Sentence Patterns - Parts of Speech (1)clc.scicube.info/book_link/sp/POS1.pdf · Sentence Patterns...

http://www.clc.com.hk

Sentence Patterns

Parts of speech (1)

Unit 1 List of the parts of speech.............................................................3

Unit 2 Nouns ...........................................................................................6

I. Some kinds of nouns............................................................................6 A. Nouns of time..........................................................................6 B. Nouns of place.........................................................................7 C. Nouns of locality .....................................................................9

II. Attentions ............................................................................................13 A. Measure Word .......................................................................13 B. Reduplication ........................................................................15 C. Gender ...................................................................................15 D. Prefix.....................................................................................17 E. Suffix.....................................................................................17 F. Articles ..................................................................................18 G. Possessive Construction ........................................................19

Unit 3 Numerals ....................................................................................25

I. Kinds of Numerals..............................................................................25

II. Special numerals................................................................................26 A. 2 .....................................................................................26 B. half . ...............................................................................28

III. Approximate numbers ......................................................................28

Unit 4 Measure Words...........................................................................31

I. Definition .............................................................................................31

II. Sortal measure words .......................................................................31 A. “go” .......................................................................................31 B. “dî” ........................................................................................32 C. Some other sortal measure words..........................................35

III. When to use measure words............................................................37 A. Follows a numeral / quantifier...............................................37 B. Specific referring...................................................................38 C. General referring – no MW...................................................39 D. Other Rules............................................................................39

IV. Attentions ............................................................................................46 A. Reduplication ........................................................................46 B. Substitute for a noun .............................................................46 C. Alternative measure words....................................................47

Sentence Patterns – Parts of Speech (1) Page 2

D. Confusion between “a” and “the”..........................................47

Unit 5 Pronouns .....................................................................................49

I. Personal Pronouns .............................................................................49 A. Reflexive pronouns................................................................49

II. Demonstrative Pronouns ..................................................................49

III. Interrogative Pronouns ....................................................................51

The end of the book .....................................................................................61

http://www.clc.com.hk Page 3

Unit 1 List of the parts of speech

A.1 The listThe listThe listThe list Cantonese

English Counterparts

1. Nouns Nouns

2. Numbers Numerals

3. Measure Words ***

4. Pronouns Pronouns

5. Verbs Verbs

6. Adjectives Adjectives

7. Adverbs Adverbs

8. Prepositions Prepositions

9. Conjunctions Conjunctions

10. Particles ***

11. Interjections Interjections

12. Onomatopoeias Onomatopoeias

*** Article- a, an, the

1. RemarksRemarksRemarksRemarks *** For the two parts of speech, “Measure Words” and “Particles”, there are no English counterparts. The definitions of these parts of speech maybe not be exactly the same as that in English. However they are similar. Besides, all the parts of speech mentioned in this book are according to the classification of Cantonese and may not be the same as that in English

A.2 Characteristics of CantoneseCharacteristics of CantoneseCharacteristics of CantoneseCharacteristics of Cantonese

1. Cantonese doesn’t have ArticlesCantonese doesn’t have ArticlesCantonese doesn’t have ArticlesCantonese doesn’t have Articles There is no articles - a, an & the in Cantonese. Therefore in Cantonese, for “a” or “an”, people say “one: yât”. For


definite referring - the, people use measure word. Besides, in English, unless it’s plural or uncountable things, people have to add an article before the noun, however, there’s no this requirement in Cantonese. It’s optional to use “yât…” or not before the noun and it’s mainly depends on if the speaker wants to make it clear or emphasise it.

1) I have a pen

ngóh yáuh (yâtngóh yáuh (yâtngóh yáuh (yâtngóh yáuh (yât----jî) bâtjî) bâtjî) bâtjî) bât I have ( 1 MW) pen

2. English doesn’t haveEnglish doesn’t haveEnglish doesn’t haveEnglish doesn’t have Measure Words and Particles Measure Words and Particles Measure Words and Particles Measure Words and Particles Measure Word and Particles are two most difficult parts of speech to most learners as there is no counterparts in English.

3. Requirement of subject or verbRequirement of subject or verbRequirement of subject or verbRequirement of subject or verb It is not necessary that a sentence must take a subject or a verb

4. No chaNo chaNo chaNo change in word formsnge in word formsnge in word formsnge in word forms

1) happy / happiness ________________________________

hôi sâmhôi sâmhôi sâmhôi sâm

2) swim / swam / swum ________________________________

yàuh séuiyàuh séuiyàuh séuiyàuh séui

3) eat / ate ________________________________

sihksihksihksihk

4) He represents us ________________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih doihdoihdoihdoih----bíubíubíubíu ngngngngóhóhóhóh----deih deih deih deih he represent us

5) He is our representative ________________________________

kéuih haih ngóhkéuih haih ngóhkéuih haih ngóhkéuih haih ngóh----deih ge doihdeih ge doihdeih ge doihdeih ge doih----bíu bíu bíu bíu he is our ‘s representatives


5. Word suffixWord suffixWord suffixWord suffix Since there’s no change in word form, sometimes word suffixes are used

1) has eaten ________________________________

sihk sihk sihk sihk jójójójó

2) has come ________________________________

làih làih làih làih jójójójó

3) happier _________________________________

hôihôihôihôi----ssssâm âm âm âm dîdîdîdî


Unit 2 Nouns

I. Some kinds of nouns

A. Nouns of time

A.1 FunctionsFunctionsFunctionsFunctions

1. SubjectsSubjectsSubjectsSubjects

1) Tomorrow is my birthday ___________________________________

tîngtîngtîngtîng----yahtyahtyahtyaht haih ngóh sâang haih ngóh sâang haih ngóh sâang haih ngóh sâang----yahtyahtyahtyaht

2) Yesterday is Saturday ___________________________________

chàhmchàhmchàhmchàhm----yahtyahtyahtyaht haih láih haih láih haih láih haih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai----luhkluhkluhkluhk

3) Today is Sunday ___________________________________

gâmgâmgâmgâm----yahtyahtyahtyaht haih láih haih láih haih láih haih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai----yahtyahtyahtyaht

4) Tomorrow is Monday ___________________________________

tîngtîngtîngtîng----yahtyahtyahtyaht haih láih haih láih haih láih haih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai----yâtyâtyâtyât

2. AAAAdverbialsdverbialsdverbialsdverbials

1) I went there on Monday ___________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh sîngsîngsîngsîng----kèihkèihkèihkèih----yâtyâtyâtyât heui gó heui gó heui gó heui gó----douhdouhdouhdouh

2) I went there last week ___________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh seuhngseuhngseuhngseuhng----go láihgo láihgo láihgo láih----baaibaaibaaibaai heui heui heui heui gógógógó----douhdouhdouhdouh

3) I went there at 10:30 ___________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh sahpsahpsahpsahp----dímdímdímdím----bunbunbunbun heui gó heui gó heui gó heui gó----douhdouhdouhdouh

4) I will go for a picnic tomorrow ______________________________ picnic/travel: léuih-hàhng

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh tîngtîngtîngtîng----yahtyahtyahtyaht heui léuih heui léuih heui léuih heui léuih----hàhnghàhnghàhnghàhng


A.2 Order of different time wordsOrder of different time wordsOrder of different time wordsOrder of different time words In sentences dealing with different time words, the larger unit of time always precedes the smaller

1) 9:15 am _____________________________________________

jîujîujîujîu----jóu gámjóu gámjóu gámjóu gám----dímdímdímdím----sâamsâamsâamsâam

2) 2:10 pm _____________________________________________

aanaanaanaan----jau léuhngjau léuhngjau léuhngjau léuhng----dímdímdímdím----yihyihyihyih

3) 3:30 pm _____________________________________________

aanaanaanaan----jau sâamjau sâamjau sâamjau sâam----dímdímdímdím----bunbunbunbun

4) 8:20 pm _____________________________________________

yehyehyehyeh----máahn baatmáahn baatmáahn baatmáahn baat----dímdímdímdím----seiseiseisei

5) tomorrow 10:45 am ____________________________________

tîngtîngtîngtîng----yaht jîuyaht jîuyaht jîuyaht jîu----jóu sahpjóu sahpjóu sahpjóu sahp----dímdímdímdím----gáugáugáugáu

6) yesterday 4:50pm ________________________________________

chàhmchàhmchàhmchàhm----yaht aanyaht aanyaht aanyaht aan----jau seijau seijau seijau sei----dím sahpdím sahpdím sahpdím sahp

7) 1st May ________________________________________

çghçghçghçgh----yuht yâtyuht yâtyuht yâtyuht yât----houhhouhhouhhouh

8) 25th December ________________________________________

sahpsahpsahpsahp----yihyihyihyih----yuht yihyuht yihyuht yihyuht yih----sahpsahpsahpsahp----çghçghçghçgh----houhhouhhouhhouh

9) 1st Jan 2002 ________________________________________

yihyihyihyih----lìhnglìhnglìhnglìhng----lìhnglìhnglìhnglìhng----yih nìhn yâtyih nìhn yâtyih nìhn yâtyih nìhn yât----yuht yâtyuht yâtyuht yâtyuht yât----houhhouhhouhhouh

10) 20th June 2002 ________________________________________

yihyihyihyih----lìhnglìhnglìhnglìhng----lìhnglìhnglìhnglìhng----yih nìhn luhkyih nìhn luhkyih nìhn luhkyih nìhn luhk----yuht yihyuht yihyuht yihyuht yih----sahp houhsahp houhsahp houhsahp houh

B. Nouns of place

B.1 FunctionFunctionFunctionFunction

1. SubjectSubjectSubjectSubject

1) Hong Kong is very big _________________________________

HêungHêungHêungHêung----ggggóngóngóngóng hóu daaih hóu daaih hóu daaih hóu daaih


2) Central is very near _________________________________

JûngJûngJûngJûng----wàahnwàahnwàahnwàahn hóu káhn hóu káhn hóu káhn hóu káhn

3) Tuen Mun is very far _________________________________

TyùhnTyùhnTyùhnTyùhn----mùhnmùhnmùhnmùhn hóu yúhn hóu yúhn hóu yúhn hóu yúhn

4) There are many people in Hong Kong ________________________ (Hong Kong has many people)

HêunHêunHêunHêungggg----gónggónggónggóng yáuh hóu yáuh hóu yáuh hóu yáuh hóu----dô yàhndô yàhndô yàhndô yàhn

2. ObjectObjectObjectObject

1) I went to Central _________________________________

ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui JûngJûngJûngJûng----wàahnwàahnwàahnwàahn

2) I went to Admiralty _________________________________

ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui GâmGâmGâmGâm----jûngjûngjûngjûng

3) They went to Tuen Mun _________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih heui deih heui deih heui deih heui TyùhnTyùhnTyùhnTyùhn----mmmmùhnùhnùhnùhn

4) They like Hong Kong _________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih jûngdeih jûngdeih jûngdeih jûng----yi yi yi yi HêungHêungHêungHêung----gónggónggónggóng

5) I like Hong Kong very much ________________________________

ngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûng----yi yi yi yi HêungHêungHêungHêung----gónggónggónggóng

B.2 CCCCombine with “hái” to form adverbialsombine with “hái” to form adverbialsombine with “hái” to form adverbialsombine with “hái” to form adverbials In order to form adverbial, “hái” has to be added before a place word. Besides, adverbials has to be put before the main verb but after the subject

1) I work in Central _________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh háiháiháihái Jûng Jûng Jûng Jûng----wàahn fâanwàahn fâanwàahn fâanwàahn fâan----gûnggûnggûnggûng

2) They work in Tsim Sha Tsui _________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----ddddeih eih eih eih háiháiháihái Jîm Jîm Jîm Jîm----sâsâsâsâ----jéui fâanjéui fâanjéui fâanjéui fâan----gûnggûnggûnggûng

3) I buy things in Admiralty _________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh háiháiháihái Gâm Gâm Gâm Gâm----jûng máaihjûng máaihjûng máaihjûng máaih----yéhyéhyéhyéh

4) I studied in a library _________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh háiháiháihái tòuh tòuh tòuh tòuh----syûsyûsyûsyû----gún wângún wângún wângún wân----syûsyûsyûsyû


5) I bought stamps in the post office ________________________ stamps: yàuh-piu

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh háiháiháihái yàuh yàuh yàuh yàuh----gúk máaih yàuhgúk máaih yàuhgúk máaih yàuhgúk máaih yàuh----piupiupiupiu

B.3 Order of different place wordsOrder of different place wordsOrder of different place wordsOrder of different place words In sentences dealing with different place words, the larger unit always precedes the smaller

1) Gloucester Road, Wan Chai __________________________________

WâanWâanWâanWâan----jái Goujái Goujái Goujái Gou----sihsihsihsih----dádádádá----douhdouhdouhdouh

2) Des Voeux Road, Central __________________________________

JûngJûngJûngJûng----wàahn Dâkwàahn Dâkwàahn Dâkwàahn Dâk----fuhfuhfuhfuh----douhdouhdouhdouh

3) The Landmark, Central __________________________________

JûngJûngJûngJûng----wàahn Jiwàahn Jiwàahn Jiwàahn Ji----deih gwóngdeih gwóngdeih gwóngdeih gwóng----chèuhngchèuhngchèuhngchèuhng

