Answer: Continents, Countries and Cities

Good Morning from Bali. How is our post last week? Have you got a hold of it? What is Asia in Mandarin? How about "Paris"? Have you found out more cities or countries in Mandarin on Pleco?

Anyway, here are the answers to a few exercises from the previous post:

Try translating the following:

1. Hi, I am Ms. Smith. I am from America.
Smith 女士好。我来自美国。Smith nǚ shì. Wǒ láizì měiguó.

Note: 来自 (láizì )= means "comes from"

2. I am looking for this hotel.
我在找这家酒店
Wǒ zàizhǎo zhè jiā jiǔdiàn.

Note: Still remember the "continuous tense"?, yup! We use 在zài + Verb = Verbing

3. Where is the popular Chinese restaurant?
出名的中国餐厅在哪儿？
Chūmíng de zhōngguó cāntīng zài nǎr?
  

4. I am sorry, your flight has taken off. You are late.
不好意思，您的航班起飞了。您迟到了
Bùhǎoyìsi, nin de hángbān, qǐfēi le. Nín chídào le.

5. This flight has just landed.

这个航班刚降落
Zhège hángbān gāng jiàngluò.

6. I am looking for a fast food restaurant. Can you help me?
我在找快餐店。您能帮我吗?
Wǒ zài zhǎo kùicāndiàn. nín néng bāng wǒ ma?

7. Is that Public Toilet?
那是公共厕所吗？
Nà shì gōnggòn cèsuǒ ma?

8. I lost my wallet. Where is the Police Station?
我丢失了我的钱包。警察局在哪儿？
Wǒ diūshī le wǒ de qiánbāo. jǐngchájú zài nǎr?

Have a good week ahead~

Regards, 

Linda Tan

Answer to scenario on Handling Payment in the restaurant

Here is the answer to the one of the scenario from the last post on handling payment in the restaurant.
Translate the first scenario below:

Guest              : Fúwùyuán, qǐng jiézhàng. 服务员，请结账       
Guest: Waiter/Waitress (it is common for guests in the service industry to address the staff as "service staff"), please settle our bill.

Waiter/Waitress: Hǎode. Qǐng shāo děng yīxià. 好的， 请稍等一下
Waiter/Waitress: Sure. Please wait a moment.

Issueing bill…

Waiter/Waitress: Zhèshì nǐdě mǎidān. Qǐng chá yī chá . 这是你的买单，请查一查
Waiter/Waitress: Here is your bill. Please have a look.

Customer checking bill…

Guest              : Zhè shì shénme? 这是什么？
Guest: Wha is this? (it is not being rude, but rather to make sure that the bill is issued correctly)

Waiter/Waitress : Zhè shì kǎoyā. 这是烤鸭
Waiter/Waitress: This is roast duck.

Guest                          : Hǎo la. Dōu duì le. 好啦，都对了。

Nǐmen shōu bù shoū xìnyòngkǎ? 你们收不收信用卡？
Guest: Oh, okay. All are correct. Do you take Credit card?

Waiter/Waitress         : Shōu. 收                               
Waiter/Waitress: Take / We take / We do. (There is no one right way in translating this)

Guest                          : Zhège. 这个
Guest: Here you go.

Waiter/Waitress         : Xìnyòngkǎ xūyào mìmǎ ma? 信用卡需要密码吗？
Waiter/Waitress: Does the credit card need PIN?

Guest                          : zhèzhāng xūyào. 这张需要。
Guest: This one needs.

Waiter/Waitress         : Nà, bùhǎoyìsi, 那不好意思，

Nín kě bù kěyǐ gēn wǒ dào shōuyíntái qù？您可不可以跟我到收银台去？
Waiter/Waitress: In that case, I am sorry,
Can you come with me to the cashier?

Guest                          : hǎo  好
Guest: Okay.


How many of you get it right? I am not saying word by word kind of "right", as in translating, it is not merely taking words and translating it, sometimes we need understanding of the "context". It is very important. If you notice, when the guest said "Zhège. 这个", it doesn't mean that the guest was saying "this" as in pointing to an object, but rather as an expression when he/she passed something (in this case the credit card) to the waiter/waitress. So in English rather than saying "this", it is more appropriate to be translated as "here you go".

Try to digest all of the grammar and vocabularies used above and take note of something that you think might come handy in other context one day.

