1.01 Pronouns 我 Wǒ I 他 Tā He 你们 Nǐmen You all 1.02 Pronouns and the verb "to be" 我是 Wǒ shì I am 他是 Tā shì He is 你们是 Nǐmen shì You all 1.03 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complement "student" 我是 生。学 Wǒ shì xuésheng. 你是学生。Nǐ shì xuésheng. 您是学生。Nín shì xuésheng. 他是 生。学 Tā shì xuésheng. 她是学生。Tā shì xuésheng. 我们是学生。Wǒmen shì xuésheng. 你们是学生。Nǐmen shì xuésheng. 他们是学生。Tāmen shì xuésheng. 1.04 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complement "teacher" and "business person". 我是老师。 Wǒ shì lǎoshī. 你是商人。 Nǐ shì shāngrén. 您是老师。 Nín shì lǎoshī. 他是商人。 Tā shì shāngrén. 她是老师。 Tā shì lǎoshī. 我们是商人。 Wǒmen shì shāngrén. 你们是老师。 Nǐmen shì lǎoshī. 他们是商人。 Tāmen shì shāngrén. 1.05 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complements "man" and "woman" 你是男人。Nǐ shì nánrén. 你是女人。Nǐ shì nǚrén. 他是男人。 Tā shì nánrén. 她是女人。 Tā shì nǚrén. 他们是男人。Tāmen shì nánrén. 她们是女人。Tāmen shì nǚrén. 1.06 You cheeky monkey! 你 Nǐ 你是 Nǐ shì 你是木头人! Nǐ shì mùtóurén! In this first lesson we will learn the pronouns, the verb "to be", and the occupations "student", "teacher", and "businessperson". After all, aren't we a little bit of all three? The simple sentence pattern of pronoun + be + complement is a a quick and easy way to convey information about people - "He is an American", "They are students", "She is my coworker" etc. Once you get in the basic form, it's simply a matter of plugging in additional vocabulary (which we will do in later lessons). 1.01 Pronouns 我 Wǒ I 他 Tā He 你们 Nǐmen You all Notes: He and she have the same pronunciation in Mandarin, tā; in the written language they are differentiated by their characters, 他 for he and 她 for she. To make the plural of any pronoun just add 们 men to the singular form of the pronoun. Please note that the distinction between plural and singular is not quite as important in Chinese, often the plural will simply be implied by the context. 1.02 Pronouns and the verb "to be" 我是 Wǒ shì I am 他是 Tā shì He is 你们是 Nǐmen shì You all Notes: The verb to be 是 shì does not decline, that is to say that its form stays the same no matter who is performing the action. Compared to the English "I am", "You are", "He is", it is actually much easier, right? Also, please be aware that there are no spaces between the words in a Chinese sentence! 1.03 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complement "student" 我是 生。学 Wǒ shì xuésheng. 你是学生。Nǐ shì xuésheng. 您是学生。Nín shì xuésheng. 他是 生。学 Tā shì xuésheng. 她是学生。Tā shì xuésheng. 我们是学生。Wǒmen shì xuésheng. 你们是学生。Nǐmen shì xuésheng. 他们是学生。Tāmen shì xuésheng. Notes: Nouns in Mandarin Chinese usually have a single form that is used whether the noun is singular or plural. That is why 学生 xuésheng remains the same for 他是 生。学 Tā shì xuésheng. and 他 们是学生。Tāmen shì xuésheng. You can add 们 men to create a special plural form of the noun, but this is really only used in special situations, often for rhetorical effect. Vocabulary point: 学 xué is, on its own, a verb that means to study. Paired with the character 生 shēng it creates a new noun, student 学生 xuésheng. Pronunciation point: You may have noticed that on its own, 生 shēng has a line over it, whereas when it is paired with 学 xué it does not. That is because the 生 shēng in 学生 xuésheng changes to a neutral tone, due something known as "tone sandhi", which is Sanskrit for "incredibly coy linguistic term". What "tone sandhi" means is that you pronounce words differently based on the words that come before or after it. Native speakers of Chinese do this intuitively, as do practiced foreign speakers of Chinese. As a beginner student, it really isn't worth worrying about, and as an intermediate level student there will be some tricks you can learn that will help you along. 1.04 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complement "teacher" and "business person". 我是老师。 Wǒ shì lǎoshī. 你是商人。 Nǐ shì shāngrén. 您是老师。 Nín shì lǎoshī. 他是商人。 Tā shì shāngrén. 她是老师。 Tā shì lǎoshī. 我们是商人。 