Level 2 - Lesson 9
This lesson follows Wang Yixue and Liu Ming while they shop for pants, compare nearby drink options, and say how long a walk took.
Contains 7 words
broken; bad
beside; next to
boy
like this; this kind of
height; stature
that; so; to that degree
tall; high
Contains 6 words
entrance; doorway
儿子的裤子坏了。
Érzi de kùzi huài le.
Our son's pants are worn out.
没有你上次买的那条好看。
Méiyǒu nǐ shàng cì mǎi de nà tiáo hǎokàn.
It is not as good-looking as the one you bought last time.
旁边那个男孩儿就穿了这样的裤子。
Pángbiān nàge nánháir jiù chuān le zhèyàng de kùzi.
The boy next to us is wearing this kind of pants.
儿子的个子没有他那么高。
Érzi de gèzi méiyǒu tā nàme gāo.
Our son is not as tall as him.
门口有家奶茶店。
Situation: In a store, Wang Yixue and Liu Ming look at pants for their son.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
儿子的裤子坏了，我们给他买条新的吧。
Our son's pants are worn out. Let's buy him a new pair.
Comparative Sentences (3)
Use A + 没有 (méiyǒu) + B + adjective, optionally with 那么 (nàme) before the adjective, to say that A has less of a quality than B.
Compare a lower degree
A does not reach B's degree of the quality.
coffee
to be away from; from
week
near; close
to walk; to go on foot
Ménkǒu yǒu jiā nǎichádiàn.
There is a milk tea shop at the entrance.
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远。
Kāfēidiàn lí zhèr yǒudiǎnr yuǎn.
The coffee shop is a bit far from here.
咖啡店离这儿很近。
Kāfēidiàn lí zhèr hěn jìn.
The coffee shop is very close to here.
我去买杯奶茶。
Wǒ qù mǎi bēi nǎichá.
I'm going to buy a cup of milk tea.
离星期天还有两天。
Lí xīngqītiān hái yǒu liǎng tiān.
There are two days until Sunday.
这周刘明休息。
Zhè zhōu Liú Míng xiūxi.
Liu Ming is off this week.
商店里的衣服没有大商场里的好看。
Shāngdiàn lǐ de yīfu méiyǒu dà shāngchǎng lǐ de hǎokàn.
The clothes in the store were not as good-looking as the ones in the big mall.
我们走路走了二十分钟。
Wǒmen zǒulù zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng.
We walked for twenty minutes.
刘明
Liu Ming
你看，旁边那个男孩儿穿这样的裤子。
Look, the boy next to us is wearing this kind of pants.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
他个子那么高，穿上很好看。
He is that tall, so they look good when he puts them on.
刘明
Liu Ming
儿子的个子没有那么高，我们再看看吧。
Our son is not that tall. Let's keep looking.
Situation: Inside the mall, Wang Yixue and Liu Ming confirm that a nearby drink shop sells both milk tea and coffee before choosing different drinks.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
门口有家奶茶店，离这儿近吗？
There is a milk tea shop at the entrance. Is it close to here?
刘明
Liu Ming
很近，那家店也有咖啡，我们走路去吧。
It's very close. That shop also has coffee, so let's walk there.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
好，我去买杯奶茶。你呢？
Okay. I'll go buy a milk tea. What about you?
刘明
Liu Ming
我这周想少喝奶茶，买杯咖啡吧。
I want to drink less milk tea this week, so I'll buy a coffee.
Situation: Before walking to a farther coffee shop, Liu Ming checks the time so the pair can work out how long the walk takes.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远，我们走路去吧。
The coffee shop is a little far from here. Let's walk there.
刘明
Liu Ming
好。我看一下手表，现在两点十分。
Okay. Let me check my watch. It's 2:10 now.
王一雪
Wang Yixue
到了。现在两点半，我们走了多长时间？
We're here. It's 2:30 now. How long did we walk?
刘明
Liu Ming
我们走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
那么 (nàme) can be omitted in a neutral comparison. Do not add 不 (bù) before the adjective; 没有 (méiyǒu) already carries the negative comparison.
他 (tā) is the comparison standard, and 那么高 (nàme gāo) is the degree of height our son does not reach.
儿子的个子没有他那么高。
Our son is not as tall as him.
你上次买的那条 (nǐ shàng cì mǎi de nà tiáo) is the comparison standard. The adjective 好看 (hǎokàn) follows it directly because 那么 (nàme) is optional here.
这条裤子没有你上次买的那条好看。
These pants are not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.
The preceding turn has already identified the tall boy, so the listener can recover the missing comparison standard.
儿子的个子没有那么高。
Our son is not that tall.
儿子的个子没有他那么高。
Our son is not as tall as him.
没有你上次买的那条好看。
It is not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.
儿子的个子没有那么高。
Our son is not that tall.
Dialogue 01: Looking at Pants, Turn 4
Compare with the boy already mentioned
儿子的个子没有那么高，我们再看看吧。
Our son is not that tall. Let's keep looking.
