Five Senses & Five Tastes in Chinese [part 1]

In this blog, we are going to learn how to talk about five senses in Chinese. The verbs of five senses "Look, sound, smell, touch, and taste" in Chinese are "看kàn, 听tīng, 闻wén, 摸mō, 尝cháng". If you want to say "something looks beautiful", you can say “......看起来很漂亮。” in Chinese. We use the five senses with 起来, and put adjectives after them to describe the how something looks, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes. 

Here are some examples:

1) 你的裙子看起来很好看。Your dress looks pretty. 

2) 这首歌听起来很优美。This song sounds beautiful. 

3) 这朵花闻起来很香。This flower smells fragrant. 

4) 这条领带摸起来很柔软。This tie feels soft. 

5) 这个汤尝起来很鲜美。This soup tastes fresh and tasty. 

Please fill in the blanks.

1）这个糖_____________有柠檬味，_____________很酸。

2）虽然这条裤子_____________不错，但是_____________有些不太舒服。

3）邓丽君唱的《月亮代表我的心》_____________很好听。

4）这道菜不但_____________好看，而且_____________很香，_____________也很美味。

5）咖啡_____________很香，_____________却很苦。

Please describe the tastes of the objects in the pictures below:

more:

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Direction_complement_%22-qilai%22

V起来

Meaning: 

从某个方面或角度说或看，常以对比形式出现，如“说起来容易，做起来难”，所以形容词前常不带修饰语。

 

Q&A Practice: 

你的新电脑用起来方便吗？

你的牛仔裤看起来很漂亮，穿起来舒服吗？

 

Completion: 

北京烤鸭吃起来很_______，可是做起来________。

对家长来说，尊重孩子的选择说起来_______，做起来________。

汉字_____起来很美，可是_____起来很难。

这个歌_____起来很好听，可是_____起来很不容易。

 

Collocations: 

听起来(很好听)、唱起来(不容易)、住起来(很舒服)、打扫起来(很花时间)、汉字学起来(很有意思)

方向 Directions

1. Please tell where the soccer ball is.

e.g. 1) 足球在箱子的上面。

       2) 足球在箱子和玩具熊的中间。 

2. Listen to the Direction Song and tell where the bunny is.

4. Fill in the blanks.

• 书架在衣橱的__________。
• 椅子在桌子的__________。
• 穿衣镜在书桌的__________。
• 床在书架的__________。
• 书架在__________和__________的中间。

5. The cardinal directions in Chinese is "east, south, west, north" (dōng 东, nán 南, xī 西, běi 北）whereas in English they are "north, south, east, west." Also, Chinese say "east-north," "west-north," "west-south," "east-south" (dōngběi 东北, xīběi 西北, xīnán 西南, dōngnán 东南), but in English people reverse them. This visual can help you to learn these direction words.

6. Use the direction words to fill in the blanks:

1)  北京在中国的_______方。

2）甘肃省在中国的_______部。

3）广东省在中国的_______部。

4）上海在中国的_______部。

5）福建省在中国的_______。

6）黑龙江在中国的_______。

ASK FOR DIRECTION

    A: 从pharmacy到museum怎么走？

    B: 沿着Sun street 往北走，在first street向东拐。

Structure:
沿着.... 往...走，
Walk along the ... and go towards...,
在...向...拐。
then, make a turn at... towards...

7. Please answer

• 从bus terminal到parking lot怎么走？
• 从bus terminal到art gallery怎么走？
• 从hospital到pharmacy怎么走？

This is a map of Beijing Tian'an Men Square.

