Level 1 Lesson 12.1 – I Didn’t “Give” Them Class

Grammar 1: Preposition 给 in Chinese · HSK 1

The Preposition 给 in Chinese is used in this structure:

Subject + 给 Object1 + Verb Object2

Here 给 is a preposition, Object1 is the Object of Preposition 给, while Object2 is the Object of the Verb. "给+Object1" together is a Prepositional Phrase, while "Verb+Object2“ is a Verb Phrase. The "给+Object1" Prepositional Phrase is used as the Adverbial of the Verb Phrase at the end of the sentence. For example:

For example:

• māma gěi wǒ zuò fàn
  妈妈给我做饭。
  mom is making meal for me
• nǐ xiǎng gěi shéi mǎi diànnǎo
  你想给谁买电脑？
  who do you want to buy computer for
• Xiè Lǎoshī zài gěi wǒmen shàng Hànyǔ kè
  谢老师在给我们上汉语课。
  Teacher Xie is giving Chinese class to us

Grammar 2: To Call Someone in Chinese · HSK 1

By using the Preposition 给, we can say to call someone in Chinese, or to call some place as well. For example:

• wǒ gěi Xiè Lǎoshī dǎ diànhuà
  我给谢老师打电话。
  I am making a phone call to Teacher Xie.
• Xiè Lǎoshī zài gěi xuéxiào dǎ diànhuà
  谢老师在给学校打电话。
  Teacher Xie is making a phone call to the school.
• wǒ xiǎng gěi péngyou jiā dǎ diànhuà
  我想给朋友家打电话。
  I want to make a phone call to (my) friend's house.

Grammar 3: Hello on the Phone in Chinese · HSK 1

When we say hello on the phone in Chinese, we can say it in two ways:

• nǐhǎo 你好！Hello.
• wèi 喂！Hello.

你好 is more formal than 喂.

But be careful that 喂 is okay to say hello on the phone in Chinese, but can be rude to say hello to someone in person.

Also even though 喂 in pronounced in the Fourth Tone, when speaking in an inquiring tone, it often changes into the Second Tone. This is because the Tone of the Sentence play its part and affected the Tone of the word. See the difference below:

• wèi 喂！Hello!
• wéi 喂？Hello?

Grammar 4: What Is Your Phone Number in Chinese · HSK 1

We learned numbers in the sense of Mathematical Numbers like 1,2,3... 100 before. Today's word hàomǎ 号码 refers to number(s) that suggest an order or an arrangement, such as in:

• diànhuà hàomǎ
  电话号码
  phone number
• fángjiān hàomǎ
  房间号码
  room number
• xuésheng hàomǎ
  学生号码
  student number
• yīfu hàomǎ
  衣服号码
  clothes number(size)

When we want to ask a question related to what's the number of something, there are two structures:

...de hàomǎ shì jǐ? ...的号码是几？

...de hàomǎ shì duōshao? ...的号码是多少？

We use jǐ 几 when the number is assumed to be under 10 and we use duōshao 多少 when the number is assumed to be over 10. For example:

Q: tāde fángjiān hàomǎ shì jǐ
      她的房间号码是几？
      what is her room number(size)
A: tāde fángjiān hǎomǎ shì líng'èr
      她的房间号码是02.
      her room number is 02

Q: nǐde diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo
      你的电话号码是多少？
      What is your phone number
A: wǒde diànhuà hǎomǎ shì (619) 555-2734
      我的电话号码是 (619) 555-2734。
      My phone number is (619) 555-2734

Grammar 5: Do You Know...in Chinese · HSK 2

To know vs don't know in Chinese is zhīdào 知道 vs bù zhīdào 不知道.  So we can ask do you know... in Chinese and answer the question like this:

Q: nǐ zhīdào wǒde míngzi ma
      你知道我的名字吗？
      do you know my name
Y: wǒ zhīdào nǐde míngzi
      我知道你的名字。
      I know your name
N: wǒ bù zhīdao nǐde míngzi
      我不知道你的名字。
      I don't know your name

Q: nǐ zhīdào tā shì shéi ma
      你知道他是谁吗？
      do you know who he is
Y: wǒ zhīdào tā shì shéi
      我知道他是谁。
      I know who he is
N: wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shéi
      我不知道他是谁。
      I don't know who he is

But we can also answer with the short version as well, with 知道 as yes, and 不知道 as no.

Q: nǐ zhīdào tā shì shéi ma
      你知道他是谁吗？
      do you know who he is
Y: zhī dào
      知道。
      yes
N: bù zhīdào
      不知道。
      no