LESSON II Demonstrative, and Personal Pronouns.
Reading edition
The definite article the is not expressed directly in Chinese, but the demonstrative pronoun takes its place.
The demonstrative pronouns are:
This or these, di° kuh 第個. That or those, i-kuh 伊個.
The demonstrative pronouns change their forms with different nouns, being formed by the di° (第) or i (伊) and the classifier belonging to the noun. Thus “this table” is not di°-kuh de-°ts but di°-tsak de-°ts (第隻檯子).
When the demonstrative is used with a numeral it retains the form di°-kuh (第個) or i-kuh (伊個) and the classifier of the noun comes between the numeral and the noun. Thus “this one table” is di°-kuh ih tsak de-°ts (第個一隻檯子).
The personal pronouns are as follows:
SINGULAR NUMBER
Nominative and Objective Possessive
I. Person: I or me, °ngoo 我. I. Person: My or mine, °ngoo-kuh 我個.
II. Person: Thou, thee or you, noong° 儂. II. Person: Thy, thine or yours, noong°-kuh 儂個.
III. Person: He, she, it, him, her, yi 伊. III. Person: His, hers, its, i-kuh 伊個.
PLURAL NUMBER
Nominative and Objective Possessive
I. Person: We, or us, nyi° or °ngoo-nyi° 我伲. I. Person: Ours, nyi°-kuh or °ngoo-nyi°-kuh 伲個, 我伲個.
II. Person: You or ye, na° 㑚 II. Person: Your, or yours, na°-kuh 㑚個.
III. Person: They or them, yi-la 伊拉. III. Person: Their, or theirs, yi-la-kuh 伊拉個.
The use of kuh (個) in the possessive case must be noted. Kuh (個) serves to form the possessive case of nouns as it does of pronouns. Thus to say “a man’s table” would be ih kuh nyung kuh de-°ts (一個人個檯子). Exercises in possessive case formation will be found in this lesson.
VOCABULARY
A son, ih kuh ‘eu-°ts or ih kuh nyi-°ts 一個兒子.
A daughter, ih kuh noen° 一個囡.
A friend, ih kuh bang-°yeu 一個朋友.
A sheep, ih tsak yang 一隻羊.
A bird, ih tsak °tiau 一隻鳥.
A bed, ih tsak zaung 一隻牀.
°Po (把) is the classifier used with tools, instruments or articles grasped in the hand.
A knife or sword, ih °po tau 一把刀.
A fork, ih °po tsho 一把叉.
A spoon, ih °po tshau 一把匙.
An umbrella, ih °po san° 一把傘.
To have, or has, °yeu 有.
EXERCISES
(Translate into English)
(1) °Ngoo iau° ih °po tau.
(2) Di°-kuh nyung °yeu ih kuh yang-dien.
(3) Noong°-kuh bang-°yeu kuh ‘eu-°ts °yeu ih tsak yang.
(4) I-kuh °nyui-nyung kuk noen° iau° ih tsak °tiau.
(5) Yi iau° ih °po san°.
(6) °Ngoo iau° ih °po tsho.
(7) Nyi° iau° ih tsak zaung.
(8) Na° °yeu ih kwhe° yang-dien.
(9) Di°-kuh sien-sang °yeu ih tsak kyoeh-°ts.
(10) I-kuh yoong°-nyung °yeu ih kuh dan°.
(一) 我要一把刀.
(二) 第個人有一個洋錢.
(三) 儂個朋友個兒子有一隻羊.
(四) 伊個女人個囡要一隻鳥.
(五) 伊要一把傘.
(六) 我要一把叉.
(七) 伲要一隻床.
(八) 㑚有一塊洋錢.
(九) 第個先生有一隻橘子.
(十) 伊個用人有一個蛋.
(Translate into Chinese)
(1) Your teacher has a table.
(2) My friend has a son.
(3) Their daughter has an umbrella.
(4) They want a bed.
(5) That servant wants a knife.
(6) This pupil’s teacher has a chair.
(7) My son wants a dollar.
(8) He wants a fork.
(9) She wants a spoon.
(10) The woman’s daughter has an orange.
(11) He has mine.
(12) He has yours.
(一) 儂個先生有一隻檯子.
(二) 我個朋友有一個兒子.
(三) 伊拉個囡有一把傘.
(四) 伊拉要一隻床.
(五) 伊個用人要一把刀.
(六) 第個學生子個先生有一隻椅子.
(七) 我個兒子要一塊洋錢.
(八) 伊要一把叉.
(九) 伊要一把匙.
(十) 一個女人個囡有一隻橘子.
(十一) 伊有我個.
(十二) 伊有儂個.
Notes.
（1) Verbs undergo no change in form for the singular and plural number. Tense formation will be explained later.
（2) The verb °yeu is often used for the expression “there is.” Thus, °yeu ih-kuh nyung iau° doong-dien (有一個人要銅錢) means, “There is a man who wants cash.”
（3) °yeu kuh (有個) means “some.” Thus °yeu kuh nyung (有個人) is “some men.”
（4) Sometimes the kuh is omitted and we have °yeu nyung. Thus °yeu nyung iau° yang-dien (有人要洋錢) means, “some man want dollars.”