Mandarin Lesson 2
Recordings added July 13, 2006.
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Sentence Structures:
Use zài (在) as a preposition to indicate location, for example, at, in, on.
To indicate "in", after a noun, add a lǐ (裡/里).
To indicate "on", after a noun, add a shàng (上).
"As soon as" is expressed as 一...就... (yī...jiù...). Use the "as soon as / yī" as an adverb directly preceding the verb but after the subject. For example, "mother as-soon-as walked (=left)". For the second half of the sentence you have to add a "jiù" and again use it as an adverb directly preceding the verb: "child 'jiù' cried".
Try these sentences:
The child (started) laugh(ing) as soon as it saw mother. -- Child yī see mother, jiù laugh. -- Xiaohair yi kan mama jiù xiao(qilai).
The students stood up as soon as the teacher came in. -- Teacher yī enter students jiù stand-up. -- Laoshi yī jinlai xueshengmen jiù zhanqilai.
As soon as a mouse sees a cat it runs. -- Mouse yī see cat jiù run. -- Laoshu yī kan mao jiù pao.
And to contrast the time something happened:
As soon as the mouse saw the cat it ran. -- Mouse yī see cat jiù ran. -- Laoshu yī kan mao jiù paole.
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| Hertz is a rental car company. | Hèzī shì chūzū qìchēde gōngsī.
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| Our landlord is an elderly gentleman. | Wǒmende fāngdōng shì yíwèi lǎo xiānshēng.
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| The landlord is very friendly. | Fāngdōng hěn héqì.
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| This room has a table, chairs, a chest. It has all its furniture. | Zhège fāngjiān zhuōzi, yǐzi, guìzi... Shéme jiājù dōu yoǔ le.
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| I need to go to the furniture store to get a table. | Wǒ yào dào jiājù gōngsī qù mǎi yīzhāng zhuōzi.
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| This is a single bed. | Zhè shì yīzhāng dānrénchuáng.
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| This bed is too large. | Zhè zhāng chuáng tàidà le.
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| This is a big desk. | Zhè shì yīzhāng dà shūzhuō.
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| There are two books on the desk. | Shūzhuōshàng yǒu liǎngběn shū.
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| This closet is very roomy. | Zhège yīguì hěn dà.
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| There are ten shirts hanging in the closet. | Yīguìlǐ guàle shíjiàn chènshān.
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| The place where I live is not far from the school. | Wǒ zhù de dìfāng lí xuéxiào bù yuǎn.
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| My school is not far from the train station. | Wǒ de xuéxiào lí huǒchēzhàn bù yuǎn.
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| This shirt is very expensive. | Zhè jiàn chènshān hěn guì.
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| Is this book expensive? | Zhè běn shū guìbúguì?
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| This dress is inexpensive and pretty. I'm very satisfied. | Zhè jiàn yángzhuāng bú guì, yòu hěn piāoliàng. Wǒ hěn mǎnyì.
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| Are you satisfied with the way I handled this? | Wǒ chǔlǐ zhèjiàn shìqíngde fāngshì, nǐ mǎnyì ma?
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| I decided to take the trip by train. | Wǒ juédìng zuò huǒchē qù lǚxíng.
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| He decided to go back to his country next month. | Tā juédìng xiàge yuè huí guó.
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| I must finish my homework before I go to bed. | Wǒ děi zuòwánle gōngkè cái néng shuìjiào.
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| He must eat three bowls of rice before he is full. | Tā děi chī sān wǎn fàn cái bǎo.
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| You cannot eat while reading in the library. That is the rule. | Nǐ zài tǔshūguǎn kàn shū, bù néng chī dōngxī, nà shì tǔshūguǎnde guījù.
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| I'm a well-behaved student. | Wǒ shì shǒu guījude xuéshēng.
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| I definitely will come tomorrow. | Wǒ míngtiān yídìng lái.
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| I always go to bed at ten o'clock. | Wǒ yídìng shídiǎn zhōng shuìjiào.
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| Miss Huang has maintained her weight at fifty kilograms for three years. | Huáng Xiǎojiěde tǐzhòng shì wǔshí gōngjin, yǐjīng bǎochí sānnián le.
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| I exercise every day to kep my body healthy. | Wǒ tiāntiān yùndòng, bǎochí shēntǐ jiànkāng.
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| This restaurant is very clean. | Zhège fànguǎnr hěn qīngjié.
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| This park is very clean. | Zhège gōngyuǎn hěn qīngjié.
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| There is a noisy boy outside the window. | Chuānghù wàitou yǒu yīge chǎonàode nánhái.
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| This is classical music. | Zhè shì gǔdiǎn yīnyuè.
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| Young people like pop music. | Niánqīng rén xǐhuān liúxíng yīnyuè.
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| I will come to see you if it doesn't rain tomorrow. | Míngtiān yàoshì bú xiàyǔ, wǒ jiù lái kàn nǐ.
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| If you cannot come, I will visit you. | Yàoshì nǐ bù lái, wǒ jiù qù kàn nǐ.
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| Welcome to my home. | Huānyíng nǐmen dào wǒ jiālǐ lái.
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| Welcome new comers! | Huānyíng xīn tóngxué!
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| The landlady is very pretty. | Fāngdōng tàitai hěn piāoliàng.
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| This is the landlady. | Zhè wèi shì fāngdōng tàitai.
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| The child told his mother there was a cat in the tree. | Xiǎo háir gàosù māma, shù shàng yǒu yī zhī maō.
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| The father told his son to drive carefully. | Fùqīn gàosù érzi, kāi chē yào xiǎoxīn.
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| Mr. Ye, the teacher, always arrives at school at half past seven. | Yè lǎoshī zǒngshì qī diǎn bàn dào xuéxiào.
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| He always eats sandwiches for lunch. | Tā měi tiān zhōngwǔ zǒngshì chī sānmíngzhì.
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| The school often surveys their students' opinions. | Xuéxiào chángcháng diàochá xuéshēngde yìjiàn.
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| If you hear such a rumor, investigate it thoroughly. | Jiǎrú nǐ tīngdào zhèyàngde yáoyán, xiángxìdi diàochá tā.
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| Excuse me, how do you pronounce this word? | Qǐng wèn, zhège zì zěnme niàn?
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| How should I answer? | Wǒ yīnggāi zěnme huídá?
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| The lights went out when he entered the door. | Tā yī jìn mén, dēng jiù miè le.
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| As soon as the mother left, the child started crying. | Māma yī zǒu, xiǎo háir jiù kū le.
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| Once, he walked to school. | Yǒu yí cì, tā zǒu lù shàngxué.
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| He didn't eat lunch once. | Tā yǒu yí cì zhōngwǔ méi chīfàn.
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