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Lesson 3 [Conversations] Inquiring Availability and Time Words
Lesson 3 Dialogues
The dialogues start off with closed and 'how about' questions, followed by
positive replies. Thereafter, negative replies, 'time words' and other
variations are added.
1. Simple 'how about' questions asking whether someone is busy Gēge nǐ máng ma 哥哥 ， 你 忙 吗 ？ [Older] brother, are you busy? Wó hěn máng nǐ ne 我 很 忙 ， 你 呢 ？ I am busy, and you? Wó yé hěn máng 我 也 很 忙 。 I am also busy. 2. Replies to whether someone is busy Lǐ Míng nǐ míngtiān máng ma 李 明 ， 你 明天 忙 吗 ？ LI Ming, are you busy tomorrow? Wǒ míngtiān hěn máng Wǒ jīntiān bùmáng 我 明天 很 忙 。 我 今天 不忙 。 I am busy tomorrow. I am not busy today. 3. Using more than one time word Nǐ jīntiān zhōngwǔ máng ma 你 今天 中午 忙 吗 ？ Are you busy mid-day today? Hěn máng 很 忙 。 Yes. Míngtiān zhōngwǔ ne 明天 中午 呢 ？ What about mid-day tomorrow? Míngtiān bùmáng 明天 不忙 。 [I am] not busy tomorrow. 4. Students asking their teacher whether he/she is busy Ní zǎo Lín lǎoshī 你 早 ， 林 老师 。 Good morning, Teacher Lin. Nǐmen zǎo 你们 早 。 Good morning, all [students]. Qǐngwèn nǐ jīntiān shàngwǔ máng ma 请问 你 今天 上午 忙 吗 ？ [May I ask] are you busy this morning? Wǒ jīntiān shàngwǔ hěn máng 我 今天 上午 很 忙 。 I am busy this morning. Míngtiān ne 明天 呢 ？ What about tomorrow? Míngtiān shàngwǔ yé hěn máng Wǒ míngtiān xiàwǔ bùmáng 明天 上午 也 很 忙 。 我 明天 下午 不忙 。 [I am] also busy tomorrow morning. I am not busy tomorrow afternoon. Annotations
也
[Learning Point: Simple linking words]
Indicating 'also'
Note the position of 'yě' (也 / also), which is IN FRONT of the phrase 'hěn máng' (很忙 / very busy).
Should you like to provide a negative reply, you can say 'also not busy' with 'yě bù máng' (也不忙) .
忙
[Learning Point: Common verbs]
Using adjectives in place of verbs
While 'máng' (忙 / busy) is an adjective, it also functions as a verb in this sentence. Compare this with
its English equivalent, 'Are you busy tomorrow?'
Also note that 'shì' (是 / is, am, are) is not used in this sentence.
The concept of requiring verbs in a sentence is a Western concept. Sometimes in Chinese, you may not see
a verb, but rather an adjective, a noun or a number that functions the a 'verb.'
很
[Learning Point: Express simple agreement or disagreement]
Replying positively to 'yes/no' questions
It is important to remember that in this case, 'hěn' (很 / very), although translated as 'very,' does not
emphasize the degree of being 'busy' but rather, serves as a positive reply to a 'yes/no' question and an
indication that the sentence is coming to a completion.
不忙 [Learning Point: Express simple agreement or disagreement] Replying negatively to 'yes/no' questions
'bù' (不 / not), which negates the word 'máng' (忙 / busy), is placed IN FRONT of the adjective. 中午 [Note]
When two or more 'time words' are used in a sentence, the 'time word' representing the larger unit is
presented first.
请问 [Learning Point: Common courtesies]
Meaning 'may I ask,' this phrase is used to add politeness to the question.