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

"Perfect" tense in Chinese

Again, in Chinese there is no change in the form of the verb to identify the time when an activity/event takes place. We normally will add an adverb of time as well as adding word (s) before/after the main verb.

As we know, to identify a continuous/progressive tense, we use the word 在 zài，正zhèng，正在zhèngzài before the Verb

Example:
1.      他吃肉
Tā chī ròu                   
He eats meat

2.      他在吃肉
Tā zài chī ròu 
He is eating meat

3.      昨天我来的时候，他在吃肉
Zuótiān wǒ lái de shíhòu, tā zài chī ròu         
Yesterday when I came, he was eating meat

Today, we are going to discuss about “perfect” tense.

There are a few ways to show that certain activity/event has or had happened:
1.      Using 已经。。。了yǐjīng… le
了Le should be placed after the verb. 了le can be used with/without the word已经“yǐjīng”. However, 已经 yǐjīng can’t be used without 了le

Example:
She has eaten.
他吃了 / 他已经吃了
Tā chī le or tā yǐjīng chī le

I have gone to Beijing
我去北京了 /  我已经去北京了
Wǒ qù Běijīng le / Wǒ yǐjīng qùBěijīng le

2.      Using 过guò
过guò should be used after the verb. The usage sometimes can be combined with 了le. However, without 了 le, 过 guò itself indicates that certain events has taken place.

Example:
I have eaten this （before）.
我吃过这个
Wǒ chī guò zhège.

I have been to Beijing before. (been here means that I have “gone”/”visited” there before)
我去过北京。
Wǒ qù guò běijīng le.


Depending on the context of speaking, at times, there is actually slight difference in the meaning of the sentences using已经…了 yǐjing.. le and using 过guò.

Let’s see the difference.

When I say:
-          我去过北京 wǒ qù guò Beǐjīng --> It means that I had been to Beijing before, the time when it happened can be last month, 2 years ago, etc and I am no longer in Beijing now.
-          我去北京了wǒ qù Beǐjīng le--> This sentence means that I have gone to Beijing and now I am still in Beijing.

When I say:    
-          我吃过这个 Wǒ chī guò zhège  -->  it means that I have eaten this before. The activity of eating not necessarily had just happened at the moment of speaking, it can be 5 minutes ago, it can be yesterday, it can be 2 years ago, the point is that “I have tasted this thing before”
-          我吃了这个 Wǒ chī le zhège --> It means that I have just finish eating this dish or not too long ago I have eaten this.

However, in the following sentences, there is not much difference in meaning:
-          我看了这部电影 Wǒ kàn le zhè bù diànyǐng.
-          我看过这部电影 Wǒ kàn guò zhè bù diànyǐng.

Both of the sentences above means that “I have watched this movie before”, the slight difference maybe in the time when the event of “watching” happened. The impression that people will get is that when you use 过 guò, it feels that the event has happened quite a while ago or not recent, although it might not necessarily true.

The negative sentence for perfect tense is formed by adding 还没 háiméi before the verb or or  没 méi + Verb + 过 guò.

For example:
I haven’t eaten this dish yet                wǒ háiméi chī zhèdào cài
--> Means that I haven’t eaten this dish yet, but I didn’t say that I had never tried it before. I might have or haven’t tasted the same kind of food before

I haven’t eaten this before                  wǒ méi chī guò zhèdào cài
--> Means that I haven’t tried/tasted this kind of dish before

Another example:
She hasn’t worn her skirt yet              tā háiméi chuān tā de qúnzi
--> Means that she has put on her shirt but not her skirt.

She hasn’t worn this skirt before        tā méi chuān guò zhètiáo qúnzi.
--> Means that the skirt is still new as she has never worn it before


Try translating the following:
1.      My little brother has graduated
2.      Her office had been renovated before.
3.      My uncle has taken my grandma to the hospital
4.      They hasn’t called me yet.
5.      They had never called me before.
6.      Have you read this book before?
7.      Has she returned your book already?
8.      His Wife has prepared the breakfast

Regards,

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

Before and After in Chinese

In describing 2 activities/events that happen one after another, we usually use the words "before" and "after".

In English, we can say:
BEFORE something happen, we do something else first OR
We do something else first BEFORE some other things happen.

AFTER finish with an activity, we will do something else OR
We will do something else AFTER  we completed one activity.

Remember not to get confuse with the placement of "before" and "after" in the sentence.

BEFORE zhīqián  之前

Example:

Before sleep, I “first” brush my teeth

Sleep               shùijiào            睡觉

Brush teeth      shuā yá            刷牙

睡觉之前， 我先刷牙

Shuìjiào zhīqián, wǒ xiān shua yá

Before something happen (2^nd activity), we normally will do Something first (1^st Activity). When using the word “before”, it is often for us to use the word “xiān” that indicates that the subject has completed the activity that follows after the word. Xiān 先 literally means “at first”.

e.g.      she left first                 tā xiān zǒu            她先走

            I eat first                     tā xiān chī             我先吃

Let’s see another example:

My brother puts on his shoes before he goes to school.

