Ft E t ) by converting
the adjectival predicate'is old' (hCn jin ttt E ) into'an
old one'or'one which is old'(ylD de E hh) and equating
the subject and the nominal expression with the verb sfti.
'
i.e. Zhisud fdngzi shi jit) de tL f,f h + *-
E *'l "
89
EXERCISES

1. Even my younger sister can drive a car.
2. look.
He retuses to even take a 1. t4 + r nI- il - eA E *
3. Thisbagisheavy, Icannotbudgeit. 2. h v4*-* - 1A * x o
4. His father sells books. 3. s+ In rt E V, r.b t z- @ tE S *. ,

i:7. l';"*"1*';.,::,*:'m: 4 ft#ltr4-&raa,,-.
BvenZhangWenying to go.
retuses 5. B + tF il. q%r # 2 € ,e* lA
8. When yo.r.t"tt to Ao it, it is notit all difficult. 6. { ft M "6 i€ , T. € f, "6 ,k
9. Those three students come from Shanghai. 7. A iA JA. # fr, l@ E ,<, "
10. Just as I was about to go to sleep two guests g. +f € ?f + * dr , tf, ,,fc. z.
arrived.
11. some people were standing outside. 9' {t 4 + /-' E 4+ I- a\ o
72. Ttreywouidnotevenlisten. 10. flp z4@q Eft { ( +At?.

11. ioi$##PTt++.tT.
12. 4v,ft6vu+\%"
13. itE4E'*"+s+Ztli, ?[r{ ],la
Aq *,f. + ,
14. $I-& *,'d#.a ft ft r E. Bflr.
15. €! *f, di, , {' A +\ dd nn k- .
/,t' ft. &,
16. fr & *, tL >k fr ni, q 4 a "
1F,
r7. t1,ffl 4**',^"e_,: +frk'.q'firtfu.,

'A 4r I*, ,
90
91
LESSON NINETEEN
92
VOCABI]LARY
1. ne rE modal particle
2. ba ru modal particle
3. zdng ffi EE dirty
4. ndng * to make, to do, to manipulate
5. ndngzdng +ffi +flE to soil, to make dirty
6. ndnghudi +ffi *^ to put out of order, to ruin
7. chudn +
.7U
to wear
8. shuang &E a pair (classifier for things measured in

9-
sets of two, e.g. shoes, socks, chop-
sticks)
9.yitu &.8F. clothing (cl. d4 ;
10. kizi ffi+ M+ trousers (cf. {*;

11. wizi +H+ +fr+ sock (cl. Q two socks,,fp t ifi. +
but a pair of".g.
socks, - U 4*, + )
72. xi6 H shoe (cl. t two shoes, fr /* ir but

".g.
a pair of shoes, ,t ) - tr
13. qrinzi ffi7 skirt (cl. {'A )
14. chigudng wJt to eat all of; to eat up completely
15. ydngguang HJI to use all of; to use up completely
16. kuiizi ffi+ chopstick (cl. gEn *E-, e.g. two chop-
sticks ffi *k & +, but a pair of chop-
sticks -'i #+ )
17. wdn ffi bowl (cl. l@ e.g. one rice bowl - {@ f(

ziL); bowl of, e.g. one bowl of rice - eil.
fu', a big bowl of rice - frt, &-
^
18. pr{nzi M+ ffi+ plate (cl. l@ , e.g. a plate - l@ fi. + )
19. pdn ffi r$ plate of, plateful e.g. three plates of
fruit = 9, zK 4
20. shlcii rrt# green vegetables
21. midntii{o MIR E+ noodles
22. rin t4 meat
23. zh[rdu ffin pork (zhtt rr# , pig)

24. y6ngrdu +t4 mutton jdnq 4, sheep)
25. nifrdu +n beef (nirt {, cattle)
26. bei & indicator of the passive

93
VOCABT]LARY
27. jiirc [+ indicator of the passive

h
28. gEi ffi tE indicator of the passive
29. ring -il#

it indicator of the passive
30. shdu I indicator of the passive
31. n6zdu e ft take away
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Modal Particles ne "Eanll ba o(, The Passive Voice