This is a negative comparison, not a statement that A does not possess B. Put the item being judged before 没有 (méiyǒu), the comparison standard after it, and the quality at the end: A + 没有 (méiyǒu) + B + adjective. You may add 那么 (nàme) before the adjective to point explicitly to B's degree: 儿子的个子没有他那么高 (érzi de gèzi méiyǒu tā nàme gāo), ‘Our son is not as tall as him.’ A neutral comparison can omit 那么 (nàme): 这条裤子没有你上次买的那条好看 (zhè tiáo kùzi méiyǒu nǐ shàng cì mǎi de nà tiáo hǎokàn), ‘These pants are not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.’ When the comparison standard has just been stated and cannot be misunderstood, B may instead be left out, as in 儿子的个子没有那么高 (érzi de gèzi méiyǒu nàme gāo). Omitting 那么 (nàme) and omitting B are two different choices.
Verb 离
Use 离 (lí) to measure how far one place is from another or how much time remains until a reference time.
Locate A from B
Describe the distance between two places from B as the reference point.
离 (lí) does not by itself mean ‘far.’ The final expression tells the listener whether the distance is near or far.
Count down to a reference time
Say how much time remains between now and a named time.
In this time pattern, 离 (lí) begins the countdown phrase; do not use the place A + 离 + place B order.
近吗 (jìn ma) asks about the distance while the A–离–B order stays unchanged.
咖啡店离这儿近吗？
Is the coffee shop close to here?
星期天 (xīngqītiān) is the reference time, and 还有两天 (hái yǒu liǎng tiān) states the temporal distance remaining.
离星期天还有两天。
There are two days until Sunday.
有点儿远 (yǒudiǎnr yuǎn) supplies the distance judgment; 离 (lí) only links the two places.
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远。
咖啡店离这儿近吗？
Is the coffee shop close to here?
离星期天还有两天。
There are two days until Sunday.
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远。
The coffee shop is a little far from here.
Dialogue 02: Choosing Drinks Near the Entrance, Turn 1
Ask about the milk tea shop
门口有家奶茶店，离这儿近吗？
There is a milk tea shop at the entrance. Is it close to here?
离 (lí) links a point to a reference point for spatial or temporal distance. For places, put the place you want to locate first: place A + 离 (lí) + place B + 近 (jìn), 远 (yuǎn), or another distance expression. 咖啡店离这儿很近 (kāfēidiàn lí zhèr hěn jìn) means ‘The coffee shop is very close to here.’ To ask, keep the same order and use 近吗 (jìn ma), 远吗 (yuǎn ma), or 多远 (duō yuǎn). For time, use 离 (lí) + reference time + 还有 (hái yǒu) + duration to count the remaining distance from now: 离星期天还有两天 (lí xīngqītiān hái yǒu liǎng tiān), ‘There are two days until Sunday.’ The words after 离 (lí) name the endpoint; the final phrase tells the spatial or temporal distance.
Complement of Duration (1)
Put a duration after the completed action to answer ‘for how long?’; repeat the verb when the activity's object is named first.
Measure the action
The duration after the completed action answers ‘how long did it last?’
Ask 多长时间 (duō cháng shíjiān) to request the missing duration. Do not place the duration before the action as if it were the time when the action happened.
Because 走 (zǒu) has no object here, the duration follows 走了 (zǒu le) directly.
我们走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
The duration 两年 (liǎng nián) comes before the simple object 汉语 (Hànyǔ).
我学了两年汉语。
I studied Chinese for two years.
走路 (zǒulù) names the activity, then 走了二十分钟 (zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng) measures it.
我们走路走了二十分钟。
我们走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
我学了两年汉语。
I studied Chinese for two years.
我们走路走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
Dialogue 03: Walking to a Farther Coffee Shop, Turn 3
Ask for the duration
到了。我们走了多长时间？
We have arrived. How long did we walk?
Dialogue 03: Walking to a Farther Coffee Shop, Turn 4
Answer with a duration
我们走路走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
A duration complement measures an action, not the time when it happened. With no object, use verb + 了 (le) + duration, as in 我们走了二十分钟 (wǒmen zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng). With a simple object after the duration, use verb + 了 (le) + duration + object, as in 我学了两年汉语 (wǒ xué le liǎng nián Hànyǔ). If the object or verb-object activity comes first, repeat the verb before 了 (le) and the duration: 我们走路走了二十分钟 (wǒmen zǒulù zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng). The first 走路 (zǒulù) names the activity; the repeated 走 (zǒu) receives the duration. Use the lesson's forms to report a completed or bounded stretch, with 了 (le) attached to the action being measured.
The coffee shop is a little far from here.
Dialogue 03: Walking to a Farther Coffee Shop, Turn 1
Say it is a little far
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远，我们走路去吧。
The coffee shop is a little far from here. Let's walk there.
We walked for twenty minutes.