Wǒmen shì shāngrén. 你们是老师。 Nǐmen shì lǎoshī. 他们是商人。 Tāmen shì shāngrén. >> Listen to the MP3 (right click to save) Vocabulary point: 老 lǎo means old, but that is not an exact translation, For starters, it is only used in reference to people, never things. Secondly, it is often combined with other characters to make positions and titles of respect, such as 老师 lǎoshī teacher. People often point out that 老 lǎo carries positive connotations that old does not carry in the West. Since 老 lǎo refers only to people and never to things, we could translate it as senior, an English word that has both the meaning of "aged" as well as "having more authority". 商 shāng means business, and 人 rén means person or people, thus 商人 shāngrén literally means "business person". 1.05 Pronouns, the verb "to be", and the noun complements "man" and "woman" 你是男人。Nǐ shì nánrén. 你是女人。Nǐ shì nǚrén. 他是男人。 Tā shì nánrén. 她是女人。 Tā shì nǚrén. 他们是男人。Tāmen shì nánrén. 她们是女人。Tāmen shì nǚrén. >> Listen to the MP3 (right click to save) Notes: You will often see Woman 女 nǚ and man 男 nán used on their own as abbreviations on restrooms, forms, etc. 1.06 You cheeky monkey! 你 Nǐ 你是 Nǐ shì 你是木头人! Nǐ shì mùtóurén! Notes: Scattered throughout this course you will find sections at the end of some lessons labeled "You cheeky monkey!" In these sections we will teach you irreverent, bizarre, or sometimes even topical things to say. Vocabulary point: 木头人 mùtourén literally means "wood head person", the meaning of which seems pretty self- explanatory. We ought to recognize 人 rén from the other words we have studied this lesson, such as 女人 nǚrén and 商人 shāngrén. Exercises A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1.) 你 __________________ 3.) 我 __________________ 5.) 他 __________________ 7.) 他们 _________________ B Translate the following pinyin into English 1.) nín ____________________ 3.) wǒ ____________________ 5.) wǒmen _________________ 7.) tā _____________________ C Translate the following sentences into English 1.) Wǒmen shì shāngrén. _______________________________________________________. 2.) Tā shì xuésheng. _______________________________________________________. 3.) Nín shì lǎoshī. _______________________________________________________. 4.) Tāmen shì nánrén. _______________________________________________________. D Match the character to its corresponding pinyin 1.) 是 2.) 男 3.) 人 4.) 你 5.) 老 E Chose the two characters that are not the same 生 男 你 是 他 商 我 们 F Make words by matching the two syllables， then match them to the correct characters lǎo shāng wǒ xué 2.01 Simple questions 你是学生。 Nǐ shì xuéshēng. You are a student. 你是学生吗? Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma? Are you a student? 他是商人。 Tā shì shāngrén. He is a business person. 他是商人吗? Tā shì shāngrén ma? Is he a business person? 你们是留学生。 Nǐmen shì liúxuéshēnɡ. You all are foreign students. 你们是留学生 吗？ Nǐmen shì liúxuéshēnɡ ma? Are you all foreign students? 2.02 Countries and Nationalities 中国 Zhōngguó China 美国 Měiguó America 英国 Yīngguó Britain 德国 Déguó Germany 印度 Yìndù India 2.03 Pronouns + Nationality complement in statement and question form 我是美 人。国 Wǒ shì Měiguórén. I am American. 你是美国人吗？ Nǐ shì Měiguórén ma? Are you American? 他是中 人。国 Tā shì Zhōngguórén. He is Chinese. 他是中 人国 吗？ Tā shì Zhōngguórén Is he Chinese? ma? 她是德国人。 Tā shì Déguórén. She is German. 你们是印度人吗？ Nǐmen shì Yìndùrén ma? Are you all Indian? 他们是英国人。 Tāmen shì Yīngguórén. They are English. 2.04 Nationality - a simple dialogue A 你是英国人吗? Nǐ shì Yīngguórén ma? B 是，我是英国人。 你是中国人吗？ Shì，wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma? A 是，我是中国人。 Shì，wǒ shì Zhōngguórén. Exercises A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1.) 美国 _________________ 3.) 德国 _________________ 5.) 英国 _________________ B Translate the pinyin into English 1.) Déguó __________________ 3.) Yīngguó _________________ C Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English 1.) 中国人 _____________ ______________ 2.) 