Chinese Mandarin Basic Grammar Points PDF

CHINESE MANDARIN 一个人 yī gè rén a/one person 两个学生 liǎng gè xuésheng two students Basic Grammar Points 三个面包 sān gè miànbāo three bread rolls/three...

CHINESE MANDARIN 一个人 yī gè rén a/one person 两个学生 liǎng gè xuésheng two students Basic Grammar Points 三个面包 sān gè miànbāo three bread rolls/three buns A. In Chinese, as in other languages, nouns 四个橙子 sì gè chéngzi four oranges may be differentiated into a number of categories. The largest category is the 五个鸡蛋 wǔ gè jīdàn five eggs common noun, which covers tangible, 六个城市 liù gè chéngshì six cities discrete entities, e.g. 大人 dàren adult, 树 七个国家 qī gè guójiā seven countries shù tree, etc. The common noun is the 八个商店 bā gè shāngdiàn eight shops main focus of this unit, but other noun 九个男孩 jiǔ gè nán háizi nine boys categories are: 十个女孩 shí gè nǚ háizi ten girls 几个朋友 jǐ gè péngyou a few friends (i) proper noun (for one individual entity): e.g. 中国 zhōngguó China, 李明 lǐ A considerable number of nouns or sets of nouns míng Li Ming (name of a person) are linked with particular measure words: (ii) material noun (for non-discrete 一本书 yī běn shū a/one book entities): 一支笔 yī zhī bǐ a/one pen e.g. 纸 zhǐ paper, 茶 chá tea 一把牙刷 yī bǎ yáshuā a/one toothbrush 一棵树 yī kē shù a/one tree (iii) abstract noun (for non-tangible entities): Some Chinese measure words that indicate e.g. 文化 wénhuà culture, 经济 jīngjì portion or partition, for example, are similar to economy English measures: 两片面包 liǎng piàn miànbāo two slices of bread B. Chinese common nouns, unlike English 一块蛋糕 yī kuài dàngāo a piece of cake ones, make no distinction in form 一杯咖啡 yī bēi kāfēi a cup of coffee between singular and plural: 一杯啤酒 yī bēi píjiǔ a glass of beer 苹果 píngguǒ apple/apples Measure words are also used with abstract and 孩子 háizi child/children material nouns: 一个苹果 yī gè píngguǒ an/one apple 两个苹果 liǎng gè píngguǒ two apples 一个建议 yī gè jiànyì a suggestion (abstract) 一个孩子 yī gè háizi a/one child 一个借口 yī gè jièkǒu an excuse (abstract) 两个孩子 liǎng gè háizi two children 一个理想 yī gè lǐxiǎng an ambition/ideal (abstract) C. Another important feature of the common 一张纸 yī zhāng zhǐ a piece of paper noun in Chinese is that when it is used with (material) a numeral, the numeral has to have a 一块布 yī kuài bù a piece of cloth (material) measure word between it and the noun (see also Unit 6). 个 gè (usually unstressed Note 1. Notice that with 一 yī you distinguish as ge in actual speech) is by far the most between 'a/an' and 'one' in speech by the degree common measure word and it can occur of emphasis given to it. with a wide range of nouns: The phrase 一个杯子 yī gè bēizi, for example, 男孩和女孩 may mean 'one mug' if 一 yī is stressed and 'a nán háizi hé nǚ háizi mug' if 一 yī is not stressed. In the latter meaning boys and girls 一 yī can be omitted altogether if it comes directly after a mono- syllabic verb. 三个蛋糕和四个面包 sān gè dàngāo hé sì gè miànbāo 我想去商店买(一)个杯子 three cakes and four bread rolls wǒ xiǎng qù shāngdiàn mǎi (yī) gè bēizi (一 yī is unstressed and optional) 中国经济和文化 I'm going to the shop to buy a mug. zhōngguó jīngjì hé wénhuà China's economy and culture 我只要买一个杯子。 wǒ zhǐ yào mǎi yī gè bēizi (一 yī is stressed) 他有兩本书和一支笔。 I only want to buy one mug. tā yǒu liǎng běn shū hé yī zhī bǐ He has two books and one pen. Note 2: In Chinese 杯子 bēizi may mean 'cup' or even 'glass' as well as 'mug'. 我要吃两片面包，一个鸡蛋和一块蛋糕。 