Pinyin Chinese Mandarin Course

Chinese Mandarin Preliminary Course Studies in Pinyin Script

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Chinese Mandarin Preliminary Course using Pinyin

Studies

LIST OF CONTENTS
Studies		Studies
Study 1	I, you, he, she, it, welcome	Study 22	Combined verbs: can do
Study 2	Pronunciation	Study 23	Yes; No; Not
Study 3	Tonal marks; plural; good	Study 24	"Measure words"
Study 4	Questioning "is it so?"	Study 25	Comparison; gender
Study 5	very, indeed; not	Study 26	Vocabulary review 1-25
Study 6	Verbs: be; know of
Study 7	one; a; friend; measure word "…ge"	Appendices
Study 8	person; this, that one	Appendix A	Greetings
Study 9	these, those ones	Appendix B	Meetings
Study 10	of; 's; s'	Appendix C	Nouns
Study 11	Vocabulary review 1-10	Appendix D	Verbs
Study 12	Future actions; today; come, go, learn	Appendix E	Adjectives
Study 13	Past actions; not done (mëi)	Appendix F	Adverbs
Study 14	a book; "yðbën …"; house; give, take, learn	Appendix G	Vocabulary English to Mandarin
Study 15	If, then	Appendix H	Vocabulary Mandarin to English
Study 16	Connectives: and, but; there is, there is not	Appendix I	Incremental Phrases
Study 17	Interrogatives: what? who?
Study 18	Relative pronouns: such thing = what; such person = who
Study 19	Prepositions: to, through, from	Exercises set for Studies
Study 20	Locations: up, in, by
Study 21	with, before, since

STUDY 1

VOCABULARY 1.1

[Instructor: Clap. Memory prompt: think of lively "Juanita" dancing to the music of ‘men’ playing on stringed instruments.…

Students clap and sing, "wó … nï … tå" ]

wó *	I
nï	you
tå	he, she, it

PRACTICE 1.1

[Instructor: Clap, repeat prompt: "Juanita" >>>>

Get all to stand, gesturing :-

wó point to self (= 1st. person)

nï point to partner (= 2nd. person)

tå point to another (= 3rd. person)

Repeat singing and clapping.

Repeat gesturing without singing.

Repeat singing and clapping.

Repeat singing and gesturing.]

VOCABULARY 1.2

huånyîng *	Welcome!
qïng	Please!
pøtñnghuè	Mandarin
xiìxie	Thanks!

* See guidance on Mandarin pronuciation and Pinyin script.

Check especially "h", "q", and "x" in Vocabulary 2.1.

Check tones and tonal marks in Vocabulary 3.2.

STUDY 2

VOCABULARY 2.1

Pinyin script provides an approximate method for representing the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese. Some letters are pronounced as in English, but some have very different sounds. Pronunciation also varies in different regions, but the following guidance is generally acceptable.

	INDIVIDUAL	SOUNDS
Letters	Pronounciation	Letters	Pronunciation
a	a as in "atone"	o	o as in "or"
b	b as in "bag"	p	p as in "pun"
c	ts as in "bats"	q	as chh in "matchhead"
ch	tsh as in "hatshop"	r	r rolled as in "curl"
d	d as in "dog"	s	s as in "sat
e	e as in "the book"	sh	like sh in "rashly"
f	f as in "fun"	t	t as in "top"
g	g hard as "get"	u	u as in "put" (See group below)
h	guttural like ch in "loch"	w	w as in "water"
i	i as in "pin"	wu	like u, not wu
j	j as in "jam"	x	like s in "see"
k	k as in "kitchen"	y	like y as in "yam"
l	l as in "love"	yi	yi is i, not yi
m	m as in "mug"	z	like ds in "suds"
n	n as in "nibble"	zh	like dge in "hedgeless"

	SPECIAL	VOWEL	GROUPS	AND	SYLLABLES
Group	Sounds like	Group	Sounds like	Group	Sounds like
eng	bung	iu	yoyo	ue	ú-ye
ia	yarn	ou	dough	ui	win
ian	yen, try any	(j, q, x)u	ú as German	uo	wall
iang	young	ua	wax	ú	ú as German ú;
iao	yowl	uai	wide		chew your food
ie	yen	uan	won
iong	yong	uang	wangle

Easier recognizable sound groups are: aisle; ban; bang; naos/(now); eight; pen; ring.

