běn rénNotes 注 释
➊ The verb 是 shì means “to be/yes” in English. Shì is often used with other words or phrases to form a sentence. Most of the time shì emphasizes a specific element in a sentence. Look at this example: 他是美国人 Tā shì měi guó rén (He is American). Here 是 shì means “to be” rather than “yes.” It functions as a verb required to form a complete sentence. To change your sentence to mean the opposite, you need to add 不 bú before 是 shì to form 不是 bú shì—which is literally equivalent to “be not” in English. For instance: 他不是美国人 Tā bú shì měi guó rén (He is not American).
➋ 你叫什么名字？Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi? means “What is your name?” It is a casual way to ask. To ask the name of an elderly person or to ask a person’s name at a formal occasion, people usually say 您贵姓 Nín guì xìng? (it means “What is your honorable family name?”) to show politeness and respect.
Work on practicing these sentences until you can remember them by heart.
Nǐ shì yīng guó rén ma?
你是 英 国 人 吗? (Are you British?)
Bú shì, wǒ shì fǎ guó rén.
不是,我是法国 人。(No, I’m not. I’m French.)
Hěn duō rén dōu zhè me shuō.
很 多 人 都 这 么 说。(Many people say the same.)
Now you’re about to learn even more nationalities and regions in Chinese.
| měi guó rén美国人American | ào dà lì yà rén澳大利亚人Australian | yīng guó rén英国人British | jiā ná dà rén加拿大人Canadian |
| fǎ guó rén法国人French | rì běn rén日本人Japanese | fēi zhōu rén非洲人African | yà zhōu rén亚洲人Asian |
Practice and Review 练 习 与 复 习
Let’s check your understanding of what you have learned so far. Work through the following exercises. When you finish, compare your work with the Answer Key, available online
A. Substitutions 替换练习
This is where you practice how to use the words in the section Extend Your Vocabulary. The numbered sentences are basic sentences which are followed by a few extended sentences (underneath) containing the words present in Extend Your Vocabulary and some words you’ve learned in earlier chapters.
Wǒ zài měi guó gōng sī gōng zuò.
1. 我 在 美 国 公 司 工 作。
Wǒ zài yīng guó gōng zuò.
Tā zài ào dà lì yà ma?
Tā zài hé zī gōng sī gōng zuò.
Tā shì fǎ guó rén.
2. 他是法国 人。
Tā bú shì měi guó rén.
Wǒ shì yīng guó rén.
Nǐ shì jiā ná dà rén.
B. Connect the Sentences 选择连线
Connect each sentence with the correct pinyin.
| 1) Are you American? | a) Tā bú shì yīng guó rén |
| 2) I’m from India. | b) Nǐ shì měi guó rén ma |
| 3) He is not British. | c) Wǒ cóng yìn dù lái |
| 4) She’s from Beijing. | d) Tā cóng běi jīng lái |
C. See Pictures and Speak Chinese 看图说中文
This will probably be easy for you. Try it!
zhōng guó 中 国
měi guó 美 国
yīng guó 英 国
dé