A modal particle is used to indicate the mood of the In the Chinese language, extensive use of a topical sub-
clause or sentence at the end of which it stands. Modal ject (transposed object) makes the use of the passive
particles are pronounced in the neutral tone. form less important than in English. [t is easier to define
the subject and predicate in a Chinese sentence as'topic
1. The modal particle ba may be used at the end of a and comment' rather than 'actor and action' and to
narrative sentence to express include the second definition in the first. Thus the sent-
a) Uncertainty, doubt or probability: ence Mi ydu ydngwdn le >K x ffi *' 1 in which miis the
You don't know do you?; You wouldn't know, I sup- topical subject would be translated into English with the
pose. {f,'7, 4" G"L? verb in the passive, i.e. 'The rice is used up again'' Note
I suppose you have been to China; You have been to that a sentence with a topical subject (which in English
China, haven't you? if * &. + El '0? becomes the grammatical subject with a verb in the
He is not going, is he? ; I suppose he is not going. /o il * passive voice) generally contains a complement, e.g.
ag;l 'He speaks Japanese well' ,{@ el a ''* if'44't9*!t . (See
You are hungry, aren't you?; I guess you are hungry. if,' Lesson Eight) The sfti... de construction may also be
tlt, 1 "e;? used to transform a subject + verb * object sentence
b) Suggestion or mild command: into a sentence in the passive voice by transposing the
Sit down!; Take a seat! S o9! object, i.e. object + sfti (+ subject) * verb -f de,.e.g.
Let's go (i.e. leave)! fr, "a! 'This book wai purchas"o'uy ttitn'€ +- E ft to fl. ei .
Let,s eat! o4.tk"'p_,| (See Lesson Eighteen)
c) Agreement:
All right!; Okay! lt,e'! The passive indicators bei M., rdngifi., gCi !#, iido o{ and
All right!, sell it! !+,+et * 1,e,t shdu ft.emphasize an action and its result and make the
passive voice explicit; shdu meaning 'to receive' can be
2. The modal particle ne is used in the following ways: linked with a few nouns to translate the passive voice. In
a) As a particle expressing doubt used at the end of written Chinese b?i is commonly used while in speech
interrogative sentences: rdng, jido and gCi are preferred. These words are now
And will you be going? 1\ 4 A '&.2 often classed as prepositions and their use follows the
Who can he be lookingfor?^1@ 14,tll"tz? ordinary prepositional construction. When the agent is
b) As an interrogative particle forming a question in a unknown, rtn l'(unspecified person/persons) may be
known or stated context: used. In the case of bCi the agent may be omitted and bCi
He sings well, what about you? 40 {t € 11 17"tt , may be followed directly by a verb. However, it is not
possible to omit the agent in the case of other passive
4?, "&,
{ft
?.
He likes travelling by plane, do you? {s *fk indicators.

,
)f#, 4F,'E ,.
t[ flf. +
We want to go today, what about you? X. SUBJECT + PASSIVE INDICATOR + AGENT +
i , ln ',fl,1 VERB + OTHER ELEMENTS
How about Mr Zhang?; Where is Mr Zhang? 4F* lo
*- "E 1. a) The use of bii without an agent:
c) As a particle indicating a continuing action. (See The clothes I washed have beeln soiled. *i ;*,6! f'
Lesson Ten) nY,tE l +* t
fnL wine he brought has all been drunk. 4{' + *
tl )E #F $fr. "6 )o 3
94
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
b) The use of passive indicators (bii, jido, gdi, rdng) with c) The use of shdu with a limited number of nouns to
an agent: convey the passive voice:
The bowls have all been washed clean by Zhang He was influenced by this type of thinking. 1t3 ft 1
Wenying. nP V zf?. tP 44 41" I * )fu tL >+ l )z t9. P", E, & *t ,E .
The book which the teacher lent me has been soiled by His work was also affected by this sort of thinking.
that child. rt ry m t+ 2\ 6n t
"4 aY 4s *i +
+' 4p,h,,t r^4F @*
1 'a+a tr.ru,at frrr*,
ftfrt
My watch has been ruined by you. 4i dl + lt.. r,F
$,4 t*"1
The beef has all been eaten up by them. + tA AP l&
It,111 "t" )L 3
EXERCISES