STUDY 3

VOCABULARY 3.1

…men	_s (plural ending)
hço *	well, good fine

(* Remember "h" is pronounced raspingly, like "ch" in Scottish "loch")

VOCABULARY 3.2

Mandarin is pronounced with tones. These are indicated in Pinyin script by tone marks.

Mandarin Tone	Pinyin Tone mark	Description of Tone	Example
First tone	à	high and level pitch	må (mother)
Second tone	á	starts high and rises	mæfan (trouble)
Third tone	â	falls first and then rises	mç (horse)
Fourth tone	ã	starts high and then falls	mè (scold)
(Toneless)	(No mark)	unstressed or neutral	ma (eh, surely!)

GRAMMAR 3.1

wómen hço.	We [are] fine.
nïmen hço.	YOU [are] fine.
tåmen hço.	They [are] fine.

Note that the verb word indicating "being" can be omitted, where the clause just has a ‘subject’ (doer) and an adjective describing the doer.

PRACTICE 3.1

[Students split into groups of three and exchange statements using:-

wó, nî, tå, wómen, nïmen, tåmen, hço.]

STUDY 4

VOCABULARY 4.1

ma?	mm, eh, surely, is it so?

PRACTICE 4.1

wó hço ma?	How am I? I'm O.K., eh?
nï hço ma?	You're O.K., mm? How are you?
tå hço ma?	Is it O.K.? It's fine, mm? He's well?

PRACTICE 4.2

wómen hço ma?	How are we? We're O.K., surely?
nïmen hço ma?	How are you? YOU're fine, eh?
tåmen hço ma?	How are they? They're O.K., mm?

PRACTICE 4.3

Questions (wìntî) and Answers (dæfù)

Q	wó hço ma?	A	nï hço!
	nï hço ma?		wó hço!
	tå hço ma?		tå hço!
	wómen hço ma?		nïmen hço!
	nïmen hço ma?		wómen hço!
	tåmen hço ma?		tåmen hço!

PRACTICE 4.4

[Students work in groups of three, and exchange questions and answers.]

STUDY 5

VOCABULARY 5.1

hën	very or, as a substitute for ‘is indeed’
bù (bö before a fourth tone syllable ã)	not

PRACTICE 5.1

wó hën hço!	I sure [am] fine! I['m] very well.
wó bù hço.	I [am] not well.
wó bù hën hço.	I [am] not very well.

PRACTICE 5.2

[Students in twos or threes converse and iterate through the following examples.]

Questions (wìntî) and Answers (dæfù)

	wó hço ma?		nï hën hço!
	nï hço ma?		wó bù hço.
	tå hço ma?		tå hën hço!
	wómen hço ma?		nïmen bù hço!
	nïmen hço ma?		wómen hën hço!
	tåmen hço ma?		tåmen bù hço!
	tåmen hço ma?		tåmen bù hën hço!

PRACTICE 5.3

[Instructor splits students into groups of three. Students converse, exchanging questions and answers.]

STUDY 6

VOCABULARY 6.1

shð	[to] be (am, is, are)
zèi	[to] be located, present, alive; exist
rìnshi	know, be acquainted with
dö; [nièn …]	read; [read …aloud]
kèn	[to] read, look and comprehend; [to] look at; [to] watch

PRACTICE 6.1

wó		shð	John.		I am (=‘be’) John.
wó		rìnshi	Jack.		I know Jack.
tå	bö	rìnshi	Jill.		He ‘not know’ (doesn't know) Jill.
wó	bö	shð	Jim.		I ‘not be’ (am not) Jim.
tå		rìnshi	Fred	ma?	He knows Fred, eh?

PRACTICE 6.2

[Instructor splits students into groups of three. Students converse, introducing themselves and others, making statements, and exchanging questions and answers. Use rìnshi, shð, and bö.]

PRACTICE 6.3

wó
nï
tå
wómen	dö	tå
nïmen	kèn
tåmen
qïng

[Instructor gets students to make statements, questions, and instructions using theses elements.]

STUDY 7

VOCABULARY 7.1

pêngyou *	friend(s)
xiåoxi; xðnxí	message
yîge ‡	a (can be for a thing or a person)
yi	one
-ge †	a ‘measure word’ used generally

* Note that the syllable "you" in pêngyou is a neutral tone, even in effect.