4) Times Square, Causeway __________________________________

TùhngTùhngTùhngTùhng----lòhlòhlòhlòh----wàwàwàwàahn Sihahn Sihahn Sihahn Sih----doih gwóngdoih gwóngdoih gwóngdoih gwóng----chèuhngchèuhngchèuhngchèuhng

5) 80 Nathan Road, TST ____________________________________

JîmJîmJîmJîm----sâsâsâsâ----jéui, Nèihjéui, Nèihjéui, Nèihjéui, Nèih----dêundêundêundêun----douh baatdouh baatdouh baatdouh baat----sahpsahpsahpsahp----houhhouhhouhhouh

6) Flat D, 12/F, Block 3, Four Seas Centre ______________________

SeiSeiSeiSei----hói Jûnghói Jûnghói Jûnghói Jûng----sâm, daihsâm, daihsâm, daihsâm, daih----sâamsâamsâamsâam----joh, sahpjoh, sahpjoh, sahpjoh, sahp----yih láu, D sâtyih láu, D sâtyih láu, D sâtyih láu, D sât

7) Room 601, 6/F, Block B __________________________________

B joh luhkB joh luhkB joh luhkB joh luhk----láu luhkláu luhkláu luhkláu luhk----lìhnglìhnglìhnglìhng----yât sât yât sât yât sât yât sât

C. Nouns of locality

C.1 Dissyllabic nouns of localityDissyllabic nouns of localityDissyllabic nouns of localityDissyllabic nouns of locality After adding “bihn/mihn”, it can serve, roughly like ordinary nouns. Where “bihn/mihn” literally means “side”

(1) Part A

1) east

dûngdûngdûngdûng b b b bihn/mihnihn/mihnihn/mihnihn/mihn

2) south

nàahm bihn/mihnnàahm bihn/mihnnàahm bihn/mihnnàahm bihn/mihn


3) west

sâi bihn/mihnsâi bihn/mihnsâi bihn/mihnsâi bihn/mihn

4) north

bâk bihn/mihnbâk bihn/mihnbâk bihn/mihnbâk bihn/mihn

(2) Part B

1) front

chìhn bihn/mihnchìhn bihn/mihnchìhn bihn/mihnchìhn bihn/mihn

2) back

hauh bihn/mihnhauh bihn/mihnhauh bihn/mihnhauh bihn/mihn

3) left

jó bihn/mihnjó bihn/mihnjó bihn/mihnjó bihn/mihn

4) right

yauh bihn/mihnyauh bihn/mihnyauh bihn/mihnyauh bihn/mihn

(3) Part C

1) inside

yahp bihn/mihn yahp bihn/mihn yahp bihn/mihn yahp bihn/mihn

léuih bihn/mihnléuih bihn/mihnléuih bihn/mihnléuih bihn/mihn

2) outside

chêut bihn/mihnchêut bihn/mihnchêut bihn/mihnchêut bihn/mihn

ngoih bihn/mihnngoih bihn/mihnngoih bihn/mihnngoih bihn/mihn

(4) Part D

1) opposite

deui mihndeui mihndeui mihndeui mihn (can’t say “bihn” here)

2) next to

gaakgaakgaakgaak----lèihlèihlèihlèih


C.2 FunctionFunctionFunctionFunction

1. Can work as Can work as Can work as Can work as subjectsubjectsubjectsubjectssss

1) There are people in the front _________________________________

chìhnchìhnchìhnchìhn----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh yáuh yáuh yáuh yàhnyàhnyàhnyàhn

2) There are cars at the back _________________________________

hauhhauhhauhhauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh chê yáuh chê yáuh chê yáuh chê

3) There are shops at the left _________________________________

jójójójó----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh yáuh yáuh yáuh poupoupoupou----táutáutáutáu

4) There is a Mc Donald’s at the right ___________________________

yayayayauhuhuhuh----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh yáuh yáuh yáuh MahkMahkMahkMahk----DôngDôngDôngDông----LòuhLòuhLòuhLòuh

5) There are people inside _________________________________

yahpyahpyahpyahp----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh yà yáuh yà yáuh yà yáuh yàhnhnhnhn

6) There are students outside _________________________________

chêutchêutchêutchêut----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh hohk yáuh hohk yáuh hohk yáuh hohk----sâsâsâsâangangangang

2. Can work as objectsCan work as objectsCan work as objectsCan work as objects

1) The toilet is on the right __________________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái yauhyauhyauhyauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn

2) The MTR station is in front __________________________________

dedededeihihihih----tittittittit----jaahmjaahmjaahmjaahm hái hái hái hái chìhnchìhnchìhnchìhn----bihnbihnbihnbihn

3) The taxi stand is at the back __________________________________

dîkdîkdîkdîk----sísísísí----jaahmjaahmjaahmjaahm hái hái hái hái hhhhauhauhauhauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn

3. Can Can Can Can form position phraseform position phraseform position phraseform position phrase ( ( ( (…………ofofofof…………))))

1) the front of Park'n shop __________________________________

BaakBaakBaakBaak----gâai (ge) chìhngâai (ge) chìhngâai (ge) chìhngâai (ge) chìhn----bihnbihnbihnbihn Park’n shop ‘s front (“ge” is optional and it is always skipped, for formal statement, people leave it)

2) the back of the shop __________________________________

gâan pougâan pougâan pougâan pou----táu hauh bihntáu hauh bihntáu hauh bihntáu hauh bihn


3) the back of the taxi stand __________________________________ taxi stand dîk sí jaahm

dîkdîkdîkdîk----sísísísí----jaahm hauhjaahm hauhjaahm hauhjaahm hauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn

4) the left of the toilet __________________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan jógâan jógâan jógâan jó----bihnbihnbihnbihn

5) the right of the bank __________________________________

ngàhnngàhnngàhnngàhn----hòhng yauhhòhng yauhhòhng yauhhòhng yauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn

6) opposite to Mc Donald’s __________________________________

MahkMahkMahkMahk----dôngdôngdôngdông----lòuh deuilòuh deuilòuh deuilòuh deui----mihnmihnmihnmihn

7) next to my home _____________________________________

ngóh ûkngóh ûkngóh ûkngóh ûk----kéi gaakkéi gaakkéi gaakkéi gaak----lèihlèihlèihlèih

8) next to the cinema____________________________________

heiheiheihei----yúnyúnyúnyún gaakgaakgaakgaak----lèihlèihlèihlèih

9) outside the MTR station _______________________________

deihdeihdeihdeih----tittittittit----jaahmjaahmjaahmjaahm chêut chêut chêut chêut----bihnbihnbihnbihn

10) inside the MTR station _______________________________

deihdeihdeihdeih----tittittittit----jaahmjaahmjaahmjaahm yahp yahp yahp yahp----bihnbihnbihnbihn

11) the east of Hong Kong __________________________________

HêungHêungHêungHêung----góng (ge) dûnggóng (ge) dûnggóng (ge) dûnggóng (ge) dûng----mihnmihnmihnmihn

4. Sentences with position phraseSentences with position phraseSentences with position phraseSentences with position phrase

1) The toilet is inside Park’n shop __________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâagâagâagâan hái n hái n hái n hái BaakBaakBaakBaak----gâai yahpgâai yahpgâai yahpgâai yahp----bihnbihnbihnbihn

2) The toilet is outside Park’n shop __________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái BaakBaakBaakBaak----gâai chêutgâai chêutgâai chêutgâai chêut----bihnbihnbihnbihn

3) The toilet is on the right of Park’n shop _________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái BaakBaakBaakBaak----gâai yauhgâai yauhgâai yauhgâai yauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn

4) The toilet is next to Park’n shop __________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái BaakBaakBaakBaak----gâai gaakgâai gaakgâai gaakgâai gaak----lèihlèihlèihlèih

5) The telephone is next to the information desk _________________

dihndihndihndihn----wá hái wá hái wá hái wá hái sêunsêunsêunsêun----mahnmahnmahnmahn----chyu gaakchyu gaakchyu gaakchyu gaak----lèihlèihlèihlèih


6) I will wait for you at the left of the bank ______________________ (bank’s left wait)

ngàhnngàhnngàhnngàhn----hòhng jóhòhng jóhòhng jóhòhng jó----bihn dángbihn dángbihn dángbihn dáng

7) There are lots of people at the right of the MTR station ____________ (MTR station’s right side has many people)

deihdeihdeihdeih----tittittittit----jaahm yauhjaahm yauhjaahm yauhjaahm yauh----bihnbihnbihnbihn yáuh hóu yáuh hóu yáuh hóu yáuh hóu----dô yàhndô yàhndô yàhndô yàhn

II. Attentions

A. Measure Word If nouns are used after “numerals” or for specific referring, after this, that and the, it must have a measure word between it and the noun it modifies.

A.1 Measure Words are usedMeasure Words are usedMeasure Words are usedMeasure Words are used

1) three people ______________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

2) three books _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam búnbúnbúnbún syû syû syû syû

3) three chairs _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam jêungjêungjêungjêung dang dang dang dang

4) three sheets of paper _______________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam jêungjêungjêungjêung jí jí jí jí

5) three heads of cow _______________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam jekjekjekjek ngàuh ngàuh ngàuh ngàuh

6) three wishes _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo yuhn yuhn yuhn yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

7) three umbrellas _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam bábábábá jê jê jê jê

A.2 ExceptionsExceptionsExceptionsExceptions Basically, all countable nouns, even abstract nouns, such as wish, also take measure word. However there are some exceptions which don’t


take MW. Usually exceptions are those nouns which themselves are somehow have the measuring sense.

1. ExceptionsExceptionsExceptionsExceptions ---- s s s some ome ome ome ttttime ime ime ime eeeexpressionsxpressionsxpressionsxpressions yaht ‘day’ , máahn ‘night’, nìhn ‘year’, fân ‘minute’ and míu ‘second’

1) three days _____________________________________

sâam yahtsâam yahtsâam yahtsâam yaht

2) three nights _____________________________________

sâam másâam másâam másâam máahnahnahnahn

3) three years _____________________________________

sâam nìhnsâam nìhnsâam nìhnsâam nìhn

4) three minutes _____________________________________

sâam fân (jûng)sâam fân (jûng)sâam fân (jûng)sâam fân (jûng)

5) three second _____________________________________

sâam míu (jûng)sâam míu (jûng)sâam míu (jûng)sâam míu (jûng)

2. Other time expressionOther time expressionOther time expressionOther time expressionssss still still still still take measure words take measure words take measure words take measure words

1) three of ‘a-five-minute’ ____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo jih jih jih jih

2) three hours _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo jûng jûng jûng jûng

3) three months _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo yuht yuht yuht yuht

4) three weeks _____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo láih baai láih baai láih baai láih baai

3. ExceptionsExceptionsExceptionsExceptions ---- o o o othersthersthersthers

1) 2 lessons _____________________________________

léuhng tòhngléuhng tòhngléuhng tòhngléuhng tòhng


B. Reduplication Some monosyllabic nouns can be reduplicated to express the meaning of “every”. It can also be done by reduplicate the MW instead of the noun it self

1. Without measure wordWithout measure wordWithout measure wordWithout measure word

1) every year __________________________________

nìhn nìhnnìhn nìhnnìhn nìhnnìhn nìhn

2) every day __________________________________

yaht yahtyaht yahtyaht yahtyaht yaht

2. With measure wordWith measure wordWith measure wordWith measure word

1) every book __________________________________

bún bún syûbún bún syûbún bún syûbún bún syû

2) every student __________________________________

go go hohkgo go hohkgo go hohkgo go hohk----sâangsâangsâangsâang

3) every table __________________________________

jêung jêung tóijêung jêung tóijêung jêung tóijêung jêung tói

4) every pen __________________________________

jî jî bâtjî jî bâtjî jî bâtjî jî bât

5) every item of clothing __________________________________

gihn gihn sâamgihn gihn sâamgihn gihn sâamgihn gihn sâam

(2) With or without measure word

1) every people __________________________________

go go yàhn / yàhn yàhngo go yàhn / yàhn yàhngo go yàhn / yàhn yàhngo go yàhn / yàhn yàhn

C. Gender When they want to denote the gender of a noun, most of the time, they add nàahm and néuih before the nouns. However usually they just don’t mention the gender.

