Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Time

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In the lesson, you will learn how to express time in Chinese.

The modal particle 了 (le)

了 (le) is a modal particle indicating that the situation is new.

It is placed at the end of the sentence.

Look at the two examples below:

1. 他学汉语. Tā xué hànyǔ.

He studies Chinese.

(There is no particular indication of time, whether it has been a long time since it started or not, it is a very simple sentence).

1. 他学汉语了. Tā xué hànyǔ le.

He has just started to study Chinese.

(The 了 (le) indicates that it is new, that he did not study Chinese before and that he put himself in it).

In the example above, we can easily make sense in English, but this is not always the case:

• 你 多大? nǐ duō dà?

How old are you?

• 你 多大了? nǐ duō dà le?

How old are you?

(in the sense of "Now, how old are you?")

• 现在几点? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?

What time is it right now?

• 现在几点了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?

What time is it right now ?

(reinforces the idea of ​​"now", but in the sense of change).

The use of 了 is not always obvious for a beginner.

On the other hand, it comes naturally enough with practice. It is therefore important to learn standard phrases by heart.

Here are some more examples:

• 他去中国 tā qù zhōng guó

He's going to China.

(maybe he's getting ready or he's already at the airport)

• 他去中国了 tā qù zhōng guó le

He went to China.

(That's it, it's done, he's gone.)

• 我看见他. Wǒ kānjiān tā.

I see him.

• 我看见他了! Wǒ kānjiān tā le!

That's it, I see it (now)!

For a negation in a past context, do not add the 了:

• 没去中国. méi qù zhōng guó

He did not go to China.

• 没看见他. méi kàn jiàn tā.

I did not see him.

On the other hand, the expression 不 ..... 了. Bù ...... le means "no longer":

• 他不学汉语了. tā bù xué hàn yǔ le.

He does not study Chinese anymore.

The time

In Chinese, the punctual time (and not the duration) is built with 点 diǎn:

• 一点 yì diǎn

one hour.

• 两点 liǎng diǎn

two hours.

• 三点 sān diǎn

three o'clock.

• 十一点 shí yī diǎn

eleven o'clock.

• 十二点 shí èr diǎn

twelve hours.

Two comments:

1. for the number "two", when it comes to the time, it is necessary to use 两 liǎng and not 二 èr and that only for the number 2, not for the numbers composed with 2 like 12, 22, etc.
2. When a syllable that begins with a vowel (like èr) is preceded by another syllable, it must be separated by an apostrophe: shí'èr 12, tiān'ānmén, etc.

If we want to specify that it is the exact time, we can add 钟 zhōng after 点 diǎn, but it is not mandatory:

• 七点钟. qī diǎn zhōng.

7 o'clock

The minutes are built with 分 fēn:

• 八点五分. bā diǎn wǔ fēn.

8:05

In Chinese, we can say 13:00 十三 点 shí sān diǎn, 14:00 十四点 shí sì diǎn. But it is better to say 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 9 o'clock in the morning, etc.

The word "morning" 上午 shàngwǔ or "afternoon" 下午 xiàwǔ is placed before the time:

• 上午九点 二 十五分. shàng wǔ jiǔ diǎn èr shí wǔ fēn

9:25 am

• 下午六点钟. xià wǔ liù diǎn zhōng

6 o'clock pm

The question for asking the time is 现在 几点 了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?

We can remove the 了 to give less force in the sense of "now".

It is quite possible to answer using 现在 xiànzài:

• 现在三点 了 xiànzài sān diǎn le

It's three o'clock.

The punctual time

The circumstantial complement of place (the place where the action takes place) is placed before the verb of action:

• 在中国学中文 zài zhōng guó xué zhōngwén

She is studying Chinese in China.

It is a general rule in Mandarin Chinese that the circumstantial complements are placed before the action verb (we must first set the scene before talking about the action).

The punctual time can take the function of circumstantial complement and thus follows this rule:

• 我今天打电话. wǒ jīn tiān dǎ diàn huà

I'm calling today.

• 我明天去看他. wǒ míng tiān qù kān tā

I'll go see him tomorrow.

Ms. Li learns Japanese on Wednesday afternoon at three o'clock.

The question is 什么 时候 shénme shíhou: when?

Like almost all the interrogative words in Mandarin Chinese, he puts himself in the same place as the word answer:

• 什么时候回家? shénme shíhou huí jiā

When do you come home?

• 我明天上午 回家 wǒ míngtiān shàngwǔ huí jiā

I'm going home tomorrow morning.

If the c.c. (circumstantial complement) of place and that of time are found in the same sentence, which is first?

Time is considered more general than space. It is therefore first:

• 我明天在你家打电话。 wǒ míngtiān zài nǐ jiā dǎ diàn huà

I'll call tomorrow at home

Note that in Chinese, there is no time. These are the words of time that locate the action in the present, past or future.