1. That child has ruined my watch (by fiddling around
with it). 1. +\ ra +LteF!+t<nF-f-it7" 1tts,
2. We were all influenced by this type of thinking. 2, r*. r{ 4(ht\f.E+ffi1
3. He is not likely to go, is he? a
J. if +s +
,r'A
4. The skirt you lent me has been soiled.
5. I do not like wearing stockings. 4. iip ^&
fr +h+E+
"
6. Let's go to look for Zhang Wenying. 5. &-m th +-^*.Knfr,M l,+ "'\,'Z

*s -l
7. He does not eat green vegetables. He only eats 6. &fl\ t H el {t.K +e.4{,n L 3
8.
meat.
Pork is not as expensive as beef.
7. +rq erx.n)L3, +k*4 F-
9. Do you know how to use chopsticks? n
g.E
10. The ricebowls and chopsticks have all been put on 8. Gta -gbn6r*fr?.41
lI.
the table.
This dish is too big. Give me a small one.
9. fi€ 13. "L - .e-E % $, X
12. What would you like to eat. Noodles or rice?
10. f{+ . hkaft,*f*Lft *+r.
13. 11. 4F, a # 1ff+ €.ltft_+\et
The noodles have all been eaten up by the chil-
dren. 12. #[ ar + fr<{*tt. fr t/ 1 .
14.
15.
My skirt is too long. 13. 4r. ',F A\ +a + v&-*\ at - +x u .
16.
These socks are dirty.
I want to purchase two ricebowls.
74. €lo n #,*,v&fn*Fff*fr
41, + cR.s + ?.6ifi.+rt_ 1
17. These shoes are very heavy. 15. 1
18.
19.
I want to buy some pork and some mutton.
He drinks a lot of wine. He drank up all the wine I
16. tl tt, 171 +- +gL, 4t,&.rk-A
&
**r
xfi. "ft!
20.
just bought.
He is still getting dressed. Please wait a while.
17. l+h.4eq &z<
uktrt *- aI "
18. tr+a Fzaf"'4t<$ "E ;
19. a\ an t\fle-+h+1, +\.,,tt1* Ig,t'
al , T €')A;hTlLr{ "
95
LESSON TWENTY
96
VOCABI]LARY
1. dui(zhe) vf (E) r,J(E) facing, towards, to
2. dui(yu) vf(n) r'J(+) in regard to, for, towards
3. guinyu Bfl'\ XT concerning, regarding, about
4. y6u qt Hffi to be interesting
r'J... tsxilg to be interested in...; dui...bigdn xing-

qu*l ... T & X4 notinterestedin...
6. teidu tuqH. #H attitude
7. lai:lqu x,* *,* to (in order to)
8. ydu... ydu... X...X... both... and...
e. chtire... (yiwai) ltrT ... (l))rl) besides, in addition to, as well as, apart
from
10. bridln...6rqi6... Z^lE...ffi.E-... not only... but also...
11. yud... yud... U...U... the more... the more...
12. yud lai yud... ruXU... u*ffi... increasingly...
13. bn... bn... 4...T... (i0 not... not... ; not... unless...
(doing one thing) while at the same

-#n...-ilL...-ilL.. time (doing something else)
15. jirdn... jin... Bt*...Ht... since... then...
16. jinrf ... jin... lFihn...-EJL... if... then...
W)F...W4*...
17. chdfei... ydoburi4n... not... unless...
18. chrifei... c6i... WJF ,..+ .,. only if... will then...
19. brishi... jinshi... Z" fr....itE... if not... then...
20. zhiyio... jin... R4...Ht... provided that; so long as... then...
ydu...
21. ji... X...
88... both... and...
22. suirdn... y8... fiE*R...&... Ef*...d,... although... yet...
su6yi... trH. ..FfTU... Wh...FfiD)...

23. yinwei... because... therefore...
24. zhdnsyinwei... su6yi...[trH.