wǒ yào chī liǎng piàn miànbāo, yī gè jīdàn hé Note 3: 想 xiǎng and 要 yào are both modal yī kuài dàngāo verbs, i.e. verbs which precede main verbs to I want to eat two slices of bread, an egg and a indicate the mood or attitude of the subject (see piece of cake. Unit 17). While 想 xiǎng emphasizes 'plan' or 'inclination', 要 yào indicates 'wish' or 'will'. They Note: Observe that a Chinese full-stop is a hollow may generally be used interchangeably. dot, not a solid one as in English; and the ‘、’ dun-comma, seen in this last example, is peculiar (ii) A collectivized noun with 们 men suffix is to Chinese punctuation and is used for listing incompatible with a 'numeral + measure word' items in a series: phrase: One cannot say: 她想买四个苹果、三个橙子、两个面包和一打鸡蛋。 *三个工程师们 sān gè gōngchéngshīmen (lit. three tā xiǎng mǎi sì gè píngguǒ 、sān gè chéngzi 、 engineers) liǎng gè miànbāo hé yī dǎ jīdàn *九个大人们 jiǔ gè dàrénmen (lit. nine adults) She would like to buy four apples, three oranges, two loaves of bread and a dozen eggs. However, it is not possible to collectivize non-human nouns with the suffix 们 men: * 狗们 gǒumen (lit. dogs) * 杯子们 bēizimen (lit. cups/glasses/mugs) E. Nouns or noun phrases (e.g. 'numeral + measure word + noun') may be linked together by the conjunction 和 hé 'and': 笔和纸 bǐ hé zhǐ Making Simple questions in Chinese pens and paper Zuò jiǎndān de wèntí 做简单的问题 How to Ask Questions in Chinese with 呢 (ne), 吧 (ba), and 吗 (ma) When you’re learning a new language, one of the first things that you need to learn to do is to ask questions. Asking questions about anything is one of the best ways to learn, and if you’re learning something new you are definitely going to have a lot of questions! In Chinese there are question As you can see, it’s very easy to query things in particles that you use to form your questions. Chinese using 呢. Just say the thing you’d like to Three of the most important question particles in know about, and put 呢 right after it. This is very Mandarin are 呢 (ne), 吧 (ba), and 吗 (ma). commonly used to ask ‘bounce-back questions’ in Chinese. This is when someone asks you a -呢 (ne), 吧 (ba), and 吗 (ma) are used in similar question, and you return the question to them ways. All are added to the end of a sentence to after answering it. This is commonly done by form questions. However, the situations in which simply asking “你呢？”. You’ll occasionally hear each particle should be used are slightly different, someone using 呢 (ne) seemingly out of the blue. and learning to use them appropriately is When this happens, they’re usually asking where important. 呢 (ne) is used to turn a statement someone or something is, and they expect that into a query, while 吗 (ma) is used to ask a you know what they’re talking about and know yes-no question. 吧 (ba) is used as a tag where that person or thing is. See the last question to ask for agreement or confirmation example above. with what is being said. All of these can be very important when asking a question. Check out our lesson on How to Learn the “Ba” Structure. -Using 吧 (ba) -吧 (ba) is usually used after a statement that the -Using 呢 (ne) speaker thinks is correct but would like to confirm. It can also be used to imply that the -呢 (ne) often follows a noun or pronoun to form a speaker expects the listener will agree. This is the question when the content of the question is equivalent of adding a tag question in English, or already clear from the context. It can be used in following a statement with “对吧 (duì ba)?…right?” questions related to a statement, or in a question or “好吧 (hǎoba)?…OK?” responding to another question. It is used like the English phrases “how, how about, or what about.” It’s as simple as saying what you want to ask about, then sticking 呢 (ne) on the end.  pinyin ne 呢 ba 吧 -Using 吗 (ma) ma -When 吗 (ma) is added to the end of a 吗 declarative statement, that statement is turned into a question. As you have seen from the above examples, 呢 (ne), 吧 (ba), and 吗 (ma) are similar in some ways but are definitely not used in the same way. 