1) staff

jîkjîkjîkjîk----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn


2) male staff __________________________________

nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm jîk jîk jîk jîk----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn

3) female staff __________________________________

néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih jîk jîk jîk jîk----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn

4) students __________________________________

hohkhohkhohkhohk----sâangsâangsâangsâang

5) male students __________________________________

nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm hohk hohk hohk hohk----sâangsâangsâangsâang

6) female students __________________________________

néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih hohk hohk hohk hohk----sâangsâangsâangsâang

7) actor/actress __________________________________

yínyínyínyín----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn

8) actor __________________________________

nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm yín yín yín yín----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn

9) actress __________________________________

néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih yín yín yín yín----yùhnyùhnyùhnyùhn

10) waiter/waitress __________________________________

sihsihsihsih----yingyingyingying

11) waiter __________________________________

nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm sih sih sih sih----yingyingyingying

12) waitress __________________________________

néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih sih sih sih sih----yingyingyingying

13) man/women (person/people)

yàhnyàhnyàhnyàhn

14) The man is very tall ___________________________

gó go gó go gó go gó go nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm----yàyàyàyàhn*hn*hn*hn* hóu gôu hóu gôu hóu gôu hóu gôu

15) The women is very short ___________________________

gó go gó go gó go gó go néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih----yàyàyàyàhn*hn*hn*hn* hóu ái hóu ái hóu ái hóu ái

16) Those boys are very lazy ___________________________

gó dî gó dî gó dî gó dî nàahmnàahmnàahmnàahm jái hóu láahn jái hóu láahn jái hóu láahn jái hóu láahn


17) Those girls are very beautiful ___________________________

gó dî gó dî gó dî gó dî néuihnéuihnéuihnéuih jái hóu leng jái hóu leng jái hóu leng jái hóu leng

D. Prefix

D.1 ““““áháháháh””””

1) My mum is a housewife___________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh áháháháh----mâmâmâmâ/mâ/mâ/mâ/mâ----mìh haih gâmìh haih gâmìh haih gâmìh haih gâ----tìhngtìhngtìhngtìhng----jyújyújyújyú----fúhfúhfúhfúh

2) My daddy is a taxi driver___________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh áháháháh----bàhbàhbàhbàh/dê/dê/dê/dê----dìh haih dîkdìh haih dîkdìh haih dîkdìh haih dîk----sí sîsí sîsí sîsí sî----gêigêigêigêi

3) My elder brother is 20 years old___________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh áháháháh----gôgôgôgô/daaih/daaih/daaih/daaih----lóulóulóulóu yih yih yih yih----sahp seuisahp seuisahp seuisahp seui

4) My classmate is called Ling___________________________

ngóh tùhngngóh tùhngngóh tùhngngóh tùhng----hohk giu hohk giu hohk giu hohk giu áháháháh----LìhngLìhngLìhngLìhng

5) His friend is call Sing___________________________

kéuih pàhngkéuih pàhngkéuih pàhngkéuih pàhng----yáuh giu yáuh giu yáuh giu yáuh giu áháháháh----SìhngSìhngSìhngSìhng

E. Suffix

E.1 ““““jáijáijáijái””””

1) The small table looks very nice___________________________

jêunjêunjêunjêung g g g tóitóitóitói----jáijáijáijái hóu leng hóu leng hóu leng hóu leng

2) The small stool is $48___________________________

jêung jêung jêung jêung dangdangdangdang----jáijáijáijái sei sei sei sei----sahpsahpsahpsahp----baat mânbaat mânbaat mânbaat mân

3) He has gone to his little friend’s home _____________________

kéuih heuikéuih heuikéuih heuikéuih heui----jó jó jó jó pàhngpàhngpàhngpàhng----yáuh jáiyáuh jáiyáuh jáiyáuh jái ûk ûk ûk ûk----kéikéikéikéi

4) He has many little school mates___________________________

kéuih yáuh hóukéuih yáuh hóukéuih yáuh hóukéuih yáuh hóu----dô dô dô dô tùhngtùhngtùhngtùhng----hohk jáihohk jáihohk jáihohk jái

5) The little luggage carrier is $80___________________________

ga ga ga ga chêchêchêchê----jáijáijáijái baat baat baat baat----sahp mânsahp mânsahp mânsahp mân


F. Articles

F.1 a/an/thea/an/thea/an/thea/an/the Cantonese has no articles equivalent to ‘a’ and ‘the’. The word yât ‘one’ may be used like an indefinite articles. Measure word is used like an definite articles ‘the’. Different from English, a noun may take no “a” or “the” even when it refer to a single one

1) a book _______________________________________

yât búnyât búnyât búnyât bún syû syû syû syû one MW book

2) the book _______________________________________

búnbúnbúnbún syû syû syû syû MW book

3) an apple _______________________________________

yâtyâtyâtyât----gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

4) a magazine _______________________________________

yât búnyât búnyât búnyât bún jaahp ji jaahp ji jaahp ji jaahp ji

5) the magazine _______________________________________

bbbbúnúnúnún jaahp ji jaahp ji jaahp ji jaahp ji

6) a cup of tea _______________________________________

yât bûiyât bûiyât bûiyât bûi chàh chàh chàh chàh

7) the cup of tea _______________________________________

bbbbûiûiûiûi chàh chàh chàh chàh

F.2 a/an/the/any/Xa/an/the/any/Xa/an/the/any/Xa/an/the/any/X

1) Do you have any pens? _____________________________

néih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuh----móuh bât a?móuh bât a?móuh bât a?móuh bât a?

2) Do you have a pen? ______________________________

néih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuh----móumóumóumóuh bât a?h bât a?h bât a?h bât a?

3) Do you have the pen? ______________________________

néih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuh----móuh móuh móuh móuh jîjîjîjî bât a? bât a? bât a? bât a?


4) I want to buy a pen ______________________________

ngóh séung máaih bât ngóh séung máaih bât ngóh séung máaih bât ngóh séung máaih bât

5) I want to buy pens ______________________________

ngóh séung máaih bâtngóh séung máaih bâtngóh séung máaih bâtngóh séung máaih bât

6) I want to buy the pen ______________________________

ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

7) I want to buy the pens ______________________________

ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

8) I want to buy some pens ______________________________

ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

9) Go straight, you will see a shop ______________________________

jihkjihkjihkjihk----hàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih gin----dóu dóu dóu dóu yâtyâtyâtyât----gâangâangâangâan pou pou pou pou----táutáutáutáu (for giving direction, people have to make it clear, “yât-gâan” is used, it’s not grammatically bound, mainly depends on the context need “one yât-gâan ” or not.)

10) Go straight, you will see the shop _____________________________

jihkjihkjihkjihk----hàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih ginhàahng, néih wúih gin----dóu dóu dóu dóu gâangâangâangâan pou pou pou pou----táutáutáutáu

11) I ate at a Japanese restaurant ______________________________

ngóh hái ngóh hái ngóh hái ngóh hái yâtyâtyâtyât----gâangâangâangâan Yaht Yaht Yaht Yaht----bún châanbún châanbún châanbún châan----têng sihktêng sihktêng sihktêng sihk----faahnfaahnfaahnfaahn

12) I ate at Japanese restaurant ______________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh hái Yahthái Yahthái Yahthái Yaht----bún châanbún châanbún châanbún châan----têng sihktêng sihktêng sihktêng sihk----faahn faahn faahn faahn (it sounds the name of the restaurant is “Japanese Restaurant”)

G. Possessive Construction In possessive cases, either the structure particle (possessive marker) “ge” or a proper measure word can be used. The following rules general guide lines and they are not absolute rules.

G.1 Using Using Using Using ““““gegegege”””” Using “ge” can’t show the possessions are singular or plural and it sounds more formal. Actually using measure words to show possessive is more common.


1. Abstract possessionsAbstract possessionsAbstract possessionsAbstract possessions

1) my interest ______________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh gegegege hing hing hing hing----cheuicheuicheuicheui

2) my character ________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh gegegege sing sing sing sing----gaakgaakgaakgaak

3) his way of thinking ________________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih gegegege nám nám nám nám----faatfaatfaatfaat

4) their hopes ________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih deih deih deih gegegege hêi hêi hêi hêi----mohngmohngmohngmohng

5) government’s problems ________________________________

jingjingjingjing----fú fú fú fú gegegege mahn mahn mahn mahn----tàihtàihtàihtàih

6) his wishes ______________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih gegegege yuhn yuhn yuhn yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

7) the welfare of this company ______________________________ (welfare fûk-leih)

nînînînî----gâan gûnggâan gûnggâan gûnggâan gûng----sî sî sî sî gegegege fûk fûk fûk fûk----leihleihleihleih

2. Possessor is collePossessor is collePossessor is collePossessor is collective noun or itctive noun or itctive noun or itctive noun or it’’’’s in plurals in plurals in plurals in plural

1) Student’s books shouldn’t be so expensive ____________________

hohkhohkhohkhohk----sâang sâang sâang sâang gegegege syû syû syû syû ¬h¬h¬h¬h yîng yîng yîng yîng----gôi gam gwaigôi gam gwaigôi gam gwaigôi gam gwai

2) He wasted tax payers’ money ____________________ tax payer: laahp-seui yàhn

kéuih sâai laahpkéuih sâai laahpkéuih sâai laahpkéuih sâai laahp----seui yàhnseui yàhnseui yàhnseui yàhn gegegege chínchínchínchín

3) their school _________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih deih deih deih ge ge ge ge hohkhohkhohkhohk----haauhhaauhhaauhhaauh

3. Emphasis/Formal statementsEmphasis/Formal statementsEmphasis/Formal statementsEmphasis/Formal statements

1) Her clothes are very expensive ______________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih gegegege sâam hóu gwai sâam hóu gwai sâam hóu gwai sâam hóu gwai


4. DonDonDonDon’’’’t know itt know itt know itt know it’’’’s singular or plurals singular or plurals singular or plurals singular or plural

1) my book/books ______________________________

ngoh ngoh ngoh ngoh ggggeeee syû syû syû syû

G.2 Using Using Using Using ““““measure wordsmeasure wordsmeasure wordsmeasure words””””

1. General possessive caseGeneral possessive caseGeneral possessive caseGeneral possessive case

1) my book ______________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh búnbúnbúnbún syû syû syû syû (if people know it’s singular or plural, using a proper MW is more common)

2) my books ______________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh dîdîdîdî syû syû syû syû

3) His head is hurt ______________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih gogogogo tàuh sauh tàuh sauh tàuh sauh tàuh sauh----jó sêungjó sêungjó sêungjó sêung

4) my hair ________________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh dîdîdîdî tàuh tàuh tàuh tàuh----faatfaatfaatfaat

5) my watch ________________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh jekjekjekjek sáu sáu sáu sáu----bîubîubîubîu

6) my watches ________________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh dîdîdîdî sáu sáu sáu sáu----bîubîubîubîu

7) my money(uncountable) __________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh dîdîdîdî chín chín chín chín

8) His pen costs $10 ________________________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih jîjîjîjî bât sahp mân bât sahp mân bât sahp mân bât sahp mân

9) His pens are very new ______________________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih dîdîdîdî bât hóu sân bât hóu sân bât hóu sân bât hóu sân

10) Their money is lost _______________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih deih deih deih dîdîdîdî chín ¬h chín ¬h chín ¬h chín ¬h----gingingingin----gógógógó

11) Her dress is very beautiful ___________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng


12) Her dresses are very beautiful _______________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih dîdîdîdî kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng kwàhn hóu leng

13) My two books are both lost __________________________________

ngóh léuhng ngóh léuhng ngóh léuhng ngóh léuhng búnbúnbúnbún syû dôu ¬h syû dôu ¬h syû dôu ¬h syû dôu ¬h----gingingingin----jójójójó my 2 MW book also lost

2. AnimalsAnimalsAnimalsAnimals

1) The wings of the bird is hurt ______________________________

jek jeukjek jeukjek jeukjek jeuk----jái jái jái jái gogogogo tàuh sauh tàuh sauh tàuh sauh tàuh sauh----jó sêungjó sêungjó sêungjó sêung

2) The tail of the cat is very long ______________________________

jek mâau jek mâau jek mâau jek mâau tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh méih hóu chèuhng méih hóu chèuhng méih hóu chèuhng méih hóu chèuhng

G.3 Skip Skip Skip Skip ““““gegegege”””” or or or or ““““measure wordsmeasure wordsmeasure wordsmeasure words”””” The possessive marker ge may be left out with kinship terms and certain other nouns where there is a close link between the possessor and the noun, especially where the possessor is a pronoun. However in more formal statements, “ge” can be added back

1. Kinship / friendsKinship / friendsKinship / friendsKinship / friends

1) my mother __________________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh mâmâmâmâ----mìh/mìh/mìh/mìh/màhmàhmàhmàh----mâmâmâmâ

2) your father __________________________________________

néih néih néih néih dêdêdêdê----dìh/dìh/dìh/dìh/bàhbàhbàhbàh----bâbâbâbâ

3) his elder brother __________________________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----lóulóulóulóu

4) his younger brother ____________________________________

kéuih saikéuih saikéuih saikéuih sai----lóulóulóulóu

5) his elder sister __________________________________________

kéuih gâkéuih gâkéuih gâkéuih gâ----jêjêjêjê

6) his younger sister __________________________________________

kéuih saikéuih saikéuih saikéuih sai----múimúimúimúi

7) my husband _________________________________

ngóh sînngóh sînngóh sînngóh sîn----sâangsâangsâangsâang


8) my wife _________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh taaitaaitaaitaai----táaitáaitáaitáai

9) his friend _________________________________

kéuih pàhngkéuih pàhngkéuih pàhngkéuih pàhng----yáuhyáuhyáuhyáuh

10) my company _________________________________

ngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûng----sîsîsîsî

11) my wallet _________________________________

ngóh ngàhnngóh ngàhnngóh ngàhnngóh ngàhn----bâau bâau bâau bâau

12) your school __________________________________

néih néih néih néih hohkhohkhohkhohk----haauhhaauhhaauhhaauh

13) Your home is very big _________________________________

néih ûknéih ûknéih ûknéih ûk----kéi hóu daaihkéi hóu daaihkéi hóu daaihkéi hóu daaih

14) His parents are not in Hong Kong ____________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih fuh fuh fuh fuh----móuhmóuhmóuhmóuh ¬h¬h¬h¬h hái Hêung hái Hêung hái Hêung hái Hêung----gónggónggónggóng

15) His family member lives in America ____________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih û û û ûkkkk----kéi yàhn jyuh hái Méihkéi yàhn jyuh hái Méihkéi yàhn jyuh hái Méihkéi yàhn jyuh hái Méih----gwokgwokgwokgwok

16) Her wallet is lost _______________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih ((((gogogogo)))) ngàhn ngàhn ngàhn ngàhn----bâau ¬hbâau ¬hbâau ¬hbâau ¬h----gingingingin----jójójójó

17) You husband is very nice _______________________ nice: hóu yàhn

néih sînnéih sînnéih sînnéih sîn----sâang hóu hóusâang hóu hóusâang hóu hóusâang hóu hóu----(yàhn)(yàhn)(yàhn)(yàhn) Cantonese won’t say “I like your husband”. Like is “jûng yi” which is the same as “love”.

