Answer: Before & After

Here is the answer to the previous post on describing sequence of event by using the word before & after 

1. Before I study in China, My Chinese is not too good.

在中国留学之前， 我的汉语不太好

Zaì Zhōngguó liūxué zhīqián, wǒ de Hànyǔ bù tài hǎo

NOTE:

-          Adverb of place, “in china”, has to come before the activity .

-          In this case, w do not use xiān because the subjects are 2 different things (First is “I”, Second is “My Chinese”)

2. After I move to London, I learn dancing.

我班去伦敦之后， 我就学跳舞。

Wǒ bān qù Lúndūn zhīhòu, wǒ jiù xué tiàowǔ.

NOTE:

-          London is not really an adverb of place, it is a destination, thus, it comes After the word “move”. Other example is I go to Beijing. Beijing is a “destination”, thus the sentence will be “wǒ qù Běijīng”. Unless we would like to say, I have a meeting in Beijing. Then, Beijing is the place where the activity (having a meeting) happens. Thus the sentence will say: “wǒ zài Běijīng kāihuì”

3. My mother picks up my brother first before picking me up.

我妈妈接我之前，她先接我弟弟

Wǒ māma jiē wǒ zhīqián, tā xiān jiē wǒ dìdi

NOTE:

             - Pay attention to this, I use 2 words/phrase that refer to the same subject (my mom and she). By doing this, the sentence is clearer and more complete. But it is okay if we change it to: jiē wǒ zhīqián, wǒ māma xiān jiē wǒ dìdi

             

4. Before eating, she drinks a cup of water first.

吃饭之前，她先喝一杯水

Chīfàn zhīqián, tā xiān hē shuǐ.

5. After pick up the guests, I send them to the hotel.

接客人之后，我就送他们去酒店了。

Jiē kèrén zhīhòu, wǒ jiù sòng tāmen qù jiǔdiàn le.

6. I borrow her notes, after she finish writing.

他写完之后，我就借他的笔记。

Tā xiě wán zhī hòu, wǒ jiù jiè tā de bǐjì.

NOTE:

-          In Chinese, we can describe the phrase “finish doing something” by using the word “… wán” or “… hǎo” before the activity.

Example:

(write = xiě 写)                        finish writing                写完

                                         (Xiěwán)

(eat (rice) = chī( fàn) 吃饭)     finish eating (rice)        吃完饭

                                                                                    (Chīwánfàn)

(read = kàn/dú 看/读)             finish reading               看完，读完，读好

                                                                              (kànwán, dúwan, dúhǎo)

Try digesting the above before translating the following sentences to Mandarin:

My Name is Linda. I am a teacher. I have an elder sister. My sister is a housewife. She has 3 children, 2 beautiful girls and a cute boy. I love my nieces and nephew.

Today is my mom’s birthday. After finishing my breakfast, I called my mom. I wished her happy birthday. She told me that she is going to spa with her friends this afternoon.

Happy Translating!

Regards,

Linda Tan