吧 (ne) is used for softening questions. 吗 (ma) is simply for turning statements into yes-no questions. 吧 (ba) is used as a tag question to ask for agreement or confirmation with what is being said. All can be thought of as a kind of spoken question mark. Simple questions in Chinese 你把我的手机放在哪儿了？(nǐ bǎ wǒ de shǒu jī fàng zài nǎr le?) — Where did you put my phone? 1. 谁 (shéi) — Who 4. 哪个 (nǎ ge) — Which The two most common and simplest structures for This is the question word that you’ll hear a lot using this question word are: when shopping in China, to which you’ll Subject + 是 +谁? (To ask a question like, “who is commonly answer with “这个 (zhè ge) — this” or that?” or “who is he/she?”) “那个 (nà gè) — that.” 谁 + Verb? The typical topic structure is: For example: Subject + Verb＋哪个 (+ Object)? 谁去？(shéi qù?) — Who is going? For example: 她是谁？(tā shì shéi?) — Who is she? 你要哪个？(nǐ yào nǎ ge?) — Which do you want? 你喜欢听谁的歌？(nǐ xǐ huān tīng shéi de gē?) — 你住在中国的哪个城市? (nǐ zhù zài zhōng guó de Whose songs do you like to listen to? nǎ ge chéng shì?) — Which Chinese city do you live in? 你最喜欢哪个季节？(nǐ zuì xǐ huān nǎ ge jì jié?) — 2. 什么 (shén me) — What Which season is your favorite? 什么 follows this formula: Subject + Verb + 什么 (+ Object)? This word can be used for objects, abstract 5. 什么时候 (shén me shí hòu) — When words, actions, etc. The basic structure for using 什么时候 is as For example: follows: 这是什么？ (zhè shì shén me?) — What is this? Subject + 什么时候 + Verb? 你喜欢吃什么？(nǐ xǐ huān chī shén me?) — What For example: do you like to eat? 你什么时候回家？(nǐ shén me shí hòu huí jiā?) — 你开什么车？(nǐ kāi shén me chē?) — What car do When are you coming home? you drive? 他什么时候会说完？(tā shénme shí hòu huì shuō wán?) — When will he stop talking? 她什么时候会回美国？(tā shén me shí hòu huì huí 3. 哪里 (nǎ lǐ) / 哪儿 (nǎr) — Where měi guó?) — When will she come back to America? To ask where something is, follow this structure: Subject + 在 + 哪里 / 哪儿？ The difference between the two variations is that 6. 为什么 (wèi shén me) — Why 哪儿 is used in northern China, especially Beijing. This question word can be used on its own to 你在哪儿？(nǐ zài nǎr?) — Where are you? create the simple question “why” or used in a more complex structure like: 你的哥哥在哪里？(nǐ de gē ge zài nǎ lǐ?) — Where is your older brother? Subject + 为什么 + Verb? 为 stands for the word “for,” and in this combination, the English equivalent of “what 9. 几 (jǐ) — How many (10) This question word is used when asking about a certain amount higher than ten. 多少 + Object? For example: 多少钱？ (duō shǎo qián?) — How much money? / How much does it cost? 这个房间有多少人？(zhè ge fáng jiān yǒu duō shǎo rén?) — How many people are there in this room? 你住在这里住了多少年了？(nǐ zhù zài zhè lǐ zhù le duō shǎo nián le?) — How many years have you been living here? My Family to be, indeed, wǒ jiā my family right, ok 我家 叫 jiào Name / to be 妈妈 mā ma mother called 爸爸 bà ba father zhōngxué Middle school 中学生 student 姐姐 jiě jie Elder sister 钱包 qiánbāo wallet 妹妹 mèi mei younger sister 钱 qián money 哥哥 gē ge Elder brother 生日 shēngrì birthday 弟弟 dì di Younger brother 足球 zúqiú football game, soccer ball 有 yǒu have 篮球 lánqiú basketball 我有弟弟 wǒ yǒu dì di I have a younger brother 没有 méi yǒu not have / don’t have 你没有姐姐 wǒ méi yǒu jiě I don’t have an jie older sister 写 xiě write 听力 tīng lì Listen 人 rén person/ people 同学 tóngxué Classmate/ fellow student 老师 lǎoshī teacher 再见 zàijiàn goodbye 他/ 她 tā He/ she 们 men Measure word 学生 xuésheng student 校长 xiàozhǎng headmaster, schoolmaster 朋友 péngyǒu friend 是 shì is, are, am, yes,  CHINESE MANDARIN Is the official language in