"Once again" in Chinese - Lesson 28

1. Vocabulary

Dialogues vocabulary

	Word	Pinyin	Translation
1	又	yòu	again; once again; one more time
2	再	zài	again; one more; once again
3	刚	gāng	just now (adv.)
4	所以	suǒyǐ	consequently; thus; therefor ; this is why
5	而且	érqiě	furthermore, beside; although
6	虽然	suīrán	although, though
7	不过	bùguò	however; anyway
8	迟到	chídào	to be late
9	睡醒	shuìxǐng	to wake up, awake
10	需要	xūyào	to need
11	帮	bāng	to help
12	补课	bǔkè	to make up a missed class
13	影城	yǐngchéng	movie theatre
14	要是	yàoshi	if; in case
15	最好还是	zuìhàoháishì	it would better
16	开	kāi	in this lesson: to open
17	过来	guòlái	to come from

More vocabulary

	Word	Pinyin	Translation
1	饿	è	to be hungry
2	渴	kě	to be thirsty
3	菜	cài	dish, cooked meal
4	还是	háishi	in this lesson: even so; nevertheless
5	分钟	fēnzhōng	minute (for a duration and not to indicate the time)

2. Grammar

A. "Again" in the past with 又 ‹ yòu ›

The word  又 ‹ yòu › can be used in Chinese to express an action that was repeated in the past. We can translate it as "again" in English. 又 ‹ yòu › precedes the verb which is followed by the past marker 了 ‹ le ›.

• 他 又 迟到 了。 ‹ Tā yòu chídào le. ›
  He is late again.
• 你 怎么 今天 又 买 了 一件衣服 ？ ‹ Nǐ zěnme jīntiān yòu mǎi le yī jiàn yīfú? ›
  How come that today again you are buying jeans?

B. "Again" in the future with 再 ‹ zài ›

再 ‹ zài › can also be translated "again", however, unlike 又 ‹ yòu ›, it is used to express an action that should be repeated in the future.

• 请 再 说 一次。 ‹ Qǐng zài shuō yī cì. ›
  Please repeat.
• 我 明天 想 再 买 一些衣服。 ‹ Wǒ míngtiān xiǎng zài mǎi yī xiē yīfú. ›
  I want to buy some clothes tomorrow again.

C. The cause and effect with "因为...所以... ‹ yīnwèi... suǒyǐ... ›"

因为 ‹ yīnwèi › and 以就 ‹ suǒyǐ › are often written in the same sentence for respectively introducing a cause and a consequence. However, when speaking, one of the two is often omitted.

• 因为 你迟到了， 所以 要说“对不起”。 ‹ Yīnwèi nǐ chídào le, suǒyǐ yào shuō "duìbùqǐ". ›
  Because you are late, you should say "sorry".
• 因为 你渴了，所以 应该喝水。 ‹ Yīnwèi nǐ kě le, suǒyǐ yīnggāi hē shuǐ. ›
  Since you're thirsty, you should drink water.
  

D. "Although" with "虽然...但是... ‹ suīrán... dànshì... ›"

The structure "虽然...但是... ‹ suīrán... dànshì... ›" is relatively common in Chinese debates. 虽然 ‹ suīrán › precedes a fact while 但是 ‹ dànshì › precedes a contradiction.

• 虽然 她说不太饿， 但是 她点了很多菜。 ‹ Suīrán tā shuō bu tài è, dànshì tā diǎn le hěn duō cài. ›
  Although he said he was not very hungry, he ordered many dishes.
• 虽然 我病了，但是 还是去上课。 ‹ Suīrán wǒ bìng le, dànshì háishì qù shàngkè. ›
  Although I'm sick, I'm still going to classes.

E. Modifying a noun to specify its duration with 的 ‹ de ›

In Chinese, it is possible to change a noun with 的 ‹ de › to specify its duration. This is very useful to say for example "a 30-minute class", "a 3-hour movie," etc.

• 三十分钟 的 课 ‹ Sānshí fēnzhōng de kè ›
  A thirty minutes class
  
• 一百二分钟 的 电影 ‹ Yībǎi èr fēnzhōng de diànyǐng ›
  A movie of hundred twenty minutes

F. Structures with 是...的 ‹ shì...de ›

Sentences with "是...的 ‹ shì...de ›" are used in Chinese to draw attention to certain information in a sentence. This structure is often used to ask questions requesting a specific answer or to explain a situation by insisting on a particular detail.

Although this construction is not related to any particular time, it is mostly used to talk about the past.

• 你 是 怎么 做 的 ？ ‹ Nǐ shì zěnme zuò de? ›
  How did you do?
  