1^st Activity: Puts on shoes                  chuān xiézi                  穿鞋子

2^nd Activity: Go to school                   shàng xué                    上学

上学之前， 我弟弟先穿鞋子

Shàng xué zhīqián, wǒ dìdi xiān chuān xiézi.

(Because, the subject that “perform” the 2 activities are the same person, we can also move the subject to the front, see the sentence below. However, the above is more commonly used. Avoid repeating it, because it will be redundant)

我弟弟上学之前， 先穿鞋子

Wǒ dìdi shàng xué zhīqián, xiān chuān xiézi.

AFTER  zhīhòu   之后

Example:

After I brush my teeth, I go to sleep.

刷牙之后， 我就睡觉了

Shuā yá zhīhòu, Wǒ jiù  shuìjiaò le

After putting his shoes on, my brother goes to school

穿鞋子之后，我弟弟就上学去了

Chuān xiézi zhīhòu, wo dìdi jiù shàng xué qù le.

Note: In this case, we add the word jiù… le to emphasize that the 2^nd activities (i.e sleep and go to school) happen RIGHT AFTER the first activities (i.e. brush teeth and putting shoes on).

Try translating the following:
1. Before I study in China, My Chinese is not too good.
(Hint: be careful of the placement of adverb of place)


2. After I move to London, I learn dancing.
(move = bān 搬，dance = tiàowǔ 跳舞)


3. My mother picks up my brother first before picking me up.
(pick up = jiē 接)


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

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

(guest = kèrén 客人, send (someone) = sòng 送)

6. I borrow her notes, after she finish writing.
(borrow = jiè 借, notes = bǐjì 笔记)

Happy Learning!  

I am signing off first

我先告退
Wǒ xiān gàotuì,
Linda Tan

Greeting During Festive Seasons

It’s been almost a month since my last post. Things have been crazily busy and satisfying as after a year, I got to make a trip back to my hometown, and spent 2 weeks there.

So between the last lesson and this one, there have been a few “important days” that we had celebrated, or at least me and people around me. That includes Chinese New Year, The last day of Chinese New Year known as “Cap Go Meh” for Chinese Indonesian , and yesterday is a very loving day, known as “Valentine Day”.

Even though it has passed, let me show you how we greet people during those few “festive” days.

1. Chinese New Year

“新年快乐”            xīnnián kuàile  Happy New Year

“春节快乐”                        chūnjié kuàile  Happy Spring Festival

“鸡年机箱”                        jīnián jíxiǎng   Prosperous “Rooster” Year

(Based on Lunar Calendar, 2017 is rooster year. Rooster is one of the Sign in Chinese Zodiac. So every baby born from 28 Jan 2017 (first day of Chinese New Year) will be the “rooster” baby. )

“年年有余”                        niánnián yǒuyú            Abundance year by year

(The last word 余 yú means surplus, it has the same pronunciation as the Chinese word for fish (鱼), this is one of the reason why, some Chinese still like to prepare fish on the dining table, to represent that abundance and  the idea of wealth that will “never-finish”!)

2. The Last Day of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year lasts for 15 days. The 15^th day is normally known as “cap-go-meh” for the Chinese Indonesian. That is hokkien language for the 15^th night.

            “元宵节快乐”             yúanxiāojié kuàile                   Happy Cap Go Meh

3. Valentine’s Day

“情人节快乐”        qíngrénjié kuàile                                  Happy Valentine’s Day

Hope you will find the above useful next year.

In conveying our greetings to others, we just have to know what is the festive name in Chinese and add “” kuàile = happy after it.

For example:

Happy Galungan (for Balinese)                      加隆安节快乐            jiālóngānjié kuàile

Galungan                                加隆安            jiālóngān

Festive Season                        节                    jié

Here are a few others:

1. Happy Teacher’s Day             教师节快乐                 jiāoshījie kuàile
2. Happy Mother’s Day              母亲节快乐                 mǔqīnjié kuàile
3. Happy Father’s Day                父亲节快乐                fùqīnjié kuàile 
4. Happy Halloween                   万圣节快乐                wànshèngjié kuàile
5. Happy Mid Autumn Festival  中秋节快乐                 zhōngqiūjié kuàile
6. Happy Children’s Day            儿童节快乐                 értóngjié kuàile
7. Happy Single Day                   光棍节快乐                guānggùnjié kuāile                                               (celebrated in China on November 11, for those who are single)

8. Happy National Day               国庆节快乐               guóqìngjiékuàile
9. Happy Birthday                      生日快乐                    shēngrì kuàile
10. Happy Wedding Anniversary   结婚周年快乐         jiéhūn zhōunián kuàile