英国人 _____________ ______________ 3.) 德国人 _____________ ______________ 4.) 美国人 _____________ ______________ 4.) 印度人 _____________ ______________ D Fill in the blanks for this dialogue A Nǐ shì _____________ ma? B Shì，wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ shì ______________ ma? A Shì，wǒ ______ Zhōngguórén. E Match the character to its pinyin 1.) 美 2.) 男 3.) 中 4.) 国 5.) 老 6.) 她 F Transcribe the following sentences into pinyin 1.) 她是德国人。 _______________________________________________________. 2.) 你们是留学生吗？ _______________________________________________________. 3.) 他是中 人国 吗？ _______________________________________________________. 4.) 他是商人吗? _______________________________________________________. 3.01 Asking for a first name 你叫 Nǐ jiào 你叫什么 Nǐ jiào shénme 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? 她叫 Tā jiào 她叫什么 Tā jiào shénme 她叫什么名字？ Tā jiào shénme míngzì? Notes: The sentence pattern for asking for a first name is: Pronoun + call (叫) + what (什么) + name (名字)? 什么 shénme what is an interrogative pronoun, and the first of the big six question words we will encounter (who, what, when, where, why and how) Note as well that 叫 jiào does not change form according to the noun. 3.02 Hello! - a simple dialogue 莎拉: 你好! Nǐ hǎo! 马特: 你好! 我是马特。你叫什么名字 Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì Mǎté. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? 莎拉: 我叫莎拉。 Wǒ jiào Shālā. Notes: In Chinese as well as English there are two main ways to state your name, the first being 我叫 Wǒ jiào My name is and the second being 我是 Wǒ shì I'm 你好! Nǐ hǎo! Hello! is the most common greeting in China, a direct translation would be "You good!" 好 hǎo means good, which in English is an adjective. However, in Chinese, 好 hǎo can also sometimes be a verb (as in "to get better"), and it can also be something called a "predicate adjective" which basically means a verb that acts like an adjective. This is why there is no verb to be 是 shì in the sentence 你好! Nǐ hǎo! We will cover predicate adjectives more fully in lesson 21. The point to remember here is that we should say 你好! Nǐ hǎo! not 你是好! Nǐ shì hǎo! 3.03 Nice to meet you! - everyday expressions 很 Hěn. 很高兴 Hěn gāoxìng 很高兴认识 Hěn gāoxìng rènshi 很高兴认识你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. Vocabulary point: 认识 rènshi is a verb that means to know, to recognize, to be familiar with 高兴 gāoxìng is an adjective that means happy, elated, the literal meaning of the first character of the word, 高 gāo means high and the second character 兴 xìng means interest 很 hěn very is an adverb and is one of the most used words in the Chinese language. 3.04 Hello! - the extended dialogue 莎拉: 你好! Nǐ hǎo! 马特: 你好! 我是马特。你叫什么名字 Nǐ hǎo! Wǒ shì Mǎté. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? 莎拉: 我叫莎拉。 高很 兴认识你。 Wǒ jiào Shālā. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. 马特: 我也 高很 兴认识你。 Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. Notes: 也 yě is an adverb that means also. Some examples: 我也是美 人。国 Wǒ yě shì Měiguórén. I am also an American. 她也是学生。 Tā yě shì xuéshēng. She is also a student. Please take note here that the position of 也 yě is firmly fixed before the verb and after the subject. For instance, you cannot start a sentence with 也 yě, as you can in English (Also, I am a doctor). 3.05 What's his name? - concept and vocabulary review dialogue A: 他叫什么名字？ Tā jiào shénme míngzi? B: 他叫马特。 Tā jiào Mǎté. A: 他是美 人国 吗？ Tā shì Měiguórén ma? B: 是，他是美国人。 Shì, tā shì Měiguórén. A: 他是留 生学 吗？ Tā shì liúxuéshēnɡ ma? B: 是，他是留学生。 Shì, tā shì liúxuéshēnɡ. Notes: Remember that in Chinese there is no direct correspondent to the English word yes. Instead, in many Chinese sentences they will reuse the verb from the question, e.g. 他是 ? Tā shì ? Is he ? - 是, 他是 Shì, tā shì Yes, he is In spoken Chinese, people will often answer with the verb alone, indicating affirmation. [...]