Level 2 - Lesson 4
Wang Yixue takes Liu Xiaoxue to a newly opened mall to shop for pants and a schoolbag. They use 的 (de) phrases to refer to places and products through descriptions.

Contains 4 words
aspect particle for past experience
because
so; therefore
to go over; to pass by
Contains 3 words
shopping mall; department store
Contains 2 words
to go in
Contains 7 words
measure word for long, narrow things
我们来过这家商场吗?
Wǒmen lái guo zhè jiā shāngchǎng ma?
Have we been to this mall before?
我们进去看看吧。
Wǒmen jìnqù kànkan ba.
Let's go in and take a look.
我想买条裤子。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi tiáo kùzi.
I want to buy a pair of pants.
我想买这条白色的裤子。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi zhè tiáo báisè de kùzi.
I want to buy this pair of white pants.
没来过,这是新开的。
Méi lái guo, zhè shì xīn kāi de.
Situation: At a shopping mall, Liu Xiaoxue asks if they have been there before and says she wants to buy pants.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
妈妈,我们来过这家商场吗?
Mom, have we been to this mall before?
Experiential Particle 过
Put 过 (guo) after a verb to ask or say whether someone has had that experience before now.
Past experience
Say whether an action has occurred at least once in someone's experience.
pants; trousers
schoolbag
to try
white
red
green
black
even more; more
color
No, we have not. This one is newly opened.
因为你有很多白色的,所以试试那条红色的吧。
Yīnwèi nǐ yǒu hěn duō báisè de, suǒyǐ shìshi nà tiáo hóngsè de ba.
Because you have many white ones, try that red pair.
红色的、绿色的、黑色的,你觉得哪个好?
Hóngsè de, lǜsè de, hēisè de, nǐ juéde nǎge hǎo?
The red one, the green one, or the black one: which do you think is good?
我也觉得绿色的更好看。
Wǒ yě juéde lǜsè de gèng hǎokàn.
I also think the green one looks better.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
没来过,这是新开的。
No, we have not. This one is newly opened.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
我们进去看看吧,我想买条裤子。
Let's go in and take a look. I want to buy a pair of pants.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
好,我们看看颜色。
Okay, let's look at the colors.
Situation: At the pants section, Liu Xiaoxue chooses white pants, but Wang Yixue suggests trying red because Xiaoxue already owns many white clothes.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
妈妈,我想买这条白色的裤子。
I want to buy this pair of white pants.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
你有很多白色的衣服,为什么还买白色的?
You have lots of white clothes. Why are you buying white ones again?
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
因为我喜欢白色啊!
Because I like white.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
就是因为你没穿过红色的,所以要试一试。
Precisely because you have never worn red, you should try it.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
好,我试试那条红色的。
Okay, I'll try that red pair.
Situation: At a schoolbag display, Liu Xiaoxue and Wang Yixue compare color options.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
那边有书包,我们过去看看吧。
There are schoolbags over there. Let's go over and take a look.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
红色的、绿色的、黑色的,你觉得哪个好?
The red one, the green one, or the black one: which do you think is good?
王一雪
Wang Yixue
绿色的不错。
The green one is pretty good.
刘小雪
Liu Xiaoxue
我也觉得绿色的更好看。
I also think the green one looks better.
Negate with 没 + verb + 过 (méi + verb + guo), not 不 (bù).
The question asks whether this visit has happened before.
我们来过这家商场吗?
Have we ever been to this mall?
没 (méi) comes before the verb while 过 (guo) remains after it.
我们没来过。
We have never been here.
你穿过红色的吗?
Have you ever worn a red one?
我没穿过红色的。
I have never worn a red one.
Dialogue 01: Entering the Mall, Turn 1
Ask about a previous visit
妈妈,我们来过这家商场吗?
Mom, have we been to this mall before?
Dialogue 01: Entering the Mall, Turn 2
Answer with no experience
没来过,这是新开的。
No, we have not. This one is newly opened.
Verb + 过 (guo) presents an action as past experience without locating one particular event in time. Ask verb + 过 + object + 吗 (verb + guo + object + ma), answer positively with verb + 过 (verb + guo), and answer negatively with 没 + verb + 过 (méi + verb + guo). In 我们来过这家商场吗 (wǒmen lái guo zhè jiā shāngchǎng ma), the issue is whether visiting this mall is part of their experience. Use 没 (méi), not 不 (bù), for the negative.
