Ocean Heaven -- Part. 5

Please watch the movie: Ocean Heaven.

LANGUAGE  POINTS

1. verb1 着 verb2
2. Causative verb: 让
3. 想verb就verb
4. 开始＋verb
5. verb + 一下

Please try to say the following sentences in Chinese.

1. Dafu saw the ball and he wanted to play with it. 
2. Lao Wang was trying to teach Dafu to use money to buy things. 
3. Lingling asked Dafu to get the ball for her. 
4. Take it, if you want take it. 
5. Sing, if you want to. 
6. Lao Wang begins to teach Dafu how to use money. 
7. Dafu begins juggling the eggs. 
8. Excuse me! Help me to pick up the ball really quick, okay?
9. As you like.
10. Make yourself at home. 

CULTURE NOTES

1. The basic units of Chinese currency are _______________________________________, similar to US dollars, dimes, cents. However, in daily life, people prefer to use_______________________________________.
2. ____________ is the official measurement of weight in China, but you may see people use _________, which equals to 500 grams (half a kilo). 
3. "_________ " can be used to ask someone for help in a polite way. 

Acknowledgement and References:

https://www.mangolanguages.com

Causative verb：让 (ràng)

Causative verbs are verbs that cause people to do things. In English, these are verbs like "make", "have" and "get", as in "get Billy to eat dinner." The "get" is the causative verb. 让 (ràng) is one of the most common causative verbs in Chinese, which is usually used in spoken language. It often can be replaced by 叫 (jiào). Meaning the same thing (to make), 使 (shǐ) is used in more formal or written Chinese. 请 (qǐng) can be used as a causative verb as well, which is more respectful. Please be aware of the different meanings and levels of formality among these Causative verbs when you use them.The structure is Subject + Causative verb + Noun/Pronoun + VO. For example, 

• 玲玲让大福帮她捡球. Lingling asked Dafu to help her to get the ball. 
• 妈妈叫我打扫房间。Mother asked me to clean the room.
• 这部电影使我很感动。This movie is quite moving. 
• 我请张师傅帮我修电脑。I asked Technician Zhang to help me to fix the computer. 

Please write sentences by use the words given. 

1. 爸爸     去    开门     我    叫
2. 去    我    图书馆    老师    让   借书
3. 散步    让   很   放松     我      感觉   
4. 这个    大吃一惊      新闻      使      她
5. 我     张大夫     帮我    请   检查   身体

着 (zhe) part 3: The Durative Aspectual Particle

We learned about the Durative Aspectual Particle 着 (zhe) in the previous blogs (part.1 & part.2). It can be used to signify the continuation of an action or a state. Its function is descriptive. When 着 (zhe) is used between two verbs, the one that precedes it signifies the accompanying action, while the second verb signifies the main action. For example,

• 老师站着讲课，学生坐着听课。While the teacher stood lecturing, the students sat listening.
• 他喜欢躺着看书。He likes to listen to the music while lying down. 
• 美式足球可以抱着球跑。In American football, you can run with the ball in your hands. 

Please fill in the blanks.

1. 我喜欢______着工作。（坐／站／躺）
2. ______着看书对眼睛不好。（坐／站／躺）
3. 马可以______着睡觉。（坐／站／躺）
4. 我们应该______着吃饭。（坐／站／躺）
5. 儿子喜欢______着玩游戏。（坐／站／躺）

w/h question pronoun with 都／也

A question pronoun can appear in sentences other than questions. When a question pronoun is used in a statement with 都 or 也appearing after it, it simply means "all" or "none" in the sense of being all-inclusive or all-exclusive. For example,

• A: 你想喝点儿什么饮料？What kind of drinks do you want to drink?

          B: 谢谢！我不渴，什么都不想喝。Thanks! I'm not thirsty. I don't want to drink anything.

• A: 照片里你认识谁？Who do you know in the photo?

          B: 我谁都不认识。I don't know anybody.

• A: 明天我们几点见？When are we going to meet?

          B: 随便。几点都行。I don't care. (Let it be.) Anytime.


Please filling the blanks by using the phrases give.

1. 谁也不会读
2. 哪件都不想买
3. 我什么地方都没有去过
4. 什么宠物都不养
5. 哪儿也买不到正宗的北京烤鸭

• 这些衣服我______________。I'm not going to buy any of these clothes. 
• 这个字太难了，______________。This character is so difficult. Nobody knows how to read it. 
• 王家明住在学校宿舍里，______________。Wang Jiaming lives at the dorm, and he doesn't keep any pets.
• 俄亥俄州______________。I have never been to any places in Ohio State.
• 在这个城市里，______________。You can't find the real Peking Duck anywhere in this city. 

方方 and 圆圆 are twins but they could not be more different. For example, 方方喜欢吃蔬菜，可是圆圆什么蔬菜都不喜欢吃。Please describe them by contrasting their huge differences.

