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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 3 · Chapter 17

谈家人 Talking about family

Tán jiārén

Discussing family. Teaches V + 得 + adj (manner / extent complement) and pairs with V + 得 + 不 + adj (negative manner).

你爸爸做什么工作? — What does your dad do?

  1. 王明 shàngjiārénchīfànhěngāoxìng. bazuòshénmegōngzuò? Last time the whole family ate together — it was lovely. What does your dad do?
  2. 林雪 shìgōngchéngshī, gōngzuòhěnrènzhēn. He is an engineer, and he works very seriously.
  3. 王明 mane? And mom?
  4. 林雪 mashìlǎoshī, shuōhuàshuōhěnqīngchǔ. Mom is a teacher; she speaks very clearly.
  5. 王明 ne? xiěkuàima? And you? Do you write fast?
  6. 林雪 xiěkuài, dànliú. I don't write fast, but I read fluently.

姐姐唱得很好 — Older sister sings well

  1. 林雪 jiějiexìngqíng, chàngchànghěnhǎo. My sister is warm — she sings very well.
  2. 王明 dixìngzěnmeyàng? And your brother's personality?
  3. 林雪 jiàoānjìng, dànpǎozhēnkuài. He is rather quiet, but he runs really fast.
  4. 王明 shuōrán, néngxiǎngdàojiārén. You speak naturally — I can picture the whole family.
  5. 林雪 ye退tuìxiūle, xiànzàipǎokuàile. My grandpa is retired — he does not run fast now.
  6. 王明 méiguān, 退tuìxiūleyīnggāimànmànzǒu. That's fine — retired people should walk slowly.
汉字PinyinTừ loạiNghĩa
家人 jiārén n. family member(s) (recall Bk2)
工作 gōngzuò n. work; job (recall Bk1)
工程师 gōngchéngshī n. engineer
退休 tuìxiū v. retire
性格 xìnggé n. personality; character
gāo adj. tall; high (recall Bk1)
安静 ānjìng adj. quiet (recall ch07)
热情 rèqíng adj. warm; enthusiastic (recall ch12)
说话 shuōhuà v. speak; talk (recall Bk1)
pǎo v. run (recall Bk1)
chàng v. sing (recall Bk1)
清楚 qīngchu adv. clearly; clear (recall Bk2)
流利 liúlì adv. fluent(ly)
认真 rènzhēn adv. serious(ly); careful(ly) (recall Bk2)
自然 zìrán adv. natural(ly) (recall Bk2)
林雪 Lín Xuě pn. Lin Xue (persona — recall ch01)
王明 Wáng Míng pn. Wang Ming (persona — recall ch01)
汉字PinyinTừ loạiNghĩa
chéng measure; -er (in 工程师) 工程师 gōngchéngshī — engineer
chu (in 清楚 = clearly; clear (recall Bk2)) 清楚 qīngchu — clearly; clear (recall Bk2)
liú (in 流利 = fluent(ly)) 流利 liúlì — fluent(ly)
style; pattern (in 性格) 性格 xìnggé — personality; character价格 jiàgé — price
退 tuì retreat; retire (in 退休) 退休 tuìxiū — retire

de particle for manner complement (recall Bk1) Viết

11 strokes left-right

xìng nature; -ity (in 性格) Viết

8 strokes left-right

style; pattern (in 性格) Nhận biết

10 strokes left-right

退

tuì retreat; retire (in 退休) Nhận biết

9 strokes left-right

chéng measure; -er (in 工程师) Nhận biết

12 strokes left-right

主谓谓语句 (三53) Subject-predicate predicate sentence (三53)

一个句子的谓语本身又是一个"主谓结构". 句子先有一个大主语 (话题), 后面跟"小主语 + 谓语"来说明它. 我家人都很好 (我家人 = 话题; 都很好 = 主谓). 这件衣服颜色很好看 (这件衣服 = 话题; 颜色很好看 = 主谓). 三级常用来描述人或物的某个方面.

The predicate of a sentence is itself a "subject + predicate". The sentence opens with a big subject (the topic), then a "small subject + predicate" comments on it. 我家人都很好 (topic 我家人; comment 都很好). 这件衣服颜色很好看 (topic; 颜色很好看). Common in Band 3 to describe one aspect of a person/thing.

  • 我家人都很好. Wǒ jiārén dōu hěn hǎo. My family are all well.
  • 这件衣服颜色很好看. Zhè jiàn yīfu yánsè hěn hǎokàn. This piece of clothing has a lovely colour.
  • 那本书我没看过. Nà běn shū wǒ méi kàn guo. That book — I haven't read it.
  • 爷爷身体很好. Yéye shēntǐ hěn hǎo. Grandpa is in good health.

重动词 — 动词 + 宾语 + 动词 + 补语 (三59) Verb-copying: V + object + V + complement (三59)

上一课 (grammar-01) 用主谓作谓语. 本课: 当一个动词既带宾语又要带补语时, 要把动词重复一次. 他做饭做得很好 (做饭 + 做得很好). 她说中文说得很流利. 第一个"做饭"带宾语, 第二个"做"带补语. 不能说"他做饭得很好".

Grammar-01 used a clause as predicate. Here: when a verb has BOTH an object AND a complement, the verb is COPIED. 他做饭做得很好 (做饭 + 做得很好). 她说中文说得很流利. The first 做饭 carries the object; the second 做 carries the complement. You cannot say 他做饭得很好.

  • 他做饭做得很好. Tā zuò fàn zuò de hěn hǎo. He cooks very well.
  • 她说中文说得很流利. Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn liúlì. She speaks Chinese fluently.
  • 我打球打得不太好. Wǒ dǎ qiú dǎ de bú tài hǎo. I don't play ball very well.
  • 他走路走得很快. Tā zǒu lù zǒu de hěn kuài. He walks very fast.

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