Happy Wednesday,
Linda Tan

Answer for the Exercise on "Perfect" Tense in Mandarin

Here is the answer for the exercise from the previous post on Perfect Tense

1. My little brother has graduated
我的弟弟已经毕业了
Wódedìdi yǐjīng bìyè le


2. Her office had been renovated before.
他的办公室装修过了
Tādebàngōngshì zhuāngxiūguòle


3. My uncle has taken my grandma to the hospital
我的叔叔已经送我奶奶去医院了。
Wǒdeshūshu yǐjīng sòng wǒnǎinai qù yīyuàn le


4. They hasn’t called me yet.
他们还没给我打电话
Tāmen háimei gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà


5. They had never called me before.
他们没给我打电话过
Tāmen měi gěiwǒ dǎdiànhuà guò


6. Have you read this book before?
你读过这本书吗？
Nǐ dúguò zhèběnshū ma?


7. Has she returned your book already?
他把书还给你了吗？
Tā bǎ shū huán gěi nǐ le ma?
(Please refer to the information below regarding the use of 把 bǎ in the sentence)

他还你的书了吗？
Tā huán nǐ de shū le ma?


8. His Wife has prepared the breakfast
他的老婆已经准备早餐了
Tādelǎopo yǐjīng zhǔnbèi zǎocān le



THE USE OF 把 bǎ  IN SENTENCES
 
In Mandarin, there are some active form sentences that do not follow the common sentence structure where an object usually comes after the verb. This sentence structure doesn’t commonly found in other languages

The sentence structure that use 把 bǎ is as followed:
S +把 bǎ + O + Verb + Adverb of Place, if any


Example:
Compare the following sentences that mean:
She hangs the/a picture on the wall


1. 她把图画掉在墙上了
Tā bǎ túhuà diào zài qiáng shàng le


2. 她在墙上掉了一幅图画
Tā zài qiáng shàng diào le yīfú túhuà


The difference here is sentence (1) emphasize on the picture, while sentence (2) emphasize on the activity of hanging up something.


 Look at the following situations below:
a.       When someone ask “where is the picture?”
It is only proper that we answer using the first sentence.
b.      When someone asks “what’s she doing with the wall?”
Then, we answer with the second sentence.



Let’s look at more example to see the differences between the usual sentence structure and the sentence with 把 bǎ.
 
1. 他把我的杯子弄破了。
Tā bǎ wǒdebēizi nòngpò le.


2. 他弄破了我的杯子。
Tā nòng pò le wǒdebēizi


Both sentences mean “he has broken my cup.”


Which sentence do you think is suitable to be used to answer these questions:
a.       What has he done?
b.      What happened to your cup?

If you answer question (a) with sentence (2), then you get it right J and question (b) should be answer with sentence (1)


So in general, the above is how we use the word 把 bǎ in Chinese. There are of course more to it. We will go through it in another post next time.


Happy Learning,
Linda Tan

Telling simple story 1

My Name is Linda. 我叫Linda /我的名字是Linda wǒ jiào Linda / wǒ de míngzì shì Linda

I am a teacher. 我是个老师  wǒ shì gè lǎoshī

I have an elder sister. 我有个姐姐     wǒ yǒu gè jiě jie

My sister is a housewife. 我姐姐是个主妇 wǒ jiějie shì gè zhǔfù

Note: Sentence 2，3 & 4 use the word 个 as a unit of measure. Without it, it doesn’t change the meaning much. It simply means: I am a teacher or I have an elder sister. She is a housewife.

She has 3 children, 2 beautiful girls and a cute boy. 他有三个孩子， 两个美丽的女儿和一个可爱的儿子    tā yǒu sāngè háizi, liǎnggè měilì de nǚér hé yīgè kěài de érzi.

Note: Pay attention to the usage of adjective in explaining the nouns (i.e. girls and boy). We use the word 的 de in between the adjective and noun.

I love my nieces and nephew. 我爱我的侄女和侄儿们。Wǒài wǒdezhìnǚ hé zhìér men.

Today is my mom’s birthday. 今天是我妈妈的生日。Jīntiān shì wǒmāma de shēngrì.

After finishing my breakfast, I called my mom. 吃完早餐之后，我给我妈妈打电话。

Chīzǎocān zhīhòu,wǒgěiwǒmāma dǎdiànhuà.
I wished her happy birthday. 我祝她生日快乐。Wǒzhùtā shēngrì kuàilè.

Note: To be grammatically correct “I call her” is translated as 我给她打电话wǒgěitā dǎdiànhuà and NOT 我打电话给她 wǒ dǎdiànhuà gěitā.

The pattern to follow is:

S + 给 gěi Object + Verb (do something)

Other Example:

Wàigōng gěi Brian jiǎng gùshì

Grandpa tells Brian a story = Grandpa tells story to Brian

She told me that she is going to spa with her friends this afternoon. 他告诉我这个下午他跟他的朋友要去做水疗治疗。Tāgaòsùwo zhège xiàwǔ tā hé tāgēnpéngyǒu yàoqùzuò shuǐliào zhìliáo.

Note: “this afternoon” is an adverb of time, it must come before or after the Subject. Thus in the sentence above, I place it before “she and (with) her friends”。Also, I use 跟 gēn for the word “with” instead of 和 hé that we normally used for “and”. There isn’t much difference for the two words.