..FfiU... EElh...FfiD)... it is precisely because... that...
25. jinshi...y6... FtE...&... even if... still...
26. gang... jin... lilJ{...Ft... FJIJ... di... just as... then...
27. birgudn... yd... 4E ... &... no matter... still...

n
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
The Prepositions dui(zhe)*t (E ), used simply to introduce the second action without any
dui(yu)Yi ('i! ) and gudnyu fb8 ;+ implication of direction.
l. Dui(zhe) means 'facing', 'towards', 'to', e.g. Td dui He came here to teach. te 4J \Z t?, * 4L X "
He wants to go to China to study Chinese literature.
xuds heng shuo zhdge fangfa hilhdo 4e tl # i-'#, \t lB )5
)*,4, i+.
(He said to the students that this method is not
.t{.N,4!q@*++@t.4,
good.) Note that in a sentence usingduizhe and the verb
He sent three letters telling her to come back. Jtb * 3
shud lbi.e. A duizheB sftud usually there is the implica-

z^tl 12 * 4ra@ *.
tion that A is facing B while speaking. He did not use soap to wash his hands. 1V, t*. fr fl
He slowly said to us, 'Don't let him find out about this f,e,g*.ilL+"
matter!' 1g ,E 'lt ,e, *{ ih 111 lL , 'rt # + +a Conjunctions and Conjunctive Phrases
4' hu Zt [s' '^" ,t .'
He often speaks to us like that. 4t''# dP g f[ *f l. Ydu &... ydu ,x-... is a construction used to connect
*\A lFX lfi' 2"4 . parallel but different verbal or adjectival predicates or
the adjectives of a complement of degree. Used with
2. Dui(yu) may be used to modify either a noun, pro- affirmative predicates the meaning 'both... and...' is
noun or verb to give the meaning 'in regard to'. Note conveyed. The negative form gives the meaning ,neith-
however, that dui(yu) cannot be used after auxiliary er... nor...'.
verbs or adverbs. This pen is both cheap and good. € +f f t- 48- E.
I am not interested in politics. *\ *l fu- >b 4 &, q x.i+.

&. She wrote the letter both quickly and well. E tt |i,
This new method has been a great help to our industrial
la5 41 r ,* { {+.
development. rZ M *t t
*, *X tt fF ft t 16 4 He wanted both to cry and to
(d,r{
laugh. le xE.?E ,
6 \ALKeh U Eh . "
This ideology has greatly affected our nation's history.
(i.e. This ideology in regard to our nation's history has 2. Chrtb Vf 1... $lwdi ut rl) means ,apart from, in
had a great influence.) &- f,fr. E, N, t4 4\ @ aLJE*. both an inclusive and exclusive sense.
Inclusive: Qhrtle... (yiw,ni...) hdi filyC e, lydu x. gives
Al1LKhhflry. the meaning of 'besides', 'in addition', 'as well as'.
3. Gudnyu may be used to modify either a noun, pro- Besides studying Chinese, I am studying Japanese.
noun or verb to give the meaning'concerning', 'about' P*1q + d , *,.ftry a {..
or'regarding'. Besides seeing a friend I want to go to the library to
I like to read novels about Chinese historv. 4i +frkfr Qo,.q*books. lfr j *frMt-, r!Ef,*@t
rtl x + E E ?-4b 4, tE 1+ t.
I often read books and lnagazines As well as writing two letters I made three telephone
^y,. about scientitic prob- calls.P-fr1EOtl 4!, il{+x
rems.{ fi # A frfr t+h q bl ft1 ht ti"*ttr5 7 t-y2,€."*,
"
4. Duiyu and gudnyu may be used with their objects as Exclusive: Chfile... (yiwdi...) dOu #p gives the meaning
the topical subject of the sentence (hence stressing their 'apart from','excluding'.
objects) giving the meaning :With regard to...' and'As Apart from my younger sister we can all drive a car.
for...' respectively. \k1il!^!+', *P+t,1 3- ,
With regard to our industrial development, this problem Except for my younger
Âil1 brother we have all been to
is important. f{
tslti ilt44 t- 4t * e.,
ia {@ f,l€!
Beijing. ph 1 fi, + fr , &,/ttl{P a fu)v f. ,
't&. t- * ,
3. Briddn 4,l?... 6rqid 7o 4 ... means .not only... but
As for (the matter of) your going to China this year, you
will have to ask them. frfr f*ffi ++A+ @ h\ + , also...'. This construction is used to place stress on the
relative importance of the predicate following drqiC.
4B l+ P4 le.lll .
Not only can he speak French but he can speak it ex-
tremely well. 4{. 4 |a € ll, ti, +"+ , dn g- +"1, '14
Verbal Constructions in Sequence to Show
Purpose or Means of an Action
4k!+ ,
Not only did he wash them very slowly but he did not
Two or more verbal constructions in sequence may be wash them clean. ,l@ 6 4" ,lL 11 'lf.,l*. , drr E- )fo
used to show purpose e.g. 'I must go home to sleep'is 1+T,+L'&"
Wd ydo huiln shuiliao t\ * @ * W ft, .
4. Yui ffi... yuc d.... means 'the more... the more...'.
Lai *- or qu *, are often used to connect a verbal The more he read, the more quickly he was able to read.
construction of purpose with the verbal construction
preceding it. Lai and qu may be used to indicate the
lv,E 6 44e 7,A fu *6 t+8.,t*.
The more he drank the sleepier he felt. & >&.h ,14
purpose of coming or going but sometimes they may be tur, fury44 a tr.'
98
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
12. Zhiydo Y, * ... jit) i.L... means 'provided that', 'so

