Grammar of Unit 4

Asking "how much/many" with 多 and 几

In Chinese, there are two main ways to ask "how much/how many", depending on the context and the estimated quantity of the answer.

1. 多 duō before an adjectival verb

The adjectival verb 大 dà can be translated as "to be big" in the sense of size and age.
中国很大。 Zhōngguó hěn dà. China is big.
大人: adults.

Careful: "to be old" is 老 lǎo, not 大.

In Chinese, the word "to be numerous" 多 duō can also be translated as "how much" when it comes before an adjectival verb:
中国人很多。 Zhōngguó rén hěn duō. Chinese people are numerous.
你多大？ Nǐ duō dà? How old are you? (literally: "you are how much old?")

This use of 多 makes it possible to form questions that come perfectly naturally in Chinese:
她多美？ Tā duō měi? "How pretty is she?"
他多好？ Tā duō hǎo? "How kind is he?"

The answer to the question "How old are you?" 你多大？ is formed without a verb:

Example: "I am 17 years old": 我十七岁。 Wǒ shíqī suì.

岁 suì is used only for years of age.

2. 几 jǐ

When addressing a child, you can also say 你几岁？ Nǐ jǐ suì?
In fact, the question word "how many?" 几 jǐ is used when the answer is estimated to be less than 10 (roughly). Beyond that, there is another question word built on 多 duō, which we will see later.

Building numbers up to 99

You learned the numbers from 0 to 10 in the vocabulary. Nothing difficult, except for writing zero: 零 líng. It is also written 〇, which is simpler but less traditional. In the HSK tests, zero is written 零: that is therefore the form you must master.

Chinese people also use Indo-Arabic numerals, and very often so. But Chinese numerals remain in common use, and you need to know them.

After 10, the sequence is logical:
11 十一
12 十二
13 十三
...
19 十九
Then: 20 二十
21 二十一
22 二十二
etc.

It is very simple. Only one thing to watch: you do not add a "one" from 10 to 19. Neither 一十, nor 一十一.

The alternative-interrogative question

We have seen the complete question, formed by placing 吗 ma at the end of a sentence, and the incomplete question, formed with a question word (谁？ shéi?, 什么？ shénme?).

There is another structure for the complete question, which consists of doubling the verb by alternating it with the negation:

So the question in 吗 ma:
他是老师吗？ Tā shì lǎoshī ma? Is he a teacher?
can just as well be said:
他是不是老师？ Tā shì bú shì lǎoshī? Is he a teacher?

This structure is called the alternative-interrogative question.

So what is the difference with the question in 吗 ma? There are two, a small one and one with heavier consequences:

  • the small one: the alternative-interrogative form is found a little more in speech, the question in 吗 ma a little more in writing;
  • the big one: you cannot use an adverb (很，也) with the alternative-interrogative form.

So the following sentence is correct:
她也姓李吗？ Tā yě xìng Lǐ ma? Is she also called Li?
but the following sentence is wrong:
她也姓不姓李？ Tā yě xìng bú xìng Lǐ?

Last remark: if the verb is disyllabic, like 高兴 gāoxìng "to be happy" or 客气 kèqi "to be polite", only the first syllable of the first verb is usually kept. This is not mandatory.
她高不高兴？ Tā gāo bù gāoxìng? Is she happy?
but you can perfectly well say:
她高兴不高兴？ Tā gāoxìng bù gāoxìng? Is she happy?

Example taken from the dialogue:
你是不是中学老师？ Nǐ shì bú shì zhōngxué lǎoshī? Are you a secondary school teacher?

The adjective before the noun

In Chinese, the adjective, or the determiner, is always placed before the noun it qualifies. This is the logic of the particle 的 (determiner + 的 + determined), except that 的 implies a comparison, a setting apart from the rest of the group.

Examples taken from the dialogue:
中学老师 zhōngxué lǎoshī: secondary school teacher (literally: "secondary-school teacher")
大学老师 dàxué lǎoshī: university teacher

With 的:
中学的老师 zhōngxué de lǎoshī: secondary school teacher (when you want to distinguish it from other levels).

Here we find the reverse order of English: the determiner (中学 or 大学) is placed before the determined (老师). This is a reflex to acquire early, and it will serve you at every level.