2. ExceptionExceptionExceptionException In kinship, if the nouns are single syllable, “ge” or the measure words won’t be skipped

1) my son _______________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh gogogogo jái jái jái jái

2) my daughter _______________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh gogogogo néui néui néui néui


3. Unanimated thingsUnanimated thingsUnanimated thingsUnanimated things

1) the legs of the table ______________________________

tói geuktói geuktói geuktói geuk

2) the legs of the chair ______________________________

dang geukdang geukdang geukdang geuk

3) The door of the room __________________________________

fòfòfòfòhhhhngngngng**** mùhn mùhn mùhn mùhn

4) chicken wings (the food) ______________________________

gâigâigâigâi----yihkyihkyihkyihk


Unit 3 Numerals

I. Kinds of Numerals

A.1 WWWWholholholholeeee numbers numbers numbers numbers

1) one _______________________________________

yâtyâtyâtyât

2) one hundred _______________________________________

yât baakyât baakyât baakyât baak

A.2 Multiple NumbersMultiple NumbersMultiple NumbersMultiple Numbers Multiple numbers are formed by adding the measure word “púih” after numerals.

1) one time _______________________________________________

yât yât yât yât púihpúihpúihpúih

2) double _________________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng púihpúihpúihpúih

3) triple _________________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam púihpúihpúihpúih

4) 100 times _______________________________________________

yâtyâtyâtyât----baak baak baak baak púihpúihpúihpúih

A.3 Ordinal NumbersOrdinal NumbersOrdinal NumbersOrdinal Numbers Placing the prefix “daih” before numerals can form ordinal numbers.

1) the 1st _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât yât yât yât prefix one

2) the 2nd _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yih yih yih yih


3) the 100th _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât yât yât yât----baakbaakbaakbaak

4) the 1000th __________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât chîn yât chîn yât chîn yât chîn

5) 80 Nathan Road

NèihNèihNèihNèih----ddddêungêungêungêung----ddddouh baatouh baatouh baatouh baat----sasasasahp houhhp houhhp houhhp houh Sometimes cardinal numbers are used even they are actually in the sense of ordinal numbers

6) I live on the 11th floor

ngóh jyuh hái sahpngóh jyuh hái sahpngóh jyuh hái sahpngóh jyuh hái sahp----yât láuyât láuyât láuyât láu I live on 11 floor

7) page 1 __________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât y yât y yât y yât yihpihpihpihp (no MW for page)

8) page 6 _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih luhk yihp luhk yihp luhk yihp luhk yihp

9) the first week _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât go láih yât go láih yât go láih yât go láih----baaibaaibaaibaai MW is required between a number and a noun.

10) the first month _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât go yuht yât go yuht yât go yuht yât go yuht

11) the 8th day _____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih baat yaht baat yaht baat yaht baat yaht

12) the first time ____________________________________________

daihdaihdaihdaih yât chi yât chi yât chi yât chi

13) I’m the first, you are the second, he is the third ___________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh daihdaihdaihdaih----yât, néih yât, néih yât, néih yât, néih daihdaihdaihdaih----yih, kéuihyih, kéuihyih, kéuihyih, kéuih daih daih daih daih----sâamsâamsâamsâam

II. Special numerals

A. 2 . Both “yih” and “léuhng” means 2. When one says “two of something”, ‘léuhng” is used instead of “yih”. One can also say that, before MW or nouns take no MW, ‘léuhng” is


used instead of “yih”

1) two pens ____________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng jî bât jî bât jî bât jî bât

2) twenty-two pens _____________________________

yih sahp yih jî bât (not two of something)yih sahp yih jî bât (not two of something)yih sahp yih jî bât (not two of something)yih sahp yih jî bât (not two of something)

3) two days ___________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng yaht (day takes no MW) yaht (day takes no MW) yaht (day takes no MW) yaht (day takes no MW)

4) two dollars ___________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng mân (two of sth.) mân (two of sth.) mân (two of sth.) mân (two of sth.)

5) twenty dollars ___________________________________

yihyihyihyih----sahp mân (not two of sth.)sahp mân (not two of sth.)sahp mân (not two of sth.)sahp mân (not two of sth.)

6) $0.2 ____________________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng hòuh hòuh hòuh hòuh----(jí) ((jí) ((jí) ((jí) (2222 dimesdimesdimesdimes)))) hòuh-jí is a measuring unit that is equal to ten cents

7) $2.2 ______________________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng go yih go yih go yih go yih “go” is the measure word for coins, means dollars here. “léuhng” is usually used before

a MW.

8) 2 dozen _________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng dâ dâ dâ dâ

9) We have $2 _________________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng mân mân mân mân

10) Those children has $12 _________________________________

gógógógó----dî saidî saidî saidî sai----mânmânmânmân----jái yáuh sahpjái yáuh sahpjái yáuh sahpjái yáuh sahp----yih mânyih mânyih mânyih mân

11) 2:10 _________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng dím yih dím yih dím yih dím yih / / / / léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng dím léuhng go jih dím léuhng go jih dím léuhng go jih dím léuhng go jih “jih” is the measuring unit of “a-five-minute”. “go” is the MW for “jih”, léuhng is usually used before a MW.

12) Is your son 2 years old? _________________________________

néih go jái haihnéih go jái haihnéih go jái haihnéih go jái haih----¬h¬h¬h¬h----haih haih haih haih léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng seui a? seui a? seui a? seui a?

13) Is it 2:20 now? _________________________________

yìhyìhyìhyìh----gâ haihgâ haihgâ haihgâ haih----¬h¬h¬h¬h----haih haih haih haih léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng dím sei a? dím sei a? dím sei a? dím sei a?


14) Is it $20? _________________________________

haih ¬h haih yahhaih ¬h haih yahhaih ¬h haih yahhaih ¬h haih yah----mân a? mân a? mân a? mân a?

B. half . half can’t be used by itself MW is used after “half bun”

1) half an apple _________________________________

bunbunbunbun go pìhng gwó go pìhng gwó go pìhng gwó go pìhng gwó

2) one and a half apple _________________________________

(yât) (yât) (yât) (yât) ggggo o o o bunbunbunbun pìhng gwó pìhng gwó pìhng gwó pìhng gwó

3) two and a half apple _________________________________

léuhng go léuhng go léuhng go léuhng go bunbunbunbun pìhng gwó pìhng gwó pìhng gwó pìhng gwó

4) My daughter is one and half years old _______________________ daughter néui

ngóh go néui seui ngóh go néui seui ngóh go néui seui ngóh go néui seui bunbunbunbun

III. Approximate numbers

A.1 Using two adjacent numerals togetherUsing two adjacent numerals togetherUsing two adjacent numerals togetherUsing two adjacent numerals together

1) I have three or four pens ___________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh sâam sei jîsâam sei jîsâam sei jîsâam sei jî bât bât bât bât

2) He has 3 or 4 girl friends ___________________________ girlfriend néuih pàhng yáuh

kéuih yáuh kéuih yáuh kéuih yáuh kéuih yáuh sâam sei gosâam sei gosâam sei gosâam sei go néuih néuih néuih néuih----pàhngpàhngpàhngpàhng----yáuhyáuhyáuhyáuh

3) There are 40 or 50 people ___________________________

gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh sei ±h sahp yàhnsei ±h sahp yàhnsei ±h sahp yàhnsei ±h sahp yàhn

4) There are 400 or 500 people ___________________________

gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh gó douh yáuh sei ±h baak yàhnsei ±h baak yàhnsei ±h baak yàhnsei ±h baak yàhn

5) That girl is 15 or 16 years old. ___________________________

gógógógó----go néuihgo néuihgo néuihgo néuih----jái jái jái jái sahpsahpsahpsahp çgh çgh çgh çgh luhk seuiluhk seuiluhk seuiluhk seui


A.2 Using the numerals “géi”Using the numerals “géi”Using the numerals “géi”Using the numerals “géi” “géi” means “a few”, “a several” “géi” refers numbers “3” or more but must be less than “10”.

1) I have a several pens (less than ten) _________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh géigéigéigéi jî bât jî bât jî bât jî bât

2) I have a ten pens ______________________________________

ngóh yáuh sahp jî bâtngóh yáuh sahp jî bâtngóh yáuh sahp jî bâtngóh yáuh sahp jî bât

3) I have more than ten pens _________________________________

ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp géigéigéigéi jî bât jî bât jî bât jî bât

4) I have a several dollars. ______________________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh géigéigéigéi mân mân mân mân

5) There are about a several tens of people. _________________________

gógógógó----douh yáuh douh yáuh douh yáuh douh yáuh géigéigéigéi----sahpsahpsahpsahp yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

6) There are about a few hundred people __________________________

gógógógó----douh yáuh douh yáuh douh yáuh douh yáuh géigéigéigéi----baakbaakbaakbaak yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

7) That girl is more than ten years old. ______________________

gógógógó----go néuihgo néuihgo néuihgo néuih----jái jái jái jái sahpsahpsahpsahp----géigéigéigéi seui seui seui seui

8) I only have a several tens of dollars __________________________

ngóh jihngngóh jihngngóh jihngngóh jihng----haih yáhaih yáhaih yáhaih yáuh/dâk uh/dâk uh/dâk uh/dâk géigéigéigéi----sahp mânsahp mânsahp mânsahp mân

9) I bet (guess) this table would need a few thousands dollars. _____________

ngóh gú nîngóh gú nîngóh gú nîngóh gú nî----jêung tói yiu jêung tói yiu jêung tói yiu jêung tói yiu géigéigéigéi----chînchînchînchîn mân mân mân mân

A.3 “daaih yeuk”“daaih yeuk”“daaih yeuk”“daaih yeuk” / / / / “daaih koi” “daaih koi” “daaih koi” “daaih koi” before before before before thethethethe numeralsnumeralsnumeralsnumerals

1) There are about 80 people __________________________________

gógógógó----douh douh douh douh daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----yyyyeukeukeukeuk////daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----koikoikoikoi yáuh baatyáuh baatyáuh baatyáuh baat----sahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhn

2) There are about 70 to 80 people _____________________________

gógógógó----douh douh douh douh daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----yeukyeukyeukyeuk////daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----koikoikoikoi yáuh châtyáuh châtyáuh châtyáuh chât----baatbaatbaatbaat----sahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhn

3) That girl is about 15 years old. ______________________________

gógógógó----go néuihgo néuihgo néuihgo néuih----jái jái jái jái daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----yeukyeukyeukyeuk////daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----koikoikoikoi sahpsahpsahpsahp----±h seui±h seui±h seui±h seui


4) It’s about 6:30 now _______________________________________

yìhyìhyìhyìh----gâ gâ gâ gâ daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih---- yeuk yeuk yeuk yeuk / / / /daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----koikoikoikoi luhk luhk luhk luhk----dímdímdímdím----bunbunbunbun

5) I guess the thief is around 28 or 29 years old. _____________________ guess gú thief cháak

ngóh gú go cháak ngóh gú go cháak ngóh gú go cháak ngóh gú go cháak daaidaaidaaidaai----yeukyeukyeukyeuk / / / /daaihdaaihdaaihdaaih----koikoikoikoi yah yah yah yah----baatbaatbaatbaat----gáu seuigáu seuigáu seuigáu seui

A.4 “jó yáu” “jó yáu” “jó yáu” “jó yáu” / / / / ““““dóudóudóudóu”””” after the numeralsafter the numeralsafter the numeralsafter the numerals

1) He came at 3:00 more or less ______________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih sâam sâam sâam sâam----dím dím dím dím jójójójó----yáuyáuyáuyáu/dóu/dóu/dóu/dóu làihlàihlàihlàih

2) There are 100 people more or less ____________________________

gógógógó----douh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yât----baak baak baak baak yàhn jóyàhn jóyàhn jóyàhn jó----yáu/dóuyáu/dóuyáu/dóuyáu/dóu

3) It’s 6:30 more or less now ___________________________________

yìhyìhyìhyìh----gâ luhkgâ luhkgâ luhkgâ luhk----dímdímdímdím----bun bun bun bun jójójójó----yáuyáuyáuyáu/dóu/dóu/dóu/dóu

4) It’s about 8:30 more or less now ______________________________

yìhyìhyìhyìh----gâ daaihgâ daaihgâ daaihgâ daaih----yeuk yeuk yeuk yeuk baakbaakbaakbaak----dímdímdímdím----bun bun bun bun jójójójó----yáuyáuyáuyáu/dóu/dóu/dóu/dóu

5) I will arrived at 3:45 more or less ______________________________

ngóh sngóh sngóh sngóh sâamâamâamâam----dím gáu dím gáu dím gáu dím gáu jójójójó----yáu/dóuyáu/dóuyáu/dóuyáu/dóu dodododouuuu


Unit 4 Measure Words

I. Definition Measure words are words that express a unit of things or action. They comes before nouns for measuring purposes It is similar to the function of “piece” in “a piece of paper. Different group of objects take different measure words. Usually same shape of object share the same MWs. Measure Word (MW) is also called Noun Classifier.

