New level 1: Grammar 10 | Learn Chinese

Learn Chinese: grammar of Unit 10

Verb-object compounds

In Unit 5 we saw the verb 说 shuō "to speak". Followed by a direct object, it is used on its own:
我说汉语。 Wǒ shuō Hànyǔ. I speak Chinese.

But to say simply "to speak", the verb needs a default object: 话 huà "speech". "He speaks" is therefore necessarily 他说话。 and never ~~他说。~~

Verbs that always call for a direct object are verb-object compounds. English has nothing of the kind, which is why they are so easily forgotten.

This unit brings several of them:

说话 shuōhuà: to speak (说 to speak + 话 speech)
我和同学说话。 Wǒ hé tóngxué shuōhuà. I am talking with a classmate.
我说汉语。 Wǒ shuō Hànyǔ. I speak Chinese. (we drop 话)
上课 shàngkè: to have class, to go to class (上 to go up + 课 class)
我上午上课。 Wǒ shàngwǔ shàngkè. I have class in the morning.
我上中文课。 Wǒ shàng zhōngwén kè. I have a Chinese class. (课 becomes 中文课)
下课 xiàkè: to finish class (下 to go down + 课 class)
中午十二点下课。 Zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn xiàkè. Classes finish at noon.
上学 shàngxué: to attend school (上 to go up + 学 studies)
我星期一上学。 Wǒ xīngqī yī shàngxué. I go to school on Monday.
写字 xiězì: to write (already seen)
我写字。 Wǒ xiězì. I write.
我写汉字。 Wǒ xiě Hànzì. I write Chinese characters. (字 becomes 汉字)

Warning

The default object must disappear as soon as another object is specified. The following sentence is therefore wrong:
~~他说话汉语。~~ ✗
他说汉语。 Tā shuō Hànyǔ. ✓

The days of the week: 星期

"Week" is 星期 xīngqī, literally "period of stars". The day is formed by adding the number after 星期:

Monday: 星期一 xīngqī yī
Tuesday: 星期二 xīngqī èr
Wednesday: 星期三 xīngqī sān
Thursday: 星期四 xīngqī sì
Friday: 星期五 xīngqī wǔ
Saturday: 星期六 xīngqī liù

Sunday is the exception: 星期天 xīngqī tiān (day of heaven) or 星期日 xīngqī rì (day of the sun).

There is nothing Chinese about the week: it is an import, of Judeo-Christian origin. The traditional calendar is a lunar one, and it is still used for the festivals. For work and administration, China uses the Western, so-called "solar" calendar. Hence this very simple numbering of the days, which, for once, makes our life much easier.

Examples:
今天是星期五。 Jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. Today is Friday.
明天是星期六。 Míngtiān shì xīngqī liù. Tomorrow is Saturday.
昨天是星期四。 Zuótiān shì xīngqī sì. Yesterday was Thursday.

The auxiliary verb 要

要 yào is an auxiliary placed before the main verb. It has two meanings.

1. To want, with a firm decision

要 expresses a will, a settled decision. It is stronger than "to feel like".
我要学汉语。 Wǒ yào xué Hànyǔ. I want to learn Chinese.
他要来北京。 Tā yào lái Běijīng. He wants to come to Beijing.

2. To have to, must

要 also expresses necessity:
今天要学习。 Jīntiān yào xuéxí. Today, one must study.
学中文，要多说，多写。 Xué zhōngwén, yào duō shuō, duō xiě. To learn Chinese, you must speak a lot and write a lot.

Structure:
Subject + 要 + Verb

The negation, in the sense of "not to want", is 不要 bú yào:
我不要去。 Wǒ bú yào qù. I don't want to go.

The aspect particle 了, called verbal 了

In Unit 8 we saw the final 了, at the end of the sentence, which marks a change of situation:
我二十岁了。 Wǒ èrshí suì le. I am now twenty years old.

Here is the other use, just as frequent: the verbal 了, or particle of completed aspect. It is placed just after the verb and says that the action is completed.

Simple rule:
Verb + 了: completed action

Examples taken from the text of the unit:
我们说了一个小时的汉语。 Wǒmen shuō le yí ge xiǎoshí de Hànyǔ.
⟶ We spoke Chinese for one hour.

我们写了三十分钟的汉字。 Wǒmen xiě le sānshí fēnzhōng de Hànzì.
⟶ We wrote characters for thirty minutes.