long as... then...'. This is a construction used with
clauses to express necessary condition.
Provided that you go in the morning you will certainly be
This type of wine is getting more and more expensive. able to see him. y, * $t, + t^ + tr, *i - k-
\LtQ.fr & K tu * . ffin'^M',
As long as you write him a letter he will immediately
6. Bi 4, ,..bd 4... means'(if) not... not...','not... come. 1 A ltr, A - tt I'a t5 1{ , 4o l.*' S t-
unless...' t^'J *- ,
If you do not tell him, he won't know. Ao ft, tF rt'
Eitru, lLTs,^^4."$- o 13.Btishi 4 ft-... jinshi .i'L ft ... means'if not. .. then...'.
I shall not go unless you go. 1tl, T, *, ,&, :t.L 4, *, Ifthese things are not his then they belong to the
teacher. ft- 4 *- e T, ft- 14,64 , :ir, ft t tqi
7. Yibidnr ' &. Z ... yibianr ' #. n... means '(doing a1
something) while at the same time (doing something If you do not go, then he will go. T, ft ti' A , .*r"b
else)'. e_ *,
She is singing while washing the clothes. *t ' g tL ^s
i*' t< flR , - t& 9t-' "A aX . A.Jie.b... ydu x- l6rqid €a JL ... means'both... and...'.
She is weeping as she reads the novel. W. ' iE 1L This construction is used to place equal emphasis on
8 .t'zL, - iA %K both elements.
He came early and moreover brought the money.
E.Jirdn FX' *...jin'tLlndme nF rt . ... means'since/as... 4e e*, *, t4'+, x 4s4{ f, X 1,
then...'. This construction is used with a causal clause to He came late and moreover forgot to do the shopping.
express a known reason. .t{, g,*. *_ t? nF,, { .E. I H *- a .
Since he has arrived we can begin to eat. N'gL#.*'
7 #i 4t3 -st' 'r( Prl lb 4 th 1
, { 15. (Suirdn iii lf-. )... yd v, lkCshi 4 fl
laanslti .left
Since he did not dare to do it himself, I did it for him. means'(although)... yet. ..'. The use of suirdn is optional
4{-e*'N.4#A Lftd, +\tr'!6 1o4&.-l in this construction.
He is very slow but does not write even one character
9. Ydoshi *
ft, tyao * Uidrrt lFfta" ... jiili.L... means incorrectiy. 1{9/,Lfr. 47*,17 , 4 ft. - 1@ +e
'if. . .'. This construction is used to express condi-
. then. . T,+44,
tion. It should be noted that ydoshilydoljidril may be Althoueh I looked for three davs I still could not find it.
omitted asiii alone can express condition. Also, when &,qilfiil'/, I sr t'+\r.et,
ydoshilydoljidrrtisused, jiimay be omitted if there is an
adverbial modifier e.g. yiding - iz , yd O in the second 16. Yinwei E 3J ... su6yi gr1 DA ... means 'because...
clause. therefore...'. Either yinwei or su6yi may be omitted, or
If you do not go then I will not go. llk ta 1if, 4, *, if the meaning is clear both may be omitted. Note that
3i iL'r 4, the reason or cause clause comes first. Yinwei is fol-
If you go then he will also go. V X. itr, * 4&. rt. lowed by a verbal expression or a full subject * predi-
*r *, cate clause. The verbal forms wiile h 1 and wiizhe A
If you do not go home immediately he is certain to be * are used for nominal expressions.