II. Sortal measure words They reflect intrinsic features of the nouns with which they belong.

A. “go” “go” is the most general sortal MW, if you don’t know which MW has to be used, you can use “go”. Even though it may be wrong, people are easier to understand your sentence rather than you just skip the MW.

A.1 DDDDenoting people.enoting people.enoting people.enoting people.

1) three students ____________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo hohk hohk hohk hohk----sâangsâangsâangsâang

2) a chef ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo chyùh chyùh chyùh chyùh----sîsîsîsî

3) a colleague____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo tùhngtùhngtùhngtùhng----sihsihsihsih

4) a client____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo haakhaakhaakhaak

A.2 Spherical oSpherical oSpherical oSpherical objectsbjectsbjectsbjects

1) an apple ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó


2) an orange ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo cháangcháangcháangcháang

3) a water melon ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo sâisâisâisâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

4) an onion ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo yèuhngyèuhngyèuhngyèuhng----chûngchûngchûngchûng

A.3 AAAAbstract nouns bstract nouns bstract nouns bstract nouns It is also used for individual items that do not call for a more specific measure word. Thus abstract nouns that refer to non-concrete entities lacking physical features, general take go:

1) a wish ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo yuhn yuhn yuhn yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

2) a challenge ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo tîu tîu tîu tîu----jinjinjinjin

B. “dî” “dî” is a measure word for plural and uncountable things It is used for all nouns showing plural without definite quantity or uncountable nouns

B.1 PluralPluralPluralPlural

1) the chair _________________________________

jêungjêungjêungjêung dang dang dang dang

2) the chairs _________________________________

dîdîdîdî dang dang dang dang

3) the pen _________________________________

jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

4) the pens _________________________________

dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

5) this pen _________________________________

nî nî nî nî jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât


6) these pens _________________________________

nî nî nî nî dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

7) that pen _________________________________

gó gó gó gó jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

8) those pens _________________________________

gó gó gó gó dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

9) that mango _________________________________

gó gó gó gó gogogogo mông mông mông mông----gwógwógwógwó

10) those mango _________________________________

gó gó gó gó dîdîdîdî mông mông mông mông----gwógwógwógwó

11) The apples are very nice _____________________________________

dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwo hóu lenggwo hóu lenggwo hóu lenggwo hóu leng

B.2 UncountableUncountableUncountableUncountable

1) the water _________________________________

dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

2) this water _________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

3) that water _________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

4) the coffee _________________________________

dîdîdîdî gagagaga----fêfêfêfê

5) this coffee _________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî gagagaga----fêfêfêfê

6) that coffee _________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî gagagaga----fêfêfêfê

7) the orange juice _________________________________

dîdîdîdî cháang cháang cháang cháang----jâpjâpjâpjâp

8) this orange juice _________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî cháangcháangcháangcháang----jâpjâpjâpjâp


9) that orange juice _________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî cháang cháang cháang cháang----jâpjâpjâpjâp

10) The water is very hot ____________________________________

dîdîdîdî séui hóu yiht séui hóu yiht séui hóu yiht séui hóu yiht

B.3 SomeSomeSomeSome Besides carrying the meaning of “the”, dî also carry the meaning of ‘some’ When referring to “some”, it can be “dî” or “yât-dî”. However “dî” is more common than “yât-dî” in casual sayings

1) some pens _________________________________

(yât)(yât)(yât)(yât)----dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât - Because “yât” are often skipped in casual saying, “some pens” would be pronounced as “dî bât ”. However “the pens” is also pronounced as “dî bât”, people have to distinguish the different meanings by the context.

2) some water _________________________________

(yât)(yât)(yât)(yât)----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

3) I have some pens _________________________________

ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)----dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

4) I have some water _________________________________

ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)ngóh yáuh (yât)----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

5) There are some water _________________________________

gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui

6) There are some people _________________________________

gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)gó douh yáuh (yât)----dîdîdîdî yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

7) Please give me some water _____________________________

¬h¬h¬h¬h----gôi béi (yât)gôi béi (yât)gôi béi (yât)gôi béi (yât)----dîdîdîdî séui séui séui séui (ngóh) (ngóh) (ngóh) (ngóh) ââââ

8) I want to buy some apples ____________________________________

ngóh séung máaih (yât)ngóh séung máaih (yât)ngóh séung máaih (yât)ngóh séung máaih (yât)----dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó


C. Some other sortal measure words

C.1 Defines nouns in terms of shapeDefines nouns in terms of shapeDefines nouns in terms of shapeDefines nouns in terms of shape

1. jêungjêungjêungjêung MW for flat objects which are placed horizontally

1) a piece of paper ______________________________________

yât yât yât yât jêungjêungjêungjêung jí jí jí jí

2) a table ______________________________________

yât yât yât yât jêungjêungjêungjêung tói tói tói tói

3) a chair ______________________________________

yât yât yât yât jêungjêungjêungjêung dangdangdangdang

4) a photo ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât jêungjêungjêungjêung séungséungséungséung

5) a ticket ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât jêungjêungjêungjêung fêifêifêifêi

2. jîjîjîjî MW for cylindrical objects

1) two pens _________________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

2) a bottle of coke_________________________________________

yât yât yât yât jîjîjîjî hhhhóóóó----llllohkohkohkohk One can also use the container MW “bottle jêun” here.

3) a bottle of red wine ______________________________________

yât yât yât yât jîjîjîjî hùhnghùhnghùhnghùhng----jáujáujáujáu

4) a toothpick ______________________________________

yât yât yât yât jîjîjîjî ngàh ngàh ngàh ngàh----chîmchîmchîmchîm

3. tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh MW for long and thin objects


1) a rope / a string ___________________________________

yât yât yât yât tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh síng síng síng síng

2) a pair of trousers ____________________________________

yâtyâtyâtyât tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh fu fu fu fu

3) this dress ____________________________________

nî nî nî nî tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh kwàhn kwàhn kwàhn kwàhn

4) a road ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât tìuhtìuhtìuhtìuh louh louh louh louh

4. gauhgauhgauhgauh MW for irregular shape

1) a stone ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gauhgauhgauhgauh sehk sehk sehk sehk

2) a piece of cake ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gihngihngihngihn daahn gôu daahn gôu daahn gôu daahn gôu

C.2 Defines nouns in terms of Defines nouns in terms of Defines nouns in terms of Defines nouns in terms of categorycategorycategorycategory

1. jekjekjekjek MW for 4 legs animals, birds and insect

1) a dog ____________________________________

yyyyât ât ât ât jekjekjekjek gáu gáu gáu gáu

2) a bird ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât jekjekjekjek jeukjeukjeukjeuk----jáijáijáijái

3) a butterfly ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât jekjekjekjek wùhwùhwùhwùh----dihp*dihp*dihp*dihp*

2. gagagaga MW for vehicles, ship and aircraft

1) a car ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gagagaga chê chê chê chê


2) a lorry ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gagagaga fofofofo----chêchêchêchê

3) an aeroplane ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât gagagaga fêifêifêifêi----gêigêigêigêi

C.3 Defines nouns in terms of functional featuresDefines nouns in terms of functional featuresDefines nouns in terms of functional featuresDefines nouns in terms of functional features

1. bábábábá MW for tools

1) a umbrella ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât bábábábá jê jê jê jê

2) a pair of scissors ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât bábábábá gaau gaau gaau gaau----jíjíjíjínnnn

C.4 MMMMore specific sortal measure wordore specific sortal measure wordore specific sortal measure wordore specific sortal measure word

1) a book ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât búnbúnbúnbún syû syû syû syû

2) a place ____________________________________

yât yât yât yât douhdouhdouhdouh deih deih deih deih----fôngfôngfôngfông

III. When to use measure words

A. Follows a numeral / quantifier

1) 2 dogs _______________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng jekjekjekjek gáu gáu gáu gáu

2) a pen _______________________________

yât yât yât yât jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

3) each MW car _______________________________

múih ga chêmúih ga chêmúih ga chêmúih ga chê


B. Specific referring After “this”, “that” and “the”

1) this pen _______________________________

nînînînî----jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

2) that pen _______________________________

gógógógó----jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

3) the pen _______________________________

jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

4) I like reading that book _______________________________

ngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûng----yi táiyi táiyi táiyi tái gó gó gó gó----búnbúnbúnbún syûsyûsyûsyû

5) The book is very expensive _______________________________

búnbúnbúnbún syû hóu gw syû hóu gw syû hóu gw syû hóu gwaiaiaiai

6) Do you have the pen? _______________________________

néih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuh----móuh móuh móuh móuh jîjîjîjî bât a?bât a?bât a?bât a?

7) this person _______________________________

nî nî nî nî gogogogo yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

8) that person _______________________________

gó gó gó gó gogogogo yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

9) The pen is cheap _______________________________

nî nî nî nî jîjîjîjî bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu pèpèpèpèhnghnghnghng

10) last week _______________________________

seuhngseuhngseuhngseuhng gogogogo láih láih láih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai

11) this week _______________________________

nînînînî gogogogo láih láih láih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai

12) next week _______________________________

hah hah hah hah gogogogo láih láih láih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai

13) these three pens _______________________________

nî sâam nî sâam nî sâam nî sâam jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

14) those three pens _______________________________

gó sâam gó sâam gó sâam gó sâam jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât


15) the three pens _______________________________

gó sâam gó sâam gó sâam gó sâam jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

C. General referring – no MW

1) I like reading books _______________________________

ngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûngngóh hóu jûng----yi táiyi táiyi táiyi tái----syûsyûsyûsyû

2) Do you have a pen? _______________________________

néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?

3) Do you have any pens? _______________________________

néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?néih yáuh móuh bât a?

D. Other Rules

1. With bîn ‘which’With bîn ‘which’With bîn ‘which’With bîn ‘which’ (specific (specific (specific (specific referringreferringreferringreferring))))

1) Which pen? _______________________________

bîn bîn bîn bîn jîjîjîjî bât? bât? bât? bât?

2) Which pen is better? _______________________________

bîn bîn bîn bîn jîjîjîjî bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

3) Which one is better? (referring to pens) _________________________

bîn bîn bîn bîn jîjîjîjî hóu hóu hóu hóu----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

4) Which is better? (referring to chairs) ___________________________

bîn bîn bîn bîn jêungjêungjêungjêung hóu dî a? hóu dî a? hóu dî a? hóu dî a?

2. Relative quantifiersRelative quantifiersRelative quantifiersRelative quantifiers For relative quantifiers, usually the MW is skipped. However rarely, people still keep it eg. hóu-dô bún syû (many books),

1) many books _______________________________

hóuhóuhóuhóu----dô syûdô syûdô syûdô syû

2) very few people _______________________________

hóuhóuhóuhóu----síu yàhnsíu yàhnsíu yàhnsíu yàhn

3) I have many books _______________________________

ngóh yáuh hóungóh yáuh hóungóh yáuh hóungóh yáuh hóu----dô syûdô syûdô syûdô syû


4) I only have a few stamps _______________________________ only have: dâk

ngóh dâk hóungóh dâk hóungóh dâk hóungóh dâk hóu----síu yàuhsíu yàuhsíu yàuhsíu yàuh----piupiupiupiu

3. Questions Questions Questions Questions –––– Countable entities Countable entities Countable entities Countable entities For concrete objects in questions, if the number is large, the MW is omitted, otherwise, MW is used.

1) How many kids do you have? (supposed not many kids) _______________________________

néih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géi----dô dô dô dô gogogogo sai sai sai sai----mânmânmânmân----jái ajái ajái ajái a????

2) How many pens do you have? (supposed not many pens) _______________________________

néih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géi----dô dô dô dô jîjîjîjî bât? bât? bât? bât?

3) How many colleagues in your company? (supposed many colleagues) _______________________________

néih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûng----sî sî sî sî yáuh géiyáuh géiyáuh géiyáuh géi----dô dô dô dô tùhngtùhngtùhngtùhng----sihsihsihsih a? a? a? a?