‡ Pronounce ‘ge’ hard as in English ‘get’, (never soft as in ‘gel’).

† A ‘measure word’ is used for focusing on a thing, person or action. ‘ge’ is acceptable for general use. See Vocabulary 14.1 and Study 24 for others.

[Instructor's hints: ‘penfriend’, ‘penguin’?]

[Instructor comments to students about the use of various ‘measure words’. Are there any in English? Perhaps think of manage-r, manage-ress, sheep-flock. Refer also to Vocabulary 14.1 about "bën" for ‘a volume of’.]

PRACTICE 7.1

yîge pêngyou	a friend
nï shð yîge pêngyou ma?	You are a friend, eh? Are you a friend?
wó shð yîge pêngyou!	I am a friend!
tåmen bö shð hço pêngyou.	They aren't good friends.

[Instructor randomly points at students and each responds with statements or questions using these elements.]

wó/nï/tå

wómen/nïmen/tåmen

shð

bö shð

yîge pêngyou

pêngyou

PRACTICE 7.2

wó/nï/tå

wómen/nïmen/tåmen

qïng

dö

kèn

bù dö

yîge hço xiåoxi

STUDY 8

VOCABULARY 8.1

rên	person; persons, people
dñngxi	thing(s)
zhì *	this (some person or thing here)
zhìge	this …
nè	that (some person or thing there)
nège	that …

* Note, pronounce ‘zh’ like the English ‘dge’ in ‘hedgeless’.

PRACTICE 8.1

wó	rìnshi	zhìge rên.		I know this person.
zhì	shð	yîge pêngyou.		This is a friend.
nège rên	shð	yîge pêngyou	ma?	That person is a friend, mm?
nè	bö shð	yîge pêngyou		That is not a friend.
zhìge pêngyou	rìnshi	nège rên		This friend knows that person.
tå	bö rìnshi	nège rên		She doesn't know that person.

PRACTICE 8.2

[Instructor dictates to students the sentences in Exercise 8.1, and they write the Pinyin.]

PRACTICE 8.3

[Instructor reads the sentences in Exercise 8.1. they write the English translation.]

PRACTICE 8.4

[Instructor reads the sentences in Exercise 8.2. they write the Mandarin translation.]

PRACTICE 8.5

[Instructor leads game of "Old Grady says do this, do that" using "this", "that", "zhì", and "nè"]

STUDY 9

VOCABULARY 9.1

...xié *	...se (plural determiner); some
zhìxié	these; these ones
nèxié	those; those ones

* Note, remember to pronounce ‘sh’ like the English ‘sh’ in ‘rashly’, but

pronounce ‘x’ rather like ‘hss’ or the ‘s’ in ‘see’.

PRACTICE 9.1

zhìxié rên	shð	hço pêngyou.	These persons are good friends.
zhìxié	shð	hço pêngyou.	These are good friends.
nèxié pêngyou	shð	hço rên.	Those friends are good persons.
nèxié pêngyou	rìnshi	zhìxié rên.	Those friends know these people.

[Instructor uses students in threes, doing Columns 1, 2, and 3, respectively.]

PRACTICE 9.2

zhìxié	rìnshi	nèxié rên.	These know those people.
nïmen	rìnshi	zhìxié hço pêngyou.	YOU know these good friends.

[Instructor uses students in threes, doing Columns 1, 2, and 3, respectively.]

PRACTICE 9.3

[Students work in twos or threes. Taking turns, one says the Mandarin in Practices 9.1 and 9.2; then the next turns the statement into a question by adding "ma?"; then another student says the negative of this by putting "bö" in front of "shð" or "rìnshi".]

PRACTICE 9.4

[Instructor reads sentences in Exercise 9.1, and students write the Pinyin.]

STUDY 10

VOCABULARY 10.1

de	of; …'s; …s'

wóde	of me; my
nïde	of you; your
tåde	of him, her, it; his, her, its
wómende	of us; our
nïmende	of YOU; YOUR
tåmende	of them; their

[Instructor randomly points at students and quizes them on translation of a Mandarin or English word listed.]

PRACTICE 10.1

	wó	shð	nïde	pêngyou.	I am your friend.
nège	rên	shð	wóde	pêngyou.	That person is my friend.
tåmende	pêngyou	bö shð		hço rên.	Their friends are not good people.
	zhìxié	rìnshi	tåde	pêngyou.	These know her friends.