China. This refers to the northern dialect, which is over 52% of the Chinese or Han People and has become the lingua franca for the whole of China. This is also considered as 2nd international language in the world. The national language is known as Putonghua or “common speech, which is taught in school and used as medium of instruction in colleges and universities. At present, teaching and learning mandarin must start in standard form which is known as pinyin or ‘spell sound”, it was adopted of the People’s Republic of China in 1958. Pinyin is used as a tool to teach the correct pronunciation of the Chinese language especially to non-native speaker. Pinyin- Chinese language phonetic system 8 八 Chinese character/ Hanzi bā pinyin Pinyin syllable consists of 3 parts mark/ tone Chinese is a tonal language (Four Tones) bā final First Tone- high, level pitch initial Second Tone- starting high and rising Third Tone- falling first then rising Fourth Tone- fast stress falling There are 35 finals, 6 simple finals and 29 compound finals. There are 23 Initials. Notes: Pinyin Hanzi To come/ go back, to Huí 回 return Go home Huí jiā 回家 school Xuéxiào 学校 learning Xuéxí 学习 also Yě 也 hello Nǐ hǎo 你好 very Hěn 很 me Wǒ 我 NUMBERS Pinyin Hanzi 1 Yī 一 2 èr 二 3 sān 三 4 sì 四 5 wǔ 五 6 liù 六 7 qī 七 8 bā 八 9 jiǔ 九 10 shí 十 11 Shí yī 十一 12 shí èr 十二 13 shí sān 十三 14 shí sì 十四 15 shí wǔ 十五 16 shí liù 十六 17 shí qī 十七 18 shí bā 十八 19 shí jiǔ 十九 20 èr shí 二十 21 èr shí yī 二十一 50 Wǔshí 五十 90 jiǔ shí 九十 100 yī bǎi 一百 1000 yīqiān 一千 DAYS OF THE WEEK AND MONTH Pinyin Hanzi Day Tiān 天 Week xīngqí 星期 Month yuè 月 Year nián 年 Monday xīngqí yī 星期 一 Tuesday xīngqí èr 星期 二 wednesday xīngqí sān 星期 三 Thursday xīngqí sì 星期 四 Friday xīngqí wǔ 星期 五 Saturday xīngqí liù 星期 六 Sunday xīngqí tiān 星期天 January Yī yuè 一月 February Èr yuè 二月 March Sān yuè 三月 April Sì yuè 四月 May Wǔ yuè 五月 June Liù yuè 六月 July qī yuè 七月 August Bā yuè 八月 September Jiǔ yuè 九月 October shí yuè 十月 November Shí yī yuè 十一月 December shí èr yuè 十二月 Now Xiànzài 现在 Today jīntiān 今天 WRITE THE DATE MONTH – DAY OF THE WEEK – TIME – ACTION (WHAT WILL YOU DO?) Monday, 8 am, I ate breakfast xīngqí yī, shang wǔ bā diǎn wǒ chī zǎofàn 星期 一, 上午 八点 我吃早饭 July 22, Friday,2 PM, I will watch a movie qī yuè èr shí èr rì, xīngqíwǔ, xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn, wǒ huì kàn diànyǐng 七月 二十二日，星期五，下午两点，我会看电影 March 3 2024 2024 (èr qiān èr shí sì) nián 3 (sān) yuè 3 (sān) rì 2024 年 3 月 3 日 What time is it? xiànzài shì jǐ diǎn? 现在是几奌？ It is 9 AM now. Xiànzài shì shàngwǔ qī diǎn 现在是上午 九 点 It is 4: 45 PM now. Xiànzài shì xiàwǔ sì diǎn sìshíwǔ fēn. / Xiànzài shì xiàwǔ sì diǎn sān kè 现在是下午 四 点 四十五 分。/ 现在是下午 四 点 三客 TIME Pinyin Hanzi hour Xiǎoshí 小时 minute fēnzhōng 分钟 / 分 What time is it? xiànzài shì jǐ diǎn? 现在是几奌？ What time Shénme shíhòu 什么时候 Before Dawn (1AM- língchén 凌晨 5AM) Morning (6AM- shang wǔ 上午 11AM) Noon (12 PM) zhōngwǔ 中午 Afternoon (1PM- xiàwǔ 下午 6PM) Evening wǎnshàng 晚上 Night yèwǎn 夜晚 Midnight (12 AM) wǔyè 午夜 O’clock diǎn 点 Half (00:30) bàn chǎng 半场 / 半 Quarter (00:15) yī kè 一客 Quarter (00:45) Sān kè 三客 2 in time Liǎng diǎn 两点 / 两 now Xiànzài 现在 Chinese class/ class zhōngwén kè 中文课 / 课 Goodbye zàijiàn 再见 How many/ much jǐ 几 MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY Pinyin Hanzi My Family/ family Wǒ de jiā 我的家 Mother mǔqīn 母亲 Father Fùqīn 父亲 Mama māmā 妈妈 Papa bàba 爸爸 Older Brother gēgē 哥哥 Younger Brother dìdì 弟弟 Older Sister jiějiě 姐姐 Younger Sister mèimei 妹妹 Dog gǒu 狗 Cat māo 猫 Parents fùmǔ 父母 Daughter nǚ'ér 女儿 Son érzi 儿子 Children hái 孩子们 He/ She tā tā 他她 His/ Her tā de tā 他的她 Them tāmen 他们 We wǒmen 我们 Mine Wǒ de 我的 Yours nǐ de 你的 People (make plural Rén / men 人 form)