lngry. tR 3 fr T i t'J @
i&, lo - t * *- I did not qo because he did not tell me. E h lo >k
4,. d +i(+\,, Ft.x?\,f*fr+
If you do not buy it for him then I shall. $, q X, I do not have the monev to buv a house because I cannot
t64e.F , iiir,l+-4&-A, find work. 6 6 *! +\ z< q;! 3- + , 9t1 vA *\
tkA6l.XA+
n. Chrtfei h ef ... ydoburdn * m .t. ... means 'not...
unless...'. 17. Zhing yinwei rt- A h... su6yi ff r'*... means'it is
Unless you help me I shall not be able to do it well. precisely because... that...'.
tt lF t^ ,4. u.t *1. , * {, T. &,:ra 11 4, !1 " It is precisely because I cannot find work that I cannot
I shall not be able to finish doing it unless you help me. buy those books. fr^ A Pr fi +{, t' PJ r- 4f , ft
lh )P tF, $ +1, ,ti , * T. tr. & lt,4rh, T P, "
v^ & r'kv, F. nP 4€ "
It is precisely because he did not return that the work has
fl. Chrtfei F*)V ...cai /... -eunr'only if... will not been finished. fr El h 1o ,k @ * Ft ,k
then...'. r 4F W rk +tk *' 'ft'.
Only a child would write a letter like that. t'* lk ft-
.r, 4^ +, 7 ?6 - *t&_tt.4ft . fi.finshi :j*'E-ljishi a,P&... yd {,ldou4Plhdi 'tmeans
Onlv if he doesn't know will he not come. PA aF 1g 'even if... still...'.
4,'*. fi-, 4s t t 6* c Jiishi or jtshi is used in the qualifying clause and an
99
NOTES ON GRAMMAR
adverb with the meaning 'still' is used in the main clause. 2o. Bilgudn 4, E lbfililn -r'-hlwtlAn *.ork... means'no
Even if he does not dare to go, I dare to. I't ft
lo matter... (still)...'. In this construction bilgudnlbrthnl
6qt-* , 4ie,tf *,, wrth)n are used at the beginning of a qualifying clause
Even if vou will not tell me I still have ways of findins and followed by an adverb such as yd tL or hdi rtwhich
out. eP m- 4n E 4 + rt &,, fr, fr.A *4'; gives the meaning 'still' in the main clause.
*"rE. No matter how much monev you have you will not be
'rf' 'y
able to buy it. t, E n rt bl ,' v F n a'.|,
19. Gang fql... itD it,... means'just as... then...'. This No matter how well you speak Japanese you will still not
construction is used for immediately successive or con- be able to speak it as well as him. T' Zb B, ah a -*
temporaneous events that have no causal connections. ft ,
ZL tq 4 t+ 1n€. R rt f tr,
4e,+-"k, ??
I.had just finished eating when they arrived. *\i n'l "1,
3, , 4e ffl lJ., *- 3
I had just sat down when they ran in.lli r{j * T
10 i|t1 it,9k, {t l
^
Acomprehensive t
course in readingand
writing Chinese for
beginners. Incorporating
twenty carefullygraded
lessons coveringbasic
Chinese grammar and
sentence patterns.
Full Chinese characters
and their simplified
equivalents, in
seleaed vocabulary lists,
are used in the lessons.
Students will become
familiar with character
pronunciation through
theHanyu Pinyin system
of romanization.
By the end of the course
students will not only
have a basiccommand of
reading and writing but I
''t
will also have established !

