Lesson 17 你家有什么小动物
Animals Vocabulary in Mandarin Chinese
Grammar
I. 它 It
A personal pronoun refers to persons or things. In this lesson we will be working with the personal noun for it: 它. To take a quiz on 它 click here. The most common personal pronouns in Chinese are:
English
Pinyin
English
我
wǒ
I
你
nǐ
you (informal)
您
nín
you (formal)
我们
wǒ men
we
咱们
zán men
we
你们
nǐ men
you
他
tā
he
她
tā
she
它
tā
it
他们
tā men
they
她们
tā men
they
它们
tā men
they
Note: There is no plural form for 您. You can say 您三位 or 您几位。
English | Pinyin | English |
---|---|---|
我 | wǒ | I |
你 | nǐ | you (informal) |
您 | nín | you (formal) |
我们 | wǒ men | we |
咱们 | zán men | we |
你们 | nǐ men | you |
他 | tā | he |
她 | tā | she |
它 | tā | it |
他们 | tā men | they |
她们 | tā men | they |
它们 | tā men | they |
Examples:
Chinese Sentence
English Translation
这是我的小猫。它很可爱。
This is my kitten. It's very cute.
那是陈老师的小狗。它叫小龙。
That's Mrs. Chen's puppy. It's called Xiao Lone.
Chinese Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
这是我的小猫。它很可爱。 |
This is my kitten. It's very cute. |
那是陈老师的小狗。它叫小龙。 |
That's Mrs. Chen's puppy. It's called Xiao Lone. |
II. 为什么? Why?
为什么 is a question phrase meaning “why” and typically appears between the subject and verb phrase but can also be placed before the subject and verb phrase.
Examples:
Chinese Sentence
English Translation
哥哥为什么不喜欢猫?
Why doesn't older brother like cats?
为什么爸爸不去?
Why doesn't Dad go?
Chinese Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
哥哥为什么不喜欢猫? |
Why doesn't older brother like cats? |
为什么爸爸不去? |
Why doesn't Dad go? |
III. 因为……所以…… Because……therefore……
“因为……所以……”is a commonly used pattern which literally means “because…, therefore…“. They can also be used separately.
Examples:
Chinese Sentence
English Translation
因为我喜欢 Stanford 大学;所以我有很多红色的衣服。
Because I like Stanford University; (therefore) I have many red clothes.
(因为)我渴了;所以喝了很多水。
(Because) I am thirsty; therefore I drank a lot of water.
Chinese Sentence | English Translation |
---|---|
因为我喜欢 Stanford 大学;所以我有很多红色的衣服。 |
Because I like Stanford University; (therefore) I have many red clothes. |
(因为)我渴了;所以喝了很多水。 |
(Because) I am thirsty; therefore I drank a lot of water. |
Practice the vocabulary for this lesson with games and activities! Click on the picture below to download all the words in PDF.
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