Lesson 12 - Conjunctions

Words such as 'but', 'and', 'because', 'however' are conjunctions - they link sentences, phrases and words up. We'll learn about Chinese conjunctions in this lesson.

The conjunction "也" (ye3) is similar to the English "too". However, it is placed directly before the verb.

For example,

1. 我 是 男生。(wo3 shi4 nan2 sheng1) - I am a boy.
2. 我 也是 男生。(wo3 ye3 shi4 nan2 sheng1) - I am a boy too.
3. 他 有 三双 鞋子。(ta1 you3 san1 shuang1 xie2 zi4) - He has three pairs of shoes.
4. 你 也有 三双 鞋子。(ni3 ye3 you3 san1 shuang1 xie2 zi4) - You have three pairs of shoes too.
5. 现在，我 在吃 面。(xian4 zai4, wo3 zai4 chi1 mian4) - Now, I am eating noodles.
6. 现在，他 也在吃 面。(xian4 zai4, ta1 ye3 zai4 chi1 mian4) - Now, he is eating noodles too.
7. 他们 搭 公车去 学校。(ta1 men2 da1 gong1 che1 qu4 xue2 xiao4) - They take a bus to school.
8. 我们 也搭 公车去 学校。(wo3 men2 ye3 da1 gong1 che1 qu4 xue2 xiao4) - We take a bus to school too.
9. 那只 猫 在 桌子上。(na4 zhi1 mao1 zai4 zhuo1 zi4 shang4) - That cat is on the table.
10. 那只 狗 也在 桌子上。(na4 zhi1 gou3 ye3 zai4 zhuo1 zi4 shang4) - That dog is on the table too.
11. 我 没吃 饭。(wo3 mei2 chi1 fan4) - I did not eat rice.
12. 他 也没吃 饭。(ta1 ye3 mei2 chi1 fan4) - He did not eat rice too.
13. 他 是 医生 吗？(ta1 shi4 yi1 sheng1 ma1) - Is he a doctor?
14. 她 也是 医生 吗？(ta1 ye3 shi4 yi1 sheng1 ma1) - Is she a doctor too?

Let's now learn some new nouns.

1. 爸爸 (ba1 ba1) - Father
2. 妈妈 (ma1 ma1) - Mother
3. 哥哥 (ge1 ge1) - Elder Brother
4. 弟弟 (di4 di4) - Younger Brother
5. 姐姐 (jie3 jie1) - Elder Sister
6. 妹妹 (mei4 mei4) - Younger Sister
7. 家人 (jia1 ren2) - Family
8. 朋友 (peng2 you3) - Friend

The conjunction "和" (he2) links nouns together. It is similar to the English "and".

For example, 

1. 我 有 三粒 球 和 五双 袜子。(wo3 you3 san1 li4 qiu2 he2 wu3 shuang1 wa4 zi4) - I have 3 balls and 5 pairs of socks
2. 那只 猫 和 狗 在 桌子上。(na4 zhi1 mao1 he2 gou3 zai4 zhuo1 zi3 shang4) - The cat and the dog are on the table.
3. 我 和 你 是 朋友。(wo3 he2 ni3 shi4 peng2 you4) - I and you are friends. (I am friend with you.)
4. 我 的 爸爸 和 妈妈 在 上班。(wo3 de4 ba1 ba1 he2 ma1 ma1 zai4 shang4 ban1) - My father and mother are working.
5. 我 有 一个 弟弟 和 两个 姐姐。(wo3 you3 yi1 ge4 di4 di4 he2 liang3 ge4 jie3 jie1) - I have one younger brother and two elder sisters. 

The conjunction "但是” (dan4 shi4) links phrases up, and is similar to the English "but".

For example,

1.  他 有 一个 哥哥 但是 没有 姐姐。(ta1 you3 yi1 ge4 ge1 ge1 dan4 shi4 mei2 you3 jie3 jie1)- He has a brother but no sister.

 "不过" (bu4 guo4) also means "but". It is used interchangeably with "但是".(dan4 shi4)

For example,

1. 我 没吃 饭 不过 有吃 面。(wo3 mei2 chi1 fan4 bu4 guo4 you3 chi1 mian4). - I did not eat rice but I did eat noodles.

The word "从" means "from" and indicates a starting point of time or position. It is placed before time or position.

1. 从 家里 去 学校。(cong2 jia1 li3 qu4 xue2 xiao4) - Go to school from home.

The word "到" means "to" and indicates a ending point of time or position. It is also placed before time or position.

1. 从 五时 到 八时 (cong2 wu3 shi2 dao4 ba1 shi2) - From 5 o'clock to 8 o'clock.
2. 昨天 从 早上 九时 到 下午 二时，我 在 学校。(zuo2 tian1 cong2 zao3 shang4 jiu3 shi2 dao4 xia4 wu3 er4 shi2, wo4 zai4 xue2 xiao4) - Yesterday from 9AM to 2PM, I was at school.
3. 从 新加坡 到 日本，距离 有 五千 公里。(cong2 xin1 jia1 po1 dao4 ri4 ben3, ju4 li2 you3 wu3 qian1 gong1 li3) - The distance from Singapore to Japan is 5000km. (From Singapore to Japan, the Distance has 5000 km) - [距离(ju4 li2) - Distance / 公里(gong1 li3) - kilometers]

The word "起" means "onwards" and indicates that there is no ending point of time.

1. 从 八时 起，我 在 做 功课。(cong2 ba1 shi2 qi3, wo1 zai4 zuo4 gong1 ke4) - From 8 o'clock I was doing my homework.
2. 从 现在 起，她 是 我 的 女朋友。(cong2 xian4 zai4 qi3, ta1 shi4 wo3 de4 nv3 peng2 you3) - From now onwards, she is my girlfriend.

Let's learn some new words before moving on.

1. 请 (qing3) - please
2. 请问 (qing3 wen4) - excuse me, can I ask if ...
3. 上课 (shang4 ke4) - attend a class, having a lesson
4. 苹果 (ping2 guo3) - apple
5. 香蕉 (xiang1 jiao1) - banana
6. 橙 (cheng2) - banana
7. 篮球 (lan2 qiu2) - basketball
8. 足球 (zu2 qiu2) - football
9. 棒球 (bang4 qiu2) - baseball
10. 散步 (san4 bu4) - jog
11. 操场 (cao1 chang3) - field
12. 游泳 (you2 yong3) - swimming
13. 游泳池 (you2 yong3 chi2) - swimming pool

We can use "然后" to mean "and then". It shows a chronological link between two phrases.

1. 从 早上 八点 到 现在，我 在吃 饭，然后 去 操场 踢 足球。(cong2 zao3 shang4 ba1 dian3 dao4 xian4 zai4, wo3 zai4 chi1 fan4, ran2 hou4 qu4 cao1 chang3 ti1 qiu2) - From 8AM till now, I was eating and then I went to the field to play football.
2. 他 在 做 功课，然后 去 游泳池 游泳。(ta1 zai4 zuo4 gong3 ke4, ran2 hou4 qu4 you2 yong3 chi2 you2 yong3) - He was doing homework, then he went to the swimming pool to swim.