i
the foundations for spoken I
I
Chinese. Successful i
forindividual study, j
the beginner has acomplete

guide for initiation in the
learningof the Chinese
language, while the teacher
hasan invaluable
text for the classroom.
t
/
w{il?eonT
-_ ,t
rsB.r$s9590735 | 5

Basic Chinese Grammar and Sentence Patterns

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Basic Chinese Grammar and Sentence Patterns

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BASIC CHINESE GR

Putonghua: A Pructicul Course in Spoken Chkese

Readings in Modern Chinese

First printed 1986

Cover &sign by Paul SoadY

Department of Oriental Studies.

setting published in tuiiinq' questions, as in English, can cnnsist of a noun only'

5. When a fourth tone syllable is followed by another

2nd tone e.g. md 35 7. The tone changes mentioned in 3 to 6 above are

2. Words pronounced in the neutral tone are

1. gu6jia wx trx nation, country (cl. ge /fl )

2. Zh6nggu6 +tr trtr China

4. Yinggu6 4E *tr England

5. Fdgu6 i*Eil i*tr France

6. M€igu5 IEil +tr America

7. Aoddliyd iFAfiUH i4tf|Ju Australia

9. Zhongguor6n +E +tr Chinese (person)

10. Ribdnr6n HA Japanese (person)

11. Yingguordn 4Eil +tr/. English (person)

12. Fdguor6n i*tr^ i*tr^ French (person)

13. Mdiguordn +Eil +tr/\ American (person)

14. Aoddliyir6n iFAfUEE i4/(f|Jr[ Australian (person)

20. nimen {iffl Itrlll you (plural)

21. tamen lutl lfi,lt'1 they (masculine or masculine and femi-

22. tamen *Mtl l&t'l they (feminine onlY)

23. W6ng T (a surname)

24. Hu6ng F F, (a surname)

27. ldoshi Z,Hfr zt)fr teacher

28. xiansheng ft+. teacher; husband; Mr

29. tditai tt wife; Mrs

Number and Gender pronounced in the 2nd tone, i.e. bfishi.

The Equative Sentence

A. Translate into Chinese: C. Answer in Chinese the following questions on the

6. Wang: No, I am Australian'

B. Translate into English:

4.4&-@+, T'fr-, +\&-+ EA.

9 zvrigG'6bE^' Yts' {ht le^'k' i5 Cl^''est'

one (pronounced yibefore a pause e.g.

two (used in numbers and counting)

11. jiti )L nine

12. shf + ten

15. wdn H n ten thousand

18. zhd IE a this

classifierfor book or magazrne r.e. a

24. shu -EI fl uook (cl. 4 )

dK classifier for flat objects e.g. sheet,

frfi paper (cl. ffr )

6. Chinese numbers advance as follows: ten, shi I

number, sfti is usually preceded by yi, e.g. Sl2 wilbdi d, wdn

4.There are two words for ,two': lr

4. When there is an adjective qualifying a noun, it stands

B. Translate into English:

1, J clon'i hr.vr ],1,,,5e {-., l.n,r..Xq.1i 615

2. jidn l+ item; classifier for clothing, event and

3. ddngxi HE RW thing, object (c1.44, 4@)

4. fdngfa fr*' method (c1.46 )

5. p6ngyou HHk friend (cl.4E )

6. t6ngxu6 E4 E+ fellow-student (cl.'fH )

7. tai t too (excessive)

9. hdo *T good;,W*t?'How are you?','Hello';

11. xiio rJr small

12. xin ffi new

13. jit) HIH old (for inanimate objects)

5. Fdgu6 iEil itr France

12. Fdguor6n itr^ itr^ French (person)

9. hdo T good;,Wt?'How are you?','Hello';

6. She said that this pencil is not expenstve' 5. |F,Xtkr +ftk"hEFrt- t