Nitrogen Cycle
1.) She writes Chinese characters writes them very pretty.
她写汉字写得很漂亮。
tā xiě hànzi xiě de hěn piàoliang.
2.) I did extremely well on the test.
我考试考得非常好。
wǒ kǎoshì kǎo de fēichánghǎo.
To comment on how an action is done in Chinese, we use Descriptive Complements. A Descriptive Complement is formed using a verb followed by 得 (de) followed by an adjective, an adverb, or a verb phrase. In this lesson we learned how to form Descriptive Complements with adjectives.
When the verb being commented on has an object, then the verb must be repeated before it can be followed by 得 (de) and the adjective.
By repeating the verb, the "verb + object" combination preceding it becomes the "topic" and the complement that follows serves as a comment on it.
So, for instance:
他写汉字写得很好。- "He writes Chinese characters well."
tā xiě hànzi xiě de hěn hǎo.
In the sentence above, the verb 写 (xiě) appears both in the "verb + object" combination (写汉字 (xiě hànzi) ) and also before the 得 (de) complement construction. The complement construction is followed by the complement of the predicate adjective using 很好(hěn hǎo) to comment on how the "writing Chinese characters" is done.
Although the above sentence means,
"He writes Chinese characters well."
Mr. Solak often translates this kind of sentence as,
"He writes characters, writes them well,"
...to help students understand the construction of the sentence. This is NOT an accurate translation!
Below is a list of "verb-object" combinations:
吃饭／中国菜／美国菜 － v 吃 ＋ obj 饭／中国菜／美国菜
chī fàn/zhōngguócài/měiguócài ------- v chī + obj fàn/zhōngguócài/měiguócài
打球 － v 打 ＋ obj 球
dǎqiú ---- v dǎ + obj qiú
唱歌 － v 唱 ＋ obj 歌
chànggē -- v chàng + obj gē
跳舞 － v 跳 ＋ obj 舞
tiàowǔ --- v tiào + obj wǔ
睡觉 － v 睡 ＋ obj 觉
shuìjiào --- v shuì + obj jiào
喝水／茶／咖啡／可乐 － v 喝 ＋obj 水／茶／咖啡／可乐
hē shuǐ/chá/kāfēi/kělè -----------------v hē + obj shuǐ/chá/kāfēi/kělè
聊天 － v 聊 ＋ obj 天
liǎotiān ----v liǎo + obj tiān
打电话 － v 打 ＋ obj 电话
dǎ diànhuà ---- v dǎ + obj diànhuà
开会 － v 开 ＋ obj 会
kāihuì ---- v kāi + obj huì
上课 － v 上 ＋ obj 课
shàngkè --- v shàng + obj kè
考试 － v 考 ＋ obj 试
kǎoshì ---- v kǎo + obj shì
说话 － v 说 ＋ obj 话
shuōhuà ---- v shuō + obj huà
写字 － v 写 ＋ obj 字
xiězì ---- v xiě + obj zì
教课 － v 教 ＋ obj 课
jiāokè ---- v jiāo + obj kè
Some verbs do not have an object and therefore do NOT need to be repeated.
For example:
她学习得很好。- "She studies very well."
tā xuéxi de hěn hǎo.
In the above sentence the verb 学习 (xuéxi)"to study" has no object, that is, she just studies. It does not say she studies "something" which would be an object.
Of course, an object can be added to the sentence, in which case the verb would have to be repeated.
For example:
他学中文学得很好。- "He studies Chinese very well."
tā xué zhōngwén xué de hěn hǎo.
In the above sentence, the object "Chinese" has been added.
Below is a list of verbs that do not always take an object, and some that can never take an object.
工作
gōngzuò
玩
wán
学习
xuéxí
学
xué
复习
fùxí
练习
liànxí
坐
zuò
***For more information and practice with Descriptive Complements, please refer to pages 179-180, Grammar Point #1, and Language Practice on pages 185-187.***
He speaks Chinese very well.