8. Please fill in the blanks:

1)   天安门在人民大会堂的_____面。

2)   人民大会堂在中国历史博物馆的_____面。

3） 毛主席纪念堂在天安门的_____面。

4） 中国历史博物馆在人民英雄纪念碑的_____面。

5）人民英雄纪念碑在__________和___________的_____。

9. Please tell the directions:

• 从地铁站到天安门怎么走？
• 从东交民巷到地铁站怎么走？

《海洋世界》The Ocean World

1) New Vocabulary

1	吸引 xī yǐn	attract
2	神奇 shén qí	magic
3	玻璃 bō lí	glass
4	担心 dān xīn	be worry about
5	表演 biǎo yǎn	performance
6	尾巴 wěi bā	tail
7	拍打 pāi dǎ	flap
8	令人惊奇 lìng rén jīng qí	surpring
9	海豚 hǎi tún	dolphin
10	神态 shén tài	face look and appreance
11	肚皮 dù pí	belly
12	后背 hòu bèi	back
13	与...在一起 yú...zài yī qǐ	together
14	北极熊 běi jí xióng	polar bear
15	鲨鱼 shā yú	shark
16	暑假 shǔ jià	summer break
17	挖坑 wā kēng	dig a pit
18	注视 zhù shì	watch attentively
19	埋藏 mái cáng	bury
20	一阵 yī zhèn	a burst of…

2) Key Structure

最吸引人的是海狮的表演  (The most attractive thing is the performance of sea lions.)

令人惊奇的是聪明的海豚会唱歌跳舞。(What makes people surprised is that the dolphins can sing and dance.)

他们有时跳出水面，有时钻入水下，有时在水面用尾巴拍打着海水。(Sometimes they jump out of the water; sometimes they plunge into water; sometimes they use their tails to hit the water.) 3) Answer the questions: ”海洋世界“里都有什么动物？ 海豚和鲸鱼会表演什么节目？ 你去过“海洋世界”吗？说一说你在那里看到了什么？

弯弯的月儿

This poem-like song is sweet and peaceful, written by Shengtao YE, a Chinese author and educator. Please listen to it, imaging sitting in a small boat at night and looking at the blue sky full of bright starts. The shape of the boat is like a crescent moon. 

弯弯的月儿，小小的船
Wān wān de yuè er, xiǎo xiǎo de chuán
A crescent moon, a small boat,

小小的船两头尖
xiǎo xiǎo de chuán liǎngtóu jiān
A small boat with two pointed sides,

我在小小的船里坐
wǒ zài xiǎo xiǎo de chuán lǐ zuò
I sit in this small boat,

只看见闪闪的星星蓝蓝的天
zhǐ kànjiàn shǎnshǎn de xīngxīng lán lán de tiān
All I can see is the stars twinkling in the deep blue sky.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dVZtgy1CHw0

全 (quán) or 都 (dōu): the Entirety or Each One of the Whole?

全 (quán) is usually used to indicate the entirety of something. It can be used in the following patterns: 

• 全 + Noun: 
  
• 全国 the whole nation
• 全家 the entire family
• 全世界 the whole world
• Subject + 全 + [Verb Phrase]: 
• 这些汉字，我全写了。I wrote these characters completely (without any exception).
•  这本书我全看完了。I read the entire book. 

都 (dōu) emphasizes each individual of the whole. It can be used in the following patterns: 

• Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]: 
• 大卫、杰克、还有艾米丽都学中文。David, Jack, and Emily all learn Chinese. (Note that 都 emphasize everyone of the whole. In this case, you can not combine David, Jack, and Emily as an entirety. Hence, it is better to use 都.) 
  
• 她的儿女都住在中国。Her children all live in China. (Note that sons and daughters can be regarded as a whole. Hence, in this case you can use 都 or 全.)
• 每个礼拜天早晨，她都去教堂。Each Sunday morning, she goes to the church. (Note that “每个礼拜天早晨” signify any Sunday of her entire life, so it is better to use 都 rather than 全. )
• Subject + 都 + [Adj. Phrase]: 
• 今天的节目都很有意思。All the programs today are very interesting. 
• 这几天都很冷。All these days are very cold. 
• A and B + 都 + [Verb Phrase]:
• 我和我太太都在上海。.My wife and I are both in Shanghai. 
• 韩梅梅和李雷都爱学英语。Both HAN Meimei and LI Lei love to learn English. 

