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Unit 9 What is this?

Dialogue

Jiă: Zhè shì shénme?

甲 ：这是什么？
A : What is this?

Yĭ: Zhè shì wŏ bàba de dìtú.

乙： 这是我爸爸的地图。
B : This is my dad’s map.

Jiă: Zhè shì shénme dìtú?

甲 ： 这是什么地图？
A : What map is this?

Yĭ: Zhè shì shìjiè dìtú.

乙： 这是世界地图。
B : This is a map of the World.

Jiă: Nà shì nă guó dìtú?

甲 ： 那是哪国地图？
A : What country’s map is that?

Yĭ: Nà shì Zhōngguó dìtú. Nĭ kàn, zhè shì Bĕijīng. Nà shì Shànghăi.
乙： 那是中国地图。你看，这是北京，那是上海。
B : That is a map of China. Look! This is Beijing, and that is Shanghai.

Jiă: Zhè shì Chángchéng ba?

甲 ： 这是长城吧？
A : Is this the Great Wall.

Yĭ: Duì le.

乙： 对了。
B : (You are) right.

Jiă: Ò, Chángchéng zhēn cháng. Nà shì shénme?

甲 ： 噢，长城真长。那是什么？
A : The Great Wall is really long. What is that?

Yĭ: Nà shì Huánghé.

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乙： 那是黄河。
B : That is Yellow River.

Jiă: Zhè shì shénme hé ne?

甲 ： 这是什么河呢？
A : What river is this?

Yĭ: Zhè shì Chángjiāng.

乙： 这是长江。
B : This is Yangtz River.

Reading

这是地图。这是世界地图。世界很大。你看，这是亚洲；那是欧洲；这是非洲；那是美洲。
这也是地图。这是中国地图。你看，这是长江，那是长城。长江，长城都很长。

那不是中国地图吧？不是。那是欧洲地图。你看，这是法国，那是英国。
这是什么国家呢？这是德国。欧洲人都说英文吗？不都说。英国人说英文。
法国人说法文。德国人说德文。你是哪国人呢？我是俄国人。我说俄文。

Zhè shì dìtú. Zhè shì shìjiè dìtú. Shìjiè hěn dà. Nĭ kàn, zhè shì Yàzhōu; nà shì
Ōuzhōu; zhè shì Fēizhōu; nà shì Mĕizhōu.

Zhè yĕ shì dìtú. Zhè shì Zhōngguó dìtú. Nĭ kàn, zhè shì Chángjiāng, nà shì Chángchéng.
Chángjiāng, Chángchéng dōu hĕn cháng.

Nà bú shì Zhōngguó dìtú ba? Bú shì, nà shì Ōuzhōu dìtú. Nĭ kàn: Zhè shì Făguó, nà shì
Yīngguó.
Zhè shì shénme guójiā ne?
Zhè shì Déguó.Ōuzhōu rén dōu shuō Yīngwén ma? Bù dōu shuō.
Yīngguó rén shuō Yīngwén. Făguó rén shuō Făwén. Déguó rén shuō Déwén.
Nĭ shì năguó rén ne? Wŏ shì Éguó rén. Wŏ shuō Éwén.

This is a map. This is a map of the World. The world is really big.
Look: This is Asia; that is Europe; this is Africa; this is America.
That is also a map. That is a map of China. Look: this is Yangtz river; that is the Great Wall.
Both the Yangtz River and the Great Wall are very long.

That wouldn’t be a map of China, right? No. That is a map of Europe. Look: this is France;
that is England. What country is this? This is Germany.
Do all Europeans speak English? Not all of them do.

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The British speak English, the French people speak French, and the Germans speak
German.
What is your nationality? I am Russian, and I speak Russian.
Grammar

1. The verbal predicate:

Chinese verbs such as 说, 看 can function as predicates. The word order

of a simple sentence with a verbal predicate is:

Subject + Verb + Object (optional)

For example:

中国人说中文。 Zhōngguó rén shuō Zhōngwén. The Chinese speak Chinese.

她看世界地图。 Tā kàn Shìjiè dìtú. She looks at the map of the World.

To negate a sentence with a verbal predicate, add the adverb 不 before the verb:

我们不看地图。 Wŏmen bú kàn dìtú. We don’t look at the map.

他不说英文。 Tā bù shuō Yīngwén. He does not speak English.

To form a simple question, you just add interrogative particle 吗 at the end of

a statement:

你说中文吗？ Nĭ shuō Zhōngwén ma? Do you speak English?

Simple questions are answered by fielding the key word in a question. In this case

it is the verbal Predicate.

说。 Shuō. Speak (yes).

不说。 Bù shuō. Don’t speak (no).

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* Note that the Chinese verb, being invariable, does not in itself show tense.

In Chinese, the time of an action is shown by the context, time words or adverbs,

which we will learn in the lessons to come.

2. More about specific questions with interrogative pronouns:

In order to highlight the interrogative sense, the particle 呢 can also be added

to the end of a specific question. For example:

他是谁呢？ Tā shì shéi/shuí ne? Who is he?

这是什么呢？ Zhè shì shénme ne? What is this?

你看什么呢？ Nĭ kàn shénme ne? What are you looking at?

Speech Pattern

1. The verbal predicate:

1. 你看，那是谁？那是我的汉语老师。

2. 你说什么？我说长城很长。

3. 你看什么地图？我看世界地图。

4. 他说他不忙，他爸爸很忙。

5. 你说你是哪国人？我是德国人。我说德文。

1. Nĭ kàn, nà shì shuì/shéi? Nà shì wŏ de Hànyŭ lăoshī.

2. Nĭ shuō shénme? Wŏ shuō Chángchéng hĕn cháng.

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3. Nĭ kàn shénme dìtú? Wŏ kàn shìjiè dìtú.

4. Tā shuō tā bù máng, tā bàba hĕn máng.

5. Nĭ shuō nĭ shì nă/něi guó rén? Wŏ shì Déguó rén. Wŏ shuō Déwén.

1. (You) look, who is that? That is my Chinese teacher.

2. What do (did) you say? I say the Great Wall is very long.

3. What map are you looking at? I’m looking at the map of the World.

4. He said he was not busy; his father was busy.

5. What did you say what your nationality is? I’m German. I speak German.

2. Questions with interrogative pronouns:

1. 这是什么呢？这是地图。什么地图？这是亚洲地图。

2. 你的朋友是哪国人呢？她说她是日本人。

3. 看，那是什么呢？那是河吧。什么河呢？地图说那是黄河。

4. 你看什么书呢？我看汉语书。

5. 谁的大夫说法文呢？我的大夫说法文。他的大夫也说法文。

1. Zhè shì shénme ne? Zhè shì dìtú. Shénme dìtú? Zhè shì Yàzhōu dìtú.

2. Nĭ de péngyou shì nă/něi guó rén ne? Tā shuō tā shì Rìbĕn rén.

3. Kàn, nà shì shénme ne? Nà shì hé ba. Shénme hé ne? Dìtú shuō nà shì Huánghé.

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4. Nĭ kàn shénme shū ne? Wŏ kàn hànyŭ shū.

5. Shuì/shéi de dàifu shuō Făwén ne? Wŏ de dàifu shuō Făwén. Tā de dàifu yĕ shuō
Făwĕn.

1. What is this? This is a map. What map? This is a map of Asia.

2. What is your friend’s nationality? She says she is Japanese.

3. What is that? That should be a river. What river? The map says it is the Yellow river.

4. What book are you reading? I’m reading a Chinese book.

5. Whose doctor speaks French? My doctor speaks French. His doctor speaks French,
too.
 

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