fi PRfiCTICfIL CHINESE GRfiMM6R Hung-nin Samuel Cheung in collaboration with Sze-yun Liu and Li-lin Shih The Chinese University Press C V S © The Chinese University of Hong Kong 1994 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from The Chinese University of Hong Kong ISBN 962-201-595-6 First edition 1994 Second printing 1996 THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Chinese University of Hong Kong SHA TIN, N.T., HONG KONG Printed in Hong Kong by Nam Fung Printing Co., Ltd. Contents Introduction X111 Lesson 1 1. The Adjective as a Verb 1 Lesson 2 ^1. Question Formation: The ^ —Question 3 2. Question Formation: The 呢一 Question 3 3•很 + Adjective 4 4. The Adverb 也 5 5. Omission of a Subject 6 Lesson 3 1. The Negative Sentence 7 2. The Adverb 都 8 3. Pronouns and Their Plural Forms 9 Lesson 4 1. How to Introduce a Person 11 Lesson 5 1. The Demonstrative 13 2. The Possessive Construction 13 u 3. More on the 吗—Question 14 Lesson 6 1. Question Formation: The Use of an Interrogative Word 17 Lesson 7 1. The Interrogative Word 什么 19 2. The Imperative 19 Lesson 8 1. An Action Sentence 21 2. The Polite Request 22 3. The Honorific Pronoun 您 22 4. How to Address a Person 23 Lesson 9 1. Naming in Chinese 25 2•请问 “May I ask…” 26 vi Contents Lesson 10 1. The Verb 在 27 2. The Locative 27 3. Numerals 28 4. The Interrogative Word 多少 28 Lesson 11 1. The Double—Object Construction 31 2. Time Words 31 3. The Tentative 一下儿 32 4. Numerals (continued) 33 Lesson 12 1. The Modification 35 2. The Motion Verb 去 35 3. The Adverb 常 36 4. The Multifunctional 看 36 Lesson 13 1. Question Formation: The Affirmative 一 Negative Question 39 2. Verbal Expressions in Series 42 3. Positioning of Adverbs in a Sentence 44 4. The Conjunction 和 46 5. A Noun Functioning as an Attribute 47 6. The Use of 喂 48 7. How to Ask for Someone’s Name 48 8. The Verb 介绍 48 Lesson 14 1. The 有一Sentence 51 2. The Prepositional Construction 52 3. The Adverb 常（continued) 55 4. The Rhetorical Question 56 Lesson 15 1. Numbers 59 2. The Measure Word 59 3. The Existence 有 63 4. The Double — Object Construction (continued) 64 5. The Adverb 还 66 I Contents vii I Lesson 16 1. The Measure Word (continued) 69 2. The Numeral 两 71 3. The Use of 的 in a 是一Sentence 72 4. The Locative Construction 78 Lesson 17 1. How to Tell Time 83 2. The Time Word Construction 86 3. Verbal Expressions in Series (continued) 88 I Lesson 18 1. The Use of 每 as a Demonstrative 93 2. The Time Word 有时候 96 3. The Adjective 多 97 I Lesson 19 1. The Alternative Question 101 2. The Pivotal Construction 105 3. A Verbal Unit Functioning as an Object 108 4. The Prohibitive 别 》 111 \/5. The Tag Question 112 Lesson 20 1. How to Tell the Date 115 2. How to Inquire about Someone’s Age 123 3. The Nominal Predicate 124 4. Topic and Comment 125 5. 知 道 v s .认识 127 6. More on 以前 and 以后 129 7. How to Make an Apology and How to Respond to One 130 Lesson 21 1. The Relative Clause Construction 133 2. The Adjectival Predicate 138 3. The Transitive Quality Verb 141 4. Reduplication of Verbs 143 5. The Particle 吧 145 Lesson 22 1. Position Words 147 2. The Location Sentence 150 Contents Vlil 3. The Existence Sentence 152 4. The Identification Sentence 154 Lesson 23 1. The Progressive Aspect 159 2. The Particle 吧（continued) 166 3. Position Words (continued) 167 4. Reduplication of Verbs (continued) 169 5. Lexical Differentiation• 参观，访问，and 看 170 Lesson 24 1. The Indefinite Measure Word 173 Lesson 25 1. The Complement of Degree 177 2. The Adverb 再 184 3. More on the Particle 呢 184 4. The Honorific Measure ÍM 185 5. How to Respond to Compliments 186 Lesson 26 1. The Optative Verbs 189 2. The Adverb 还 （continued) 202 3. The Connector 或者 204 4. The Adverb 就 205 5. A Special Numeral 俩 206 Lesson 27 1. The Perfective 了 207 2. The Adverb 又 222 3. The Collective Pronoun 大家 224 4. The Preposition 为 225 Lesson 28 1. The Modal Particle 了 227 2. The Measure Word 双 237 Lesson 29 1. The Imminent Aspect 239 2. The Optative 会 244 3. The Prohibitive 另1J (continued) 245 4. The Sentential Predicate Construction 248 Contents ix 5. Adjective —点儿 250 6. The Conjunction 所以 250 Lesson 30 1. The Preposition 离 253 2. The Word for “Self”：自己 255 Lesson 31 1. The Time — Measure Complement 257 2. Approximate Number Indicators 265 3•多 as a Question Word 270 4. The Ordinal Number Prefix 第 271 5. Point of Time vs. Period of Time 273 Lesson 32 1 .过 as an Experience Marker 275 2. The Action — Measure Complement 278 3. The Time —Measure Complement 282 Lesson 33 1. The New Situation 了 285 2. The Subjectless Sentence 293 3. More about the Weather Terms 296 4. Markers of Adjectival Comparison 299 5. The Construction 从........