LESSON VI Some Remarks on the Verb

In a monosyllabic language like the Chinese the words themselves are never inflected, and therefore the Moods and Tenses of the Verbs are formed by the addition of auxiliary words to mark the change of meaning.

We will take the verb chuh (吃) to illustrate.

INDICATIVE MOOD

Present Tense, Simple Form, I eat, °ngoo chuh 我吃.

Present Tense, Continuous, I am eating, °ngoo leh-°li chuh 我拉裏吃, °ngoo la° chuh 我拉吃.

Past Tense, Simple Form, I ate, °ngoo chuh kuh 我吃個.

Past Tense, Continuous, I was eating, °ngoo leh-la° chuh 我拉拉吃.

Past Tense, Emphatic Form, I did eat, °ngoo °z chuh kuh 我是吃個.

Perfect Tense, I have eaten, °ngoo chuh tse 我吃哉. °ngoo chuh° la° tse 我吃拉哉, °ngoo chuh koo° tse 我吃過哉.

Past Perfect, I had eaten. °ngoo °i-kyung chuh tse 我已經吃哉, °ngoo °i-kyung chuh la° tse 我已經吃拉哉, °ngoo °i-kyung chuh koo° hyih tse 我已經吃過歇哉.

Future Tense, I will or shall eat, °ngoo iau° chuh 我要吃.

The Future Perfect Tense cannot be expressed directly.

The only change for the different persons is the above will be in the use of the pronouns of the different persons.

IMPERATIVE MOOD

Eat, chuh (吃), chuh meh tse (吃末哉).

PARTICIPLES

Present, Eating, chuh (吃), Past, Having eaten, chuh-°ts (吃仔).

A few words of explanation are necessary. The use of leh-°li and leh-la° are a little difficult to understand at first. As stated °ngoo leh-°li chuh (我拉裏吃) means, “I am eating.” If, however, a third person asked your servant Sien-sang van° chuh meh? (先生飯吃 末), “Has the Teacher eaten his rice?”, the servant would answer, if you were still eating, yi leh-la° chuh (伊拉拉吃) meaning “he is eating.” If you yourself said °ngoo leh-la° chuh, it would mean, “I was eating.” In the Perfect Tense the word koo° (過) means literally ”to pass over.” In the Past Perfect the words °i-kyung (已經) mean “already.”

The real force of leh-°li (拉裏) is “here,” and the real force of leh-la° (拉拉) is “there.”

There are a great many ways of expressing completed action in Chinese. These will be explained later. In this lesson one of the most common will be explained. It is by the use of the adjective °hau after the verb. Thus chuh °hau tse (吃好哉) means, “I have finished eating.” Dok °hau tse (讀好哉) means, “I have finished reading.”

°Hau (好), “good,” is also used before the verb to qualify it. Thus we have the expressions °hau chuh kuh (好吃個) meaning “good to eat.” °Hau dok kuh (好讀個), “Easy to read.” °Hau tsoo° kuh (好做個), “Easy to do,” etc.

VOCABULARY

To arrive, tau° 到.

To give by hand, peh 撥.

To buy, °ma 買.

To speak, wo° 話.

To burn or cook, sau 燒.

To learn, ‘auh 學.

A table boy, ih kuh si°-tse° 一個細崽.

A horse boy or coachman, ih kuh °mo-foo 一個馬夫.

A pear, ih tsak sang-li 一隻生梨.

A peach, ih tsak dau-°ts 一隻桃子.

A tailor, ih kuh ze-voong 一個裁縫.

China or Chinese, Tsoong-kok (中國), Lit. Middle Kingdom.

Shanghai, °Zaung-°he 上海.

Jien° is the classifier denoting garments, pieces of baggage and merchandize, and also an affair.

A garment, ih jien° i-zaung 一件衣裳.

Saung (雙) is the classifier denoting pairs.

A pair of shoes, ih saung ‘a-°ts 一雙鞋子.

A pair of socks or stockings, ih saung mah 一雙襪.

New, sing 新.

Old, °jeu 舊, or °lau 老. (Of persons, only °lau is used.) °Lau is old as to time. °Jeu generally means worn out, in bad condition. (°Lau is often used as a title of respect, meaning venerable).

EXERCISES

(Translate into English)

(1) °Ngoo iau° ‘auh wo° tsoong-kok wo°.

(2) °Ngoo iau° ‘auh dok tsoong-kok su.