4) How many chairs are there? (supposed many chairs) _______________________________

gógógógó----douhdouhdouhdouh yáuh géi yáuh géi yáuh géi yáuh géi----dô dô dô dô dangdangdangdang a? a? a? a?

4. Questions Questions Questions Questions –––– Uncountable entities Uncountable entities Uncountable entities Uncountable entities For uncountable entities, questions do not carry MW

1) How much money do you have? ______________________________

néih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géi----dô chín a ?dô chín a ?dô chín a ?dô chín a ?

2) How much time do you have? _______________________________

néih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géinéih yáuh géi----dô dô dô dô sìhsìhsìhsìh----gaangaangaangaan a ? a ? a ? a ?

5. People People People People –––– large quantity large quantity large quantity large quantity For “people: yàhn”, if the quantity is large, let say twenty, the MW can be skipped. The larger the quantity, the higher chance the MW is skipped.

1) There are 100 people _______________________________

gógógógó----douh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yâtdouh yáuh yât----baak yàhnbaak yàhnbaak yàhnbaak yàhn

2) There are 20 people in our company ___________________________

ngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûng----sî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yih----sahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhnsahp yàhn


3) There are 20 colleagues in our company ________________________

ngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûng----sî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yih----sahp sahp sahp sahp gogogogo tùhng tùhng tùhng tùhng----sihsihsihsih Compare when “colleagues” is used instead of “people”, the MW is kept

D.2 ExercisesExercisesExercisesExercises

1. Drill 1 Drill 1 Drill 1 Drill 1 ---- counta counta counta countable nounsble nounsble nounsble nouns

1) This apple _____________________________________________

nînînînî----gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

2) That apple _____________________________________________

gógógógó----gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

3) These apples ___________________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

4) Those apples ___________________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

5) The apple _____________________________________________

gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

6) The apples _____________________________________________

dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwógwógwógwó

2. Drill 2 Drill 2 Drill 2 Drill 2 ---- countable nouns countable nouns countable nouns countable nouns

1) This car _______________________________________________

nînînînî----gagagaga chê chê chê chê

2) That car _______________________________________________

gógógógó----gagagaga chê chê chê chê

3) These cars _____________________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî chê chê chê chê

4) Those cars _____________________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî chê chê chê chê

5) The car ________________________________________________

gagagaga chê chê chê chê


6) The cars _______________________________________________

dîdîdîdî chê chê chê chê

3. Drill 3 Drill 3 Drill 3 Drill 3 ---- uncountable nouns uncountable nouns uncountable nouns uncountable nouns

1) This wine _____________________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî jáujáujáujáu

2) That wine _____________________________________________

gógógógó----dîdîdîdî jáujáujáujáu

3) The wine ______________________________________________

dîdîdîdî jáujáujáujáu

4) This glass of wine _______________________________________

nînînînî----bûibûibûibûi jáujáujáujáu

5) That glass of wine _______________________________________

gógógógó----bûibûibûibûi jáujáujáujáu

6) This bottle of wine _______________________________________

nînînînî----jêunjêunjêunjêun jáujáujáujáu

7) That bottle of wine _______________________________________

gógógógó----jêunjêunjêunjêun jáujáujáujáu

8) This bottle _______________________________________

nînînînî----gogogogo----jêunjêunjêunjêun

9) That bottle _______________________________________

gógógógó----gogogogo----jêunjêunjêunjêun

4. Short phrasesShort phrasesShort phrasesShort phrases

1) a doctor ___________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo yî yî yî yî----sângsângsângsâng

2) a wish ___________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo yuhn yuhn yuhn yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

3) two students ___________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo hohk sâang hohk sâang hohk sâang hohk sâang


4) three kids ___________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo sai sai sai sai----mânmânmânmân----jáijáijáijái

5) three children ___________________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gogogogo síu pàhng yáuh síu pàhng yáuh síu pàhng yáuh síu pàhng yáuh

6) four elder brothers ___________________________________

sei sei sei sei gogogogo gòh gô gòh gô gòh gô gòh gô

7) this pen ___________________________________

nî nî nî nî jîjîjîjî bât bât bât bât

8) these people ________________________

nî nî nî nî dîdîdîdî yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

9) those people ________________________

gó gó gó gó dîdîdîdî yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

10) a person ___________________________________

yât yât yât yât gogogogo yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

11) a friend / one friend _______________________________________

yâtyâtyâtyât----gogogogo pàhng pàhng pàhng pàhng----yáuh yáuh yáuh yáuh

12) two colleagues _____________________________________________

léuhngléuhngléuhngléuhng----gogogogo tùhng tùhng tùhng tùhng----sih sih sih sih

13) three windows _____________________________________________

sâamsâamsâamsâam----gogogogo chêung chêung chêung chêung

14) four books _____________________________________________

seiseiseisei----búnbúnbúnbún syû syû syû syû

15) half an apple ___________________________________________

bunbunbunbun----gogogogo pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwó gwó gwó gwó

16) one and a half apple ______________________________________

(yât) (yât) (yât) (yât) gogogogo bun pìhngbun pìhngbun pìhngbun pìhng----gwó gwó gwó gwó

17) two and a half apple ______________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo bun pìhngbun pìhngbun pìhngbun pìhng----gwó gwó gwó gwó


5. SentencesSentencesSentencesSentences

1) I have some books ________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh dîdîdîdî syû syû syû syû

2) This bottle is very heavy ___________________________________ heavy: chúhng

nî go nî go nî go nî go jêunjêunjêunjêun hóu chúhng hóu chúhng hóu chúhng hóu chúhng

3) These bottles are very light ___________________________________ light: hêng

nî dî nî dî nî dî nî dî jêunjêunjêunjêun hóu hêng hóu hêng hóu hêng hóu hêng

4) I want to drink coffee ___________________________________

ngóh séung yám gangóh séung yám gangóh séung yám gangóh séung yám ga----fêfêfêfê

5) I want to drink some coffee ___________________________________

ngóh séung yám ngóh séung yám ngóh séung yám ngóh séung yám dîdîdîdî ga ga ga ga----fêfêfêfê “dî” here means “some”

6) The coffee is very sour ___________________________________

dîdîdîdî ga ga ga ga----fê hóu syûnfê hóu syûnfê hóu syûnfê hóu syûn “dî” here means “the”

7) I have a son and a daughter ___________________________________

ngóh yáuh yâtngóh yáuh yâtngóh yáuh yâtngóh yáuh yât----gogogogo jái tùh jái tùh jái tùh jái tùhngngngng----(màaih) yât(màaih) yât(màaih) yât(màaih) yât----gogogogo néui néui néui néui

8) The doctor is very nice ___________________________________ doctor: yî sâng

gogogogo yî yî yî yî----sâng hóu hóusâng hóu hóusâng hóu hóusâng hóu hóu

9) I have two wishes ___________________________________

ngóh yáuh léuhngngóh yáuh léuhngngóh yáuh léuhngngóh yáuh léuhng----gogogogo yuhn yuhn yuhn yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

10) I have many wishes ___________________________________

ngóh ngóh ngóh ngóh yáuh hóuyáuh hóuyáuh hóuyáuh hóu----dô yuhndô yuhndô yuhndô yuhn----mohngmohngmohngmohng

11) Do you have any pens? ___________________________________

nénénénéihihihih yáuh móuh bât a? yáuh móuh bât a? yáuh móuh bât a? yáuh móuh bât a?

12) That person is very tall ___________________________________

gó go yàhn hóu gôugó go yàhn hóu gôugó go yàhn hóu gôugó go yàhn hóu gôu

13) This beer is expensive ____________________________________

nînînînî----dî dî dî dî bêbêbêbê----jáu hóu gwaijáu hóu gwaijáu hóu gwaijáu hóu gwai


14) The shop is very far _________________________________

gâangâangâangâan poupoupoupou----táu hóutáu hóutáu hóutáu hóu----yúhnyúhnyúhnyúhn

15) I have ten friends ___________________________________

ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp ngóh yáuh sahp gogogogo pàhng pàhng pàhng pàhng----yáuhyáuhyáuhyáuh

16) Do you have any paper? ___________________________________

néih yáuh móuh jí a?néih yáuh móuh jí a?néih yáuh móuh jí a?néih yáuh móuh jí a?

17) The coke is very cheap ________________________________

dîdîdîdî hó hó hó hó----lohk hóu pèhnglohk hóu pèhnglohk hóu pèhnglohk hóu pèhng

18) These schools are very new ________________________________

nînînînî----dîdîdîdî hohk hohk hohk hohk----haauh hóu sânhaauh hóu sânhaauh hóu sânhaauh hóu sân

19) The paper is lost ___________________________________ lost: ¬h gin jó

jêungjêungjêungjêung jí ¬h jí ¬h jí ¬h jí ¬h----gingingingin----jójójójó

20) I have some pens ___________________________________

ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh ngóh yáuh dîdîdîdî bât bât bât bât

21) I’ve bought some apple juice _________________________________

ngóh máaihngóh máaihngóh máaihngóh máaih----jó jó jó jó dîdîdîdî pìhng pìhng pìhng pìhng----gwó jâpgwó jâpgwó jâpgwó jâp

22) The world is very large ____________________________________

gogogogo sai sai sai sai----gaai hóu daaihgaai hóu daaihgaai hóu daaihgaai hóu daaih

23) The money is lost ______________________________

dîdîdîdî chín ¬h chín ¬h chín ¬h chín ¬h----gingingingin----jójójójó

6. Nouns related to timeNouns related to timeNouns related to timeNouns related to time

1) two seconds ___________________________________

léuhng míuh jûngléuhng míuh jûngléuhng míuh jûngléuhng míuh jûng

2) two minutes ___________________________________

léuhng fân jûngléuhng fân jûngléuhng fân jûngléuhng fân jûng

3) two ‘a five minutes’ ___________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo jih jih jih jih

4) two hours ___________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo jûng jûng jûng jûng


5) two days ___________________________________

léuhng yahtléuhng yahtléuhng yahtléuhng yaht

6) two weeks ___________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo láih baai / léuhng láih baai / léuhng láih baai / léuhng láih baai / léuhng gogogogo sîng kèih sîng kèih sîng kèih sîng kèih

7) two months ___________________________________

léuhng léuhng léuhng léuhng gogogogo yuht yuht yuht yuht

8) two years ___________________________________

léuhng nìhnléuhng nìhnléuhng nìhnléuhng nìhn

9) I’ve been to Hong Kong for four years _________________________

ngóh làihngóh làihngóh làihngóh làih----jó Hêungjó Hêungjó Hêungjó Hêung----Góng sei nìhnGóng sei nìhnGóng sei nìhnGóng sei nìhn

10) She has gone to Italy for four weeks __________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih heui heui heui heui----jó Yijó Yijó Yijó Yi----DaaihDaaihDaaihDaaih----Leih seiLeih seiLeih seiLeih sei----gogogogo láih láih láih láih----baaibaaibaaibaai

IV. Attentions

A. Reduplication They can be used reduplicatively and means “every one”. The noun itself may be omitted.

1) every pen ___________________________________

jî jîjî jîjî jîjî jî bât bât bât bât

2) every book ___________________________________

bún búnbún búnbún búnbún bún syû syû syû syû

3) Everyone likes her. ___________________________________

go gogo gogo gogo go yàhn dôu jûngyàhn dôu jûngyàhn dôu jûngyàhn dôu jûng----yih kéuihyih kéuihyih kéuihyih kéuih

4) Every dress are very nice ___________________________________

tìuh tìuhtìuh tìuhtìuh tìuhtìuh tìuh kwàhn dôu hóu leng kwàhn dôu hóu leng kwàhn dôu hóu leng kwàhn dôu hóu leng

5) Everything is very tasty ___________________________________

yeuhngyeuhngyeuhngyeuhng yeuhng yeuhng yeuhng yeuhng yéh dôu hóu hóu yéh dôu hóu hóu yéh dôu hóu hóu yéh dôu hóu hóu----sihksihksihksihk

B. Substitute for a noun It can substitute for a noun, like the English pronoun ‘one’


1) this one (referring a book) _______________________________

nî nî nî nî búnbúnbúnbún

2) three of them (referring T-shirts) _____________________________

sâam sâam sâam sâam gihngihngihngihn

3) One please (buying things, referring pens) _____________________

¬h¬h¬h¬h----gôi yât gôi yât gôi yât gôi yât jîjîjîjî When the noun is understood, it will be skipped, however the MW have to be kept after numerals.

4) I like this one. _______________________________

ngóh jûngngóh jûngngóh jûngngóh jûng----yi nîyi nîyi nîyi nî----gogogogo

C. Alternative measure words It can help to give more details about the noun it modifies

1) a ship _______________________________

yât yât yât yât gagagaga syùhn ( syùhn ( syùhn ( syùhn (ga: ga: ga: ga: large vehicle)large vehicle)large vehicle)large vehicle)

2) a boat _______________________________

yât yât yât yât jekjekjekjek syùhn ( syùhn ( syùhn ( syùhn (jek: jek: jek: jek: small object)small object)small object)small object)

D. Confusion between “a” and “the” When people say “a pen”, they say “(yât) jî bât” however quite often “yât” is skipped, therefore “a pen” will then be pronounced as “jî bât”. People then have to distinguish it refers to “a pen” or “the pen” through the context.

