《海龟下蛋》 The Turtle Lays Eggs

This week, we read the story of 《海龟下蛋》 The Turtle Lays Eggs, which was selected from 《中文》book 6, lesson 3 p.p. 25-26.

1) Please listen to the recording and then read the text aloud. 

2) Please be able to recognize and write the following key words from memory. 

• 暑假  shǔjià       summer vacation
• 宁静  níngjìng   serenity
• 注视  zhùshì      watch attentively 
• 动静  dòngjìng  movement
• 悄悄  qiāoqiāo  quietly

3) Please answer the following questions according the the text:

• 去年暑假，我们去海边度假的时候，看到了什么？
• 请说一说，海龟是在哪儿下蛋的呢？
• 海龟下了蛋以后，它做了什么？

4) Please describe the pictures below:

Comparing 的de, 地dì, and 得dé

We talked about 的de and 得dé in the previous blogs. In this blog, we are going to compare the structural particles, 的de, 地dì, and 得dé.

的de  is known as 白勺的 (bái-sháo de) because it is made of the characters 白 (bái) and 勺 (sháo). It is usually used to show possession or modification and it follows the pattern:的 + Noun

• The "possessive 的"  works like 's in English (apostrophe s). 
• 大卫的中文书 David's Chinese book
  
• 杰克的哥哥 Jack's older brother 
• 我的书包 my bag
• The "noun-modifying 的" is used with an adjective or verb phrase as an attributive to describe a noun.  
• 红色的气球 red balloons
• 漂亮的姑娘 pretty girl
• 我写的字 the characters I wrote

得dé  is known as 双人得 (shuāngrén de), because the radical 彳is called 双人 (shuāngrén) - "double person" radical. 

• The compliment 得 de2 is often used after verbs to give more information about how the action was done: Verb + 得. For example, 
• 跑得快 run fast
• 做得好 do well
• 听得不清楚 can not hear clearly 

地dì is known in Chinese as 土也地 (tǔ-yě de), as it's composed of the 土 (tǔ) radical and 也 (yě). It can be used to turn adjectives into adverbs, and can be thought of as equivalent to the suffix -ly in English. 

• The "adverb 地" or "adverbial 地" precedes verbs like adverbs do: Adj + 地 + Verb
• 开心地笑 laugh happily
  
• 慢慢地说 speak slowly
• 认真地写 write carefully

Please write fill in the blanks by using 的de, 地dì, or 得dé.

1. 她 穿 着 红 色 ______ 裙 子，安 静 ______  走 在 路 上，走 ______  很 慢。

Tā chuān zhe hóngsè de qúnzi, ānjìng de zǒu zài lùshàng, zǒu de hěn màn.

She wears a red dress, quietly walking on the street, walking slowly.

2. 他 ______ 女 朋 友 一 直 在 开 心 ______唱 歌，但 是 她 唱______ 很 难 听。

Tā de nǚ péngyǒu yīzhí zài kāixīn de chànggē, dànshì tā chàng de hěn nántīng.

His girlfriend keeps singing happily, but she sings terribly.

3. 我 们 ______ 老 师 讲 ______很 清 楚，所 以 她 不 需 要 慢 慢______ 讲。

Wǒmen de lǎoshī jiǎng de hěn qīngchǔ, suǒyǐ tā bù xūyào màn màn de jiǎng.

Our teacher speaks very clearly, so she doesn't need to speak slowly.

4. 你 画 ______ 很 好，蓝 蓝______天，长 长______ 路，可 爱 ______ 孩 子 们 开 心______笑。

Nǐ huà de hěn hǎo, lán lán de tiān, zhǎng zhǎng de lù, kě'ài de háizimen kāixīn de xiào.

You drew this very well: a blue sky, a long road, and cute children laughing happily.

5. 我 要 认 真______对 我 ______儿 子 说：你 做 ______很 好，妈 妈 爱 你。

Wǒ yào rènzhēn de duì wǒ de érzi shuō: Nǐ zuò de hěn hǎo, māmā ài nǐ.

I must earnestly tell my son: you did very well, and mommy loves you.