Please filling in the blanks

1)  小王和小张_______都去过迪士尼。Both Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhang have been to Disney.

2）小王他们______家都去迪士尼了。Xiao Wang's family went to Disney World.

3）他很想吃遍______中国的小吃。He desires to eat all the snacks in China. 

4）每个礼拜，他______学中文。Every week, he learns Chinese. 

5）他把整袋薯片______吃了。He ate the entire bag of chips.

Reference:

http://www.no-1chineselearning.com/ynews.asp?aid=2180

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_%22all%22_adverb

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Indicating_the_whole_with_%22quan%22

的: Noun Modifier de - Linking Verb Phrase and Noun

We talked about the possessive and descriptive particle 的 in the previous blog. In this blog, we are going to learn how to use 的 (de) to link a whole phrase to a noun to enhance our understanding about the noun modifier de. 

Besides attaching adjectives to nouns, 的 (de) can be used to attach whole phrases to nouns: [verb Phrase] + 的 + Noun. In English, if you want to say "This is the book that I bought yesterday.", you can use "that" to form an adjective clause "that I bought yesterday" to combine "this is a book" and "I brought the book yesterday" together.  How do we achieve this in Chinese? 

Here is an example:

• Sentence 1: 北京烤鸭很好吃。Peking Roasted duck is delicious.
• Sentence 2: 他买北京烤鸭。He bought Peking Roasted duck.

We can combine these two sentences together by using  S+V+的 + Noun structure but the first thing you need to figure out is which noun you want to modify. You can easily find "北京烤鸭" in both sentences, so it is the noun that you can modify. You can cross the "北京烤鸭" in the second sentence and put 的 at the end. Then, insert “他买的” before the "北京烤鸭" in the first sentence. 

Hence, "the Peking Roasted duck which he bought" in Mandarin is “他买的北京烤鸭”. Note that we put 他买的 (that he bought) before the noun 北京烤鸭, which is different from English.  In a nut shell, "The Peking Roasted duck which he bought tasted very delicious." in Chinese is "他买的北京烤鸭很好吃。" 

Here are another two examples:

Example 1:

• Sentence 1: 这是新课。This is a new lesson.
• Sentence 2: 我们要学新课。We are going to learn a new lesson.

We can combine these two sentences together by using  S+V+的 + Noun structure. First, we need to find the noun that we are going to modify. As you see, there are two 新课 in both sentences, so that's the object that we are going to modify. Then, cross the 新课 in the second sentence and add 的 after it. Then, put 我们要学的 before the 新课 in the first sentence. 

           So, 这是我们要学的新课。This is the new lesson that we are going to learn.  

           Here, we use to "我们要学的" to modify the noun "新课", and "这是新课。" was the main clause. 

         

Example 2: 

• Sentence 1: 请尝尝红烧排骨吧。Please try these braised pork ribs.
• Sentence 2: 我做红烧排骨。I made these braised pork ribs.

To use S+V+的 + Noun structure, you need to find the noun you want to modify first. You can find 红烧排骨 in both of the sentences.  So, you can insert "我做的" before "红烧排骨" in the first sentence: 请尝尝我做的红烧排骨吧。Please try these braised pork ribs which I made.

Here are more examples:

• 我说的是真的！The things that I said were true! / What I said was true! (The original sentence should be 我说的事情是真的 but it sounds redundant to keep 事情 here so we just use 的 de structure without a noun directly.) 

• 这个手机是我昨天丢的。This phone is the one that I lost yesterday. (The original sentence should be “这个手机是我昨天丢的手机。” but it sounds redundant to keep the second “手机”， here so we just use 的 de structure without the noun.) 
• 他教的是中国学生。Those who he taught are Chinese students. (Whom he taught are Chiense students. The original sentence should be “他教的学生是中国学生。”  and we can just use 的 de structure without the noun as a subject.)

