Key sentences 10
Learning Chinese: key sentences 10
To build reflexes and be able to express yourself in Chinese without searching for your words, it is helpful to learn sentences by heart. Rather than learning the entire dialogue/text of the unit, we have selected these key sentences to optimize your learning. You must therefore know them well.
Do not hesitate to repeat them out loud: it helps you memorize them while working on your pronunciation and helping you absorb the structures of the Chinese language.
Then you must be able to translate them orally and in writing, first from Chinese into English, then from English into Chinese.
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现在几点了？ : What time is it (now)?
→ Emblematic sentence: interrogative 几点 + 了 final marking the present moment.
现在三点。 : It is three o'clock.
→ Standard answer. 点 = specific time. No verb "to be" before the time.
我上午八点上课。 : I have class at eight in the morning.
→ Combination: time of day (上午) + specific time (八点) + verb-object (上课). All placed before the verb.
中午十二点下课。 : Classes finish at noon.
→ Symmetrical pair with 上课/下课 : 上 (to start class) ↔ 下 (to finish class). Inseparable verb-object compounds.
今天是星期五。 : Today is Friday.
→ Days of the week: 星期 + number. Exception: Sunday = 星期天 or 星期日.
我和同学说话。 : I am talking with a classmate.
→ Verb-object 说话 ("to say words") = simply to speak. If you specify the language, you drop the standard object: 说汉语.
今天要学习。 : Today, one must study.
→ Auxiliary verb 要 placed before the main verb. Meaning: "to want" (firm decision) or "must/to have to" (necessity).
我们说了一个小时的汉语。 : We spoke Chinese for one hour.
→ Key structure: Subject + Verb + 了 + duration + 的 + object. 小时 = duration (different from 点).
我昨天没有来上课。 : Yesterday, I did not come to class.
→ Negation of a completed action: 没有 (or 没) before the verb, and removal of the 了. Never 没…了.
学中文，要多说，多写。 : To learn Chinese, you must speak a lot and write a lot.
→ Idiomatic expression from the text: 多 + verb = "to do a lot". An excellent sentence to remember as a go-to piece of advice.