HSK 1 Lesson 9: Where Does Your Son Work?

• This lesson is from HSK Standard Course, Book 1, Lesson 9.
• The lesson title is "你儿子在哪儿工作 (Nǐ érzi zài nǎr gōngzuò)", which translates to "Where does your son work?".

Pinyin

• Pronunciation in Chinese (Pinyin) is reviewed, focusing on tone collocation in disyllabic words, specifically pattern (4).
• miànbāo (面包) means bread.
• miàntiáo (面条) means noodles.
• diànnǎo (电脑) means computer.
• diànhuà (电话) means telephone.
• It's important to listen and read aloud, paying attention to the tone pairings of words.
• Terms provided with their pinyin include: xiàtiān, qùnián, tiào wǔ, shuì jiào, diàndēng, diànchí, diànyǐng, diànshì, chàng gē, fùxí, Hànyǔ, Hànzì, jiànkāng, dìtú, dìtiě, and jiàn miàn.

Characters

• Focus on recognizing single-component characters identified via strokes.
• Introduction to the characters: 在 (zài), 子 (zǐ), and 工 (gōng).
• Focus on structure of Characters, specifically pattern (4).
• Review of half-enclosed character structure where 店 (diàn - store), 习 (xí - to study), 这 (zhè - this), 同 (tóng - same), 凶 (xiōng - fierce), and 医 (yī - doctor) are all half-enclosed.
• Chinese Radicals “辶” and “门" are used and referenced when writing Chinese characters
• The radical "辶" ​​is generally related to walking.
• The radical "门" is generally related to a room or a door.
• Examples include 这（zhè - This), 送 (sòng - to send), 问 (wèn - ask), and 间 (jiān - room).

Warm Up

• Match the words/phrases with the correct picture
• bàba (爸爸 - dad)
• yīshēng (医生 - doctor)
• yīyuàn (医院 - hospital)
• yǐzi (椅子 - chair)
• māo (猫 - cat)
• gǒu (狗 - dog)

New Vocabulary

• 小 (xiǎo) - small
• 那儿 (nàr) - there
• 下面 (xiàmiàn)/(下 xià) - below
• 儿子 (érzi) - son
• 爸爸 (bàba) - dad
• 猫 (māo) - cat
• 在 (zài) - at/in/on
• 狗 (gǒu) - dog
• 椅子 (yǐzi) - chair
• 哪儿 (nǎr) - where
• 工作 (gōngzuò) - work
• 医院 (yīyuàn) - hospital
• 医生 (yīshēng) - doctor
• 小 (xiǎo) can be used in compounds: 小学生 (xiǎoxuéshēng - elementary school student), 小商店 (xiǎoshāngdiàn - small shop), 小杯子 (xiǎobēizi - small cup), 小猫 (xiǎomāo - kitten).
• The word "那儿" (nàr - there) is the opposite of "这儿" (zhèr - here).
• The phrase for chair is 一把椅子 (yī bǎ yǐzi - a chair).
• 下面 (xiàmiàn - below) can be used in phrases like 椅子下面 (yǐzi xiàmiàn - under the chair) and 书下面 (shū xiàmiàn - under the book).
• 关于工作 (guānyú gōngzuò - About Work): Examples of usage
• 你妈妈工作吗？(Nǐ māmā gōngzuò ma? - Does your mom work?) / 我妈妈不工作。(Wǒ māmā bù gōngzuò. - My mom does not work.)
• 关于儿子 (guānyú érzi - About Son): Phrases include 一个儿子 (yī gè érzi - one son), 你儿子 (nǐ érzi - your son), and 李老师的儿子 (Lǐ lǎoshī de érzi - Teacher Li's son). The opposite of 儿子 (érzi) is 女儿 (nǚ'ér - daughter).
• The idiom for going to the hospital is 去医院 (qù yīyuàn). Dialog example: 你去哪儿？(Nǐ qù nǎr? - Where are you going?) / 我去医院。(Wǒ qù yīyuàn. - I'm going to the hospital.).
• When speaking of a doctor, there are multiple forms of expression, for example, 是医生 (shì yīshēng - is a doctor), 他是医生 (tā shì yīshēng - he is a doctor), 李老师的儿子是医生 (Lǐ lǎoshī de érzi shì yīshēng - Teacher Li's son is a doctor)
• Phrases with 爸爸 (bàba - dad) include 你爸爸 (nǐ bàba - your dad), 我爸爸 (wǒ bàba - my dad), 我朋友的爸爸 (wǒ péngyǒu de bàba - my friend's dad). The opposite of 爸爸 (bàba - dad) is 妈妈 (māmā - mom).