• 方方 knows everyone, but 圆圆 doesn't know anyone. 
• 方方 has been to all kinds of places, but 圆圆 has not been anywhere. 
• 方方 is happy all the time, but 圆圆 is unhappy all the time. 

Preposition 对 (part. 2)

We learned 对 can be used as a preposition to introduce a thing or a person that receives a certain effect from someone or something else in the previous blog. The structure is A 对 B + verb/adj. Here we are going to learn three more patterns.

• 这个药对感冒很有用。This medicine is very effective for colds. A 对 B 很有用
• 微信对学习中文很有用。
• 电脑对他练习打字很有帮助。Computer is very useful for him to practice typing. A 对 B 很有帮助
• 查字典对学汉字很有帮助。
• 她对花生过敏。She is allergic to peanuts. A 对 B 过敏
• 他对花粉过敏。

Please fill in the blanks:

1. 听  很     对     中文歌     有帮助     我学中文     
2. 他的      鸡蛋     过敏     姐姐     对    
3. 我       对       非常    感兴趣     汉语    
4. 读绕口令        特别         练习音调       对     有帮助
5. 看中文报纸         有用       对       认汉字    十分   

越来越... more and more

"越 ... 越..." (yuè... yuè...) is used frequently in Chinese to denote a progressive change over time. This structure expresses that something is becoming more and more adjective over time, with the latter adjective changing with the verb. The most common structure is: Subject + 越来越 + Adjective. For example, 

• 夏天到了，天气越来越热。
• 北京的房子越来越贵。
• 我的中文越来越好。

Please answer the questions:

• 你觉得语法越来越难，还是越来越容易？
• 你认识的汉字越来越多，还是越来越少？
• 电脑的价格越来越贵，还是越来越便宜？

This structure can be expanded further by replacing 来 with another verb. This expresses that one change causes another change. The structure is: (Subject 1) + 越 + Adjective/ Verb ，(Subject 1/2)  + 越  + Adjective/ Verb. For example, 

• 儿子越大，越聪明。Subject 1 + 越 + Adjective，越  + Adjective
• 儿子越大，越喜欢数学。Subject 1 + 越 + Adjective，越  + Verb
• 儿子越大，成绩越好。Subject 1 + 越 + Adjective，Subject 2＋越  + Adjective
• 儿子越大，我越喜欢他。Subject 1 + 越 + Adjective，Subject 2＋越  + Verb
• 儿子越学数学，越聪明。Subject 1 + 越 + Verb，越  + Adjective
• 儿子越学数学，越喜欢数学。Subject 1 + 越 + Verb，越  + Verb
• 儿子越学数学，成绩就越好。Subject 1 + 越 + Verb，Subject 2＋越  + Adjective
• 儿子越学数学，我越支持他。Subject 1 + 越 + Verb，Subject 2＋越  + Verb

Fill in the blanks by using the phrases or sentences given.

1. 越好吃
2. 越胖
3. 越生气
4. 越便宜
5. 我越兴奋

• 你买得越多，______________________。
• 水果越新鲜，______________________。
• 你越喝碳酸饮料，______________________。
• 他越听，______________________。
• 挑战越大，______________________。

Please fill in the blanks:

• 女儿越__________，______________________。
• 女儿越__________，______________________。
• 女儿越__________，______________________。

You can also use "越...越..." with a complement. In this case, "越" has to follow the "得". The structure is: (Subject 1) + Verb 得 +越..., (Subject 1/2)  + (Verb 得) + 越 ... For example, 

• 我说得越慢，你听得越清楚。
• 盐吃得越多，血压越高。
• 电视看得越多，儿子的视力越糟糕。
• 篮球打得越多，他越强壮。
• 瑜伽练得越多，她越苗条。

Please fill in the blanks:

• 书看得越多，______________________。
• 去得地方越多，______________________。
• 中文电影看得越多，______________________。

最 structure

The most common way to form a superlative (best, worst, biggest, smallest, etc.) in Chinese is to use 最 (zuì) before an adjective. The structure is 最 + Adjective. For example, 

• 这种茶最好喝。
  
• 这种冰淇凌最好吃。

Occasionally you'll also see a 了 (le) added after the adjective. This simply adds emphasis to the "-est."  The structure is 最 + Adjective (+ 了). For example,

• 这种果汁最好喝了。
• 王菲的歌最好听了。

最 (zuì) can also come before psychological verbs, to express what one "most likes," "most hates," etc. It won't make sense if you try to use 最 (zuì) with non-psychological verbs, though.The structure is 最 + [Psychological Verb] (+ 了). For example,

• 他最喜欢看书了。
• 她最讨厌抽烟的人了。
• 他最想去日本了。
• 我最怕蛇。

Please translate the following sentences:

1. My mother is the youngest.
2. His girlfriend is the most beautiful.
3. I am the fastest.
4. She is the most serious student.
5. He is the richest.

Please fill in the blanks:

我最喜欢___________________。

我最不喜欢___________________。

我最讨厌___________________。

我最想去___________________。

我最怕___________________。