Lesson 1 • Greetings 27

Dialogue II: Asking about Someone's Nationality

王先生，你是4老师吗5？
LANGUAGE NOTE

The original tone of 不 is a

我不6 是老师，我是学生。 4th tone “bù”. However, when

李友，你呢？
followed by another 4th tone
syllable,不 changes to 2nd
tone, as in 不是 (bú shì).
我也7是学生。你是
中国人吗？
是，我是北京人。你是
美国人吗？
是，我是纽约人。

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 28 Integrated Chinese • Level 1 Part 1 • Textbook

Wáng xiānsheng, nǐ shì4 lǎoshī ma5?

Wǒ bú6 shì lǎoshī, wǒ shì xuésheng. Lǐ Yǒu, nǐ ne?

Wǒ yě7 shì xuésheng. Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma?

Shì, wǒ shì Běijīng rén. Nǐ shì Měiguó rén ma?

Shì, wǒ shì Niǔyuē rén.

VOCABULARY

1. 是 shì v to be [See Grammar 4.]

2. 老师 lǎoshī n teacher

3. 吗 ma qp (question particle) [See Grammar 5.]

4. 不 bù adv not; no [See Grammar 6.]

5. 学生 xuésheng n student

6. 也 yě adv too; also [See Grammar 7.]

7. 人 rén n people; person

Proper Nouns

8. 中国 Zhōngguó China

9. 北京 Běijīng Beijing

10. 美国 Měiguó America

11. 纽约 Niǔyuē New York

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 Lesson 1 • Greetings 29

Grammar

4. The Verb 是 (shì)

In Chinese, 是 (shì) is a verb which can be used to link two units that are in some way
equivalent. These two units can be nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases, e.g.,

A: 你是老师吗?
Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?

(Are you a teacher?)

B: 我是老师。
Wǒ shì lǎoshī.

(I am a teacher.)

李友是学生。
Lǐ Yǒu shì xuésheng.

(Li You is a student.)

是 (shì) is usually negated with 不 (bù). [See also Grammar 6 below.]

王朋不是美国人。
Wáng Péng bú shì Měiguó rén.

(Wang Peng is not American.)

5. Questions Ending with 吗 (ma)

When 吗 (ma) is added to the end of a declarative statement, that statement is turned into
a question. To answer the question in the affirmative, drop the 吗 (ma) from the end of the

question; to answer the question in the negative, drop the 吗 (ma), and insert a negative

adverb— usually 不 (bù)—before the verb. [See also Grammar 6 below.]

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 30 Integrated Chinese • Level 1 Part 1 • Textbook

Question: 你是老师吗？
Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?

(Are you a teacher?)

Affirmative answer: 我是老师。

Wǒ shì lǎoshī.

(I am a teacher.)

Negative answer: 我不是老师。

Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.

(I am not a teacher.)

Question: 你姓王吗？
Nǐ xìng Wáng ma?

(Is your family name Wang?)

Affirmative: 我姓王。
Wǒ xìng Wáng.

(My family name is Wang.)

Negative: 我不姓王。
Wǒ bú xìng Wáng.

(My family name is not Wang.)

This is a typical business card. Circle the person’s family name.

Where is this person located?

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 Lesson 1 • Greetings 31

6. The Negative Adverb 不 (bù)

In Chinese there are two main negative adverbs. One of the two, 不 (bù), occurs in this
lesson.

我不是北京人。
Wǒ bú shì Běijīng rén.

(I am not from Beijing.)

李友不是中国人。
Lǐ Yǒu bú shì Zhōngguó rén.

(Li You is not Chinese.)

老师不姓王。
Lǎoshī bú xìng Wáng.

(The teacher’s surname is not Wang.)

我不叫李中。
Wǒ bú jiào Lǐ Zhōng.

(My name is not Li Zhong.)

7. The Adverb 也 (yě)

The adverb 也 (yě) basically means “too” or “also.” In Chinese, adverbs, especially one-
syllable adverbs, normally appear after subjects and in front of verbs. They usually cannot

precede subjects or follow verbs. The adverb 也 (yě) cannot be put before the subject or at
the very end of a sentence.

我也是学生。
Wǒ yě shì xuésheng.

(I’m a student, too.)

王朋是学生，李友也是学生。
Wáng Péng shì xuésheng, Lǐ Yǒu yě shì xuésheng.

(Wang Peng is a student. Li You is a student, too.)

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 32 Integrated Chinese • Level 1 Part 1 • Textbook

你是中国人，我也是中国人。
Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén, wǒ yě shì Zhōngguó rén.

(You are Chinese. I am Chinese, too.)

(3a) 你是中国人，*我是中国人也。
Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén, *wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén yě.

(3b) 你是中国人，*也我是中国人。
Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén, *yě wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.

When the adverb 也 (yě) is used together with the negative adverb 不 (bù), 也 (yě) is placed
before 不 (bù), e.g.

王朋不是老师，李友也不是老师。
Wáng Péng bú shì lǎoshī, Lǐ Yǒu yě bú shì lǎoshī.

(Wang Peng is not a teacher. Li You is not a teacher, either.)

你不是纽约人，我也不是纽约人。
Nǐ bú shì Niǔyuē rén, wǒ yě bú shì Niǔyuē rén.

(You are not from New York. I am not from New York, either.)

Language Practice

C. 是…吗 (shì…ma)

Based on the text of Lesson 1 and your own situation, ask and answer the
following questions with a partner.

EXAMPLE 王朋◆学生 Wáng Péng ◆ xuésheng

A: 王朋是学生吗? A: Wáng Péng shì xuésheng ma?

B: 王朋是学生。 B: Wáng Péng shì xuésheng.

1. 李友 ◆ 美国人 1. Lǐ Yǒu ◆ Měiguó rén

2. 王朋 ◆ 中国人 2. Wáng Péng ◆ Zhōngguó rén

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