LESSON XI The Passive Voice, and Adverbs of Place and Time

Peh (撥) (Mandarin 被) is used to form the Passive, and is the regular and proper form of the Passive. Thus: the verb °tang (打) means to “Strike.” °Ngoo °tang yi (我打伊) means “I strike him.” To put this into the Passive we would say °ngoo peh yi °tang (我撥伊打). Literally “I gave him strike,” or “I was struck by him.”

“Here” is expressed by leh-°li or °tsh-di° (垃裏, 此地) or di°-deu (第頭). °Tsh-di° means literally “this place.”

“There” is leh-la° (垃拉) or i-deu (伊頭) or i-kwhe° (伊塊). “I am here” is °ngoo leh-li° (我垃裏). “I am there” is °ngoo leh-la° (我垃拉).

These adverbs are often used as adverbial nouns and may take prepositions before them. Thus Tau° °di-deu le (到第頭來) means “Come here.” Lit. “To here come.” Tau° i-deu chi° (到伊頭去) means “Go there.” Lit. “To there go.” °Pa la° °tsh-di° (擺拉此地) means “Place it here,” Lit. “Place it at here.” °Pa la° i-kwhe° (擺拉伊塊) means “Place it there.” Lit. “Place it at there.”

VOCABULARY

Half an hour, pen° °tien-tsoong 半點鐘, (pen° means half).

Quarter of an hour, ih khuh 一刻.

A minute, ih fung 一分.

In the morning, °zaung-pen°-nyih 上半日. Lit. Above half day.

In the afternoon, °‘au-pen°-nyih 下半日. Lit. Lower half day.

Night, ya° 夜.

At night, ya°-deu 夜頭 or ya°-°li 夜裏.

Day before yesterday, koo°-nyih-°ts 過日子, zien-nyih-°ts 前日子, i-nyih-°ts 伊日子.

Day after to-morrow, °‘eu nyih 後日.

Early in the morning, °tsau-zung-deu 早晨頭. °Tsau is early.

In the evening, ya°-kwha° 夜快. Lit. Night coming fast.

In the middle of the day or noon, nyih-tsoong 日中.

To cook, sau 燒.

To strike, °tang 打.

To wait, °tung 等. °Tung-ih-°tung means “Wait a little.”

To rest, hyih 歇. Hyih-ih-hyih means “Wait a little.” We also have °tung-ih-hyih.

To remember, kyi° 記 or kyi°-tuh 記得.

To forget, maung°-kyi° 忘記.

An affair (abstract), ih °jien z°-°thi or ih tsaung z°-thi 一樁事體.

A thing or object (concrete), ih-kuh meh-z° 一個物事.

Wind, foong 風.

A loaf of bread, ih-kuh men-deu 一個饅頭.

A mosquito, ih tsak mung-°ts 一個蚊子 or ih kuh mung-°ts.

A boat, ih tsak zen 一隻船.

Many, much, too-hau° 多化, or too 多.

To sting, ting 叮.

To bite, °ngau 咬.

To spoil, wa° 壞, or wa°-theh 壞脫 (completely spoil).

A snake, ih diau zo 一條蛇.

EXERCISES

(Translate into English)

(1) Van° sau °hau meh? Sau °hau tse.

(2) °Ngoo-kuh i-zaung tan tau° °tsh-di° le.

(3) I-zaung tsoo° °hau meh? ’Veh zung, iau° hyih °liang nyih tsoo° °hau.

(4) °Tshing sien-sang ming-tsau °zaung-pen°-nyih zeh °tien-tsoong le.

(5) Van° sau-°hau-ts meh zieu° iau° chuh.

(6) °Ngoo nyih-°li dok tsoong-kok su, ya°-°li dok nga°-kok su.

(7) I-tsak °mo we°-ts °tseu le man° °lau peh la °mo-foo °tang.

(8) Zien-nyih-°ts °ngoo la° °Zaung-°he °ma-ts too-hau° meh-z°.

(9) °Di tsaung z°-°thi °ngoo theh noong° wo°, dan°-°z ’veh iau° peh i-kuh nyung °hyau-tuh.

(10) °Tsau-zung-deu °z °ting °hau dok su kuh zung-kwaung.

(11) °Tung-ih-hyih °ngoo zieu° iau° le.

(12) Noong° dok koo° hyih kuh su kyi°-tuh va?

(13) Ih pen° kyi°-tuh, ih pen° maung°-kyi°.

(14) °Ngoo peh la° mung-°ts ting.