Reference:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/De
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structural_particle_%22de%22

得 (de2) and 得(dei3)

得 (de2) and  得(dei3)  are heteronym, because they are written identically but they have different pronunciation and meaning. 

1) compliment 得 de2 ( structure: verb +  得 de2)

跑得快 run fast

做得好 do well

走得不快 do not walk fast 

2）"must/have to" modal 得 dei3 (structure: 得 dei3＋ verb )

天黑了，他得回家了。It gets dark. He has to go home. 

天冷了，你得多穿点儿。It is cold. You'd better put on more clothes. 

下雪了，你开车得小心点儿。It is snowy. You must be careful when driving. 

please choose the correct pronunciation of 得:

1. 他中文说得很好。(de2 or dei3)
2. 他感冒（catch a cold)了，得去看医生。(de2 or dei3)
3. 他足球踢得很好。(de2 or dei3)
4. 这个字很难，我得多写几次。(de2 or dei3)
5. 她唱歌唱得很好。(de2 or dei3)
6. 你开车开得太慢了，后面的车都按喇叭（ sound the horn）了，你得开快一点儿呀。(de2 or dei3)
7. 范冰冰长得很漂亮。(de2 or dei3)
8. 这个电影拍得很不错，你得看看。(de2 or dei3)

Noun Suffix 子 zi

The character 子 zi literally means offspring or child, but it is also used as a noun suffix. You can often find it in lot of nouns, like 兔子 (tùzi, rabbit),  帽子(màozi, hat), and 盒子 (hézi, box), which end with this neutral toned “zi 子”. Today we are going to talk more about this grammar point to see why we need this 子zi as a noun ending.

Each character in Chinese is a unit of meaning and a character can be used in a variety of different words as well. However, Chinese is not a monosyllabic language. Most words in the modern Chinese are actually multisyllabic, which are made up of more than one character, usually two, but there can be three or more. So, most English words could be translated into a Chinese bigram of two Chinese characters.  Hence, that's why we put 子 zi ending after one-syllable nouns in Chinese, even though it does not have any significant meanings in these nouns. You can regard it as "stuff". 

Let take a look at these examples again:

• 兔(tù,rabbit)  --> 兔子 (tùzi, rabbit) 
  
• 帽(mào, hat) --> 帽子(màozi, hat)
• 盒 (hé, box) --> 盒子 (hézi, box)

We put zi 子 after the monosyllabic nouns. However, we do not put zi 子 after a noun which is a bigram . For example, 

• 白兔 (bái tù) = white rabbit 
• (Note that the noun-making suffix “zi” drops off.)
• 红帽 (hóng mào) = red hat 
• 木盒 (mù hé) = wooden box

Please translate the following sentences. 

1. 这双_______很好看。This pair of shoes looks nice. (shoe 鞋)
2. 这双_______很好看。This pair of black shoes looks nice. 
3. 山上有一只________。There is a monkey on the mountain. (monkey, 猴)

      4. 他小的时候是一个小________。When he was young, he was a little chubby boy. 

      5. 我今天中午吃了20个________, 他吃了10个________。I had 20 dumplings at noon, and he had 10 steam buns. 

Do you like these fruits with "子 zi "?

Reference:
http://fluentinmandarin.com/content/ten-things-you-need-to-about-chinese-characters/
http://www.101languages.net/chinese/morphology.html

Comparing 还是 (háishì) and 或者 (huòzhě)

Both 还是 (háishì) and 或者 (huòzhě) mean “or” and they are used to give choices. However, 还是 is usually used in a question, and 或者 is mostly in a statement. 

还是 is often used in an alternative question. The structure is Subject + Verb + Option A + 还是 + Option B?

• 今天晚上你想吃中国饭还是美国饭？Do you want to have Chinese food or American food tonight? 

或者 is used in a declarative sentence.The structure is Subject + Verb + Option A + 或者 + Option B.

• 今天晚上我想吃中国饭或者美国饭。I want to have either Chinese food or American food. 

