第十三课 对话一 问路 Asking Directions

Learning Objectives:
1. Ask for and give directions
2. Identify location by using landmarks
3. Describe whether two places are close to or far away from each other
4. State where you are heading and the reason for going there
课文

1
生词 Vocabulary :
1. 上 shàng v to go [colloq.]
2. 中心 zhōngxīn n center
3. 听说 tīngshuō v to be told; to hear of
4. 运动 yùndòng n sports
5. 场 chǎng n field
6. 旁边 pángbiān n side [See Grammar 1.]
7. 远 yuǎn adj far
8. 离 lí prep away from
9. 近 jìn adj near
10. 活动 huódòng n activity
11. 中间 zhōngjiān n middle
12. 书店 shūdiàn n bookstore
13. 地方 dì fang n place
14. 里边 lǐ biān n inside
15. 知道 zhī dào v, know
16. 一起 yì qǐ adv. together
17. 问路 wèn lù VO ask the way
18. 迷路 mí lù VO miss one’s way
19. 教学楼 jiào xǘe lóu n. classroom building
语法:
1. Direction and Location Words
Direction words 上/下/前/后/左/右/东/南/西/北/里/外/旁 (often combine with
suffixes such as 边 (biān), 面 (miàn), and 头 (tóu). As shown below, such compounds become
location words.
The suffixes 边 (biān), 面 (miàn), and 头 (tóu) are all pronounced in the neutral
tone, with the exception of the 边 (biān) in 旁边 (pángbiān), which remains in the full first
tone.
里边=里面 左边=左面 前边=前面 旁边√ WRONG- 旁面×
The word 里 (lǐ) cannot be used after some proper nouns such as the name of a country or a
city. Compare:

2
 学校里有很多学生。. (There are many students at school.)
北京有很多学生. (There are many students in Beijing.)
It is incorrect to say: WRONG *北京里有很多学生. （wrong）
The combination of a direction word plus 边 (biān) /面 (miàn) /头 (tóu) can follow a noun to
indicate a location, e.g., 图书馆(的)旁边 (túshūguǎn {de} pángbiān, near the library); 学校(的)
里面 (xuéxiào {de} lǐmian, inside the school); 桌子(的)上头 (zhuōzi {de} shàngtou, on the
table); 教室(的)外面 (jiàoshì {de} wàimian, outside the classroom); 城市(的)北边 (chéngshì
{de} běibian, north of the city). In these expressions the particle 的 (de) following the noun is
optional.
学校里面，学校北面，学校外面，学校后面

2. 离...近/远 (near/far away from...)

