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
you
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’

(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

  shð John.     I am (=‘be’) John.
  rìnshi Jack.     I know Jack.
rìnshi Jill.     He ‘not know’ (doesn't know) Jill.
shð Jim.     I ‘not be’ (am not) Jim.
  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

 

   

   

   

wómen

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

+

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 …
that (some person or thing there)
nège that …

 

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

 

PRACTICE 8.1

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?
bö shð yîge pêngyou   That is not a friend.
zhìge pêngyou rìnshi nège rên   This friend knows that person.
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

  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
[to] go
xuêxî [to] study, learn

 

GRAMMAR 12.1

wó huð xuêxî tå I will study it.

 

PRACTICE 12.1

jíntiån huð læi

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.)

 

læi

xuêxî tå

dö tå

 

PRACTICE 12.2

[Students work in pairs exchanging questions and answers.]

 

huð læi?

 

 

huð læi.

       

huð læi.

jíntiån

xuêxî?

 

jíntiån bù

xuêxî.

       

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
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
[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

gëi

wóde fængzi le

  I gave you my house.

gëi

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