NEW PRACTICAL CHINESE READER

 

Lesson 9: 他今年二十岁

  1. I.Key Sentences

  2. 1.你今年多大?  How old are you?  (lit., You this year how old?)

  3. 2.他今年二十岁.  He is 20 years old.  (He this year is 20 years old)

  4. 3.星期日是几号?  What day is Sunday?  (Sunday is what date?)

  5. 4.星期五上午你有没有课?  Do you have class Friday morning? (Friday morning you have or have not class?)

  6. 5.他一九八二年十月二十七号出生.  He was born on October 27th, 1982.  (He 1982, October 27th was born)

  7. 6.我买一个大蛋糕, 好吗?  I'm going to buy a big cake, alright?

  8. 7.我很喜欢吃烤鸭.  I very much like eating roast (Beijing) duck. 

  9. 8.祝你生日快乐!  Happy Birthday to You!  (Wish you birthday happy!)


  1. II.Grammar

  2. 1.The word order for expressing the date and days of the week

  3. a.Comparison.  American order: Day/Month/Date/Year; Chinese order: Year/Month/Date/Day.  Example: 二00四年10月27日星期三 Or二00四年十月二十七日星期三 (Wednesday, October 27, 2004)

  4. b.Note the order.  Examples:

  5. •宋华1982年出生 (Song Hua was born in 1982)

  6. •宋华1982年十月出生 (Song Hua was born on October, 1982)

  7. •宋华1982年十月二十七日出生 (Song Hua was born on October 27th, 1982)

  8. •宋华1982年十月二十七日上午出生 (Song Hua was born in the morning of October 27th, 1982)

  9. •宋华1982年十月二十七日上午八点出生 (Song Hua was born at eight o’clock in the morning of October 27th, 1982)

  10. 2.Expressing time as adverbials

  11. a.Words expressing time, such as “现在” (now), “今天” (today), “下午” (afternoon), “二月二十号” (February 20th) can function as adverbials to indicate the time of occurrence of an action or a state.  Note the placement of such an adverbial.  Examples:

  12. •你星期日/天有时间吗? Or 星期日/天你有时间吗? (Do you have time Sunday?)

  13. •我今天下午有课. Or 今天下午我有课. (I have classes this afternoon)

  14. •我今天很忙。Or 今天我很忙。(I’m very busy today)

  15. 3.Sentences with a nominal predicate

  16. a.Nouns, noun phrases, and numeral-measure words can function directly as the predicated of a sentence and do not need the verb “是”, especially when used to express age, price and time.  Examples:

  17. •宋华今年二十岁. (Song Hua is twenty years old) [age]

  18. •苹果 (ping guo) 三块 (kuai) 一斤 (jin). (Apple is three kuai/yuan per jin) [price] (Jin is a Chinese measure word of weight, which is equivalent to half of kilogram; yuan or kuai is a basic measure word of Chinese monetary unit, like “dollar” in American monetary unit)

  19. •“现在几点?” “差 (cha) 五分 (fen) 八点.” (“What time is now?” “Five to eight.”) [time]


  21. III.Usage

  22. 1.Using “好吗” to ask a question

  23. a.Questions with “好吗?” are often used to give a suggestion or to ask for an opinion.  Examples:

  24. •我们买一个大蛋糕，好吗? (We’re going to buy a big cake, alright?)

  25. •我们去游泳，好吗? (We’re going to swim, OK?)

  26. 2.The phrase “是吗?”

  27. a.The phrase “?” is often used to express mild surprise.  Examples:

  28. •A: “丁力波的哥哥和弟弟都在北京.”  B: “是吗?” (A: “Ding Libo’s elder brother and younger brother are in Beijing.” B: “Really?”)

  29. •A: “我昨天看见成龙 (Cheng Long) 了.” B: “是吗?” (A: “I saw Jacky Chen yesterday.” B: “Really?”)