[Instructor touches articles in the room (such as a pencil). Individual students upon demand simultaneously point at self and say "wóde …" (such as "wóde pencil"); or look at someone else and say "nïde …"; or just point away at someone else and say "tåde …".

With discretion, a game could be played, eliminating anyone who does the wrong combination of gesture and words!]

STUDY 11

VOCABULARY 11.1 (Review of Words Learned)

This is a review of all the vocabularies covered in Studies 1-10.

[See Vocabulary 2.1 for guidance on Mandarin pronuciation and Pinyin script.

Check especially tones and tonal marks in Vocabulary 3.2.]

a, an yîge, etc. (Appendix shows more ‘measure words’.) Use yð before …à, …á, or …â, else yî

answer dæfù

be (am, is, are) shð

be present zèi

exist zèi

fine hço

friend pêngyou

good hço

he tå

her … tåde …

his tåde

I wó

indeed, surely hën

is it so? ma?

it tå

its tåde

know rìnshi

Mandarin pøtñnghuè

message xiåoxi; xðnxí

mm, is it so? ma?

my wóde

not bù (Note: bö shð)

of … …de

one yí

our wómende

person, people rên

Please! qïng!

question wìntî

read dö

read … aloud dö …; kèn …

…s …men

…'s, …s' …de

Thanks! xiìxie!

that (pronoun) nè

that … nège …

their tåmende

these; these … zhìxié; zhìxié …

they tåmen

thing dñngxi

this (pronoun) zhì

this … zhìge …

those; those … nèxié; nèxié …

very hën

we wómen

Welcome! huånyîng!

well hço

you nï

YOU nïmen

your nïde

YOUR nïmende

STUDY 12

VOCABULARY 12.1 (Future Actions)

huð	will (future action)
jíntiån	today
mîngtiån	tomorrow
xiènzèi	now
nèshî; dångshî	then; at that point in time
læi	[to] come
qù	[to] go
xuêxî	[to] study, learn

GRAMMAR 12.1

wó huð xuêxî tå

I will study it.

PRACTICE 12.1

wó	jíntiån	bö	huð	læi
wó nï tå wómen nïmen tåmen zhìge rên	[mîngtiån] [jíntiån] [xiènzèi] [nèshî]	[bö]	[huð] (‘huð’ can be omitted, if a word like ‘mîngtiån’ makes it obvious that the action will take place in the future.)	qù læi xuêxî tå dö tå

PRACTICE 12.2

[Students work in pairs exchanging questions and answers.]

nï		huð læi?	wó		huð læi.
			wó	bö	huð læi.
tå	jíntiån	xuêxî?	tå	jíntiån bù	xuêxî.
			tå	mîngtiån	[huð] xuêxî.

STUDY 13

VOCABULARY 13.1 (Past Actions)

… le	did … , have done … (past action) (See dictionary under "have")
mêi …	did not … ; have not done …
zuòtiån	yesterday
dèhuð	meeting, assembly, convention
lù	road, way, means
fångfæ; [fångshð]	way, manner; [method, style]

GRAMMAR 13.1

wó xuêxî pøtñnghuè le	I did study (I studied) Mandarin.
wómen rìnshi tåmen le	We knew them.

GRAMMAR 13.2

wó mêi xuêxî pøtñnghuè	I did not study Mandarin.
wómen mêi rìnshi tåmen	We knew them not; we didn't know them.

PRACTICE 13.1

wó læi le	I came.
nï qù dèhuð le	You went [to the] meeting.
tå xuêxî le	He studied.
nïmen rìnshi tåmen le	YOU knew them.
wó mêi læi	I did not come.
nï mêi qù	You did not go.
tå mêi xuêxî	He did not study.
nïmen mêi rìnshi wómen	YOU did not know us.

[Students work in pairs and converse.]

STUDY 14

VOCABULARY 14.1 (Another ‘Measure Word’)

yðbën … (= yí + bën)	a … ; an … ; (e.g. a volume of …)
shõ	book
fængzi	house
gëi	[to] give
næ	[to] take, grasp hold
shuñ	[to] say …, speak …
shuñhuè	[to] converse with; speak words to
gèosu	[to] tell; [to] say to

Generally use "yð…", but use "yî…" before 4th tone (…ã) or plain. Hence, yðbën but yîge.