Language Points

• The verb "在 (zài)" means "to be at/in/on".
• The structure is 主语 (Zhǔyǔ - Subject) + (不 bù - not) + 在 (zài) + 地点/方位词 (dìdiǎn/fāngwèicí - location/directional word).
• Example: 我朋友在学校 (Wǒ péngyǒu zài xuéxiào - My friend is at school), 我妈妈在家 (Wǒ māmā zài jiā - My mom is at home), 小狗在椅子下面 (Xiǎogǒu zài yǐzi xiàmiàn - The puppy is under the chair).
• Sentence structure with the interrogative pronoun “哪儿 (nǎr - where)": 主语 (subject) + (不 bù/no) + 想 (xiǎng/want) + 动词 (dòngcí/verb), examples
• The preposition "在 (zài)" with structure: 主语 (subject) + 在 (zài) + 地点/方位词语 (dìdiǎn/fāngwèicíyǔ location/directional words) + 动词 (dòngcí verb)
• 我在朋友家喝茶。(Wǒ zài péngyǒu jiā hē chá. - I am at my friend's house drinking tea), 他们在学校看书 (Tāmen zài xuéxiào kànshū. - They are reading at school), 我儿子在医院工作 (Wǒ érzi zài yīyuàn gōngzuò. - My son works at the hospital.)
• Question particle 呢 ne (2): 主语 + 在 + 哪儿 + 呢？or 主语 + 呢？(shǔyǔ + ne?), Examples: 我的小猫呢？(wǒ de xiǎo māo ne?) What about my cat?

Text 1: At Home

• A: 小猫在哪儿？ (Xiǎomāo zài nǎr? - Where is the kitten?)
• B: 小猫在那儿。 (Xiǎomāo zài nàr. - The kitten is there.)
• A: 小狗在哪儿？ (Xiǎogǒu zài nǎr? - Where is the puppy?)
• B: 小狗在椅子下面。 (Xiǎogǒu zài yǐzi xiàmiàn. - The puppy is under the chair.)

Text 2: At the Railway Station

• A: 你在哪儿工作？ (Nǐ zài nǎr gōngzuò? - Where do you work?)
• B: 我在学校工作。 (Wǒ zài xuéxiào gōngzuò. - I work at a school.)
• A: 你儿子在哪儿工作？ (Nǐ érzi zài nǎr gōngzuò? - Where does your son work?)
• B: 我儿子在医院工作，他是医生。(Wǒ érzi zài yīyuàn gōngzuò, tā shì yīshēng. - My son works at a hospital, he is a doctor.)

Text 3: On the Phone

• A: 你爸爸在家吗？ (Nǐ bàba zài jiā ma? - Is your dad at home?)
• B: 不在家。(Bù zài jiā. - Not at home.)
• A: 他在哪儿呢？ (Tā zài nǎr ne? - Where is he?)
• B: 他在医院。(Tā zài yīyuàn. - He is at the hospital.)

Exercises

• Answer the questions according to your actual situation:
• 小狗在哪儿？ (Xiǎogǒu zài nǎr? - Where is the dog?)
• 他在哪儿工作？ (Tā zài nǎr gōngzuò? - Where does he work?)
• 他儿子在哪儿工作？ (Tā érzi zài nǎr gōngzuò? - Where does his son work?)
• 她爸爸在家吗？ (Tā bàba zài jiā ma? - Is her dad at home?)
• 她爸爸在哪儿呢？ (Tā bàba zài nǎr ne? - Where is her dad?)
• Given illustrations, the response is ______ 在 ______ 。where it specifies where something is "zai"
• Describe pictures using newly learned points and words
• Wǒ māma shì ________ ，tā zài ___. My Mom is,She is at _______
• Wǒ nǚér shì ________ ，tā bù _. My Daughter is, She is not _______

Application

• Pair Exercises involve creating phrases
• A: ______ 在 哪儿？(______zài nǎr?)
• B: ______ 在______。(zài.
• A: ______ 在 哪儿 工作？(______zài nǎr gōngzuò?)
• B: ______ 在......工作，他/ 她 是......(______zài…gōngzuò, tā/tā shì……)
• Group Work using the characters for friends,classmates and jobs
• Lĭ Péng shì yīshēng, zài yīyuàn gōngzuò(Li Peng is a doctor, working in a hospital)
• The lesson ends encouraging students to split into pairs, using picture prompts, and act out different actions and describing jobs of people in pictures. "He is a salesperson/shop assistant. He is working at the store."