Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Michael: Is it common to omit the subject in Chinese sentences?
Dehua: And why?
Michael: At ChineseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Consider the following situation. Chenxin Chen is in a bookstore with her friend, Sasha Lee. She points at a book and says,
"Did [you] read that book?"
陈 晨欣: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Dialogue
陈 晨欣: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
李 萨莎: 有趣吗? (Yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: Once more with the English translation.
陈 晨欣: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: "Have [you] read that book?"
李 萨莎: 有趣吗? (Yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: "Is [it] interesting?"

Lesson focus

Michael: In Chinese, it is very common to omit the subject, especially in conversations, where the speakers know what they are referring to. In this lesson's conversation, Chenxin asks Sasha,
Dehua: 读过那本书吗?(Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: The basic Chinese sentence structure is Subject - Verb - Object. This sentence only has a Verb -
Dehua: 读过 (dúguò)
Michael: and Object -
Dehua: 那本书 (nà běn shū)
Michel: plus a question word in the end -
Dehua: 吗 (ma).
Michael: The subject is missing in this sentence. If we put the subject back in, the question would be
Dehua: 你读过那本书吗?(Nǐ dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: "Have you read that book?" Considering that Sasha knows that Chenxin is asking about whether she has read that book, the subject is not a must.
Michael: When Sasha responds, she says,
Dehua: 有趣吗?(Yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: Again, the sentence does not have a subject. If we put the subject back in, the sentence would be:
Dehua: 那本书有趣吗?(Nà běn shū yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: "Is that book interesting?" Since Chenxin knows Sasha is talking about the book, there is no need to repeat it.
Michael: As long as you convey your message clearly enough in the respective context, the subject can be omitted. Although it is usually optional and the subject can be used, it may be a better idea to omit it to let the conversation flow more naturally.
Practice Section
Michael: Let's review the sentences we've heard in this lesson. I'll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Chinese. Dehua will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation.
Do you remember how to say "Have [you] read that book?"
[Beep. Pause 5 seconds.]
Dehua: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat.
Dehua: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
[Beep. Pause 5 seconds.]
Dehua: 读过那本书吗? (Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: Now for our next sentence. Do you remember how to say "Is [it] interesting?"
[Beep. Pause 5 seconds.]
Dehua: 有趣吗? (Yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: Listen again and repeat.
Dehua: 有趣吗? (Yǒuqù ma?)
[Beep. Pause 5 seconds.]
Dehua: 有趣吗? (Yǒuqù ma?)
Cultural Insight
Michael: There might be cases in which you don't always know what your conversation partner is talking about, especially when you just jump into a conversation or when you are not fully following the conversation. To get clarification, you can use an appropriate question word to find out about the missing subject. When Chenxin asks,
Dehua: 读过那本书吗?(Dúguò nà běn shū ma?)
Michael: If you are not sure who she is asking about, you can just say
Dehua: 谁啊?(Shéi a?)
Michael: which means "Who?" If you think she is asking about you, but just want her confirmation, you can ask,
Dehua: 我吗?(Wǒ ma?)
Michael: which means "Me?" Similarly, if Sasha says out of the blue
Dehua: 有趣吗?(Yǒuqù ma?)
Michael: and you don't know what she is referring to, you can ask her
Dehua: 什么有趣吗?(Shénme yǒuqù ma?) or 你指什么?(Nǐ zhǐ shénme?)
Michael: which means "What are you referring to?"

Outro

Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them!
Dehua: 再见! (Zàijiàn!)
Michael: See you soon!

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