Lesson 2 contains a dialogue of two students discussing their classes for the day.
Exercise
东尼: 艾美，早上好（早安）。
Tony: Good morning, Amy.
Àiměi: Zăo. Nǐ hǎo ma?
Amy: Good morning. How are you?
艾美: 早。你好吗？
Dōngní: Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie. Nǐ ne?
Tony: I'm fine, thanks. And you?
东尼: 我很好，谢谢。你呢？
Àiměi: Wǒ yě hěn hǎo. Nǐ jīntiān (máng ma?) (yǒukòng ma?)
Amy: I'm also fine. Are you busy today?
艾美: 我也很好。你今天忙吗？
Dōngní: Jīntiān wǒ hěn máng. Wǒ yǒu wǔ-mén kè.
Tony: I'm very busy today. I have five classes.
东尼: 今天我很忙。我有五门课。
Àiměi: Wǔ-mén? Tài duō le! Wǒ jīntiān zhĭyǒu yī-mén.
Amy: Five? That's too many! Today I only have one.
艾美: 五门？太多了！我今天只有一门。
Dōngní: Yī-mén? Tài shǎo le!
Tony: One? That's too few!
东尼: 一门？太少了！
Tony: Good afternoon, Amy.
东尼: 艾美，下午好。
Àiměi: Xiàwǔ hǎo. Nǐ nà wǔ-mén kè shàng-wánle ma?
Amy: Good afternoon. Did you finish your five classes?
艾美: 下午好。你那五门课上完了吗？
Dōngní: Shàng-le sān-jié, nǐ ne?
Tony: I finished 3 of them. And you?
东尼: 上了三节，你呢？
Àiměi: Shàng-wánle, xiàwǔ xiǎng qù gōngyuán.
Amy: I'm free now. I am going to the park.
艾美: 上完了，下午想去公园。
Dōngní: O. Zhègè jìhuà bùcuò.
Tony: Oh. That's a good plan.
东尼: 哦。这个计划不错。
Àiměi: Xièxiè kuājiǎng. Nàme, míngtiān jiàn!
Amy: Thanks a lot. Hey, see you tomorrow.
艾美: 谢谢夸奖。那么，明天见！
Dōngní: Míngtiān jiàn!
Tony: See you.
东尼: 明天见。
Exercise
Exercise
Q: 他是不是东尼？
Tā shì bù shì Dōngní?
Is he Tony?
literally, "he is/is not Tony?"
The de is not necessary. You can simply answer 是 (shì).
A: 是的。（是，他是/嗯，他是。）or 不是。 （不，他不是。）
Shì de. (Shì tā shì) or Bú shì (Bù tā bú shì).
Yes (he is). or No (he isn't).
Exercise
Dialogues
Dialogue 1
Dōngní: Àiměi, zăoshang hǎo (zǎo'ān).东尼: 艾美，早上好（早安）。
Tony: Good morning, Amy.
Àiměi: Zăo. Nǐ hǎo ma?
Amy: Good morning. How are you?
艾美: 早。你好吗？
Dōngní: Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie. Nǐ ne?
Tony: I'm fine, thanks. And you?
东尼: 我很好，谢谢。你呢？
Àiměi: Wǒ yě hěn hǎo. Nǐ jīntiān (máng ma?) (yǒukòng ma?)
Amy: I'm also fine. Are you busy today?
艾美: 我也很好。你今天忙吗？
Dōngní: Jīntiān wǒ hěn máng. Wǒ yǒu wǔ-mén kè.
Tony: I'm very busy today. I have five classes.
东尼: 今天我很忙。我有五门课。
Àiměi: Wǔ-mén? Tài duō le! Wǒ jīntiān zhĭyǒu yī-mén.
Amy: Five? That's too many! Today I only have one.
艾美: 五门？太多了！我今天只有一门。
Dōngní: Yī-mén? Tài shǎo le!
Tony: One? That's too few!
东尼: 一门？太少了！
Dialogue 2
Dōngní: Àiměi, xiàwǔ hǎo.Tony: Good afternoon, Amy.
东尼: 艾美，下午好。
Àiměi: Xiàwǔ hǎo. Nǐ nà wǔ-mén kè shàng-wánle ma?
Amy: Good afternoon. Did you finish your five classes?
艾美: 下午好。你那五门课上完了吗？
Dōngní: Shàng-le sān-jié, nǐ ne?
Tony: I finished 3 of them. And you?
东尼: 上了三节，你呢？
Àiměi: Shàng-wánle, xiàwǔ xiǎng qù gōngyuán.
Amy: I'm free now. I am going to the park.
艾美: 上完了，下午想去公园。
Dōngní: O. Zhègè jìhuà bùcuò.
Tony: Oh. That's a good plan.
东尼: 哦。这个计划不错。
Àiměi: Xièxiè kuājiǎng. Nàme, míngtiān jiàn!
Amy: Thanks a lot. Hey, see you tomorrow.
