Grammar of Unit 6

Classifiers (个 and 口)

In Chinese, you cannot place a number directly before a noun. You must insert a word called a "classifier" or "measure word". As its name suggests, the classifier places the noun into a category (flat objects, animals, people, etc.).

For example, the classifier for people is 个 gè :
一个人 yí gè rén : one person
两个孩子 liǎng gè háizi : two children
七个人 qī gè rén : seven people

There are many classifiers, but some words have no particular classifier and 个 then serves as the default classifier.

You must also use the classifier with demonstratives 这，那 (this, that) and their question word 哪 (which?):
这个人 zhè gè rén : this person
那个学生 nà gè xuéshēng : that student (over there)
哪个人？ Nǎ gè rén ? : Which person?

To count family members, use the classifier 口 kǒu (mouth):
我家有四口人。 Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén. My family has four people.
你家有几口人？ Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén ? How many people are in your family?

Use of the number 两

In Chinese, there are two ways to say "two":

  • 二 èr : the digit "two" used for counting (1, 2, 3…), in phone numbers, floors, etc.
  • 两 liǎng : the number "two" used before a classifier.

Examples:
两个孩子 liǎng gè háizi : two children
两口人 liǎng kǒu rén : two people (in a family)

The verb 有 and its negation 没有

The verb 有 yǒu means "to have" or "there is/are". Its structure is the same as other verbs:

Examples from the dialogue:
我有两个孩子。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè háizi. I have two children.
你有几个孩子？ Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè háizi ? How many children do you have?

Examples:
我没有弟弟。 Wǒ méiyǒu dìdi. I don't have a younger brother.
你没有弟弟吗？ Nǐ méiyǒu dìdi ma ? You don't have a younger brother?

The conjunction 和

和 hé means "and". It is used to connect nouns or noun phrases with each other.

Examples from the dialogue:
一个女儿和一个儿子 : a daughter and a son
我的爸爸、妈妈、一个哥哥、一个姐姐、两个妹妹和我。 : My dad, my mom, one elder brother, one elder sister, two younger sisters and me.

The Chinese enumeration comma 、 (or "list comma")

You may have noticed the sign in the dialogue 、 (called 顿号 dùnhào). It is the enumeration comma in Chinese. It is used to separate the items of a list, where English uses an ordinary comma.

Example: 我的爸爸、妈妈、一个哥哥、一个姐姐、两个妹妹和我。

In Chinese, the ordinary comma ， (called 逗号 dòuhào) is used to separate the clauses of a sentence, not the items of a list.

Absence of 的 in 你家

You noticed in the dialogue: 你家有几口人？ and not 你的家有几口人？.

When the relationship between the modifier and the modified is very close (family, body parts, intimate relationship), the 的 is often omitted:
你家 your family / your home
我妈妈 my mom
他爸爸 his/her dad