(3) Noong° iau° dok su va°?

(4) I-tsak siang-°ts tan-chi° meh?

(5) Kyau° yi chi° meh tse.

(6) I-kuh °mo-foo iau° °ma san tsak °mo.

(7) °Ngoo peh yi °ng kwhe° yang-dien kyau° yi chi° °ma ih tsak yang.

(8) °Ngoo °i-kyung wo° koo° tse.

(9) °Zaung-°he tau° koo° hyih meh?

(10) Tau° koo° hyih tse.

(11) °Ngoo-kuh i-zaung ze-voong tsoo° °hau meh?

(12) Yi leh-la° tsoo°.

(13) Noong° chuh-°hau-°ts van° iau° tsoo° sa°?

(14) Chuh-°hau-°ts van° iau° dok su.

(15) °Ngoo iau° chi° °ma ih saung sing kuh ‘a-°ts.

(16) Van° sau °hau meh?

(17) Sau °hau tse.

(18) °Lau sien-sang kyau° si°-tse° chi° °ma sang-li.

(19) Kyau° yi le tsoo° meh tse.

(20) Di°-kuh tsoo° koo° hyih meh? Tsoo° koo° hyih tse.

(一) 我要學話中國話.

(二) 我要學讀中國書.

(三) 儂要讀書否?

(四) 伊隻箱子擔去末?

(五) 叫伊去末哉.

(六) 伊個馬夫要買三隻馬.

(七) 我撥伊五塊洋錢叫伊去買一隻羊.

(八) 我已經話過哉.

(九) 上海到過歇末?

(十) 到過歇哉.

(十一) 我個衣裳裁縫做好末?

(十二) 伊拉拉做.

(十三) 儂吃好之飯要做啥?

(十四) 吃好之飯要讀書.

(十五) 我耍去買一雙新個鞋子.

(十六) 飯燒好末?

(十七) 燒好哉.

(十八) 老先生叫細崽去買生梨.

(十九) 叫伊來做末哉.

(二十) 第個做過歇末? 做過歇哉.

(Translate into Chinese)

(1) I have already read this book.

(2) Do you want to buy a dog?

(3) When I arrive at Shanghai, I wish to buy an umbrella.

(4) Has my friend come?

(5) I gave him four dollars and told him to buy a table.

(6) The teacher is eating his dinner.

(7) I have already given him ten dollars.

(8) Come along.

(9) When the teacher has come, call me.

(10) Have you ever eaten Chinese peaches?

(11) I have eaten them.

(12) Those pupils are studying Chinese.

(13) The foreign teacher is learning to speak Chinese.

(一) 第本書我已輕讀過哉.

(二) 一隻狗要買否?

(三) 到之上海我要買把洋傘.

(四) 我個朋友來末?

(五) 我撥伊四塊洋錢叫伊去買一隻擡子.

(六) 先生垃拉吃飯.

(七) 我已經撥伊十塊洋錢.

(八) 來末哉.

(九) 先生來之末來叫我.

(十) 中國桃子儂吃過歇末?

(十一) 吃過歇哉.

(十二) 伊個學生子拉拉讀中國書.

(十三) 外國先生拉拉學中國話.

Notes.

（1) China is known by many different names. The most common is Tsoong-kok (中國). We also have Da° tshing kok (大淸國), “the great pure kingdom,” Tsoong-wo (中華), “the middle civilized kingdom,” and Zeh pah °sang (十八省) “the eighteen provinces” (used of China Proper, without its dependencies). A modern name is Ts-na (支那). It represents the sound of China, and was much used by the reform party. The name adopted for The Republic of China is Tsoong-wo ming kok (中國民國) “The middle civilized people’s kingdom.”

（2) In the ninth sentence of the first exercise the force of the Tau° (到) is visiting the place for the first time.

（3) In the twentieth sentence of the first exercise the meaning is, “Have you ever done this before?”

（4) In the ninth sentence of the second exercise, you use the past participle, le-°ts (來仔). After it meh (末) is often used for euphony, thus the sentence would be Sien-sang le-ts meh, le kyau° °ngoo (先生來之末來叫我).

（5) In the twelfth sentence of the second exercise su (書) is added after tsoong-kok (中國). The meaning is “The pupils are studying Chinese books.”

（6) In the thirteenth sentence of the second exercise, the foreign teacher would be nga°-kok sien sang (外國先生). Nga°-kok is used as an adjective.