My brother and I go to grandma’s house.

我跟我哥哥去外婆的家  
Wǒ gēn wǒgēge qù wàipó de jiā

If you notice, all the above sentences are relatively short. By doing this, there will be less grammatical error that you can avoid. Remember, all the sentences formed should follow the pattern given before.

Here is the recording of the whole short story above (again, I am sorry that it can only be played on a PC):

Regards,

Linda Tan

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

The Answers for 1st Revision in 2017

Here is the answers for the previous post:

1. 今年是2017年。
Jīnnnián shì 2017 nián
This year is 2017

2. 我今年年底要去日本。
Wǒ jīnnián  niándǐ yào qù Rìběn
End of this year I will go to Japan.

3. 他们都没去过日本。
Tāmen dōu méiqùguò Rìběn
All of them have never been to Japan

Note: 都dōu is used to describe that all of the subject (in this case: tāmen they). It is always written after the subject.

过guò is used to describe an activity that has/hasn’t been done before. It comes after the verb (in this case: qù  go)

4. 这几天过的怎样啊？
Zhè jǐtiān guòde zěnyàng a?
How are (the condition) these few days?

Note: This question can be interpreted in 2 ways, that the person is asking about the condition/situation in general or the condition of another person. To be specific, we can say Zhè jǐtiān nǐ guòde zěnyàng a?, by adding nǐ after or before the adverb of time, our question becomes clearer, that we want to know how is the person doing, more to the feeling he/she feels, not the house, not the problem, not work, and so on.

5. 这个周末你打算做什么？
Zhè zhōumò nǐ dǎsuàn zuò shénme?
What are you planning/do you plan to do this weekend?

Note: Remember that in Chinese, we have to place the adverb of time in front of or behind the subject (in this case: nǐ you) and question seldom come in front of the sentence. For question word “what” refer to the previous post

6. 我在北机场等我的朋友。
Wǒ zàijīchǎng děng wǒdepéngyǒu
I wait for my friend at the airport

Note: If we would like to give more details on our statement about where an activity takes place, we put it right after the subject, before the activity.

7. 你告不告诉他我的秘密？
Nǐ gàobùgàosù tā wǒdemìmi?
Do you tell him/her my secret?

Note: This question doesn’t end with the word 吗 ma? that is usually used to form a closed ended question. Instead  it uses 告不告诉 gàobùgàosù format, which has the same function as 吗 ma? The above sentence can be changed to: 你告诉他我的秘密吗？

Look at the following sentence structures:
Verb + negative bù + Verb = Verb ma?
Example: chī bù chī = Chī ma?          = Does Someone eat?

Adjective + negative bù + Adjective = Verb ma?
Example: hǎo bù hǎo = hǎo ma? =  Is it good?

Shì + negative bù + Shì + Noun = Shì Noun ma?
Example: Shì bù shì māma = Shì māma ma? = Is it mother?

8. 这次新年你要去哪儿玩儿?
Zhèci xīnnián nǐ yàoqù nǎr wǎnr?
This new year where are you going (to play/explore)?

Please translate the following to Chinese.

1. I will see you tomorrow morning at the airport
我明天在飞机场见你
Wǒ míngtiān zài fēijīchǎng jiàn nǐ.

2. Whose friends are you picking up?
你接谁的朋友？
Nǐ jiē shuídepéngyǒu?

3. Chen Family is travelling to Europe next month.
陈家下个月要去澳洲
Chénjiā xiàgèyuè yào qù Àozhōu.

4. Japan often snows on January.
日本一月份常常下雪
Rìběn yīyuèfèn chángchang xiàxuě

5. How is the weather today?
今天的天气怎样/怎么样？
Jīntiān de tiānqi zěnyàng / zěnmeyàng?

6. She told me that her mom is coming to pick her up.
她告诉我她的妈妈来接她
Tā gàosù wǒ tādemāma láijiē tā.

7. Last weekend, she brought the kids to the zoo.
上个周末他带他的孩子们去动物园
Shànggezhōumò tādài tādehaízimen qù dòngwùyuán.

8. Are you nervous?
你紧张吗？or 你紧不紧张？
Nǐ jǐnzhāng ma? Nǐ jǐnbùjǐnzhāng?

Please digest the above and learn to pronounce the words and read the sentence OUT LOUD. This will help your pronunciation. To confirm if you have gotten the right pronunciation, please check it out on Pleco (download the app, if you haven’t had one), word by word!

If you confuse why certain sentence is translated that way, check the relevant topic form last year posts! If you can’t find one, do not hesitate to drop a comment or email me at linda_yunitan@yahoo.com.

 

Love Learning,

Linda Tan

2017 - Getting the engine started. Review, Review and Review!