Please choose 还是 or 或者 for the following sentences

1. 你喜欢蓝色的_______红色的？
2. 他每天坐地铁_______坐公车上班。
3. 你想吃印度菜，意大利菜_______中国菜？
4. 你想喝咖啡_______喝茶？
5. A：你这个周末想去打篮球 _______去踢足球？                  

          B：打篮球 _______ 踢足球都可以。 

Reference:

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22haishi%22_and_%22huozhe%22

Preposition 对 （part.1)

对 (duì) can be used as a preposition to indicate "to" or "towards" an object or target. The structure is 对 + Object + Verb Phrase. For example, 

• 他对人很有礼貌。He's very polite to others. 
• 他对这件事儿不太清楚。He was not familiar with this matter. 
• 他对音乐很感兴趣。He is interested in music. 
• 她对画画儿很着迷。She's very fascinated with painting.

Here are some set phrases of 对
对……来说  for... [a person]

• 对我来说，川菜太辣了。 Sichuan food is too spicy for me. 
• 对他来说，数学很容易。 Math is easy for him.
• 对你来说，你最喜欢什么运动？What's the favorite sport to you?

对...感兴趣  (Duì... Gǎn xìngqù, to be interested in...)

• 他对中文很感兴趣。He is interested in Chinese.
• 她对唱歌很感兴趣。She is interested in singing. 
• 你对川菜感兴趣吗？Are you interested in Sichuan food?

对···的印象   (Duì... De yìnxiàng, the impression on the object)

• 你对中国的印象怎么样？What's your impression about China?
• 他对小张的印象很好。He has a very good impression about Little Zhang. 

Please translate the following sentences by using 对 structure.

1. He smiles at me. 
2. He said hello to her. 
3. Chinese is very interesting to him.
4. Who is interested in playing basketball?
5. He has a very good impression about Buffalo.

Preposition 跟

In this blog, we are going to talk about the different usages of preposition 跟 and their meanings. 

1) You can use 跟 (gēn) to express "with". The structure is Subject + 跟 + Person (+ 一起) + Verb + Object.

• 小张今天特别帅，因为今晚他要跟女朋友吃晚饭。 Little Zhang looks very handsome today, because he will have dinner with his girlfriend. (Note that the "跟" phrase comes before the verb.)
  
• 他很想和他女朋友结婚。He wants to marry his girlfriend very much. 
• 他每天都跟她聊天。He chats with her every day. 
• 他很高兴，因为他又可以跟她见面。He's very happy because he can meet her again. 

2)  跟 (gēn) can be used in comparison. The structure is A + 跟 + B + （不）一样 (+ Adjective/verb).

•  A + 跟 + B + （不）一样
• 小张跟小李一样，他们今年都30岁。Little Zhang and Little Li are the same age. They are both 30 this year. 
• A + 跟 + B + （不）一样  + Adjective
• 小张的中文跟小李的一样好。Little Zhang's Chinese is as good as Little Li's. 
•  A + 跟 + B + （不）一样 + Verb

• 小张跟小李一样喜欢学中文。Little Zhang likes to learn Chinese as much as Little Li.

Please correct the following sentences.

1)   昨天小李见面了小张。Little Li met Little Zhang yesterday.

2)   今年夏天，李雷要结婚韩梅梅了。Li Lei will marry Han Meimei this summer. 

3）小李不一样跟小王，小李今年30岁，小王今年31岁。Little Li is different from Little Wang. Little Li is 30 this year and Little Wang is 31. 

4）小王的女朋友一样漂亮跟范冰冰。

Little Wang's girlfriend is as beautiful as Fan Bingbing. 

5）小王一样喜欢美食跟他女朋友。

Little Wang likes food as much as his girlfriend. 

Basic Types of Strokes: 笔画Bǐhuà

You might feel that there are lots of lines, curves, turns, hooks, dots, and squiggles in Chinese characters. Yes, you are right. Actually, they are called strokes (笔画Bǐhuà). To a certain extent, strokes in Chinese symbols are like the letters in a word in alphabetic languages. If you are wondering how to write the strokes correctly, you can practice writing character 永 (yǒng, forever), which is a very important character when you learn to write Chinese calligraphy. What makes this character unique is that you can find all the eight basic strokes are in it. Please grab a pen and write along with it. 