PRACTICE 14.1

yðbën shõ	a book
qïng dö zhìbën shõ, nèbën shõ	Please read this book, that book

PRACTICE 14.2

wó	gëi	nï	wóde fængzi le	I gave you my house.
nï	gëi	wó	tåmende shõ	You give me their book.
wómen	huð gëi	tåmen	yðbën shõ	We will give them a book.

PRACTICE 14.3

qïng, nï næ wóde shõ.	Please, take my book.
wó gëi nï wóde shõ le.	I gave you my book.
nï mêi gëi wó nïde shõ.	You did not give me your book.
wó jíntiån bö huð næ nèbën shõ.	I will not take that book today.
nïde fængzi hën hço	Your house is very good.

[Students work in threes and converse.]

STUDY 15

VOCABULARY 15.1 (Conditional Sentences)

yèoshi … , (jiù) …	If (in the case that) …, (then) … [see ‘whether’]
jiçrö [or yèoshð] …, …	If (supposing that) …, …
röguó …, (nèmuó) …	If (on the condition) that …, (then) …

VOCABULARY 15.2

zhídao	[to] know, have knowledge of a fact
[zèi] zhìr; [zèi] zhìlï	[located; be located] here
[zèi] nèr; [zèi] nèlï	[located; be located] there

GRAMMAR 15.1

yèoshð nï bù hën hço* , wó (jiù)† bö huð qù nèr.	If you are not very well, (then) I will not go there.
yèoshð mîngtiån nèxié shõ [huð] læi, wómen huð xuêxî tåmen.	If tomorrow those books [‘will’] come, we will study them.

* When a third tone (…â) precedes another third tone, pronounce it as a second tone (…á).

Hence "hën hço" is pronounced ‘hên hço’. † Note word order with jiù after the noun wó.

GRAMMAR 15.2

jiçrö nïde shõ bö zèi nèr, nï zhídao tå ma?	If (supposing) your book is not there, will you know it?
jiçrö tå zèi nèr, tå huð læi ma?	If he is there, will he come?

GRAMMAR 15.3

röguó nï xöexî, wó huð læi nèr.	If you study, I will come there.
röguó tåmen læi zhìlï, wómen xuêxî zhìbën shõ.	If they come here, we study this book.

STUDY 16

VOCABULARY 16.1 (Connectives)

… hê …	and
… dènshð …; … këshð …	but
bù … êr …	not … but …; and not …; but not …
… nèshî …; … dångshî …	[and] then
… huô[zhë] … huô[zhë] …	(either) … or …
… hæishð …	… or (alternatively) …
… bùræn …	… or (otherwise) …

GRAMMAR 16.1

wó hê nï shð hço pêngyou	I and you are good friends.
wó hço dènshð nège rên bù hço	I'm fine, but that man is not well.
tå huð læi nèshî wómen huð xuêxî	He will come [and] then we'll study.
wó huôzhë jíntiån huôzhë mîngtiån [huð] læi.	I'll come either today or tomorrow.
tå huð læi jîntian hæishð mîngtiån	He'll come today or tomorrow.
wómen qù nèr bùræn tå bù xuêxî!	We go there or else he does not study!

PRACTICE 16.1

tå huð læi hê tå xuêxî wómende shõ.	He'll come and he'll study our book.
tå læi le dènshð wó mêi zhídao	He came, but I did not know.
tå huð læi zhìr nèshî nïmen huð qù	She will come here, then YOU'll go.
huôzhë wó huôzhë nï huð qù nèr	Either I or you will go there.
nï jín tian huð xuêxî nïde shõ hæishð wóde shõ ma?	Today will you study your book or my book?
wó zuòtiån xuêxî nèbën shõ le, bùræn wó bö huð zhídao dæfù	Yesterday I studied that book, or I would not know the answers.
tå huð læi xiènzèi bùræn wó qù nèr	He'll come now, or I (will) go there.