The duration

Unlike the punctual time, the duration is not a circumstantial complement (which is placed before the verb), but a verbal complement which is placed after the verb:

• 学汉语两年. xué hànyǔ liǎng nián

I did two years of Chinese.

Notice the difference between:

• 学汉语两年. xué hànyǔ liǎng nián

I did two years of Chinese.

and

• 我学汉语两年了. wǒ xué hànyǔ liǎng nián le

I have been doing Chinese for two years.

The combination of 了 le the final and the duration allows to give the idea of ​​"since" since the 了 le places the situation in the present: there is a change of situation, before that was not two years, now if.

As the verbal complement is placed after the verb, the place of the complement can vary. The rigid grammar rule wants it to be in front of the action verb:

• 汉语学两年了. hàn yǔ xué liǎng nián le

I have been doing Chinese for two years.

But the use of the spoken language is more flexible and the duration can be put behind the complement :

• 我学汉语两年了. wǒ xué hàn yǔ liǎng nián le

I have been doing Chinese for two years.

We must therefore remember these two sentences that are often used:

• 你学汉语几年了? nǐ xué hàn yǔ jǐ nián le

How many years have you been Chinese?

• 我学汉语三年了. wǒ xué hàn yǔ sān nián le

I have been doing Chinese for three years.

Simple directional

In the vocabulary we have seen the verbs 来 lái "come" and 去 qù "go".

来 lái indicate the approximation and the distance, which seems quite logical:

• 去中国 qù zhōngguó

He goes to China.

(The speakers are not in China.)

• 来法国 lái fǎ guó

He comes to France.

(The speakers are in France.)

Nothing really complicated, but it is possible to add 来 and 去 to action verbs.

They then indicate the direction of the action in relation to the speakers. They become "directional".

Example:

• 我回去. wǒ huí qu

I'm going back.

• 你回来了! nǐ huí lai le

You have come back!

Here the action verb is 回 huí (return) that can not be used alone.

But, then, if we talk on the phone with someone who is not in the same place as us (one is in China and the other is in France), which directional to choose? It will depend on which side (you or the other party) you are sitting.

Politeness wants us to be on the side of the interlocutor. If, for example, you phone your girlfriend and she asks you: "When are you coming back?" and that you answer, 现在 回去, you indicate that you do not stand beside him ... It would be more polite to answer 我 现在 回来.

This is only a small difference from the point of view of language, but this subtlety is of great importance in reality. To meditate and remember.

The construct "action + directional verb" is called "directional simple".

There is a construction called "complex directional" with an additional character that gives an indication of fundamental movement as "go up", "go down", "go through".

Finally, if we want to specify the place in the construction of the simple directional, we must put it between the action verb and the directional

action verb + location + directional

Example:

• 我回中国去. wǒ huí zhōngguó qù

I'm going back to China.

• 他回我家来

He goes home.

Note, "going home" is simply saying 回家 huíjiā :

• 下午六点 回家. tā huí wǒ jiā lái

I'm going home at 6:00 pm.

Object verbs

If the verb 说 shuō "to speak" is followed by a complement, it is used alone:

• 说汉语. shuì hàn yǔ

I speak Chinese.

But if we simply mean "talk", we must add a "standard complement ": 话 huà word.

To say "He speaks.", we have to use 他说话 tā shuō huà and not 他说 tā shuì.

These kind of verbs that still need a complement are called "verb-object". They are also called "separable verbs".

We also have already seen "write" 写 xiě which requires the standard complement 字 zì:

• 她写字 tā xiě zì.

She writes.

Attention, it is absolutely necessary to remove the standard complement when another complement is specified.

The following sentence is therefore false: 他 说话 汉语. tā shuō huà hàn yǔ

Object-verbs may be heard alone, but in this case the complement is implied:

• (汉语)我会说,不会写. (hàn yǔ) wǒ huì shuì, bú huì xiě

(Chinese) I can speak it, but not write it.

能 neng and 一点儿 yī diǎn er

To finish, some details on 2 words of vocabulary.

能 neng indicates the ability to do something:

• 我能打电话 wǒ néng dǎ diàn huà

I can call.

(I can do it)

There is a nuance with 会 huì "know how to do something", even if the use is sometimes very close:

• 能说话. néng shuō huà

I can speak.

(I have the physical capacity: mouth, tongue, etc.)

• 会说话. huì shuō huà

I can speak.

(because I have learned it, it is a know-how and in this sense the sentence is also understood by the eloquence: "I know how to speak well.")

能 neng also indicates permission:

• 我能不能 去看 他? wǒ néng bù néng qù kān tā?

Can I go see him?

• 不能 bù néng

No.

We saw in the vocabulary 一点儿 yì diǎnr: a little bit. This word is a "verbal classifier".

It only means that it is after the verb:

• 会说一点儿日语. huì shuì yī diǎn er rì yǔ

I can speak a little Japanese.

Sources

http://www.chine-culture.com/chinois/cours-de-chinois-6-grammaire.php