(1) English to Cantonese

1) I want to buy a pen _______________________________

ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih (yât)(yât)(yât)(yât)----jîjîjîjî bâtbâtbâtbât

2) I want to buy the pen _______________________________

ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih ngóh séung máaih jîjîjîjî bâtbâtbâtbât

3) She gave me a book _______________________________

káuih béi (yât)káuih béi (yât)káuih béi (yât)káuih béi (yât)----búnbúnbúnbún syû ngóh syû ngóh syû ngóh syû ngóh

4) She gave me the book _______________________________

káuih béi káuih béi káuih béi káuih béi búnbúnbúnbún syû ngóh syû ngóh syû ngóh syû ngóh


(2) Cantonese to EnglishCantonese to EnglishCantonese to EnglishCantonese to English

1) ngóh séung máaih gihn sêut-sâam ___________________________

I want to buy a shirt / the shirt I want to buy a shirt / the shirt I want to buy a shirt / the shirt I want to buy a shirt / the shirt

2) ngóh séung máaih yât gihn sêut-sâam _______________________

I want to buy a shirt I want to buy a shirt I want to buy a shirt I want to buy a shirt

3) ngóh máaih-jó bún syû _______________________________

I bought a book / the bookI bought a book / the bookI bought a book / the bookI bought a book / the book

4) ngóh máaih-jó yât bún syû _______________________________

I bought a bookI bought a bookI bought a bookI bought a book

5) ngóh tái-jó chêut hei _______________________________

I watch a movie / the movieI watch a movie / the movieI watch a movie / the movieI watch a movie / the movie

6) ngóh tái-jó yât chêut hei _______________________________

I watch a movieI watch a movieI watch a movieI watch a movie

7) ngóh sung-jó dî sâam béi kéuih ____________________________

I gave her some clothes / the clothesI gave her some clothes / the clothesI gave her some clothes / the clothesI gave her some clothes / the clothes

8) ngóh sung-jó yât-dî sâam béi kéuih ____________________________

I gave her some clothesI gave her some clothesI gave her some clothesI gave her some clothes

9) kéuih sihk-jó dî mihn ____________________________

He have eaten some noodles / the noodlesHe have eaten some noodles / the noodlesHe have eaten some noodles / the noodlesHe have eaten some noodles / the noodles

10) kéuih sihk-jó yât-dî mihn ____________________________

He have eaten some noodlesHe have eaten some noodlesHe have eaten some noodlesHe have eaten some noodles

11) kéuih tái-jó dî syû ____________________________

He read some books / the booksHe read some books / the booksHe read some books / the booksHe read some books / the books

12) kéuih tái-jó yât-dî syû ____________________________

He read some booksHe read some booksHe read some booksHe read some books


Unit 5 Pronouns

I. Personal Pronouns

A. Reflexive pronouns

1. ListsListsListsLists Reflexive Pronoun Cantonese

1 myself ngóh jih géi

2 yourself néih jih géi

3 himself, herself, itself kéuih jih géi

4 ourselves ngóh deih jih géi

5 yourselves néih deih jih géi

6 themselves kéuih deih jih géi

2. ExercisesExercisesExercisesExercises

1) I myself _____________________________

ngóhngóhngóhngóh jih jih jih jih----géigéigéigéi

2) he himself _____________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih jih jih jih jih----géigéigéigéi

3) You yourselves make the mistake _____________________________ make the mistake jouh cho (do wrong)

néih jihnéih jihnéih jihnéih jih----géi jouh chogéi jouh chogéi jouh chogéi jouh cho

4) They themselves are careless _____________________________ careless ¬h síu sâm (not careful)

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih jihdeih jihdeih jihdeih jih----géi ¬hgéi ¬hgéi ¬hgéi ¬h----síusíusíusíu----sâmsâmsâmsâm

II. Demonstrative Pronouns

1. ListsListsListsLists English Cantonese


1 This nî go (MW)

2 That gó go (MW)

3 These nî dî

4 Those gó dî

5 Here nî douh

6 There gó douh

This is “nî go” where the go is the MW only. When different object is referred, different MW has to be used. “go” is the most common MW and so it is used here.

2. This This This This …………

1) This watermelon ____________________________________

nînînînî----go sâigo sâigo sâigo sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

2) That watermelon ____________________________________

gógógógó----go sâigo sâigo sâigo sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

3) These watermelons ____________________________________

nînînînî----dî sâidî sâidî sâidî sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

4) Those watermelons ____________________________________

gógógógó----dî sâidî sâidî sâidî sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

5) This letter ____________________________________

nînînînî----fûng seunfûng seunfûng seunfûng seun

6) That letter ____________________________________

gógógógó----fûng seunfûng seunfûng seunfûng seun

7) These letters ____________________________________

nînînînî----dî seundî seundî seundî seun

8) Those letters ____________________________________

gógógógó----dî seundî seundî seundî seun

9) It’s very hot here ____________________________________

nînînînî----douh hóu yihtdouh hóu yihtdouh hóu yihtdouh hóu yiht

10) It’s very cold there ____________________________________

gógógógó----douh hóu dungdouh hóu dungdouh hóu dungdouh hóu dung

11) It’s very noisy here ____________________________________

nînînînî----douh hóu chòuhdouh hóu chòuhdouh hóu chòuhdouh hóu chòuh


12) It’s very quite there ____________________________________

gógógógó----douh hóu jihngdouh hóu jihngdouh hóu jihngdouh hóu jihng

3. This is This is This is This is …………

1) This is an watermelon ________________________________

nînînînî----go haih sâigo haih sâigo haih sâigo haih sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

2) These are watermelons ________________________________

nînînînî----dî haih sâidî haih sâidî haih sâidî haih sâi----gwâgwâgwâgwâ

3) That is a book ________________________________

gógógógó----bún haih syûbún haih syûbún haih syûbún haih syû

4) Those are books ________________________________

gógógógó----dî haih syûdî haih syûdî haih syûdî haih syû

5) This is water ________________________________

nînînînî----dî haih séuidî haih séuidî haih séuidî haih séui

6) That is water ________________________________

gógógógó----dî haih séuidî haih séuidî haih séuidî haih séui

7) It is Hong Kong here ________________________________ (here is Hong Kong)

nînînînî----douh haih Hêungdouh haih Hêungdouh haih Hêungdouh haih Hêung----GóngGóngGóngGóng

8) It is the mainland there ________________________________ the mainland daaih luhk

gógógógó----douh haih daaihdouh haih daaihdouh haih daaihdouh haih daaih----luhkluhkluhkluhk

III. Interrogative Pronouns

1. NotesNotesNotesNotes In English, the question word must be put at the beginning, while in Cantonese, the order of question is the same as that in declarative sentences.

2. ListsListsListsLists which … bînbînbînbîn 邊

who (which person) bîn gobîn gobîn gobîn go 邊個


which (which thing) bîn go bîn go bîn go bîn go (MW)(MW)(MW)(MW) 邊個

where (which place) bîn douhbîn douhbîn douhbîn douh 邊喥

how …(quantity) ggggéiéiéiéi 幾

how many (how many + …)

géi dô géi dô géi dô géi dô 幾多

how long (how many + duration)

géi noihgéi noihgéi noihgéi noih 幾耐

when (how many + time)

géi sìhgéi sìhgéi sìhgéi sìh 幾時

what time (how many + o’clock)

géi géi géi géi dím dím dím dím 幾點

why (how to + explain)

dím gáaidím gáaidím gáaidím gáai 點解

what mât yéh, mât yéh, mât yéh, mât yéh, mêmêmêmê↗↗↗↗ 乜

Who must refer to people, therefore the MW must be “go”. For “Which”, it may refer different object; therefore the corresponding MW has to be used.

A.2 bîn bîn bîn bîn …………

1. WhoWhoWhoWho

(1) Who is …?

1) Who is he? ___________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih haih haih haih haih bînbînbînbîn----gogogogo a? a? a? a?

2) He is my friend ___________________________________

kéuih haih ngóh kéuih haih ngóh kéuih haih ngóh kéuih haih ngóh pàhngpàhngpàhngpàhng----yáuhyáuhyáuhyáuh

3) Who are they? ___________________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deihdeihdeihdeih haih haih haih haih bînbînbînbîn----gogogogo a? a? a? a?

4) They are my family members _____________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deihdeihdeihdeih haih ngóh haih ngóh haih ngóh haih ngóh ûkûkûkûk----kéi yàhnkéi yàhnkéi yàhnkéi yàhn


5) Who is her boy friend? ___________________________________

kéuih nàahmkéuih nàahmkéuih nàahmkéuih nàahm----pàhngpàhngpàhngpàhng----yáuh haih yáuh haih yáuh haih yáuh haih bîn gobîn gobîn gobîn go a? a? a? a?

6) Her boyfriend is Peter ___________________________________

kéuih nàahmkéuih nàahmkéuih nàahmkéuih nàahm----pàhngpàhngpàhngpàhng----yáuh haih yáuh haih yáuh haih yáuh haih PeterPeterPeterPeter a? a? a? a?

(2) Who does …?

1) Who is coming? ___________________________________

bînbînbînbîn----gogogogo làih gán a? làih gán a? làih gán a? làih gán a?

2) My younger brother is coming _____________________________

ngóh saingóh saingóh saingóh sai----lóu làihlóu làihlóu làihlóu làih----gáigáigáigái

3) Who stole my car? ___________________________________

bîn gobîn gobîn gobîn go tâu tâu tâu tâu----(jó) ngóh ga chê a?(jó) ngóh ga chê a?(jó) ngóh ga chê a?(jó) ngóh ga chê a?

4) Who is fatter? ___________________________________

bîn gobîn gobîn gobîn go fèih dî a? fèih dî a? fèih dî a? fèih dî a?

5) Who is the best? ___________________________________

bînbînbînbîn----gogogogo jeui hóu a? jeui hóu a? jeui hóu a? jeui hóu a?

2. WhichWhichWhichWhich

(1) Which one is …?

1) Which one is cheaper ? ___________________________________

bînbînbînbîn----gogogogo pèhng pèhng pèhng pèhng----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

2) Which one is better (which pen) ? ____________________________

bînbînbînbîn----jîjîjîjî hóu hóu hóu hóu----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

3) Which one is the most expensive (which table)? _________________

bînbînbînbîn----jêungjêungjêungjêung jeui gwai a? jeui gwai a? jeui gwai a? jeui gwai a?

4) Which one is better (which item of clothing)? _________________

bînbînbînbîn----gihngihngihngihn hóu hóu hóu hóu----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

(2) Which is …?

1) Which pen is better ? ________________________________

bînbînbînbîn----jîjîjîjî bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu bât hóu----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?


2) Which ruler is longer ________________________________

bîn bîn bîn bîn bábábábá gaangaangaangaan----chek*chek*chek*chek* chèuhng chèuhng chèuhng chèuhng----dî a?dî a?dî a?dî a?

3) Which kitty more cute? ________________________________

bînbînbînbîn----jekjekjekjek mâau mâau mâau mâau----jái dâkjái dâkjái dâkjái dâk----yi dî a?yi dî a?yi dî a?yi dî a?

4) Which pen is yours? ________________________________

bîn jî bâtbîn jî bâtbîn jî bâtbîn jî bât haih néih ga? haih néih ga? haih néih ga? haih néih ga? (possessive case, the question particle should be “ga” instead of “a”)

3. WhereWhereWhereWhere

(1) Where is the…?

1) Where is the toilet? ________________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái gâan hái bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

2) The toilet is on the 3rd floor ________________________________

sáisáisáisái----sáusáusáusáu----gâan hgâan hgâan hgâan hái ái ái ái sâamsâamsâamsâam----láuláuláuláu

3) Where is the MTR station? ________________________________

deihdeihdeihdeih----tit jaahm hái tit jaahm hái tit jaahm hái tit jaahm hái bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

4) Where is the taxi stand? ________________________________

dîkdîkdîkdîk----sí jaahm hái sí jaahm hái sí jaahm hái sí jaahm hái bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

5) Where is the information desk ________________________________

sêunsêunsêunsêun----mahn chyu hái mahn chyu hái mahn chyu hái mahn chyu hái bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

(2) Where are you going?

1) Where are you going? ___________________________________

néih heui néih heui néih heui néih heui bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a ? a ? a ? a ?

2) I’m going to Happy Valley ___________________________________

ngóh heui Páaungóh heui Páaungóh heui Páaungóh heui Páau----mmmmáháháháh----ddddéiéiéiéi

3) Where is she going? ________________________________

kéuih heui kéuih heui kéuih heui kéuih heui bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

4) She’s going to Kowloon ___________________________________

ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui ngóh heui GáuGáuGáuGáu----lùhnglùhnglùhnglùhng

(3) Where do you …?


1) Where do you work? ___________________________________

néih hái néih hái néih hái néih hái bîn douhbîn douhbîn douhbîn douh fâan gûng a ? fâan gûng a ? fâan gûng a ? fâan gûng a ?

