Grammar
有趣的法语老师
Yǒuqù de fǎyǔ lǎoshī
A funny French teacher
今天,同学们正在教室里学习,准备下星期的考试。班长忽然跑进来,大声说:“通知大家一个好消息,今年的法语老师来了!”
Jīntiān, tóngxuémen zhèngzài jiàoshì lǐ xuéxí, zhǔnbèi xià xīngqí de kǎoshì. Bānzhǎng hūrán pǎo jìn lái, dàshēng shuō: “Tōngzhī dàjiā yī gè hǎo xiāoxi, jīnnián de fǎyǔ lǎoshī lái le!”
Today, students were studying in class and preparing for next week's exam. The class leader suddenly came running and said loudly: "I'm telling you all good news, this year's French teacher has arrived!"
- 同学们: the plural mark that is normally used only for personal pronouns and when speaking to people can also be used on other occasions but only for humans and when the group is defined. For example, we can not use it in a sentence like "Chinese students are very numerous in France." 中国学生
们在法国很多。 - 下星期 "next week". We should write 下个星期, but the Chinese take a lot of freedom with the grammar and omission of the 个 lighten here the expression 下星期的考试.
- 跑进来 complex directional structure: action verb 跑 "to run" + movement verb 进 "to enter" + directional 来 which indicates that the subject is getting closer. The narrator thus places himself in the classroom.
- 大声说 "say loudly". We could have written 大声地说.
同学们高兴得跳了起来,班长又说:“而且,一会儿就来给我们上课。” 班长刚刚说完,就看到一个高大帅气的外国人站在了教室门口。
Tóngxuémen gāoxìng de tiào le qǐlái, bānzhǎng yòu shuō: “Érqiě, yīhuǐr jiù lái gěi wǒmen shàngkè.” Bānzhǎng gānggāng shuō wán, jiù kàn dào yī gè gāodàshuàiqì de wàiguórén zhàn zài le jiàoshì ménkǒu.
The classmates jumped with joy and the class leader again said: "In addition, he will come to lecture us in a moment." The class leader had just finished speaking, that we saw a tall, handsome stranger standing in front of the classroom door.
- 班长又说 "the class leader has again declared" indicates the succession of the action while 班长还说 "the class leader has declared again" indicates the accumulation of actions.
- "To lecture to": 给。。。上课 (to... to lecture). "Study towards (someone)": 向。。。学习
- 高大帅气 "tall and beautiful" (high / tall / beautiful / breath) still a four-characters expression that the Chinese love. 帅 shuài "to be handsome" only for man (or sometimes for an action). 帅气: literally "a beautiful breath" ⟶ "of a beautiful style / which exudes an aura of beauty".
- 站在了 with 了 of the accomplished aspect. A little disturbing here with the 在, but we must not forget that there is also the 站 "to stand".
他敲了敲门,很有礼貌地问:“我可以进来吗?” 同学们看着他,都变得害羞起来,安静地看着他走了进来。
Tā qiāo le qiāo mén, hěn yǒu lǐmào de wèn: “Wǒ kěyǐ jìnlái ma?” Tóngxuémen kàn zhe tā, dōu biàndé hàixiū qǐlái, ānjìng de kàn zhe tā zǒu le jìnlái.
He knocked on the door and politely asked, "Can I come in?" The classmates looked at him and became shy and quietly watched him come in.
- 敲了敲门 doubling the verb to soften the action (敲敲门). 了 is placed after the first verb.
- 很有礼貌地问 "to ask with a lot of politeness" is the same as 很礼貌地问 "to ask very politely"
- 着 indicates that the action lasts.
“大家好!我是你们新来的法语老师,我是一名法国人,看我的鼻子大家也许猜到了吧!” 他还没说完,同学们就笑开了。
“Dàjiā hǎo! Wǒ shì nǐmen xīn lái de fǎyǔ lǎoshī, wǒ shì yī míng fǎguórén, kàn wǒ de bízi dàjiā yěxǔ cāi dàole ba! Tā hái méi shuō wán, tóngxuémen jiù xiào kāi le.