We may also use (Time + Place ) + V+的 to modify the noun without a subject in the verb phrase, if the noun is the subject of the verb phrase. For example: 

• Sentence 1: 他是一个外国人。He is a foreigner.
• Sentence 2: 他在中国生活。He lives in China. 

In the second sentence, 他 is the subject. We can delete it and put 的 at the end. Then, we move 在中国生活的 before 外国人 in the first sentence. 

So,  他是一个在中国生活的外国人。He is a foreigner who lives in China. Did you get it right?

You can try to separate the following sentences into two independent sentences: 

• 她是一个在我们公司工作的实习生。She is an intern who works in our company. 
• 她是一个实习生。She is an intern.
• 她在我们公司工作。She works in our company. 
• 他是一个在美国长大的中国人。He is a Chinese who grew up in America.
• 他是一个中国人。He is a Chinese.
• 他在美国长大。He grew up in America.
• 她是一个十年前到中国的美国人。She's an American who went to China ten years ago. 
• 她是一个美国人。She is an American.
• 她十年前到中国。She went to China 10 years ago.

Please choose the correct translation:

1) This is a question he asked yesterday.

     A: 这是一个问题他问的昨天。

     B: 这是一个问题他昨天问的。

     C: 这是他问的昨天一个问题。

     D: 这是一个他昨天问的问题。

2）The places he visited are famous. 

    A: 地方他去有名。

    B: 他去的地方有名。

    C: 他去的地方是有名。

    D: 他去的地方很有名。

3）He is a person who has been to lots of countries.

    A: 他是一个人去过很多国家。

    B: 他是一个人谁去过很多国家。

    C: 他是一个去过很多国家的人。

    D: 他是去过很多国家一个人。

     

4) She is a person who loves to read since she was young.

    A: 她是一个人爱看书从小。

    B: 她是一个人从小爱看书。

    C: 她是一个爱看书从小的人。

    D: 她是一个从小爱看书的人。

Please combine the two sentences together:

1)   Sentence 1: 她是一个美国学生。  Sentence 2: 她在北京大学学习。

2）Sentence 1: 这个男孩子是美国人。  Sentence 2: 他出生在中国。

3）Sentence 1: 这个手机坏了。  Sentence 2: 我去年买这个手机。

4）Sentence 1: 《朋友》很好听。  Sentence 2: 周华健唱《朋友》。

5）Sentence 1: 三明治真好吃。  Sentence 2: 妈妈做三明治。

Please fill in the blanks by using the words given. 
1) 这是一个________________笔记本电脑。（买， 昨天，我，的）
2) 《我爱我家》是一部________________电视剧。（王家明，的，最喜欢）
3）他是一个________________老师。（工作，在我们学校，的）
4）宫保鸡丁是一道________________菜。（受欢迎 popular，在美国，很，的）
5)  《拔萝卜》是一首________________儿歌。（喜欢，小朋友们，的，都，很）

Please translate the following sentences into Chinese: 

1) He's a student who study at UB.

2) The Chinese characters you write look great.

3) This is the song she likes. 

4) This is the flight that goes to China. 

5) The question she asked is very interesting. 


Please rearrange the words and form sentences:
1) 说     的     王家明       中文       是

2）大卫      的      学     西班牙语     是     

3）这些       是      汉字    写     的       我  

4）男朋友      她       是      的     卖     的    手机  



Please listen to the song 你不知道的事 (The Things You Never Knew), by Leehom Wang.


references:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page

的: The Possessive and Descriptive Particle

的 (de) is known to the Chinese as 白勺的 (bái-sháo de) as it's composed of the characters 白 (bái) and 勺 (shoo). In this post, we are going to talk about the usages of 的 (de). In Mandarin Chinese, this strutural particle is most commonly used as a possessive modifier or a descriptive particle: 

Possessive modifier:

In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de). This particle works in a similar way to 's (apostrophe "s") in English, but is used much more widely. We usually follow the pattern: Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2, which means "Noun 1's Noun 2" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1). The de particle can be used for any possessive noun or pronoun. 