• 我 是 昨天 来 的。 ‹ Wǒ shì zuótiān lái de. ›
  It was yesterday that I arrived. (→ emphasis on the moment)
  
• 我 是 在 中国 学 汉语 的。 ‹ Wǒ shì zài zhōngguó xué hànyǔ de. ›
  It was in China that I learned Chinese. (→ emphasis on location)
  

G. Questions with 不是...吗？ ‹ Bùshì...ma? ›

In Chinese, in a closed-ended question 吗 ‹ ma ›, it is possible to add 不是 ‹ bùshì ›at the beginning of the interrogative sentence to emphasize on the fact that you think knowing the answer. 不是 ‹ bùshì › can then be translated as "isn't it ?".

3. Dialogues

Dialogue N° 1

- 你怎么昨天买了一件衣服，今天又买了一件衣服？ ‹ Nǐ zěnme zuótiān mǎi le yī jiàn yīfú, jīntiān yòu mǎi le yī jiàn yīfú? ›
- 因为AUX商场的很多东西都在打折，我明天想再买一些衣服。 ‹ Yīnwèi AUX shāngchǎng de hěnduō dōngxī dōu zài dǎzhé, wǒ míngtiān xiǎng zài mǎi yīxiē yīfú. ›

Dialogue N° 2

- 王丽，你从哪过来？ ‹ Wáng Lì, nǐ cóng nǎ guòlái? ›
- 我刚去了新开的商场买了一条牛仔裤。 ‹ Wǒ gāng qù le xīn kāi de shāngchǎng mǎi le yītiáo niúzǎikù. ›
- 你怎么又买牛仔裤？你不是昨天刚买了一条吗？ ‹ Nǐ zěnme yòu mǎi niúzǎikù? Nǐ bùshì zuótiān gāng mǎi le yītiáo ma? ›
- 是啊， 我特别喜欢这个款式，而且又在打折，所以就又去买了一条。 ‹ Shì a, wǒ tèbié xǐhuān zhè ge kuǎnshì, érqiě yòu zài dǎzhé, suǒyǐ jiù yòu qù mǎi le yītiáo. ›
- 是吗？明天还打折吗？ ‹ Shì ma? Míngtiān hái dǎzhé ma? ›
- 会的*，要我陪你再去一次吗？ ‹ Huì de, yào wǒ péi nǐ zài qù yī cì ma? ›
- 那太好了！ ‹ Nà tài hǎo le! ›

Translation :

- Wang Li, where are you coming from?
- I went to the new mall to buy jeans.
- How come you are buying jeans again? haven't you already bought some yesterday?
- Yes. I am very happy with this model, so I went back to the mall to buy some because they are still on sale.
- Is it? Will there be discounts tomorrow still?
- Yes. Do you want me to go with you to go there again?
- That would be great!

* Here the response suggests that even if in the question "明天还打折吗？" 会 is not here, it is however implicite : "明天还会打折吗？".

Dialogue N° 3

- 大卫，你上课怎么又迟到了？ ‹ Dàwèi, nǐ shàngkè zěnme yòu chídào le? ›
- 昨天晚上我看了一部三个小时的电影。 ‹ Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ kàn le yī bù sān gè xiǎoshí de diànyǐng. ›
我还没睡醒，好累啊。虽然上课又迟到了，但是我很喜欢这部电影。 ‹ Wǒ hái méi shuì xǐng, hǎo lèi a. Suīrán shàngkè yòu chídào le, dànshì wǒ hěn xǐhuān zhè bù diànyǐng. ›
- 你是在哪里看的，什么电影？ ‹ Nǐ shì zài nǎlǐ kàn de, shénme diànyǐng? ›
- 霍比特人 (The Hobbit)； 在CGV影城。 ‹ Huòbǐtèrén ; zài CGV yǐng chéng. ›
- 好吧，你要是需要的话，我可以帮你补课。不过你以后最好还是不要迟到了。 ‹ Hǎo ba, nǐ yàoshi xūyào dehuà, wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ bǔkè. Bùguò nǐ yǐhòu zuìhàoháishì bùyào chídào le. ›

Translation

- David, why did you arrived late in class again?
- Last night I watched a 3- hour movie. Again I didn't wake up, I'm tired.
Although I arrived late for class again, I enjoyed this movie.
- What movie did you watch and where did you go to watch it?
- The Hobbit, at the CGV cinema.
- OK. If you need, I will help you to make up the class. However it would be better you do not arrive late in the future.

4. Translation exercises

A. Translate into English

1. 昨天又下雨了。
2. 你是怎么来的？
3. 你是什么时候来的？
4. 虽然他是美国人，但是他还没去过华盛顿(Washington)。
5. 因为想去中国，所以要学中文。
6. 因为没有钱，所以没有女朋友(girlfriend)。

B. Translate into Chinese

Translate into Chinese the following sentences according to what you learned in this lesson:

1. Yesterday I ate dumplings again.
2. It is a forty-five minute movie.
3. It is in Beijing that I learn Chinese.
4. It is this weekend that I go back to France.