Here are the rules of how we write each of the basic strokes:

1. héng – a horizontal line. You put the pen down on the paper, start from the left side, and pull the pen, and once you get the end of the stroke you pick it up. When you write this horizontal line, please apply the pressure all the way through the stroke. Then, the stroke looks evenly thick at both ends.
2. shù – a vertical line. Like writing heng, you apply the pressure all the way through the stroke from top to the bottom.
3. piě—a sloping line. You apply pressure at the beginning and pull the pen while decreasing the pressure towards the end of the stroke. So you can see the stroke is thick at the beginning and and thin at the end. The stroke can have many different variations. It can be very short. It can also be very long, starting almost vertically and finishing diagonally, with a sharpened tip at the end.
4. nà—a long slant line, starting top left and finishes at the bottom right.  Note that there should be a long extended, wide, and slightly thick shape at end of the stroke towards the bottom right.
5. diǎn – a dot starting top left and finishing at the bottom right.  
6. tí—a short diagonal line. You put the pen down at the beginning and write it from the bottom upwards. As you pull it from bottom left to top right. You raise the pen and release it at the end. As you finish it, you can see a sharpened edge at the end.
7. gōu – a small hook. You do a little flick of the pen at the end of heng, shu, or pie, but make sure you do it in the right direction :P
8. zhé—a sharp turn. It looks like the corners of a box. You usually use it to combine a horizontal and vertical stroke.
9. wān – a curve bend towards certain directions.

piě nà zhé gōu tí Wān
----
Reference:

When you write Chinese characters, you not only want to write correctly without missing a single stroke, but also try to make it look beautiful and balanced by following the right sequence and structure. Hence, when you copy the character, please pay attention to the shape, length, angle, and thickness of the strokes, as well as its position in the characters. Good luck! 

Quiz: Filling the blanks:

1.                   héng – a ________ line. You put the pen down on the paper, start from the left side, and pull the pen, and once you get the end of the stroke you pick it up. When you write this horizontal line, please apply the pressure all the way through the stroke. Then, the stroke looks evenly thick at both ends.

2.                  shù – a ________  line. Like writing heng, you apply the pressure all the way through the stroke from top to the bottom.

3.                  piě—a ________   line. You apply pressure at the beginning and pull the pen while decreasing the pressure towards the end of the stroke. So you can see the stroke is thick at the beginning and and thin at the end. The stroke can have many different variations. It can be very short. It can also be very long, starting almost vertically and finishing diagonally, with a sharpened tip at the end.

4.                  nà —a ________   ________  line, starting top left and finishes at the bottom right.  Note that there should be a long ________ , wide, and slightly thick shape at end of the stroke towards the bottom right.

5.                  diǎn – a ________  starting top left and finishing at the bottom right.  

6.                 tí—a short ________   line. You put the pen down at the beginning and write it from the bottom ________  . As you pull it from bottom left to top right. You raise the pen and release it at the end. As you finish it, you can see a sharpened edge at the end.

7.                  gōu – a small ________  . You do a little flick of the pen at the end of heng, shu, or pie, but make sure you do it in the right direction :P

8.                 zhé —a sharp ________  . It looks like the corners of a box. You usually use it to combine a horizontal and vertical stroke.

9.                  wān – a ________  bend towards certain directions.

http://fluentinmandarin.com/content/how-to-learn-to-write-chinese-characters-part-1/
http://www.clearchinese.com/chinese-writing/strokes.htm

Coincidence: 正好

正好 (zhènghǎo) can be used as an adjective or adverb to help express a coincidence, and it could be related to size, volume, quantity, degree, time, etc. This is similar to how we say in English “the temperature of the coffee was just right" or something like that.

Noun. + 正好（as a adjective）

• 这双鞋大小正好。The size of this pair of shoes is just right. 
• 这首歌的音量大小正好。The volume of the song was just right.

正好 + V. (as a adverb)

• 刚才我去图书馆，正好看见他。I went to the library just now, and I saw him coincidentally. 
• 我今早出门的时候正好下雨。I was going out the door just as it started to rain.

• 现在正好12点。It's 12 o'clock right now.

V. + 得 + 正好 (as a adverb)

• 这件西服做得正好，不大也不小。The suit is made just right, not too big and not too small. 
  