• 那是林先生的公司。That is Mr. Lin's company. 
• 这是我的老师。This is my teacher. 
• Notice that de is used after the first (pro)noun. Here is a list of possessive pronouns, which can demonstrate ownership：
• 我的 （wǒ de, my)
• 你的 (nǐ de, your - singular form)
• 他的 (tā de, his)
• 她的 (tā de, her)
• 我们的（wǒmen de, our)
• 你们的（nǐ men de, your – plural form)
• 他们的（tāmen de, their)
• 自己的（zìjǐ de, reflexive oneself’s)
• 谁的(shuí de, interrogative whose?)
• 对话：

                      大卫: 这是谁的中文光盘？  Whose Chinese CD is this?
                      杰克: 这是王家明的。 This is Jiaming WANG's.
                      大卫：家明，这是你的中文光盘吗？  Jiaming, is this your Chinese CD?
                      王家明：对！这是我的。Yes. This is mine.

• 这是我爸爸。
• Sometimes you don't need 的 (de) to indicate certain especially close relationships. Hence, we just use "pronoun + Noun". Here are more examples of possessive pronouns used in sentences, where the possessive particle 的 de was omitted:
• 你家很大，也很漂亮。Your house is very big and very beautiful.
• 他女朋友是我们学校的老师。His girlfriend is a teacher of our school. (You can omit 的 (de), when the possession is about a close personal relationship like family, close friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc.)

• 他们公司是做电子产品的。Their company makes electronic devices. (的 (de) can also omitted when the possession is about an institutional or organizational relationship, like school or workplace.)

Descriptive particle 的 

The de particle can also used with descriptive adjectives describing objects or people as an attributive. It's just a way of connecting adjectives or other words with a noun. It gives us more information about the noun, and the 的 (de) makes it clear that the extra information is connected to the noun. A very common way to modify nouns is to attach an adjective to them using 的 (de): Adjective + 的 + Noun. This structure comes up extremely frequently to attribute features to nouns. Here are some examples:

• 他有一辆蓝色的汽车。He has a blue car. 
• 这是一本很有意思的书。This is an interesting book. 
• Note that if the adjective has at least two characters, the 的 (de) is generally required. 
• However, with one-syllable adjective, 的 is often omitted:
• 这是一台新电脑。This is a new computer.
• 他是一个好老师。He's a good teacher. 
• 我们有一个大教室。We have a big classroom.
• If the adjective is presided by 很, the descriptive particle 的 can not be dropped:
• 这是一台很新的电脑。This is a very new computer.
• 他是一个很好的老师。He's a very good teacher. 
• 我们有一个很大的教室。We have a very big classroom.

In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun altogether, just with the 的 (de) particle taking the place of the noun. Based on the context, the listener can understand what the phrase is actually referring to. Often, this construction can mean "one," as in "the blue one", or as something like "mine" or "Sarah's". Here are more examples:

• A: 你要哪件大衣？   B: 我要红色的。I want the red one.
• A: 这是谁的中文书？这是你的吗？  B: 这不是我的，是大卫的。This is not mine. It's David's.
• A: 你喜欢什么样的女孩子？B: 漂亮的。The beautiful ones.

The noun modifier 的de can not only be used to link an adjective and a noun, it can attach a noun with a phrase, like 她唱的歌真好听！The song that she sang was very beautiful! You can learn about this grammatical point in this blog. 

Please make dialogues according to the picture: 

e.g. A: 这是谁的围巾？

       B: 这是Anna的。

       A: 这是Anna的袜子吗？

       B:  这不是Anna的袜子，这是Megan的。

       

Please use three sentences to describe the picture below:

references:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page