[...]... shì shecài mao huì zhua lfoshj mf chc cfo Bananas are delicious Oranges are not vegetables Cats can catch mice Horses eat grass (adjective) (verb shì ‘to be’) (modal verb) (verb that indicates a habitual action) In the above examples, xiangjiao ‘bananas’, chéngzi ‘oranges’, mao ‘cats’ and mf ‘horses’, as topics to be commented on, are of indefinite reference, in spite of the fact they are placed before... would like to have a cup of tea She only wants to go to two shops 8 9 10 11 12 She wants to buy a bread roll, two cakes, five apples and a dozen eggs The child has only one ambition I bumped into four Chinese friends I want a few pieces of paper I want to know something about China’s economy and culture ( lifojig ‘to know or understand’) 1 Nouns: singular and plural Pattern and vocabulary drill 1.1... in Chinese which may mean ‘wardrobe’, ‘cabinet’, ‘cupboard’, etc depending on the context B However, this general rule may be nullified if the speaker is making a general comment rather than narrating an event or incident The comment in a topic-comment sentence, as we shall see, usually consists of an adjective, the verb shì ‘to be’, a modal verb or a verb that indicates a habitual action: xiangjiao... words that indicate portion or partition, for example, are similar to English measures: lifng piàn miànbao yc kuài dàngao yc bbi kafbi yc bbi píjij two slices of bread a piece of cake a cup of coffee a glass of beer Measure words are also used with abstract and material nouns: yc yc yc yc yc gè jiànyì gè jièkiu gè lhxifng zhang zhh kuài bù a suggestion an excuse an ambition/ideal a piece of paper a piece... 10 ma: wi xhhuan chc xiangjiao I like eating bananas nh xhhuan chc xiangjiao ma Do you like eating bananas? wi xhhuan chc dàngao wi xhhuan hb píjij wi xhhuan chc shecài wi xhhuan jiao péngyou wi xifng hb bbi kafbi wi xifng mfi zhc bh wi yào mfi jh bgn she wi xifng mfi xib huar wi de mao huì zhua lfoshj ( huà ‘draw; paint’) wi huì huà huàr Note: If xifng and yào indicate wills and wishes on individual... there a ? (when you need to locate (a) a pen and (b) a chair) zài nfr Where is the ? 2 (when you want to know where (a) the toilet ( (b) where the station ( chbzhàn) is) 3 cèsui) is and yiu zài bìngfáng li There is/are in the ward (when you are explaining that there are (a) a male doctor and a lady doctor (b) nine patients in the ward) 15 2 Definite and indefinite reference and demonstratives... chúfáng li The is/are in the kitchen (when you are pointing out that (a) the bowls and chopsticks and (b) the knives and forks are in the kitchen) 5 guìzi li yiu There is/are in the cupboard (when you are saying that there are (a) tea and coffee and (b) some mugs in the cupboard) Pattern and vocabulary drill 2.2 Change the following statements into general questions using Model: Answer: 1 2 3 4... They naturally zhè and ‘that’ is nà: indicate definite reference In Chinese ‘this’ is zhè shì kafbi | nà shì chá This is coffee and that is tea In Chinese, when demonstratives are followed by a noun, as with numbers, a measure is required between the demonstrative and the noun When used in this way, zhè may also be pronounced ‘zhèi’ and nà, ‘nèi’ The probable explanation for this is that ‘zhèi’ and ‘nèi’... cloth (abstract) (abstract) (abstract) (material) (material) Note 1: Notice that with yc you distinguish between a/ an’ and ‘one’ in speech by the degree of emphasis given to it The phrase yc gè bbizi, for example, may mean ‘one mug’ if yc is stressed and a mug’ if yc is not stressed In the latter meaning yc can be omitted altogether if it comes directly after a monosyllabic verb ( ) wi xifng qù shangdiàn... xiangjiao nh zhfo máoyc ma 8 Where is the patient? Where is there a doctor? I like (eating) bananas Are you looking for your sweater/jumper? Note: ma is a sentence particle which is used at the end of a statement to convert it into a general question asking for either confirmation or denial (see Unit 18) Even a noun apparently made indefinite by its ‘numeral (other than yc ‘one’) + measure’ phrase, may . Po-Ching Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar by. Routledge: Intermediate Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Chinese: An Essential Grammar by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar by Yip Po-Ching and. Polish Intermediate Polish Basic Russian Intermediate Russian Basic Spanish Intermediate Spanish Basic Welsh Intermediate Welsh BASIC CHINESE: A GRAMMAR AND WORKBOOK 2nd edition Yip Po-Ching and Don