It has been a while since my last post in November. Half a month has passed in 2017. Let’s get the engine starting, by doing a few translations that covers whatever we have learnt in 2016.

1. 今年是2017年。Jīnnián shì 2017 nián
2. 我今年年底要去日本。Wǒ jīnnián  niándǐ yào qù Rìběn
3. 他们都没去过日本。Tāmen dōu méiqùguò Rìběn
4. 这几天过的怎样啊？Zhè jǐtiān guòde zěnyàng a?
5. 这个周末你打算做什么？Zhè zhōumò nǐ dǎsuàn zuò shénme?
6. 我在北机场等我的朋友。Wǒ zàijīchǎng děng wǒdepéngyǒu
7. 你告不告诉他我的秘密？Nǐ gàobùgàosù tā wǒdemìmi?
8. 这次新年你要去哪儿玩儿? Zhèci xīnnián nǐ yàoqù nǎr wǎnr?

Please translate the following to Chinese.

1. I will see you tomorrow morning at the airport
2.  Whose friends are you picking up?
3. Chen Family is travelling to Europe next month.
4. Japan often snows on January.
5. How is the weather today?
6. She told me that her mom is coming to pick her up.
7. Last weekend, she brought the kids to the zoo.
8. Are you nervous?

To make your life easier, here are some of the vocabularies needed. Remember NOT to translate words by words. Review the simple sentence structure post, as well as the last few posts on question words (what and why, who, etc)

年底                niándǐ                          End of the year

周末                zhōumò                        Weekend

打算                dǎsuàn                         Plan

等                    děng                            Wait

接                    Jiē                                Pick up

告诉                Gàosù                          Tell

朋友                Péngyǒu                      Friends

飞机场            Fēijīchǎng                   Airport

秘密                Mìmì                            Secret

这次                Zhècì                           This time

下雪                Xiàzuě                         Snowing

紧张                jǐnzhāng                       Nervous

带                    dài                               Bring (someone)

澳洲                Àozhōu                        Europe

天气                tiānqì                           weather

怎样                zěnyàng                       how

We will discuss the translation in DETAILS next post! 

Happy New Year 新年快乐, 

Linda Tan

Answers for Revision on Question Words

Here is the answers for the exercise posted end of last week on Revision for Question words.
1. Whose car are you driving?

你开谁的车？

Nǐ kāi shuí de chē?

 2. Whom will go with you to Paris?

你跟谁去巴黎？

Nǐ gēn shuí qù bāli?

 3. What is she looking at?

她在看什么？

Tā zài kàn shénme?

 4. Why can't she stay behind?

她为什么不能留下来？

Tā wèishénme bùnéng liúxiàlái?

 5. What do you want to do?

你要做什么？

Ni yào zuò shénme?

 6. When does the TV show start?

电视节目什么时候开始？

Diànshì jiémù shénme shíhòu kāishi?

 7. Where is my pen?

我的笔在哪儿？
wǒ de bǐ zài nǎr?

 8. Who see my mathematic textbooks?

谁看到我的数学课本？

Shuí kàndào wǒde shùxué kèběn?

 9. Which month will the spring start?

春节几月开始？

Chūnjié jǐyuè kǎishi?

 10. Why do you laugh so loudly?

你为什么笑得那么大声？

Nǐ wèishénme xiàode nàme dàshēng?


Translation from Mandarin to English/Bahasa Indonesia:
1. 他为什么不打电话给我？
Tā wèishěnme dǎdiànhuà gěi wǒ?
Why does he call me?

2. 你什么 时候毕业？
Nǐ shénme shíhòu bìyè?
When do you graduate?

3. 你的家人住哪里？
Nǐ de jiārén hù nǎlǐ?
Where does your family live?

4. 你在哪儿工作？
Nǐ zài nǎr gōngzuò?
Where do you work?

5. 你的朋友几号去香港？
Nǐde péngyǒu jǐhào qù xiānggǎng?
What date does your friend go to Hong Kong?

6. 昨天你几点起床？
Zuótiān nǐ jǐdiǎn qǐchuáng?
What time did you wake up yesterday?

7. 那个女子是谁？
Nàgènǚzi shìshuí?
Who is that girl?

8. 谁帮你报名？
Shuí bāng ni bàomíng?
Who helps you to register?

9. 谁的车坏了？
Shuí de chē huài le?
Whose car is broken?

10. 那个孩子在看什么卡通片？
Nàgè háizi zài kàn shénme kǎtōngpiàn?
what cartoon is that kid watching?

Try to digest it realllll slow and see if you have already understood it well. Come up with certain sentences and try to convey it in Chinese. Feel free to comment if you have any questions.

There won't be any new post for the upcoming week. Will introduce new lesson on 22 Nov. So stay updated by subscribing.

Happy reviewing,
Linda Tan
Thank you