"Hello everyone, I'm your new French teacher, I'm a Frenchman. Seeing my nose you may have guessed!" He had not finished speaking that the students has started laughing."
- 新来 "newly arrived". We could have also said 我是你们新的法语老师, but the Chinese like to specify the movements (as for the complex directionals!).
- 猜到, 说完 and 笑开: built as follow: action verb + result verb. For 说完 "to finish talking" is easy enough to understand. For 猜到, the 到 indicates that the action of guessing reaches its goal. On the other hand, for 笑 "to laugh", the outcome of the action is 开 "to open"! Note the expression 开玩笑 "to joke".
“我的中文名字叫李白。不是皮肤白的原因,因为我知道李白很有名,所以我肯定大家不会忘记我。”他有趣地自我介绍,让大家都活泼起来了。
“Wǒ de zhōngwén míngzì jiào Lǐ Bái. Bú shì pífū bái de yuányīn, yīnwèi wǒ zhīdào lǐbái hěn yǒumíng, suǒyǐ wǒ kěndìng dàjiā bú huì wàngjì wǒ.” Tā yǒuqù de zìwǒ jièshào, ràng dàjiā dōu huópō qǐláile.
"My Chinese name is Li Bai, not because my skin is white, but because I know that Li Bai is very famous, so I'm sure everyone will not forget me." His funny self introduction made everyone get more lively.
- 李白 Li Bai (formerly translated by Li Bo) is one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
- After a verb 起来 "to get up" indicates that the action begins ("to get started"). In 活泼起来了, 了 indicates the change in situation and enhances 起来.
他继续用他流利的普通话说,“我在中国生活三年了,我的专业是汉语,希望通过我们共同的努力,有一天,你们每一个人,都能说非常标准的法语,像我一样。”
Tā jìxù yòng tā liúlì de pǔtōnghuà shuō, “wǒ zài Zhōngguó shēnghuó sān nián le, wǒ de zhuānyè shì hànyǔ, xīwàng tōngguò wǒmen gòngtóng de nǔlì, yǒu yītiān, nǐmen měi yī gè rén, dōu néng shuō fēicháng biāozhǔn de fǎyǔ, xiàng wǒ yīyàng.”
He continued to speak in a very fluid Mandarin: "I live in China for three years. My specialty is the Chinese language. I hope that thanks to our joint efforts, each of you will be able to speak a very standard French like me."
- 有一天 "there is a day", corresponds to "a day" or "once upon a time" of our story.
- 每一个人 strengthens individuality compare to 每个人.
- In China, it is very important to speak a well-standard mandarin (标准). It is a sign of good education. It's a great compliment to tell someone that his Chinese is very standard: 你的普通话很标准。.
幽默真是一种让人羡慕的能力,尽管是很普通的事情,从他嘴里说出来也会变得十分有趣,和一个有幽默感的老师一起学习语言,一定能取得很好的效果,所以他受到了同学们的欢迎。
Yōumò zhēn shì yī zhǒng ràng rén xiànmù de nénglì, jǐnguǎn shì hěn pǔtōng de shìqíng, cóng tā zuǐ lǐ shuō chūlái yě huì biàn dé shífēn yǒuqù, hé yīgè yǒu yōumògǎn de lǎoshī yīqǐ xuéxí yǔyán, yīdìng néng qǔdé hěn hǎo de xiàoguǒ, suǒyǐ tā shòudàole tóngxuémen de huānyíng.
Humor is really an enviable ability. Although this is a very common thing, it becomes very funny coming from his mouth. Learning a language with a teacher who has a good sense of humor will certainly give good results, this is why he received a good welcome from the students.
- 让人羡慕 "enviable". Literally "that makes people want it".
- 取 qǔ "to take" + 得 dé to obtain" ⟶ "to obtain". Often used with 效果 "effect", 经验 jīngyàn "experience" et 联系 liánxì “contact / relation".
- 幽默 yōumò "humor" + 感 gǎn "to feel / feeling" ⟶ sens of humor