Cause-and-Result Sentence 因为……所以……
Put 因为 (yīnwèi) before the reason and 所以 (suǒyǐ) before the result to state the full cause-and-result link.
Reason, then result
Make the cause and consequence explicit in that order.
因为 (yīnwèi) introduces the reason; 所以 (suǒyǐ) introduces the result.
Both sides of the logic are stated.
因为你没穿过红色的,所以要试一试。
Because you have never worn red, you should try it.
The result is understood from the preceding 为什么 question.
因为我喜欢白色。
Because I like white.
因为我喜欢白色,所以我买白色的。
Because I like white, I buy white ones.
因为没穿过,所以要试一试。
Because I have never worn it, I should try it.
Dialogue 02: Trying Red Pants, Turn 4
Explain why she should try red
就是因为你没穿过红色的,所以要试一试。
Precisely because you have never worn red, you should try it.
The order is 因为 + reason, 所以 + result (yīnwèi + reason, suǒyǐ + result). The first clause explains why; the second tells what follows. In 因为你没穿过红色的,所以要试一试 (yīnwèi nǐ méi chuān guo hóngsè de, suǒyǐ yào shì yi shì), lack of experience is the reason and trying the red pair is the conclusion. In a direct answer to 为什么 (wèishénme), a short 因为 (yīnwèi) clause may stand alone because the result is already understood.
The 的 (de) phrase: phrase + 的 (de)
Put 的 (de) after a word or phrase to form a 的 (de) phrase. The whole phrase can refer to the person or thing described: 新开的 (xīn kāi de), “the newly opened one.”
Review: let a phrase describe a noun
A phrase before 的 (de) can identify or describe the noun that follows.
新开的商场 (xīn kāi de shāngchǎng) follows the previously learned pattern phrase + 的 (de) + noun. The phrase 新开 (xīn kāi) describes 商场 (shāngchǎng).
New: use the 的 (de) phrase on its own
Put 的 (de) after a word or phrase. The complete 的 (de) phrase can now refer to a person or thing.
In 这是新开的 (Zhè shì xīn kāi de), the complete 新开的 (xīn kāi de) phrase refers to the mall. Context supplies the referent; the formal structure being learned is phrase + 的 (de).
This is the previously learned attributive structure: 新开 (xīn kāi) + 的 (de) describes the following noun 商场 (shāngchǎng).
这是新开的商场。
This is a newly opened mall.
The complete 新开的 (xīn kāi de) phrase refers to the mall. It stands on its own after 是 (shì), with no noun following 的 (de).
这是新开的。
This is the newly opened one.
The complete 白色的 (báisè de) phrase refers to white clothes and serves as the object of 买 (mǎi).
为什么还买白色的?
这是新开的。
This one is newly opened.
为什么还买白色的?
Why are you buying white ones again?
绿色的不错。
The green one is pretty good.
Dialogue 01: Entering the Mall, Turn 2
The newly opened mall
没来过,这是新开的。
No, we have not. This one is newly opened.
Dialogue 02: Trying Red Pants, Turn 2
Named clothes, then understood clothes
你有很多白色的衣服,为什么还买白色的?
You have lots of white clothes. Why are you buying white ones again?
You already know how a phrase can describe a noun: phrase + 的 (de) + noun, as in 新开的商场 (xīn kāi de shāngchǎng), “a mall that is newly opened.” In this lesson, phrase + 的 (de) can stand on its own as a noun phrase: 新开的 (xīn kāi de), “the newly opened one.” The complete phrase ending in 的 (de) refers to a person or thing identified by the description. Context tells the listener what it refers to; it may be something already mentioned or something obvious in the situation. 的 (de) does not itself mean ‘one,’ ‘what,’ or ‘who.’ Those English words translate the meaning of the whole phrase in context.
Why are you buying white ones again?
The complete 绿色的 (lǜsè de) phrase refers to a green schoolbag and serves as the subject of the sentence.
绿色的不错。
The green one is pretty good.
Dialogue 03: Choosing a Schoolbag, Turn 3
The green schoolbag
绿色的不错。
The green one is pretty good.