Inviting and proposing a choice in Chinese - Lesson 13  

This Chinese lesson addresses the invitation theme, we will learn how to welcome someone into our home or to a restaurant and propose relevant choices.

Contents of this lesson

1. Vocabulary

2. Grammar

3. Dialogues

4. Exercises

1. Vocabulary

2. Grammar

A. Questions in "A" or "B" with 还是 ‹ háishi ›

In Chinese when asking the speaker a question and at the same time leaving him the choice between two options, one would use 还是 ‹ háishi ›.

• 你 喝 咖啡 还是 茶 ？ ‹ Nǐ hē kāfēi háishì chá? ›
  Do you drink coffee or tea?
• 咱们 吃 饺子 还是 面条 ？ ‹ Zánmen chī jiǎozi háishì miàntiáo? ›
  Do we eat dumplings or noddles?

B. Affirmative-negative questions

The Chinese utilize a specific interrogative form, as such the verb is used in the affirmative form and followed with its negative form. This kind of question is similar to the one using the particle 吗 ‹ ma ›.

• 你 有 啤酒 吗 ？ ‹ Nǐ yǒu píjiǔ ma? › → 你 有没有 啤酒 ？ ‹ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu píjiǔ? ›
  Do you have beer?
• 你 喝 咖啡 吗 ？ ‹ Nǐ hē kāfēi ma? › → 你 喝不喝 咖啡 ？ ‹ Nǐ hē bù hē kāfēi? ›
  Do you drink coffee?
• 行不行 ？ ‹ Xíng bù xíng? ›
  Alright or not?

C. "Isn't it ?" in Chinese

To confirm a fact in Chinese, you can use "对吧？ ‹ duì ba? ›" -at the end of the sentence- which is the equivalent of "isn't it?" in English.

• 你 喜欢 咖啡，对吧？ ‹ Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi, duì ba? ›
  You like coffee, isn't it?

D. Modifying a noun with an adjective and 的 ‹ de ›

In Chinese with the particle 的 ‹ de ›, , it is possible to add a specification/ description to a noun with an qualifying adjective.

• 好吃 的 东西 ‹ hǎo chī de dōngxi ›
  A good thing to eat

3. Dialogues

Dialogue N° 1

- 王丽，你好！ ‹ Wáng Lì, nǐhǎo! ›
- 大卫，你好！请进，请坐！你喝什么？ ‹ Dàwèi, nǐhǎo! Qǐng jìn, qǐng zuò! Nǐ hē shénme? ›
- 你有没有啤酒？ ‹ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu píjiǔ? ›
- 我家里没有酒。 有咖啡和茶。你喝咖啡还是茶？ ‹ Wǒ jiālǐ méiyǒu jiǔ. Yǒu kāfēi hé chá. Nǐ hē kāfēi háishì chá? ›
- 茶。我不喜欢咖啡。 ‹ Chá. Wǒ bù xǐhuan kāfēi. ›
- 我喝咖啡。我喜欢喝咖啡。请喝！ ‹ Wǒ hē kāfēi. Wǒ xǐhuan hē kāfēi. Qǐng hē! ›
- 谢谢！ ‹ Xièxie! ›

Translation :

- Wang Li, hello!
- Hi David! Please, come in and sit ! What do you drink?
- Do you have beer?
- I do not have alcohol at home. There are coffee and tea. Do you want to drink tea or coffee?
- Tea. I do not like coffee.
- I drink coffee; I love coffee. Drink!
- Thank you!

Dialogue N° 2 At the restaurant ...

- 服务员： 欢迎 ! 请问几位？ ‹ Huānyíng! Qǐngwèn jǐ wèi? ›
- 大卫：两位。 ‹ Liǎng wèi. ›
- 服务员：请这儿坐。你们吃点儿什么？ ‹ Qǐng zhèr zuò. Nǐmen chī diǎnr shénme? ›
- 大卫：王丽，你喜欢吃什么？ ‹ Wáng Lì, nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme? ›
- 王丽：都喜欢吃！服务员，这儿有什么好吃的东西？ ‹ Dōu xǐhuan chī! Fúwùyuán, zhèr yǒu shé me hǎo chī de dōngxi? ›
- 服务员：有面条，包子，饺子。 ‹ Yǒu miàntiáo, bāozi, jiǎozi. ›
- 大卫：咱们吃饺子吧？饺子好吃。 ‹ Zánmen chī jiǎozi ba? Jiǎozi hǎo chī. ›
- 王丽：行。你喝不喝啤酒？ ‹ Xíng. Nǐ hē bù hē píjiǔ? ›
- 大卫：喝。你呢？你喜欢咖啡，对吧？ ‹ Hē. Nǐ ne? Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi, duì ba? ›
- 王丽：对。 ‹ Duì. ›
- 服务员：我们这儿没有咖啡 。‹ Wǒmen zhèr méi yǒu kāfēi. ›
- 王丽：我喝茶。 ‹ Wǒ hē chá. ›
- 大卫：饺子，茶和啤酒。谢谢！ ‹ Jiǎozi, chá hé píjiǔ. Xièxie! ›
- 服务员：好。 ‹ Hǎo. ›

Translation :

- Waiter: Welcome! How many seats?
- David: Two.
- Waiter: Please, sit down here. Will you eat something?
- David : Wang Li, what do you like to eat?
- Wang Li: I like everything! Waiter, what is good to eat here?
- Waiter: There are noodles, buns, dumplings.
- David: What if we eat dumplings? Dumplings are good.
- Wang Li: Okay. Do you drink beer?
- David: Yes. And you? You like coffee, isn't it?
- Wang Li: Exact. I drink coffee.
- Waiter: We do not have coffee here.
- Wang Li: I'll drink tea.
- David: Dumplings, tea and beer. Thank you!
- Server: Alright.

4. Exercises

A. Answer in Chinese the following questions :

1. 王丽家里有没有啤酒？ ‹ Wáng Lì jiā li yǒu méi yǒu píjiǔ? ›
2. 大卫喝不喝咖啡？你呢？ ‹ Dàwèi hē bù hē kāfēi? Nǐ ne? ›
3. 是王丽还是大卫喜欢喝咖啡？ ‹ Shì Wáng Lì háishì Dàwèi xǐhuan hē kāfēi? ›
4. 今天是不是一月一号？ ‹ Jīntiān shì bù shì yī yuè yī hào? ›

B. Exercice de substitution :

Complete the question using the proposed subjects (+ verbs) and objects:

_________________还是_________________？