他说中文说得很好。
tā shuō zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo.
3.) You sing really well!
你唱歌唱得真好！
nǐ chànggē chàng de zhēn hǎo!
The adverbs 太 (tài) "too" and 真(zhēn) "really" are used in exclamations to convey the speaker's approval or disapproval of something. These two words are placed where the words 很 (hěn) or 非常 (fēicháng)would go in a sentence that does not express approval or disapproval.
To approve of how someone writes Chinese characters, would be:
你写汉字写得真好！- "You write characters really well!"
nǐ xiě hànzi xiě de zhēn hǎo!
To disapprove of how slowly someone writes Chinese characters, would go as follows:
我写汉字写得太慢了！- "I write characters too slowly!"
wǒ xiě hànzi xiě de tài mán le!
When 太 (tài) is used, it is usually followed by 了 (le) right after the adjective.
This is not to say that when expressing approval, you must always use 真(zhēn) or when expressing disapproval, you must always use 太 (tài). ACTUALLY the words are interchangeable in the above two examples.
The test was really easy!
考试太容易了！
kǎoshì tài róngyì le!
You are too pretty!
你太漂亮了！
nǐ tài piào liang le!
4.) The grammar is too difficult!
语法太难了！
yǔfǎ tài nán le!
See #3.
5.) Dad usually goes to bed at 10:00, but yesterday he went to bed at 9:00.
爸爸平常晚上十点睡觉，可是昨天晚上九点就睡觉了。
bàba píngcháng wǎnshang shídiǎn shuìjiào, kěshì zuótiān wǎnshang jiǔdiǎn jiù shuìjiào le.
The adverb 就 (jiù) is used BEFORE a verb to suggest the earliness, briefness, or quickness of an action in the speaker's judgement. The adverb 才 (cái) is the opposite, suggesting the tardiness or lateness of an action perceived by the speaker.
When expressing a past action, 就 (jiù) is ALWAYS used with 了 (le) to indicate promptness, but 才 (cái) is NEVER used with 了 (le).
For example:
我们八点上课，他七点半就来了。
wǒmen bādiǎn shàngkè, tā qīdiǎn bàn jiùláile.
"We start class at 8 o'clock, he came at 7:30." (sooner than expected)
...as opposed to...
我们八点上课，她九点才来。
wǒmen bādiǎn shàngkè, tā jiǔdiǎn cái lái.
"We start class at 8 o'clock, she came at 9 o'clock." (later than expected)
***For more information about and practice using 就 (jiù) and 才 (cái) please refer to pages 139, Grammar Point #6, pages 181-182 Grammar Point #3, and Language Practice F on page 193-194.***
She usually starts doing her homework at 6:30, but yesterday she started it at 5:30.
她平常六点半开始做功课，但是昨天她五点半就开始做了。
tā píngcháng liùdiǎn bàn kāishǐ zuò gōngkè, dānshì tā zuótiān wǔdiǎn bàn jiù kāishǐ zuò le.
Mom usually comes home at 5:30, but yesterday she came home at 6:30.
妈妈平常晚上五点半回家，可是她昨天六点半才回家。
māma píngcháng wǔdiǎn bàn huíjiā, kěshì tā zuótiān liùdiǎn bàn cái huíjiā.
6.) She usually eats breakfast at 6:30, but yesterday she ate breakfast at 8:00.
她平常六点半吃早饭，但是她昨天八点才吃早饭。
tā píngcháng liùdiǎn bàn chī zǎofàn, dānshì tā zuótiān bādiǎn cái chī zǎofàn.
See #5.
7.) Lesson 7 grammar is very difficult.
第七课的语法很难。
dì qīkè de yǔfǎ hěn nán.
Ordinal numbers [1st, 2nd, 3rd...] are numbers that go in order, such as, first, second, third, fourth, etc. In Chinese, ordinal numbers are expressed by adding the character 第 (dì)IN FRONT OF the number. So, the sequence would go as follows:
第一 (dìyī)，第二 (dìèr)， 第三 (dìsān)，第四 (dìsì)， etc.