Other examples:
我看了。 Wǒ kàn le. I looked.
她去了中国。 Tā qù le Zhōngguó. She went to China.

The negation of the verbal 了

When the action has not been completed, we use 没 méi, and we drop the 了:
我昨天没有来上课。 Wǒ zuótiān méiyǒu lái shàngkè. Yesterday, I did not come to class.
她没去中国。 Tā méi qù Zhōngguó. She did not go to China.

So:
~~没去了~~ ✗
没去 ✓

Remember this: completed action, 了 right after the verb. Action not completed, 没 and no 了. The two never go together.

Comparison of the two 了

	Verbal 了 (after the verb)	Final 了 (end of sentence)
Position	Just after the verb	At the end of the sentence
Meaning	Completed action	Change of situation
Example	我看了。 Wǒ kàn le. I looked.	我二十岁了。 Wǒ èrshí suì le. I am now 20 years old.
Negation	没, and the 了 disappears	不……了: no longer
Negative example	我没看。 Wǒ méi kàn. I did not look.	他不学汉语了。 Tā bù xué Hànyǔ le. He no longer studies Chinese.

Time: specific time or duration

Distinguishing specific time (at what time?) from duration (how long?) is essential in Chinese: the words are not the same.

Specific time: 点 and 分

It is built with 点 diǎn (o'clock) and 分 fēn (minute):
一点 yì diǎn: one o'clock
两点 liǎng diǎn: two o'clock
三点 sān diǎn: three o'clock
八点十五分 bā diǎn shíwǔ fēn: 8:15
十二点半 shí'èr diǎn bàn: 12:30

Two notes

for "two o'clock", you need 两 liǎng and not 二 èr. This holds for the figure 2 alone, not for the numbers that contain it, such as 12;
the half hour is marked with 半 bàn, placed after 点.

上午 shàngwǔ (morning), 下午 xiàwǔ (afternoon) and 中午 zhōngwǔ (noon) are placed before the time:
上午八点十五分 shàngwǔ bā diǎn shíwǔ fēn: 8:15 a.m.
中午十二点 zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn: noon
下午三点 xiàwǔ sān diǎn: 3 p.m.

To ask the time:
现在几点了？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le? What time is it?
You can also say 现在几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?, without the 了.

Answer:
现在三点。 Xiànzài sān diǎn. It is three o'clock.

Duration: 小时 and 分钟

For a duration, the words change:

	Specific (at what time?)	Duration (how long?)
Hour	点 diǎn	小时 xiǎoshí
Minute	分 fēn	分钟 fēnzhōng

Examples:
我上午八点上课。 Wǒ shàngwǔ bā diǎn shàngkè. I have class at 8 a.m. (specific)
我们说了一个小时的汉语。 Wǒmen shuō le yí ge xiǎoshí de Hànyǔ. We spoke Chinese for one hour. (duration)

上午八点十五分上课。 Shàngwǔ bā diǎn shíwǔ fēn shàngkè. Classes start at 8:15. (specific)
我们写了三十分钟的汉字。 Wǒmen xiě le sānshí fēnzhōng de Hànzì. We wrote characters for 30 minutes. (duration)

Remember: 点 and 分 for specific time, 小时 and 分钟 for duration. Mixing them up is the most common mistake in this unit.

Note the structure that expresses the duration of an action with an object:
Subject + Verb + 了 + duration + 的 + object
我们说了一个小时的汉语。 Wǒmen shuō le yí gè xiǎoshí de Hànyǔ. We spoke Chinese for one hour.

Specific time in the sentence

In Unit 9 we saw that adverbials are placed before the action verb. Specific time is no exception:

Subject + time + (place) + verb

Examples:
我上午八点十五分上课。 Wǒ shàngwǔ bā diǎn shíwǔ fēn shàngkè. I have class at 8:15 a.m.
我星期五在北京大学学习。 Wǒ xīngqī wǔ zài Běijīng Dàxué xuéxí. I study at Beijing University on Fridays.
我明天上午来。 Wǒ míngtiān shàngwǔ lái. I am coming tomorrow morning.

When there are several time expressions, we go from the broadest to the narrowest:
我星期五上午八点上课。 Wǒ xīngqī wǔ shàngwǔ bā diǎn shàngkè. I have class on Friday morning at 8 o'clock.

From the general to the particular, always. It is the same logic as for the date.