Level 1 Lesson 18.1 – When Does the Movie Start?

Grammar 1: Ask When in Chinese · HSK 1

The most common way to ask when in Chinese is to use the Question Phrase 什么时候 shénme shíhou. 什么 means what. 时候 refers to (1) a time point; (2) a time period, a duration of time. 什么时候 together can be translated as when in Chinese. To ask when in Chinese, we follow this structure:

Subject + 什么时候 + Predicate (+ Object)

For example:

• nǐmen shénme shíhou huí Zhōngguó
  你们什么时候回中国？
  when (do) you guys (go/come) back to China
• wǒmen shénme shíhou zǒu
  我们什么时候走？
  when do we leave

Grammar 2: Ask When in Chinese More Specifically· HSK 1

Instead of asking when in general, we may sometimes want to ask when more specifically. For example what time of the day, what day of the week, or what day of the month... Below are some useful Time Question Phrases that can be used to ask when in Chinese more specifically:

• jǐdiǎn 几点 what time/what o'clock
• xīngqījǐ 星期几 what day of the week
• jǐhào / jǐrì 几号 / 几日 what day of the month
• jǐyuè 几月 which month
• nǎnián 哪年 which year

When we ask questions with them, we also follow this structure:

Subject + Time Question Phrase + Predicate (+ Object)

For example:

• diànyǐng jǐdiǎn kāishǐ
  电影几点开始？
  what time does the movie start
• wǒmen xīngqījǐ bú shàng Hànyǔkè
  我们星期几不上汉语课？
  what day of the week we don't have Chinese class
• tā jǐhào huí Měiguó
  他几号回美国？
  what day (of the month) (does) he return America
• nǐ jǐyuè kāishǐ xué Hànyǔ
  你几月开始学汉语？
  which month do you start to learn Chinese
• wǒmen nǎnián qù Shànghǎi lǚyóu
  我们哪年去上海旅游？
  which year do we go to Shanghai to travel

Sometimes these Time Question Phrases can even be combined together to ask when in Chinese more specifically, for example:

• diànyǐng xīngqījǐ jǐdiǎn kāishǐ
  电影星期几几点开始？
  the movie starts on what day of the week and what time on the clock
• nǐ jǐyuè jǐhào bú shàngbān
  你几月几号不上班？
  what month and what day you don't work

Grammar 3: 店 - Different Shops in Chinese · HSK 1

We learned that in Chinese 店 diàn means shop or store, as in 商店 shāngdiàn. If we want to say different shops in Chinese, usually we can use this structure:

product name + 店

For example:

• kāfēidiàn 咖啡店 coffee shop
• cháyèdiàn 茶叶店 tea leaves shop
• shūdiàn 书店 bookstore

Be careful that not all shops use this structure.

Grammar 4: 走 - To Walk or to Leave in Chinese · HSK 1

走 zǒu means to walk or to leave in Chinese. So this sentence could have two meanings:

• wǒ bùxiǎng zǒu
  我不想走。
  I don't want to walk / I don't want to leave