VOCABULARY 16.2 (More Connectives)

yíncï …; suóyï …	therefore …; so, …
yuænyín	[this is the] reason
yínwìi …	as …; since …; because [of] …
[omit ]	… that …
shðfóu	whether
[mêi] yóu …	have [not] …; there is [not] …; there are [not] …

GRAMMAR 16.2

wó bù hço yíncï wo bö huð læi.	I'm not well therefore I'll not come.
yínwìi tå xuêxî tåde shõ le suóyï tå rìnshi zhìge rên.	As he studied his book, [so] he knew (knows) this person.
wó bù zhídao shðfóu tå huð læi	I don't know whether he will come.
tå bù zhídao nï huð læi zhìlï hæishð wómen huð qù nèr	He doesn't know whether you will come here or whether we'll go there.
yuænyín wó bö huð qù nèr	For this reason I will not go there.
jíntiån yóu dèhuð …	Today there is a meeting …
… dènshð mêi yóu shõ	… but there are no books.

PRACTICE 16.2

wó xuêxî shõ le, … … yíncï wó zhídao dæfù	I studied the book, … … therefore I know the answer.
tå mêi gëi wó tåde shõ yuænyín wó jíntiån bö huð gëi nï nè	He didn't give me his book. For this reason I won't give you that today.
yínwìi nï læi le, suóyï nïmen jíntiån huð xuêxî nïde shõ	Since you have come, we'll study your book today.
wó zhídao nï bù hën hço	I know [that] you are not very well.
nï zhídao ma shðfóu fængzi shð zhìr?	Do you know if the house is there?
Yóu yîge fængzi, dènshð mêi yóu lù!	There is a house, but there is no road!

STUDY 17

VOCABULARY 17.1 (Interrogatives, Questions)

shênme …?	what …?
shêi …?	who …?
wìishênme …?	why …? (what … for?)
shênme shîhou … ?	when …? (what time …?)
nçlï …? nçr …?	where …?

GRAMMAR 17.1

zhìge dèhuð shênme?	What is this meeting?
nè(ge dñngxi) shð shênme?	What's that (thing)?
nè(ge rên) shð shêi?	Who's that (person)?
shêi qù nèr?	Who goes there?
tåmen wìishênme bù læi?	Why aren't they coming?
nï shênme shîhou xuêxî?	When do you study?
nïde fængzi zèi nçlï?	Where is your house?

PRACTICE 17.1

tåmen zhìr xuêxî shênme?	What do you study there?
nï zhídao shênme?	What do you know?
nïmen shð shêi?	Who are you?
shêi zuòtiån læi le?	Who came yesterday?
nï wìishênme bù zhídao nè?	Why don't you understand that?
tå wìishênme næ wóde shõ le?	Why did he take my book?
tåmen shênme shîhou huð qù dèhuð?	When will they go to the meeting?
wómende shõ zèi nçlï?	Where is our book?
dèhuð de fængzi zèi nçr?	Where is the house of meeting?
nï wìishênme bö huð læi zhìr?	Why will you not come here?

VOCABULARY 17.2 (More Interrogatives, Questions)

zënme …? zënyèng	how …? (in what manner …?
duñ [shén] …?	how [far, much] …? (what extent)
duñshço …?	how much … ? how many …?
shêi de? shuî de?	who's?
nç [yî]ge? (singular); nçxié? (plural)	which? [Change ‘ge’, if necessary]
mèma, mø qín	mother
bèba, fù qín	father

GRAMMAR 17.2

nïde pêngyou jíntiån duñ hço?	How well is your friend today?
nïmen yóu duñshço rên?	How many of you are there?
zhìge fængzi shð shêi de?	This house is who's?
nïmen xuêxî nçbën shõ?	Which book do YOU study?
nïmen xuêxî nçxié shõ?	Which books do YOU study?

PRACTICE 17.2

nï zënme huð læi zhìr?	How will you come here?
tåmen xuêxî duñ shén le?	How [far] did you study?
duñshço fængzi shð nïmende?	How many houses are YOURS?
nï yóu duñshço pêngyou?	You have how many friends?
shêi de shõ zèi zhìr?	Whose book is here?
nège rên shð shêi de pêngyou?	That person is whose friend?
tå qù le shêi de fængzi?	He went to which house?
wómen huð xuêxî nçbën shõ?	We will study whose book?
tåmen zënme qù nèr le?	How did they go there?
nçge rên gëi nï zhìbën shõ le?	Which person gave you this book?
zhìlï zèi duñshço shõ?	Here are how many books?
tå shð shêi de mèma?	She is whose mother?
shêi de bèba gëi nï nè le?	Whose father gave you that?