... go together The phrase emphasizes the degree of the adjective 9.07 太贵了 太大了 Tài guì le Tài dà le Too Too big expensive 太忙了 太旧了 Tài máng Tài jiù le Too busy Too old A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1. ) 死 _ 3.) 太 _ 5.) 明天 _ 7.) 旧 _ B Write the English meanings next to the words 1. ) 韩国人 Hánguórén 2.) 叫 Jiào 3.) 姓 Xìng 4.) 法国人 Fǎguórén 5.) 名字 Míngzì 6.) 留学生... Transcribe the characters into pinyin and then translate into English 1. ) 韩国 _ 2.) 再见 _ 3.) 日本 _ 4.) 身体 _ 4.) 老师 _ 9. 01 Not too busy sentences with the attributive "busy" 马特很忙。 Mǎtè hěn máng 张先生很忙。 Zhāng xiānsheng hěn máng 李经理不太忙。 Lǐ jīnglǐ bú tài máng 刘老师不太忙。 Liú lǎoshī bú tài máng 姓 国 很 南 本 国 日 开 北 北 真 英 他们忙吗？ Tāmen máng ma? Notes: 忙... sentences into English 1. ) Wǒ bú tài lèi _ 2.) Lǐ jīnglǐ bú tài máng _ 3.) Wǒ kě sǐ le _ 4.) Wǒ yě hěn máng _ D Complete the dialogue 莎拉: 王军: 莎拉: Nǐ _ _ hǎ Nǐ _ 王军: 莎拉: 王军: E Circle the two characters that are not the same 你学人累 日商死美 F Match the character with its pinyin 1. ) 也 2.) 哪 3.) 经... the character 韩 Hán jiào 认 xìng rèn : jiàn xiān : míng ma 泰 xiān shēn 日 hěn wǒ xiǎo rì : shén tài : 先 wǒ xiān 明 hěn wǒ xiǎo míng : shén hǎo : 本 xìng xiè běn 国 guó tā hǎo ma shén : : F Match the characters to their English definitions 1. ) 明天 2.) 身体 3.) 认识 4.) 大学生 5.) 也 G Write questions for the following answers 1. ) _? 她是日本人。 Tā shì Rìběnrén 2.) _?... characters below into pinyin 1. ) 名字 _ 3.) 留学生 _ 5.) 认识 _ B Translate the following sentences 1. ) Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ _ 2.) Wǒ yě shì Zhōngguórén _ 3.) Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? _ 4.) Tāmen yě shì liúxuéshēnɡ _ C Rearrange the words into complete sentences 1 shì Tā ma Měiguórén... into pinyin 1. ) 贵 _ 3.) 我 _ 5.) 经理 7.) 姓 _ B Match the words with their translation 1. ) 叫 2.) 老师 3.) 经理 4.) 贵 5.) 姓 C Fill in the blanks A Nín xìng? B Wǒ Lǐ guì xìng? A _ xìng Zhāng D Circle the pinyin for the characters 高: shēnɡ jiào xìng gāo 先: xiān xìng shén hǎo 名: xìng gāo míng ma E Write the English meanings next to the words 1. ) 高兴 Gāoxìng... complete sentences 1 yě hǎo Wǒ hěn 2 shēntǐ lǎoshī hǎo hěn Liú 3 shì yě Wáng Jūn dàxuéshēng G Match the words with the translation 1. ) Shénme 2.) Xìng 3.) Jīnglǐ 4.) Gāoxìng 5.) Rènshi 6.) Yě H Count the number of times the following characters appear 体 ( tǐ ) 他不认识我。 你叫什么名字？ 他们是中国人。 6. 01 He is not a -... form does not have the same sarcastic and / or confrontational feel that it has in English 10 .06 Are you hungry? - Concept review dialogue 王军: 李雪: 王军: A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1. ) 渴 _ 3.) 韩国人 _ 5.) 男人 _ B Convert these questions into the affirmative-negative form 1. ) Lǐ xiǎojiě è le ma? _? 2.) Nǐ máng ma? ... Circle the pinyin for the character 商 shēnɡ jiào jiàn 经 xìng jīng míng : ma : shāng 师 shī shēn shén 认 hěn rèn xiǎo : hǎo : shī 叫 jiào xiān 理 hěn lǐ xiǎo shén : hǎo : míng 7. 01 Countries and citizens 日本 Rìběn Japan 韩国 Hánguó S Korea 泰国 Tàiguó Thailand 俄国 Éguó Russia 法国 Fǎguó France Notes: Notice that each of the nationalities are comprised of a country plus the word 人 rén, we see here an example of a noun... 大卫认识一个越南学生。 Dàwèi rènshi yí gè Yuènán xuésheng A Transcribe the characters below into pinyin 1. ) 哪 _ 3.) 韩国人 _ 5.)日本 7.) 明天 B Circle the two characters that are not the same 你学人什 日商国美 C Fill in the blanks 马特: 李智慧: 马特: 李智慧: 马特: 李智慧: 马特: 李智慧: D Translate the following sentences into Chinese 1. ) Do you know her? Q W N W N W B _ 2.) You are from . 1. 01 Pronouns 我 Wǒ I 他 Tā He 你们 Nǐmen You all 1. 02 Pronouns and the verb "to be" 我是 Wǒ shì I am 他是 Tā shì He is 你们是 Nǐmen shì You all 1. 03 Pronouns, the. it's simply a matter of plugging in additional vocabulary (which we will do in later lessons). 1. 01 Pronouns 我 Wǒ I 他 Tā He 你们 Nǐmen You all Notes: He and she have the same pronunciation. characters below into pinyin 1. ) 你 __________________ 3.) 我 __________________ 5.) 他 __________________ 7.) 他们 _________________ B Translate the following pinyin into English 1. ) nín ____________________ 3.)