艾美: 谢谢夸奖。那么，明天见！
Dōngní: Míngtiān jiàn!
Tony: See you.
东尼: 明天见。
Exercise
Vocabulary
| S.No. | Simplified | Pīnyīn | Part of speech | English |
| 1 | 一 | yī | (adj) | one |
| 2 | 二 | èr | (adj) | two |
| 3 | 三 | sān | (adj) | three |
| 4 | 四 | sì | (adj) | four |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ | (adj) | five |
| 6 | 六 | liù | (adj) | six |
| 7 | 七 | qī | (adj) | seven |
| 8 | 八 | bā | (adj) | eight |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ | (adj) | nine |
| 10 | 十 | shí | (adj) | ten |
| 11 | 早 | zăo | (n) | morning (often spoken alone as a shortened form to mean "good morning" just like with English) |
| 12 | 安 | ān | (adj) | peaceful |
| 13 | 早安 | zăo'ān | (phrase) | good morning |
| 14 | 很 | hěn | (adv) | very |
| 15 | 谢谢 | xièxie | (v) | thanks |
| 16 | 天 | tiān | (n) | day/sky |
| 17 | 今天 | jīntiān | (n) | today |
| 18 | 忙 | máng | (adj) | busy |
| 19 | 有 | yǒu | (v) | to have, possess |
| 20 | 没 | méi | (adv) | negates yǒu |
| 21 | 门 | mén | (m) | (measure word for school courses) |
| 22 | 课 | kè | (n) | class [節-measure word for class] |
| 23 | 太 | tài | (adv) | too, extremely |
| 24 | 了 | le | (part) | (combines with 太 - see grammar) |
| 25 | 多 | duō | (adj) | many |
| 26 | 少 | shăo | (adj) | few |
| 27 | 只 | zhĭ | (adv) | only, merely |
| 28 | 都 | dōu | (adv) | all,both |
| 29 | 早上好 | zǎoshàng hǎo | (phrase) | good morning |
| 30 | 下午好 | xiàwǔhǎo | (phrase) | good afternoon |
Exercise
Grammar
The adverb Hěn [很]
Though translated as "very", Hěn [很] has a weaker meaning than it does in English. It is often added before a single-syllable adjective just to enhance the rhythmic flow of the sentence. Hěn is used before the adjective in affirmative sentences, but not in negative sentences or questions. A common mistake of beginners is to insert shì [是] into adjectival sentences, but this usage is incorrect as shì can only be used to equate combinations of nouns, noun phrases and pronouns.
1. 我很忙。
Wǒ hěn máng
I am (very) busy.
Le [了] as emphasizer
The particle le [了] has many different functions in Chinese, but in this case, it serves to add emphasis to the verb or adjective of the sentence. It can be seen paired with tài [太] to express excessiveness.
1. 太多了。
Tài duō le.
(That's) too many.
2. 太少了。
Tài shăo le.
(That's) too few.
Affirmative-negative questions
A sentence can be made into a question by having both affirmative and negative options together. To answer in the affirmative, the verb or adjective is repeated. (An affirmative adjective in this case is usually preceded by hěn [很] to avoid a comparative tone.) Responding in the negative is simply saying "not verb" or "not adjective".
S + V 不 V + O?
Example:
Because the bù in affirmative-negative questions is often said quickly, marking the tone on bù is not strictly necessary in their case.Q: 他是不是东尼？
Tā shì bù shì Dōngní?
Is he Tony?
literally, "he is/is not Tony?"
The de is not necessary. You can simply answer 是 (shì).
A: 是的。（是，他是/嗯，他是。）or 不是。 （不，他不是。）
Shì de. (Shì tā shì) or Bú shì (Bù tā bú shì).
Yes (he is). or No (he isn't).
- S + adj. 不 adj.? （The second adjective can be omitted.）
Example:
Q:艾美今天忙不忙？/艾美今天忙不？
Àiměi jīntiān máng bù （máng）?
Is Amy busy today?
literally, "Today, Amy busy/not busy"
A: 她很忙。or 她不忙。
Tā hěn máng. or Tā bù máng.
Yes, she's (very) busy. or No, she's not busy.
Sentences using yǒu [有]
Yǒu [有] means to have and indicates possession.
S + 有 + O
Example:
我有三门课。
Wǒ yǒu sān mén kè.
I have three classes.
Yǒu is negated when preceded by méi [没].
S + 没 + 有 + O
Example:
今天，他们没有课。
Jīntiān tāmen méi yǒu kè.
Today, they don't have any classes.
Yǒu is negated when preceded by méi [没].
S + 一 + O + 都没有
Example:
今天，他们一门课都没有。
Jīntiān tāmen yì mén kè dōu méi yǒu.
Today, they don't have a single class.
The adverb 都 (dōu) is required here in front of 没有 to emphasize the lack of a single one of the object. Also, be sure to remember to place the proper measure word between 一 and the object.
Exercise
Exercise
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