| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| Do you remember how the character said, |
| "I plan to take the tram." |
| 我打算坐电车去。(Wǒ dǎsuàn zuò diànchē qù.) |
| 我打算坐电车去。(Wǒ dǎsuàn zuò diànchē qù.) |
| This sentence follows the pattern here: |
| Subject + 坐/乘 + Transport + 去 + Location |
| Subject + zuò/chéng + Transport + qù + Location |
| "Subject + takes + (means of transportation) + to + (location)" |
| This pattern helps you express how you are going somewhere, especially when talking about transport. |
| 坐 (zuò) or 乘 (chéng) means "to take" a vehicle. |
| 去 (qù) means "to go." |
| Let's see how the line from the dialogue uses the pattern. |
| 我打算坐电车去。(Wǒ dǎsuàn zuò diànchē qù.) |
| "I plan to take the tram." |
| Let's break it down: |
| 我 (wǒ), the subject, meaning "I," |
| 打算 (dǎsuàn), meaning "plan to" |
| 坐电车 (zuò diànchē), meaning "take the tram" |
| 去 (qù), meaning "to go" |
| Let's look at another line from the dialogue: |
| It uses the structure: |
| Subject + 跑步/走路 + 去 + Location |
| Subject + pǎo bù/zǒu lù + qù + Location |
| "Subject + runs/walks + to + (location)" |
| Unlike the 坐/乘 (zuò/chéng) structure, here 跑步 (pǎo bù) and 走路 (zǒu lù) are actions by themselves, so they are followed directly by 去 (qù) without naming any transportation. |
| 我打算跑步去三里屯。(Wǒ dǎsuàn pǎobù qù sānlǐtún.) |
| "I plan to jog to Sanlitun." |
| 我 (wǒ), the subject, means "I" |
| 打算 (dǎsuàn) means "plan to" |
| 跑步 (pǎobù) means "run" or "jog" |
| 去三里屯 (qù sānlǐtún) means "go to Sanlitun" |
| These are very useful structures for talking about travel plans or daily routines, and once you learn them, you can swap in different transports and places easily. |
| Now you know how to talk about how you're going somewhere in Chinese! |
| In Chinese, different verbs are used depending on the type of transportation. |
| 坐 (zuò) is commonly used with public transportation like 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē, "bus"), 地铁 (dìtiě, "subway"), and 火车 (huǒchē, "train"). |
| You can also use 坐 or 乘 (chéng) for 出租车 (chūzūchē, "taxi"), 飞机 (fēijī, "plane"), or 船 (chuán, "boat"). |
| The verb 乘 can also be used more generally with 车 (chē) to mean "take a vehicle." |
| If you're using a bicycle, you say 骑 (qí) 自行车 (zìxíngchē), and if you're driving your own car, the verb is 开 (kāi) 车 (chē). |
| For walking, use the word 走路 (zǒulù), and for running, use 跑步 (pǎobù), which means "to run." |
| These verbs are used on their own, so no transportation word comes after them. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| 我坐火车去广州。(Wǒ zuò huǒchē qù Guǎngzhōu.) |
| "I take the train to Guangzhou." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| 我 (wǒ), the subject, means "I" |
| 坐火车 (zuò huǒchē) means "take the train" |
| 去广州 (qù Guǎngzhōu) means "go to Guangzhou" |
| Here's another example |
| 她乘出租车去医院。(Tā chéng chūzūchē qù yīyuàn.) |
| "She takes a taxi to the hospital." |
| 她乘出租车去医院。(Tā chéng chūzūchē qù yīyuàn.) |
| "She takes a taxi to the hospital." |
| Let's try one more, |
| 我们坐公共汽车去博物馆。(Wǒmen zuò gōnggòng qìchē qù bówùguǎn.) |
| "We are taking the bus to the museum." |
| 我们坐公共汽车去博物馆。(Wǒmen zuò gōnggòng qìchē qù bówùguǎn.) |
| "We are taking the bus to the museum." |
| Another one. |
| 他打算坐飞机去北京出差。(Tā dǎsuàn zuò fēijī qù Běijīng chūchāi.) |
| "He plans to go to Beijing on a business trip by plane." |
| 他打算坐飞机去北京出差。(Tā dǎsuàn zuò fēijī qù Běijīng chūchāi.) |
| "He plans to go to Beijing on a business trip by plane." |
| One last example. |
| 爷爷走路去公园散步。(Yéye zǒu lù qù gōngyuán sànbù.) |
| "Grandpa walks to the park for a stroll." |
| 爷爷走路去公园散步。(Yéye zǒu lù qù gōngyuán sànbù.) |
| "Grandpa walks to the park for a stroll." |
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