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Lesson Nine
Are you free Basic expressions After learning all the words and expressions for the last eight lessons you must be wondering if you can have some simple conversations with a native speaker of Chinese. It is true that applying the language in a real situation is one of the best ways of learning a foreign language. Let’s learn the following new words.
This term is used to address someone senior, whom you respect, in academic institutions and schools in China. 老师 is preceded by surnames or full names. For instance, 张 老师 zhāng lǎoshī Zhang teacher Mr. Zhang, the teacher
刘 老师 liú lǎoshī Liu teacherMiss Liu, the teacher
王 强 老师 wángqiáng lǎoshī Wang Qiang teacher Mr. Wang Qiang, the teacher
a.王老师 有 空儿。 wáng lǎoshī yǒu kòngér. Wang teacher has free time Mr Wang is free.
b. 我 没有 空儿。 wǒ méiyǒu kòngér. I not have free time. I am not free (I am busy).
We have learned the question word几 jǐ as in how many. 几 jǐ can also imply a few, several. For instance, 几 年 jǐnián several years/ a few years; 几十人jǐshírén several ten people/a few dozens of people; 几万元 jǐwànyuán several 10 thousand dollars. 问题 wèntí means question.
One of the meanings for行 is OK or permissible. A choice type of question V不not V or V没not V as in 行 不 行 ？ xíng bù xíng OK not OKIs it OK?
你 是 不 是 老师 ? nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī? you are not are teacher Are you a teacher?
他 去 不 去 北京？ tā qù bú qù běijīng ？ he go not go Beijing Is he going to Beijing?
她 有 没 有 哥哥？ tā yǒu méiyǒu gēge ？ she has not has older brother Does she have an elder brother?
A time word such as 现在 now is placed before the main verb of a sentence, as in 他 现在 去北京。 tā xiànzài qù běijīng he now go Beijing He is going to Beijing now. or 现在 他 去 北京。 xiànzài tā qù běijīng 。 now he go Beijing As demonstrated above, the time word现在 xiànzài now can either be placed before a verb or at the beginning of a sentence.
as in 我 需要 三 万 元. wǒ xūyào sānwàn yuán. I need 300,000 dollars.
We have learned 时候shíhou which also means time. However, 时间 shíjiān time is very often used for duration, as in 你需要多少时间？ nǐ xūyào duōshǎo shíjiān？ you need how much time how long do you need? 时候shíhou time is often used for ‘time when’ as in 你 什么 时候 来 我 家？ nǐ shénme shíhou lái wǒ jiā？ you what time come my home when are you coming to my home?
It is used as a sentence particle for making suggestions. 吧is placed at the end of a statement and is pronounced in the neutral tone. Conversation a. 老师， 您 有 空儿 吗？ lǎo shī ，nín yǒu kòngér ma ？ teacher you have free time MA Teacher (Sir), are you free?
b. 你 有 什么 事？ nǐ yǒu shénme shì ？ you have what matter What can I do for you?
a. 我 有 几 个 问题。 我 想 问 问 您，行 吗？ wǒ yǒu jǐ gè wèn tí . wǒ xiǎng wènwèn nín, xíng ma ？ I have few GE questions I want ask ask you OK MA I’ve got some questions which I would like to ask you. Is that OK?
b. 什么 时候 问？ shénme shíhou wèn ？ what t ime ask When would you like to ask (me)?
a. 现在 问， 行 不 行？ xiànzài wèn ，xíngbùxíng ？ now ask OK not OK If I ask you now is that OK?
b. 你 需要 多 少 时间？ nǐ xūyào duōshǎo shíjiān ？ you need how much time How long would it take?
a. 半 个 小时 吧。 bàn gè xiǎoshí ba . half GE hour BAAbout half an hour.
b. 好， 请 你 问 吧。 hǎo, qǐng nǐ wèn ba . OK, please you ask BAOK, go ahead.Notes on expressions You have learned 问 wèn ask. 问 in the above dialogue is duplicated to soften the tone of voice and to show that the action of the verb 问 is short and quick. The duplicated问is pronounced in the neutral tone. The words and expressions in the following dialogue may well help you to achieve this. Practice 1. Listen to and say the dialogue as much as possible. Listening to the tapes is very important. Even if you just leave the tape on in the background it can be beneficial to you. 2. Ask someone in Chinese to do something. Tape version Part one: new words
Part two: expressions
Part three: conversation
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