STUDY 18

VOCABULARY 18.1 (Uses of "de")

shðdang	proper, suitable
dèo …	can, [to] be able to accomplish …
zuô	[to] do; [to] make
dðfang	place

GRAMMAR 18.1 (Uses of "de"; Relatives and Correlatives)

… de	1	‘of …’
	2	of possessor ‘…’
	3	of quality described as ‘…’
	4	the thing of the quality described as ‘…’
	5	of manner described as ‘…’
	6	of action described as ‘…’
	7	Possibility of an action
	8	of relative/correlative description ‘…’

GRAMMAR 18.2 (Use of "de" : ‘Of’)

fængzi de lù	way of the house
dèhuð de fængzi	house of the meeting; meeting house

GRAMMAR 18.3 (Use of "de" : Possession)

wóde shõ	my book
wóde	mine
wóde shõ shð zhìr	My book is here.
nè shð wóde	That is mine.
wó * mèma	my mother
nï * bèba de shõ	your father's book; the book of your father

* NOTE: Omit "de" for closely related persons

GRAMMAR 18.4 (Use of "de" : Quality — Adjectives Describing Nouns)

Use "de" if the quality described is	written in more than one character
hën hço de pêngyou	very good friend(s)
bù hço de rên	not a good person; bad person(s)
Omit "de" if the quality is described	using only one written character
hço pêngyou	good friend(s)

GRAMMAR 18.5 (Use of "de" : Person or Thing of the Quality Described)

hço de shð wóde

The good one is mine

GRAMMAR 18.6 (Use of "de" : Manner — Adjectives to Form Adverbs)

shðdang	proper, suitable
shðdang de	properly, suitably
tå shðdang de shuñ	He speaks properly

GRAMMAR 18.7 (Use of "de" : Action — Forming an Adverbial Phrase)

nï shuñ de hën hço	How you speak is very good. You speak very well.
tå shuñ de bù hço.	How he speaks is not good. He speaks badly.
wó shð zuòtiån læi de	I came yesterday ! (Emphasis)

GRAMMAR 18.8 (Use of "de" : Possible Result of an Action)

zuô de dèo	can manage to; is capable of doing
wómen shuñ de xuêxî	We [would] learn to speak
wómen shuñ bù xuêxî *	We would not learn to speak

* For a negative possibility, ‘bù’ replaces ‘de’.

GRAMMAR 18.9 (Use of "de": Relative and Correlative Pronouns)

…… de	‘person or thing of this description’
	The use of "de" transforms the words "… …" into a noun or a ‘noun phrase’.
zhì shð (shuñhuè hço de ) pêngyou	This is a friend (who speaks well).
	This is a friend ([of this description:] "he speaks well").
	The above example has expressed the relative pronoun "who". Also, "de" is used to express the relative forms of what, who, where, why, when, how, whose, and which.
(hço fængzi de ) rên	person (of / with a nice house)

GRAMMAR 18.10

zhì shð (tå * gëi wó de)	This is (what he gave me). This is (the thing that he gave me).	This is ([the thing of this description:] "he gave it").
nège rên shð (hço de) pêngyou	That person is a friend (who is good).	That person is a friend ([of this description:] "good".)
nèxié (bù xuêxî de) rên	Those are persons (who don't study).	Those are persons ([of this description:] "they don't study").
* "suó" can be inserted for	‘whatever’— wó suó shuñ de	whatever I said

GRAMMAR 18.10 (Continued)

zhì shð (wó bù xuêxî nèbën shõ de) yuænyín	This is the reason (why I don't study that book).	This is the reason ([of this description:] "I don't study that book").
mîntiån shð (wómen qù dèhuð nèshî de) *	Tomorrow is (when we go to the meeting).	Tomorrow is ([the time of this description:] "we go to the meeting then).
zhì shð (tåmen xuêxî de) fængzi	This the house (where we study).	This is the house ([of this description:] "we study").
zhì shð (wómen qù wómende dèhuð de) lù	This is how we go to our meeting.	This is the way ([of this description:] "we go to our meeting").
nè shð (wó xuêxî tåde shõ de) rên	That is the person whose book I study.	That is the person ([of this description:] "I study his book").
zhì shð (nï gëi de) shõ	This is the book which you gave.	This is the book ([of this description:] "you gave").
wó qù (zað nïde fængzi lï de) dèhuð	I'm going to the meeting which is in your h