2) I work in Central ___________________________________

ngóh hái Jûng Wàahn fâan gûng ngóh hái Jûng Wàahn fâan gûng ngóh hái Jûng Wàahn fâan gûng ngóh hái Jûng Wàahn fâan gûng

(4) Exception for “live”

1) Where do you live? ________________________________

néih néih néih néih jyuhjyuhjyuhjyuh hái hái hái hái bînbînbînbîn----douhdouhdouhdouh a? a? a? a?

2) I live in Mong Kok ________________________________

néih néih néih néih jyuhjyuhjyuhjyuh hái hái hái hái WohngWohngWohngWohng----gokgokgokgok a? a? a? a?

A.3 géigéigéigéi…………

1. How manyHow manyHow manyHow many

(1) How many …?

1) How many people ? ___________________________________

géigéigéigéi----dôdôdôdô yàhn a? yàhn a? yàhn a? yàhn a?

2) Nine people ___________________________________

gáugáugáugáu----gogogogo yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

3) Two hundred people ___________________________________

yihyihyihyih----baakbaakbaakbaak yàhn yàhn yàhn yàhn

4) How many kids ? ___________________________________

géigéigéigéi----dôdôdôdô go saigo saigo saigo sai----mân jái a?mân jái a?mân jái a?mân jái a?

5) Three kids ___________________________________

sâamsâamsâamsâam go saigo saigo saigo sai----mân jáimân jáimân jáimân jái

6) How many colleagues ? ___________________________________

géigéigéigéi----dôdôdôdô go tù go tù go tù go tùhnghnghnghng----sih a?sih a?sih a?sih a?

7) How old is the child? ________________________________

go saigo saigo saigo sai----mânmânmânmân----jái jái jái jái géigéigéigéi----dôdôdôdô seui a?seui a?seui a?seui a?

8) What is your telephone number? _________________________

néih dihnnéih dihnnéih dihnnéih dihn----wá wá wá wá géi dôgéi dôgéi dôgéi dô houh a? houh a? houh a? houh a?


9) My number is 22345688 ___________________________________

ngóh dihnngóh dihnngóh dihnngóh dihn----wá wá wá wá haih yih yih sâam sei çg luhk chât baathaih yih yih sâam sei çg luhk chât baathaih yih yih sâam sei çg luhk chât baathaih yih yih sâam sei çg luhk chât baat

(2) How much is this one

1) How much is this one? ________________________________

nînînînî----go go go go géigéigéigéi----(dô)(dô)(dô)(dô) chín a? chín a? chín a? chín a? much more often, “dô” is skipped here

(3) How many … are there in…?

1) How many colleagues are there in your company? _________________

néih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûng----sî yáuh sî yáuh sî yáuh sî yáuh géigéigéigéi----dodododo go tù go tù go tù go tùhnghnghnghng----sih a?sih a?sih a?sih a?

2) There are 6 colleagues in my company _________________________

ngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûng----sî yáuh luhksî yáuh luhksî yáuh luhksî yáuh luhk----go tùgo tùgo tùgo tùhnghnghnghng----sihsihsihsih

3) How many people are there in your company? __________________

néih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûngnéih gûng----sî yáuh sî yáuh sî yáuh sî yáuh géigéigéigéi----dôdôdôdô yàhn a?yàhn a?yàhn a?yàhn a?

4) There are 260 people in my company _________________________

ngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûngngóh gûng----sî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yihsî yáuh yih----baak luhkbaak luhkbaak luhkbaak luhk----sahp yàhsahp yàhsahp yàhsahp yàhnnnn

5) How much (money) do you have? ___________________________

néih yáuh néih yáuh néih yáuh néih yáuh géi dô chíngéi dô chíngéi dô chíngéi dô chín a? a? a? a?

6) I have $250? ___________________________

néih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuhnéih yáuh yih yih yih yih----baak çghbaak çghbaak çghbaak çgh----sahp mânsahp mânsahp mânsahp mân

2. How longHow longHow longHow long

1) How long will you be in Hong Kong? __________________________

ngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêung----Góng Góng Góng Góng gégégégéi noihi noihi noihi noih a? a? a? a?

2) I’ll be in Hong Kong half an year __________________________

ngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêungngóh wúih hái Hêung----Góng bun nìhnGóng bun nìhnGóng bun nìhnGóng bun nìhn

3) How long have you been married? __________________________

néih gitnéih gitnéih gitnéih git----jójójójó----fân fân fân fân géigéigéigéi----noihnoihnoihnoih a? a? a? a?

4) I’ve been married for 10 years __________________________

ngóh gngóh gngóh gngóh gitititit----jójójójó----fân fân fân fân sahpsahpsahpsahp----nìhnnìhnnìhnnìhn


3. WhenWhenWhenWhen

1) When will she go to Central? ___________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih géi sìhgéi sìhgéi sìhgéi sìh heui Jûng Wàahn a ? heui Jûng Wàahn a ? heui Jûng Wàahn a ? heui Jûng Wàahn a ?

2) She will go to Central on Wednesday ________________________

kéuih kéuih kéuih kéuih láihláihláihláih----baaibaaibaaibaai----sâamsâamsâamsâam heui Jûng Wàahn heui Jûng Wàahn heui Jûng Wàahn heui Jûng Wàahn

3) When did you come to Hong Kong ___________________________

néih (haih) néih (haih) néih (haih) néih (haih) géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh làih Hêung làih Hêung làih Hêung làih Hêung----Góng ga?Góng ga?Góng ga?Góng ga?

4) I came to Hong Kong in 1986 ___________________________

ngóh (haih) hái yâtngóh (haih) hái yâtngóh (haih) hái yâtngóh (haih) hái yât----gáugáugáugáu----baatbaatbaatbaat----luhk nìhn làih Hêungluhk nìhn làih Hêungluhk nìhn làih Hêungluhk nìhn làih Hêung----Góng geGóng geGóng geGóng ge

5) When will you go to Park’n shop? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh heui Baak heui Baak heui Baak heui Baak----GGGGâai a?âai a?âai a?âai a?

6) When will you come? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh làih a? làih a? làih a? làih a?

7) When will they get married? ___________________________

kéuihkéuihkéuihkéuih----deih deih deih deih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh git git git git----fân a?fân a?fân a?fân a?

8) When will you come? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh làih a? làih a? làih a? làih a?

9) When did you come? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh làih ga? làih ga? làih ga? làih ga?

10) When will you leave? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh jáu a? jáu a? jáu a? jáu a?

11) When did you leave? ___________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----sìhsìhsìhsìh jáu ga? jáu ga? jáu ga? jáu ga?

4. What timeWhat timeWhat timeWhat time

1) What time do you open? __________________________

néihnéihnéihnéih----deih deih deih deih géigéigéigéi----dímdímdímdím hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga?

2) What time do you close? __________________________

néihnéihnéihnéih----deih deih deih deih géigéigéigéi----dímdímdímdím hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga? hôi mùhn ga?


3) What time will you come? __________________________

néih néih néih néih géigéigéigéi----dímdímdímdím làih a? làih a? làih a? làih a?

A.4 dímdímdímdím………… How (refer to manner of an action)

1. How do youHow do youHow do youHow do you…………????

How do you…

1) How (do you)…? __________________________

dím / dímdím / dímdím / dímdím / dím----yéungyéungyéungyéung

2) How did you know? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) jî ga? jî ga? jî ga? jî ga?

How do you say…?

3) How do you say “Happy birthday”? __________________________

““““Happy birthdayHappy birthdayHappy birthdayHappy birthday”””” dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) góng a? góng a? góng a? góng a?

4) How do you say “mobile phone”? __________________________

““““Mobile phoneMobile phoneMobile phoneMobile phone”””” dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) góng a? góng a? góng a? góng a?

How do you go to…?

5) How do you to go there? __________________________

dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) heui gó heui gó heui gó heui gó----douh a?douh a?douh a?douh a?

6) How do you go to Tsim Sha Tsui? __________________________

dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) heui Jîm heui Jîm heui Jîm heui Jîm----sâsâsâsâ----jéui a?jéui a?jéui a?jéui a?????

7) How do you go to Causeway Bay? __________________________

dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) heui Tùhng heui Tùhng heui Tùhng heui Tùhng----lòhlòhlòhlòh----wâan a?wâan a?wâan a?wâan a?

8) How do you go to the MTR station? __________________________

dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) heui deih heui deih heui deih heui deih----tittittittit----jaahm a?jaahm a?jaahm a?jaahm a?

9) How do you go to your company? __________________________

dímdímdímdím(yéung)(yéung)(yéung)(yéung) heui néih gûng heui néih gûng heui néih gûng heui néih gûng----sî a?sî a?sî a?sî a?


2. WhyWhyWhyWhy…………(lit.: how to explain)(lit.: how to explain)(lit.: how to explain)(lit.: how to explain)

(1) Why do you…?

1) why __________________________

dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai

2) Why do you come to Hong Kong? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai làih Hêung làih Hêung làih Hêung làih Hêung----góng a?góng a?góng a?góng a?

3) Why do you learn Cantonese? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai hohk Gwóng hohk Gwóng hohk Gwóng hohk Gwóng----dûngdûngdûngdûng----wá a?wá a?wá a?wá a?你點解學廣東話呀你點解學廣東話呀你點解學廣東話呀你點解學廣東話呀

4) Why are you late? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai chìh chìh chìh chìh----dou a?dou a?dou a?dou a?你點解遲到呀你點解遲到呀你點解遲到呀你點解遲到呀

(2) Why don’t you…

1) Why don’t you come? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai ¬h¬h¬h¬h làih a làih a làih a làih a????

2) Why don’t you help him? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai ¬h¬h¬h¬h bông kéuih a? bông kéuih a? bông kéuih a? bông kéuih a?

3) Why don’t you believe him? __________________________

néih néih néih néih dímdímdímdím----gáaigáaigáaigáai ¬h¬h¬h¬h seun kéuih a? seun kéuih a? seun kéuih a? seun kéuih a?

A.5 mât yéhmât yéhmât yéhmât yéh

1. WhatWhatWhatWhat

(1) What is it?

1) What is this? ____________________________________

nînînînî----go go go go haih haih haih haih mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

2) This is a staple ____________________________________

nînînînî----go haih go haih go haih go haih dêngdêngdêngdêng----syûsyûsyûsyû----gêigêigêigêi

(2) What do you …?


1) What did you buy? ____________________________________

néih máaihnéih máaihnéih máaihnéih máaih----jó jó jó jó mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

2) I bought some clothes ____________________________________

ngóh máangóh máangóh máangóh máaihihihih----jó (jó (jó (jó (yâtyâtyâtyât))))----dî sâamdî sâamdî sâamdî sâam

3) What are you eating? ____________________________________

ngóh sihkngóh sihkngóh sihkngóh sihk----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

4) I’m eating cake ____________________________________

ngóh sihkngóh sihkngóh sihkngóh sihk----gán gán gán gán daahndaahndaahndaahn----gôugôugôugôu

5) What did you tell her? __________________________ (You with her say what PM?)

néih tùhng kéuih góng néih tùhng kéuih góng néih tùhng kéuih góng néih tùhng kéuih góng mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

6) I told her today is Sunday __________________________

ngóh tùhng kéuih góng ngóh tùhng kéuih góng ngóh tùhng kéuih góng ngóh tùhng kéuih góng gâmgâmgâmgâm----yaht haih sîngyaht haih sîngyaht haih sîngyaht haih sîng----kèihkèihkèihkèih----yahtyahtyahtyaht

7) What are you doing now? __________________________

néih yìhnéih yìhnéih yìhnéih yìh----gâ jouhgâ jouhgâ jouhgâ jouh----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

8) What’s your name? (you call what name?)

néih giu néih giu néih giu néih giu mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh méng a? méng a? méng a? méng a?

9) I’m called Peter __________________________

ngóh giu Peterngóh giu Peterngóh giu Peterngóh giu Peter

(3) What’s are you doing?

1) What are you doing? ____________________________________

néih jouhnéih jouhnéih jouhnéih jouh----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

2) What are you eating? ____________________________________

nénénénéih sihkih sihkih sihkih sihk----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

3) What are you reading? ____________________________________

néih táinéih táinéih táinéih tái----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

4) What are you listening? ____________________________________

néih têngnéih têngnéih têngnéih têng----gán gán gán gán mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh a? a? a? a?

(4) What’s the matter?


1) What’s the matter? ____________________________________

mâtmâtmâtmât----yéhyéhyéhyéh sih a? sih a? sih a? sih a?

2) It’ on fire over there ____________________________________

gógógógó----douh fódouh fódouh fódouh fó----jûkjûkjûkjûk

Sentence Patterns – Parts of speech (1)

Edited by : Cantonese Learning Centre Tel : (852) 2881 0116 e-mail : [email protected] URL : http://www.clc.com.hk Version : V2.2 Revised in : May 2003 Printed in : January 2006

All rights reserved Printed in Hong Kong

The end of the book

______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________


______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Sentence Patterns - Parts of Speech (1)clc.scicube.info/book_link/sp/POS1.pdf · Sentence Patterns...

Documents

Transcript of Sentence Patterns - Parts of Speech (1)clc.scicube.info/book_link/sp/POS1.pdf · Sentence Patterns...