Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Mark asks,
"Are you a student?"
你是学生吗?
First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你. 你.
Next is 是 (shì). Here, it's like the "are" in "are you." 是. 是.
After this is 学生 (xuésheng), "student." 学生. 学生.
Last is 吗 (ma). This is a question-marking particle. 吗. 吗.
This particle turns the sentence into a question.
All together, it's 你是学生吗?(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?) Literally, "You are student?" But it translates as "Are you a student?" 你是学生吗?
Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.
Now, let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Zheng says,
"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."
我不是学生。我是投资商。
First Zheng says, 我不是学生。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.) "I'm not a student." 我不是学生。
First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我. 我.
Next is 不是 (búshì). Here, "am not" as in "I am not." 不是. 不是.
This starts with 不 (bù), "not." It's used to form a negative. 不. 不.
Next is 是 (shì). Here, "am" as in "I am not." 是 (shì).
Together, 不是 (búshì). Here, "am not." 不是.
Pronunciation note: when 不 bù is followed by a fourth tone, its tone changes from the fourth tone to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 不是. 不是.
All together 我不是 (wǒ búshì). "I am not." 我不是 (wǒ búshì).
Next is 学生 (xuésheng), "student." 学生.
All together, 我不是学生。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.) "I'm not a student." 我不是学生。
Finally, Zheng says,
我是投资商。 (Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.). "I'm an investor." 我是投资商。
First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我.
Next is 是 (shì). Here, "am" as in "I am." 是.
After this is 投资商 (tóuzī shāng), "investor." 投资商 . 投资商.
All together, it's 我不是学生。我是投资商。
"I'm not a student. I'm an investor."
我不是学生。我是投资商。
The pattern is
我不是 {occupation}。 我是 {actual occupation}。
"I'm not {occupation}. I'm {actual occupation}."
我不是 {occupation}。 我是 {actual occupation}。
Imagine you're Emma Liu, a student. 学生
Zheng asks you if you're a "teacher," 老师 (lǎoshī). 老师. 老师.
Say
"I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."
Ready?
我不是老师。我是学生。(Wǒ búshì lǎoshī. Wǒ shì xuésheng.)
"I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."
我不是老师。我是学生。
The word 不 (bù) is a very common word that is used to negate present, future, habitual actions and adjectives.
In most cases, 不 is the fourth falling tone. But when 不 is followed by any word also with the fourth falling tone, it changes to the second rising tone, as in the phrase 不是 (búshì) "to be not." Because 是 is the fourth falling tone, 不 (bù) has to change its tone to 不 (bú). 不是 (búshì).
Other examples of 不 changed to the second tone include 不要 búyào "don't want," 不去 búqù "not going," 不重要 bú zhòngyào "not important."

Comments

Hide