到........ 301 Lesson 34 1. The Continuous Aspect Marker 着 303 2. The Adverbial Modifier Marker 地 310 3. The Attributive 有的 315 Lesson 35 1. The Adverb 再（continued) 319 Lesson 36 1. Degrees of Comparison 321 2. Counting Money 331 Lesson 37 1. Degrees of Comparison (continued) 335 2. The Quantity Complement 340 3. Compounds of Antonyms 344 4. The Conjunctive Expression 要不 345 l ỉ Contents l i i i 5. More on the Use of 还是 346 6. The Sequential Use of 上 and 下 347 Lesson 38 1. The Resultative Complements 351 2. The Adverb 刚 360 3. The Directional 往， 361 4 The Interrogative Word 怎么 362 Lesson 39 1. The Resultative Complement (continued) 365 2. The Locative Complement 367 3. Sentence Conjoining 371 4. The Preposition 对 375 1 Lesson 40 1. Adjective —极了 379 2. How to Read a Fraction 379 Lesson 41 1. The Simple Directional Complement 381 2. The Destination Expression with 到 387 3. Reduplication of Adjectives 388 4. The Conditional Sentence 391 5. The Differences between 就 and 才 393 Lesson 42 1. The Potential Complement 397 2. Idiomatic Potential Complement Expressions 407 3. 开 as a Resultative Complement 411 4. Numbers (continued) 412 5. The Use of 这么 414 6. The Use of 对 415 Lesson 43 1. The Complex Directional Complement 417 2. The Rhetorical Question (continued) 425 3. The Construction 又........又........ 427 4. 有点儿 Adjective 4281 5. Two Different Uses of 另1J 430 ■ 6. A Special Use of 来 4321 i Contents xi í Lesson 44 1. The Construction 是........的 433 2. The Existence Sentence (continued) 442 3. The Exclamatory Pattern 445 i 4. The Conditional Sentence (continued) 446 5. Special Time Expressions 447 Lesson 45 1. The Potential Complement (continued) 449 ļ 2 .后来vs.以后 450 3. Another Use of the Adverb 又 451 Lesson 46 1. The 把一Construction 453 2 .上 as a Resultative Complement 462 1 Lesson 47 1. Special Types of the 把一Construction 465 2. The Construction 除了........以外 469 1 Lesson 48 1. The Passive Sentence 473 2. The Use of the Interrogative for Indefinite Reference 476 3. The Construction 因为........所以........ 480 4. The All-Inclusive 全 482 5. The Assertive Particle 的 484 1 Lesson 49 1. The Passive Sentence (continued) 485 2. The Construction 不但........而且........ 494 3. The Emphatic Marker 连 496 4. The Complement of Extent 498 Lesson 50 1. Numeral Approximates 501 2. Reduplication of the Measure Word 502 Epilogue 505 ‘ References 507 Index 509 Introduction Ever since the early 1970s when the re-establishment of Sino-US relations gener­ ated a surging interest in the study of the Chinese language, there has been an in­ creasing demand for teaching materials compiled in China. The various series pub- lished by the Beijing Language Institute, when compared to texts issued overseas and especially those compiled in the United States, are most successful in accurately representing current language use in mainland China. Their 1981 publication en­ titled Practical Chinese Reader has been reprinted twice and remains the primary choice for a beginning text among American colleges that offer Chinese language training. Linguistic currency and cultural relevance notwithstanding, one major drawback of all the Beijing Language Institute series is the inadequacy of gram­ matical explanations. As noted in the introduction to Practical Chinese Reader (PCR), the grammar section in each lesson aims at introducing major grammatical points, without attempting a comprehensive analysis. The discussions concentrate primarily on features which are characteristic of the Chinese language and which may pose difficulty for foreign students. However, because grammatical particulars are broken down bit by bit throughout the lessons and presented in a somewhat illogical fashion, the result is a disappointingly insufficient grammar component, at times fragmentary or even confusing. As is always the case, every teacher has his or her own philosophy about grammar and how it should be taught Many are ready to improvise answers derived from their linguistic experiences when account­ ing for why the language behaves in a certain manner. Yet, despite such willing and ready effort to supplement what textbooks provide for grammatical explanation, many of US in the field had hoped that the Beijing Language Institute would pub­ lish a grammar, which we would readily use as a PCR reference. However, no such reference has been produced. In fact, compared with other languages, Chinese has suffered from an unfortunate lack of adequately prepared grammar handbooks which we, teachers and students alike, could consult for detailed and systematic de­ scriptions of sentence patterns and functional words. In Fall 1986 when I assumed responsibility for the first year Chinese language program at Berkeley, I felt firsthand, and with mounting anxiety, the need for a grammar handbook designed for beginning Chinese students. During the following year, with the help of Mrs. Liu Szeyun and Mrs. Shih Lilin, both veteran instructors