Grammar 8
Learn Chinese: grammar of Unit 8
This unit brings together several important points: the pronouns for animals and things, a new classifier, the nuance between the two ways of saying "a little", and the famous 了 of change of situation.
The pronouns 大家, 它 and 它们
Chinese has a pronoun reserved for animals and objects in the third person: 它 . Its plural is 它们 .
A recap of the third person:
- 他 : he, for a man
- 她 : she, for a woman
- 它 : it, for an animal or an object
Example from the text:
我家有一只狗，还有两只猫。它们都不大。
My family has a dog and also two cats. They are not big.
Note
In speech, 他, 她 and 它 are pronounced exactly the same way: . The distinction exists only in writing.
大家 means "everyone". You use it to address a group or to speak about the group as a whole.
Example: 大家好！ Hello everyone!
The classifier 只
只 is the classifier for small animals: cats, dogs, birds.
Examples from the text:
我家有一只狗。 My family has a dog.
还有两只猫。 And also two cats.
WARNING: 只 has two pronunciations
只 is pronounced , 1st tone, when it serves as a classifier.
It is pronounced , 3rd tone, when it is the adverb "only".
Example: 我只有一个妹妹。 I have only one little sister.
一点儿 and 有点儿: two ways to say "a little"
Both are translated by "a little", but they are not used in the same place, nor in the same spirit.
1. 一点儿 : a little, after the verb
一点儿 is placed after the verb. It states a small quantity, with nothing implied behind it.
Examples:
他们都会说一点儿中文。
They can all speak a little Chinese.
也会写一些汉字。
And write a few characters.
2. 有点儿 : a little, before the verb
有点儿 is placed before the verb, or before the adjectival verb: it is an adverb. It often carries a negative shade of meaning, of awkwardness or discomfort.
Example from the text:
我有点儿喜欢她。 I like her a little (and it is a bit embarrassing to say).
Do not confuse them
一点儿 goes after the verb: 说一点儿中文, to speak a little Chinese.
有点儿 goes before the verb: 有点儿喜欢, to like a little.
Remember that 有点儿 often drags a certain awkwardness along with it, where 一点儿 stays neutral.
The final 了: change of situation
The particle 了 , placed at the end of the sentence, signals that a change of situation has taken place: something is new compared with before. It is a modal particle.
Examples from the text:
我二十岁了。
I am twenty years old now, I have just reached that age.
她九岁了。
She is nine years old now.
Compare:
我二十岁。 I am twenty years old. (a plain statement, nothing more)
我二十岁了。 I am twenty years old now. (there it is, it has happened)
Note
This 了 is not a past-tense marker. It marks a change of state, at any point in time. So 我不学中文了。 means "I do not study Chinese any more": before I studied, now I don't.
This use is not obvious at the start, and it will not be for a good while. Accept that grey area: it clears up with practice. In the meantime, learn the key sentences by heart, that is what works best.
The expression 有的: "some… others…"
有的 means "some". It is used to divide up a group: some are this, others are that.
Example from the text:
他们有的是英国人，有的是美国人。
Among them, some are English, others are American.
The expression 人很好: "to be a good person"
In 我的爸爸妈妈人很好。 , the word 人 does not mean "a person" in the literal sense: it describes what someone is as a human being. Exactly our "my parents are good people".
The structure is therefore:
和 in the sense of "with"
We saw in Unit 6 that 和 means "and", between two nouns. Here it takes on another use: "with". In that case it is a coverb, not a preposition. The test is simple: an adverb can slip in front of it, which no English preposition allows.
Example from the text:
我喜欢和它们玩。 I like to play with them.
How do you know which of the two uses you have in front of you? The context is enough:
爸爸和妈妈 : dad and mom (between two nouns)
和它们玩 : to play with them (before an object followed by a verb)