• 米饭煮得正好，不软也不硬。The rice was made perfectly, not too soft and not too hard.

Please write sentences by using the given words:

1. 这道菜    正好      得     做     也    不咸      不淡 (This dish was cooked well, not too salty and not too light.)

2. 我   的时候     正好      他       在    也     到学校     (When I got to school, he was just there as well.)

3. 这件   的     颜色    大衣      正好    也     不深     不浅 (The color of this coat is just right, not too dark and not to light.)

4. 我   到家   正好    的时候     八点 (When I got home, it just 8.00.)

5. 我    的时候   正好    下班   赶上   一班车    最后  (When I knock off work, I was just in time to catch the last bus.)

6. 答案   相反   正好  （The answer is exactly the opposite.)

7. 这个    正好     帽子    我戴着  （This hat fits me nicely. ）

Comparing 刚 and 刚才

We talked about 刚 (gāng) and 刚才 (gāngcái) in the previous posts. You can see they share lots of similarities in terms of meaning and usages. However, it is very important to know the nuances of them and hence to be able to use them correctly. 

"刚" is actually an adverb, and it is placed in front of the verb. It emphasizes that the action just happened a short time ago. It is similar to the English "just." The key here is that "a short time ago is relative, and determined by the speaker. For this reason, 刚 can indicate that something "just" happened 1 second ago, 5 minutes ago, 2 hours ago, 3 weeks ago, or even a year ago. The absolute time is flexible, but from the speaker's perspective, it feels recent.

However, 刚才 expresses that the time that has passed is really short, in near-absolute terms. We're talking no more than 1-30 minutes, in most situations. If it is placed before the verb, it emphasizes what happened in the time that has just passed. It is similar to the English "just now."

In addition, 刚才 can be used as attributives to directly modify a noun to indicate it is that one from "just now" or "just before"  whereas 刚 can not. The structure is 刚才 + 的 + Noun. For example, 

• 刚才的新闻太让人吃惊了。The news just now makes people really surprised. 
• 刚才的那个人是我哥哥。The person just now is my elder brother. 

刚 is an adverb, and it can also modify an adjective. It has the same meaning as 刚刚. (刚才 cannot do this.)

• 天刚晴。The sky just became clear.
• 天刚亮。The sky grow light in the morning.
• 他病刚好。He just got well. 

刚才 always refers to the past. When you talk about a completed action happened in the past, you need 了. For example:

• 他刚才去了北海公园。He went to the Beihai Park just now. 
• 他刚才打了电话。 He called just now. 

Don't use 刚 in sentences where you use 没 to negate the past. You can say something didn't happen just a moment ago (刚才), but you can't say that something just didn't happen (刚). 

• 他刚没打电话。 He just did not call. （wrong）
• 他刚才没打电话。 He did not call just now. （correct）

Here are more right and wrong sentences:

1. 他刚明白。(Correct! The verb 明白 includes a clear enough indication of result.)
2. 他刚才明白。(Wrong! You should use 了 with 刚才 here.)
3. 他刚没听清。(Wrong! 刚 doesn't work with 没.)
4. 他刚才没听清。(Correct! 刚才 can work with 没.）
5. 她刚才听清。(Wrong! You should use 了 with 刚才 here.)
6. 她刚才听清了。(Correct! 刚才 should be used with 了 here.）
7. 昨天她刚才买了一个手机。(Wrong! 刚才 should be used for events a lot closer in time than 昨天.)
8. 昨天她刚买了一个手机。(Correct！刚 works with 昨天.)

Please correct the following sentences according to the translation. 

1. 他刚才看到。He just saw it. 
2. 他刚没看到。He did not see it just now. 
3. 他昨天刚才去了超市。He just went to supermarket yesterday. 
4. 刚的事情是谁干的？Who did that just now? 
5. 人刚才够，我们可以开始了。The people is just enough, so we can start.
6. 他刚才到上海三个月。He just got Shanghai for three months.
7. 我刚才回来。I came back just now. 
8. 这双鞋大小刚才合适。The size of this pair of shoes is just alright. 
9. 天刚才黑。The sky just got dark.