Place A +离 + place B + 很近。我们的学校离超市很近。
Place A +离 + place B + 不远。 我家离学校不远。

3. Comparative Sentences with 没（有） (méi{yǒu}) Besides using 比 (bǐ), another way
to make a comparison is to use 没（有）(méi{yǒu}). In a comparative sentence with 没
有 (méiyǒu), the pronoun 那么 (nàme) is sometimes added to the sentence. [See more
on 那么 (nàme) below.]
1) 我弟弟没有我高。Wǒ dìdi méiyǒu wǒ gāo. (My younger brother is not as tall
as I am.) [I am taller than my brother.]
2) 北京没有上海热。Běijīng méiyǒu Shānghǎi rè. (It is not as hot in Beijing as in
Shanghai.)
3) 他姐姐没有他妹妹那么喜欢买东西。Tā jiějie méiyǒu tā mèimei nàme xǐhuan
mǎi dōngxi. (His older sister does not like shopping as much as his younger
sister does.) [His older sister might like shopping too, but not as much as his
younger sister.]
4) 我没有她那么喜欢刷卡。Wǒ méiyǒu tā nàme xǐhuan shuā kǎ. (I don’t like to
use credit cards as much as she does.) [I do use credit cards, but she likes to use
them more than I do.]
****A 没有 (méiyǒu) B… vs. A 不比 (bù bǐ) B… While 没有 (méiyǒu) … is used to say
that one thing is of a lesser degree than another, 不比 (bù bǐ) … means “no more
than…” The two things being compared may be equal, but what is specifi cally stated
is that A is no more than B. Compare the following sentences:
3
 5） A: 今天比昨天热吗？(Is today hotter than yesterday?)
B: 今天不比昨天热。Jīntiān bù bǐ zuótiān rè.
(Today is not any hotter than yesterday.)
[It could be the same temperature or cooler than yesterday.]
C: 今天没有昨天热。Jīntiān méiyǒu zuótiān rè.
(Today is not as hot as yesterday.) [Today is cooler.]
A: 这篇课文比那篇课文短吗？
Zhè piān kèwén bǐ nà piān kèwén duǎn ma?
(Is this text shorter than that one?)
B: 这篇课文不比那篇课文短，两篇一样长。
Zhè piān kèwén bù bǐ nà piān kèwén duǎn, liǎng piān yíyàng cháng.)
(This text is not any shorter than that one. They are the same length.)
C: 是吗？我觉得这篇课文没有那篇长。
Shì ma? Wǒ juéde zhè piān kèwén méiyǒu nà piān cháng.
(Really? I think this text is not as long as that one.)
[This text is shorter than that one.]
A Quick Summary of Comparative Sentences
A>B A 比 (bǐ) B 大 (dà)
B>A B比A大
A 没有 (méiyǒu) B 大 (dà) A<B
A 不比 (bù bǐ) B 大 (dà) A≤B

4. 那么 (nàme) Indicating Degree

a. 那么 (nàme) is often placed before adjectives or verbs such as 想 (xiǎng), 喜欢
(xǐhuan), 会 (huì), 能 (néng), and 希望 (xīwàng), to denote a high degree.
1) 你那么不喜欢写日记，就别写了吧。
(Nǐ nàme bù xǐhuan xiě rìjì, jiù bié xiě le ba. )
Since you dislike writing journals so much, why don’t you quit doing it?
2) 你那么喜欢画画，为什么不学艺术？
（nǐ nà me xǐ huān huahua, wèi shenm bú xǘe yìshu?）
You are enjoying in drawing, why not learning Art？

b. 没有…那么… (méiyǒu… nàme…) means “not reaching the point of.”

4
 3) 弟弟没有哥哥那么帅，那么酷。Dìdi méiyǒu gēge nàme shuài, nàme kù.
The younger brother is not as handsome and cool as the older brother.
4) 坐地铁没有坐公共汽车那么麻烦。
Zuò dìtiě méiyǒu zuò gōnggòng qìchē nàme máfan.
(Riding the subway is not as much of a hassle as riding the bus.)
5) 这个样子的衣服 没有你说的那么合适。Zhè ge yàngzi de yīfu méiyǒu nǐ
shuō de nàme héshì. (This style is not as suitable as you said.)
6) 这张地图没有那张地图那么新。
Zhè zhāng dìtú méiyǒu nà zhāng dìtú nàme xīn.
This map is not as new as that one.
By using 那么(nàme), the speaker affirms the certain attribute of something or
somebody in question.
By stating that the younger brother does not reach the same standard of
handsomeness and coolness as the older brother, 弟弟没有哥哥那么帅，那么
酷。Acknowledges that the older brother is handsome and cool.

5. 到 (dào) + Place + 去 (qù) + Action

In this structure, the combination of “到 (dào) + Place + 去 (qù) + Action” denotes
the purpose of going somewhere.
1) 我要到电脑中心去上网。Wǒ yào dào diànnǎo zhōngxīn qù shàng wǎng.
(I want to go to the computer center to use the internet.)
2) 他到朋友的宿舍去聊天儿了。Tā dào péngyou de sùshè qù liáo tiānr le.
(He went to his friend’s dorm to chat.)
3) 我们到飞机场去送李小姐。Wǒmen dào fēijīchǎng qù sòng Lǐ xiǎojiě.
(We went to the airport to see Miss Li off.)