Lesson 18 Dialogue 2

Grammar

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上 (shàng) is a versatile verb.

To board a car or plane 上车 / 飞机 shàng chē/fēijī

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为了 (wèile) usually appears in the first clause of a complex sentence

为了学好中文，他每天听两个小时录音

Wèile xué hǎo Zhōngwén, tā měitiān tīng liǎng ge xiǎoshí lùyīn.

In order to learn Chinese well, he listens to the recording for two hours everyday.

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to go to the bathroom

上厕所 shàng cèsuǒ

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To go to school is 上学 (shàng xué) in colloquial Mandarin

上小学 , shàng xiǎoxué, attending elementary school

上中学 , shàng zhōngxué , attending middle school

上大学 shàng dàxué, attending college.

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Duration of Actions

When a sentence contains both a time expression that indicates the duration of an action and an object, it needs to be formed in one of these two patterns:

A. Repetition of the verb B. Time expression placed before the

object, often with 的 (de)

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She listens to recordings for an hour every day. A. 她每天听录音听一个

小时。 Tā měitiān tīng lùyīn

tīng yí ge

B. 她每天听一个小时 (

的 ) 录音。 Tā měitiān tīng yí ge

xiǎoshí (de) lùyīn.

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She swims for forty minutes every afternoon. A. 她每天下午游泳游四

十分钟。 Tā měitiān xiàwǔ

yóu yǒng yóu sìshí fēnzhōng.

B. 她每天下午游四十分

钟 ( 的 ) 泳。 Tā měitiān xiàwǔ

yóu sìshí fēnzhōng (de) yǒng.

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She reads English newspapers for two hours every day, so her English is getting better and better.

A. 她每天看英文报纸看两个小时，所以英文越来越好了。

Tā měitiān kàn Yīngwén bàozhǐ kàn liǎng ge xiǎoshí, suǒyǐ Yīngwén yuè lái yuè hǎo le.

B. 她每天看两个小时 ( 的 ) 英文报纸，所以英文越来越好了。

Tā měitiān kàn liǎng ge xiǎoshí (de) Yīngwén bàozhǐ, suǒyǐ Yīngwén yuè lái yuè hǎo le.

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Soccer vs. Football

Although the term 足球 (zúqiú) literally means “football,” it refers to soccer, rather than American football.

To avoid confusion, Chinese speakers refer to American football as 美式足球 (Měishì zúqiú, American-style football) or 橄榄球 (gǎnlǎn qiú, lit., “olive ball”).

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The Particle 着 (zhe)

着 (zhe) signifi es the continuation of an action or a state. Its function is descriptive.

When 着 (zhe) is used between two verbs, the one that precedes 着 (zhe) signifi es the accompanying action, while the second verb signifies the main action.

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老师站着教课，学生坐着听课。

Lǎoshī zhàn zhe jiāo kè, xuésheng zuò zhe tīng kè.

While the teacher stood lecturing, the students sat listening.

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我喜欢躺着听音乐。 Wǒ xǐhuan tǎng zhe

tīng yīnyuè. I like to listen to

music while lying down.

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美式足球可以抱着球跑。

Měishì zúqiú kěyǐ bào zhe qiú pǎo.

In American football, you can run with the ball in your hands.

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着 (zhe) vs. 在 (zài)

着 (zhe) is normally used after a verb to indicate a continuing action or a state.

在 (zài) is normally used before a verb to indicate an ongoing action.

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被 / 叫 / 让 (bèi/jiào/ràng) in Passive-Voice Sentences A sentence in the passive voice can be

constructed with 被 (bèi), 叫 (jiào), or 让 (ràng).

Its structure is as follows: receiver of the action + 被 (bèi)/ 叫

(jiào)/ 让 (ràng) + agent of the action + verb + other element (complement/ 了{le}, etc.)

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我的功课被 / 叫 / 让狗吃了。

Wǒ de gōngkè bèi/jiào/ràng gǒu chī le.

My homework was eaten by my dog.

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你买的那些书被 /叫 / 让你的女朋友拿去了。

Nǐ mǎi de nà xiē shū bèi/jiào/ràng nǐ de nǚpéngyou ná qù le.

The books that you bought were taken away by your girlfriend.

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糟糕，你的网球拍被 / 叫 / 让我压坏了。

Zāogāo, nǐ de wǎngqiú pāi bèi/jiào/ràng wǒ yā huài le.

Oh gosh, your tennis racket was crushed [by me].

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the passive voice in Chinese

In Chinese, the passive voice is not used as often as it is in English.

It often carries negative connotations and usually appears in situations that are unpleasant for the receiver of the action, or in situations where something is lost.

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In a passive-voice sentence with 被 (bèi)/ 叫 (jiào) / 让 (ràng), the agent of the action does not always have to be specified.

If the agent of the action is someone that is not identifiable or need not be identified, it can be referred to simply as 人 (rén, someone; people).

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我的信用卡被 / 叫 /让人拿走了。

Wǒ de xìnyòngkǎ bèi/jiào/ràng rén ná zǒu le.

My credit card was taken away.

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同学们在教室里又唱又跳，他快被吵死了。

Tóngxué men zài jiàoshì li yòu chàng yòu tiào, tā kuài bèi chǎo sǐ le.

His classmates are singing and dancing in the classroom. The noise is driving him to distraction.

the agent of the action can be omitted

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你看，我的梨被 /叫 / 让你的西瓜压坏了。

Nǐ kàn, wǒ de lí bèi/jiào/ràng nǐ de xīgua yā huài le.

Take a look. My pears were crushed by your watermelon.

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A: 学生们在做什么呢？ Xuésheng men zài

zuò shénme ne? What are the

students doing ?

B: 在运动。 Zài yùndòng. They’re exercising.

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谢谢

再见

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