In Chinese, ordinal numbers are often used to describe lessons in a book, so Lesson 5 would be expressed as, 第五课 (dì wǔ kè).
***For more information on ordinal numbers, please refer to page 183 Grammar Point 5 in your textbook.***
That's your sixth cup of tea! Don't drink too much!
那是你第六杯茶！别喝太多！
nà shì nǐ dì liù bēi chá! bié hē tài duō!
8.) I'm a little busy today.
我今天有一点忙。
wǒ jīntiān yǒu yìdiǎn máng.
The adverb 有一点 (yǒu yìdiǎn) comes BEFORE adjectives or verbs. It is another alternative to the adverbs 很 (hěn), 非常 (fēicháng), 真 (zhēn), and 太 (tài) and is used in a similar way.
So, to say, "The teacher speaks a little fast," would be:
老师说话说的有一点快。
lǎoshī shuōhuà shuō de yǒu yìdiǎn kuài.
It is important to distinguish between the adverbial有一点 (yǒu yìdiǎn) which describes ADJECTIVES and 一点 (yìdiǎn)from Lesson 5 which describes NOUNS.
The difference is that the word 有 (yǒu) MUST be included when you are describing an adjective and dropped when describing a noun.
Compare the following two sentences:
她有一点不高兴。"She's a little unhappy today."
tā yǒu yìdiǎn bù gāoxìng.
In this example, 有一点 (yǒu yìdiǎn) describes the adjective 不高兴 (bù gāoxìng).
她想喝一点咖啡。"She wants to drink a little coffee."
tā xiǎng hē yìdiǎn kāfēi.
In this example, 一点 (yìdiǎn)describes the noun 咖啡(kāfēi).
***For more information about and practice using有一点 (yǒu yìdiǎn) please refer to pages 183-184, Grammar Point #6 and Language Practice C on page 186.***
Our test was a little difficult.
我们的考试有一点难。
wǒmen de kǎoshì yǒu yìdiǎn nán.
9.) How come you didn't go to class yesterday?
你昨天怎么没上课？
nǐ zuótiān zěnme méi shàng kè?
The question word 怎么 (zěnme) has two meanings depending on context.
The first meaning is "how" as in "in what manner."
你怎么写“懂”这个字？
nǐ zěnme xiě "dǒng" zhège zì?"
"How do you write the character '懂'?"
The second meaning is "how come" or "why" to express bewilderment or surprise.
他怎么回家？这个电影很有意思。
tā zěnme huí jiā? zhège diànyǐng hěn yǒu yìsi.
"How come he went home? This movie is very interesting."
One other use of 怎么 (zěnme) is in the word 怎么样 which means, "how about" or "alright." We use this word to ask "how something is" or "how something went." For instance,
昨天你看的电影怎么样？
zuótiān nǐ kàn de diànyǐng zěnme yàng?
How was the movie you saw yesterday?
***For more information about and practice for 怎么 (zěnme) please refer to page 191 Grammar Point #7 and Language Practice E on page 193.***
How come you did so poorly on the test?
你怎么考试考得这么不好？
nǐ zěnme kǎoshì kǎo de bùhǎo?
10.) He has a girlfriend, a pretty one!
他有女朋友，一个漂亮的！
tā yǒu nǚ péngyou, yīge piàoliang de!
When 的 (de) is added to an adjective, the adjective acts like a noun which kind of means something like "one that is that adjective." So for instance, the 的 (de)in 好的 (hǎode) makes the phrase act like a noun, and means something like "a good one."
For example,
他是一个男的。- "He is a male (one)."
tā shì yīge nán de.
***For more information about 的 (de) and adjectives, please refer to page 191 Grammar Point #8 in your textbook.***
Please, give me a pen, a good one.
请给我一枝笔，一枝好的。
qǐng gěi wǒ yī zhī bǐ, yī zhī hǎode.
This writing review module was created by Mr. Solak.