Grammar Notes for lesson 1

Stative verbs

A stative verb expresses quality or conditions, so in Chinese one simply uses one ‘verb’, this stative verb, where in English one would use the verb to be with an adjective. For instance, in 他很忙 [he is very busy] 忙 is a stative verb and means to be busy.

Possessive 的

This construction indicates that the noun after 的 belongs to the noun that comes before 的, as in小 王 的 邮 票 [Xiao Wang’s stamp].

V一 下

When一 下is preceded by a verb, it has two functions.
1. It is used as a time measure to imply that the action lasts for a little while.
2. It is used to soften the tone of voice.

The verb 在

When 在 is used as the main verb in a sentence, it means [to be located..]; [to be in, on], or [at a place], as in 在 这 儿 [to be here], 他 在 这 儿 [he is here].