Lesson 21: 我们的队员是从不同国家来的

1. I.Grammar
   

1. 1.The construction "是...的"
   

1. a.The construction "是...的"can be used to emphasize the time and place/location of past events, purpose, and the manner in which they have occurred.  Examples: 
   

2. •马大为是去年来的 ("It was last year Ma Dawei came"). [time]
   

3. •马大为是从美国来的 (It is the U.S. where Ma Dawei comes from). [place]
   

4. •马大为是坐火车去上海的 (It was the train that took Ma Dawei to Shanghai). [manner/means]
   

5. •马大为来中国是来学习汉语的 (Ma Dawei came to China is to study Chinese). [purpose]
   

2. 2.Location words
   

1. a.The location words, such as "里边" (inside), "外边" (outside), "左边" (left side), "右边" (right side), "上边" (above), "下边" (beneath), "前边" (in front), "后边" (behind), "东边" (east), "西边" (west), "南边" (south), " 北边" (north),  are all nouns expressing direction or location and can function as subject, object, and attributive.  Examples:
   

2. •前边是语言学院 (Straight ahead is the Language Institute). [subject]
   

3. •语言学院在前边 (The Language Institute is ahead). [object]
   

4. •前边的学校是语言学院 (The school ahead is the Language Institute). [attributive]. 
   

5. •Note: when used as an attributive, the location word is often followed by "的".  For example: 左边的花园 (the garden on the left); 后边的车站 (the bus stop behind).
   

6. •When a location word functions as a central word, "的"is not usually used before it. Example: 厨房里边，银行北边.
   

3. 3.The word"在" used as a verb to indicate location
   

1. a.The word "在" is often used as the main verb of the predicate to indicate a location.  Examples:
   

2. •邮局在语言学院的左边 (The post office is located on the left side of the Language Institute)
   

3. •马大为的房子不在语言学院的东边 (Ma Dawei's apartment is not on the east site of the Language Institute)
   

4. 4.Use "有" or "是" to indicate existence (in a phrases indicating location)
   

1. a.The word "有" or "是" is often used as the main verb of the predicate to indicate the meaning of "in a certain direction or location, there exists a certain person or thing."  Examples:
   

2. •图书馆后边有一个花园 (There is a garden behind the library)
   

3. •图书馆后边是一个花园 (Behind the library is a garden)
   

4. •图书馆右边是外语系 (On the right side of  the library is the Foreign Languages Department).  Note: "是" is used not only to indicate something exists but also for a specific reference while "有" for a general reference.  Therefore, we cannot say "图书馆右边有外语系" (specific), but we can say "图书馆右边有一个系" (There is a department on the right side of the library)
   

5. 5.“离+PW” and “从+PW”
   

1. a.Although both can roughly be translated as “from,” but they function differently. 
   

2. •“离+PW” structure indicates distance. Example: 我们学校离书店很近 (Our school is very close to the bookstore).
   

3. •“从+PW” structure indicates the starting point of an action.  Example: 从我们学校到书店只要十分钟 (It only takes ten minutes from our school to the bookstore).
   

2. 2.The modal particle"吧"
   

1. a.The word "吧" can be used in interrogative sentences to denote a tone of estimation or uncertainty.  Examples:
   

2. •今天是星期五吧? (Today is Friday, right?)
   

3. •您是语言学院的老师吧 (You're the Language Institute's professor, aren't you?)
   

（一）

陆雨平：听说上星期你们留学生队赢了一场足球比赛。我想写一篇文章，介绍一下留学生足球队的事儿。

丁力波：太好了。你是怎么知道的？

陆雨平：我是听你的同学说的。别忘了我是记者，我今天是来问你们问题的。你们留学生队是跟谁比赛的？

丁力波：我们队是跟中国大学生队比赛的。

陆雨平：你们是在哪儿比赛的？

王小云：是在我们学校比赛的。

陆雨平：中国大学生队的水平比你们高吧？

丁力波：他们的水平比我们高多了。

王小云：宋华说，大学生队的教练是从国家队来的。

陆雨平：他是什么时候从国家队下来的？

王小云：他是去年从国家队下来的。这位教练来了以后，大学生队的水平提高得很快。

丁力波：大学生队的10号踢得很好。左边的5号、右边的12号跑得都很快。

陆雨平：你们留学生队呢？

丁力波：我们的队员是从不同国家来的，我们不常练习。

陆雨平：你们是怎么赢的？

丁力波：上半场0比0.下半场他们帮助我们进了一个球，是1比0赢的。

（2）

陆雨平：我还要问问你们：你们去看大为租的房子了没有？房子在哪儿？

王小云：去了，房子在学校东边，离学校不太远。那儿叫花园小区，大为住八号楼。

陆雨平：你们是怎么去的？

丁力波：我们是坐公共汽车去的。车站就在小区前边。下车以后先往右拐，再往前走三分钟，就到八号楼了。

陆雨平：那儿怎么样？

丁力波：很好。八号楼下边是一个小花园，左边有一个商店，商店旁边是书店。右边是银行和邮局。大为的房子在八号楼九层，上边还有六层。

陆雨平：房子不大吧？

王小云：那套房子一共有56平方米。

丁力波：进门以后，左边是卫生间，右边是客厅。

陆雨平：厨房在哪儿？

王小云：厨房在客厅北边，卧室在客厅东边。卧室外边有一个大阳台。

丁力波：记者先生，你问了很多问题，你也要写一篇文章介绍马大为租的房子吧？

陆雨平：问问题是记者的职业习惯啊。