Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?
"The concert is from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM."
音乐会从晚上八点(pause with a tap of the finger)十点。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn (pause with a tap of the finger)shí diǎn.)
音乐会从晚上八点(pause with a tap of the finger)十点。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn (pause with a tap of the finger)shí diǎn.)
到 (dào)
到 (dào)
音乐会从晚上八点到十点。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn dào shí diǎn.)
音乐会从晚上八点到十点。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn dào shí diǎn.)
"The concert is from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM."
We use 到 here because it follows the pattern 从 + [starting time] + 到 + [ending time], which means "from... to..." and is used to show a time range with a clear start and end.
Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?
"The store is open until 7:00 PM."
商店开(pause with a tap of the finger)晚上七点。 (Shāngdiàn kāi (pause with a tap of the finger) wǎnshang qī diǎn.)
商店开(pause with a tap of the finger)晚上七点。 (Shāngdiàn kāi (pause with a tap of the finger) wǎnshang qī diǎn.)
到 (dào)
到 (dào)
商店开到晚上七点。 (Shāngdiàn kāi dào wǎnshang qī diǎn.)
商店开到晚上七点。 (Shāngdiàn kāi dào wǎnshang qī diǎn.)
"The store is open until 7:00 PM."
到 is used to indicate the ending time — it shows how long the store stays open.
Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?
"Breakfast is from 7:30 AM."
早餐从早上七点半(pause with a tap of the finger)。 (Zǎocān cóng zǎoshang qī diǎn bàn (pause with a tap of the finger).)
早餐从早上七点半(pause with a tap of the finger)。 (Zǎocān cóng zǎoshang qī diǎn bàn (pause with a tap of the finger).)
开始 (kāishǐ)
开始 (kāishǐ)
早餐从早上七点半开始。 (Zǎocān cóng zǎoshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
早餐从早上七点半开始。 (Zǎocān cóng zǎoshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
"Breakfast is from 7:30 AM."
Again, 开始 tells us when something begins — it finishes the sentence naturally after the time.
Unscramble the words to make a sentence.
Ready?
图书馆 (túshūguǎn)
图书馆开 (Túshūguǎn kāi)
图书馆开到 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào)
图书馆开到下午 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào xiàwǔ)
图书馆开到下午五点半。 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn.)
"The library is open until 5:30 PM."
图书馆开到下午五点半。 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn.)
Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?
电影从凌晨一点(开始 or 到)。 (Diànyǐng cóng língchén yī diǎn (kāishǐ or dào).)
电影从凌晨一点(开始 or 到)。 (Diànyǐng cóng língchén yī diǎn (kāishǐ or dào).)
开始 (kāishǐ)
开始 (kāishǐ)
电影从凌晨一点开始。 (Diànyǐng cóng língchén yī diǎn kāishǐ.)
"The movie is from 1:00 AM."
We use 开始 here to show when the movie begins. It completes the structure '从 + time + 开始' to express a starting point.
Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?
餐厅开(到 or 开始)晚上十一点。 (Cāntīng kāi (dào or kāishǐ) wǎnshang shíyī diǎn.)
餐厅开(到 or 开始)晚上十一点。 (Cāntīng kāi (dào or kāishǐ) wǎnshang shíyī diǎn.)
到 (dào)
到 (dào)
餐厅开到晚上十一点。 (Cāntīng kāi dào wǎnshang shíyī diǎn.)
"The restaurant is open until 11:00 PM."
We use 到 to indicate the end time. It links the action to when it finishes — here, when the restaurant closes.
Let's translate some sentences into Chinese.
Translate "The lesson is from 9:00 AM." into Chinese.
课程 (kèchéng) — the subject, meaning "lesson,"
followed by
从 (cóng) — the preposition meaning "from,"
next
早上 (zǎoshang) — meaning "morning,"
followed by
九点 (jiǔ diǎn) — meaning "9 o'clock,"
next
开始 (kāishǐ) — the verb meaning "to start."
We use 从 + [time] + 开始 to say when something begins.
In this sentence, 课程从早上九点开始 means "The lesson starts from 9:00 AM."
The word 开始 means "to start," and 从 means "from," which marks the starting point in time.
课程从早上九点开始。 (Kèchéng cóng zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn kāishǐ.)
课程从早上九点开始。 (Kèchéng cóng zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn kāishǐ.)
"The lesson is from 9:00 AM.
Translate "The pharmacy is open until 8:00 PM." into Chinese.
药店 (yàodiàn) — the subject, meaning "pharmacy,"
followed by
开 (kāi) — the verb meaning "to open" or "is open,"
next
到 (dào) — the preposition meaning "until,"
followed by
晚上 (wǎnshang) — meaning "evening,"
next
八点 (bā diǎn) — meaning "8 o'clock."
We use 到 + [time] to describe how long a place remains open.
In this case, 药店开到晚上八点 means "The pharmacy is open until 8:00 PM."
The word 到 means "until" and tells us the end point in time.
药店开到晚上八点。 (Yàodiàn kāi dào wǎnshang bā diǎn.)
药店开到晚上八点。 (Yàodiàn kāi dào wǎnshang bā diǎn.)
"The pharmacy is open until 8:00 PM.
Translate "Dinner is from 7:30 PM." into Chinese.
晚餐 (wǎncān) — the subject, meaning "dinner,"
next
从 (cóng) — meaning "from,"
followed by
晚上 (wǎnshang) — meaning "evening,"
next
七点半 (qī diǎn bàn) — meaning "7:30,"
followed by
开始 (kāishǐ) — meaning "to start."
This follows the same 从 + [time] + 开始 pattern.
We use it to say when something starts. Here, 晚餐从晚上七点半开始 means "Dinner is from 7:30 PM."
开始 tells us the action begins, and 从 marks the starting time.
晚餐从晚上七点半开始。 (Wǎncān cóng wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
晚餐从晚上七点半开始。 (Wǎncān cóng wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
"Dinner is from 7:30 PM.
Listen to me as I speak. Which time expression is used in the sentences?
音乐会从晚上八点开始。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn kāishǐ.)
Let's listen one more time.
音乐会从晚上八点开始。 (Yīnyuèhuì cóng wǎnshang bā diǎn kāishǐ.)
Did you hear 晚上八点?
晚上八点 (wǎnshang bā diǎn) means "8:00 PM."
It's a common way to express time in the evening in Chinese.
How about...?
图书馆开到下午五点半。 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn.)
Let's listen one more time.
图书馆开到下午五点半。 (Túshūguǎn kāi dào xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn.)
Did you hear 下午五点半?
下午五点半 (xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn bàn) means "5:30 PM."
It uses 下午 for "afternoon" and 半 for "half past."
Next…
电影从凌晨一点开始。 (Diànyǐng cóng língchén yī diǎn kāishǐ.)
One more time.
电影从凌晨一点开始。 (Diànyǐng cóng língchén yī diǎn kāishǐ.)
Did you hear 凌晨一点?
凌晨一点 (língchén yī diǎn) means "1:00 AM."
凌晨 means "before dawn"; it is commonly used from about 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM.
And...
晚餐从晚上七点半开始。 (Wǎncān cóng wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
One more time.
晚餐从晚上七点半开始。 (Wǎncān cóng wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ.)
Did you hear 晚上七点半?
晚上七点半 (wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn) means "7:30 PM."
This is a typical way to say evening time using 半 for "half past."
Thank you for watching.
Now you know how to talk about policies at a hotel in Chinese.
...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.
再见。(Zàijiàn.)

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