(15) Men-deu peh la° °siau-noen chuh theh tse.

(16) °Ngoo-kuh kyak peh la° zo °ngau-°ts ih °kheu.

(17) Zen peh la° doo° foong °tang wa°.

(18) °Tshing sien-sang di°-deu °zoo.

(一) 飯燒好末? 燒好哉.

(二) 我個衣裳擔到此地來.

(三) 衣裳做好末? 勿曾, 要歇兩日做好.

(四) 請先生明朝上半日十黙鐘來.

(五) 飯燒好之末就要吃.

(六) 我日裏讀中國書, 夜裏讀外國書.

(七) 伊隻馬爲之走來慢咾撥拉馬夫打.

(八) 前日子我拉上海買之多化物事.

(九) 第樁事體我對儂話, 但是勿要撥伊個人曉得.

(十) 早晨頭是頂好讀書個辰光.

(十一) 等一歇我就要來.

(十二) 儂讀過歇個書記得否?

(十三) 一半記得一半忘記.

(十四) 我撥拉蚊子叮.

(十五) 饅頭撥拉小囝吃脫哉.

(十六) 我個脚撥拉蛇咬仔一口.

(十七) 船撥拉大風打壞.

(十八) 請先生第頭坐.

(Translate into Chinese)

(1) When will you come, in the morning or in the afternoon?

(2) I do not know; if I have no affairs to attend to, I will come in the morning.

(3) Has the carpenter finished making the table? If so, I will come and look at it.

(4) Place the bed here and the table there.

(5) These fish are cooked badly.

(6) The day after to-morrow I have invited some guests to dinner.

(7) It is already twenty minutes past ten, and my teacher has not yet come.

(8) Do you remember what I told you yesterday? I have forgotten it.

(9) In studying Chinese, you must not forget what you have already learnt.

(10) Please sit down a little while; there are many things I want to say to you.

(11) How did you come? I came in a carriage.

(12) My child was struck by your child.

(13) My face and hands were bitten by mosquitoes.

(一) 儂幾時要來, 上半日呢下半日?

(二) 我勿曉得, 若然嘸沒事體, 要上半日來.

(三) 擡子木匠做好末? 若然做好之末, 我要來看看.

(四) 牀棑拉第頭, 檯子擺拉伊頭.

(五) 魚燒來勿好.

(六) 後日我請幾個客人來吃飯.

(七) 已經十點過廿分哉, 先生還勿曾來.

(八) 我昨日對儂話個儂記得否? 我忘記脫哉.

(九) 讀中國書已經學過拉個, 勿要忘記.

(十) 請坐一歇, 有多化事體要對儂話.

(十一) 儂那能來個, 我坐馬車來個.

(十二) 我個小囝撥儂個小囝打.

(十三) 我個面孔佬手撥拉蚊子叮.

Notes.

(1) It will have been noticed that in Lesson VI. Leh-li° was used in the Present Tense Continuous of the Verb, and that Leh-la° was used for the Past Continuous. It was pointed out then that these words really signify “Here” and “There.” The literal sense would be “I am here eating,” and “I was there eating.”

(2) It is very important that beginners should distinguish clearly between meh-z° and z°-°thi. Any concrete object may be called a meh-z°. But an abstract action or affair is always z°-°thi.

(2) In mandarin-speaking districts toong-si 東西 (Lit. “East-West”) is often used for meh-z°, and sometimes it is heard in the Shanghai District.

(3) In the fifth sentence of the First Exercise, notice how the °ts is tacked on to the °hau, and not to the sau.

(4) In the tenth sentence of First Exercise notice how the dok su has become a verbal adjective. Lit. “Reading book time.”

(5) In the fifteenth sentence of the First Exercise the force of the theh after chuh is that it has been entirely eaten up. Theh often comes after verbs to express completed action.

(6) In the sixteenth sentence of the First Exercise, °Ngau-°ts ih °kheu means literally “Bitten a mouthful.”

(7) In the seventeenth sentence we have two verbs used together—°tang and wa°. Literally “Beat” or “strike spoil.”

(8) In the seventh sentence of the Second Exercise twenty minutes past ten is expressed zeh °tien koo° nyan° fung. °Tien is a shortened form for °tien-tsoong. Koo° means “passed over” or “beyond.”

(9) In the twelfth sentence of the First Exercise notice the use of kuh, It has the force of the relative pronoun, and the translation would be “the books which you have read.”

(10) In the sixth sentence of the Second Exercise “some” may be translated by °kyi-kuh.