Lesson 20: Dates and sentences with a noun predicate

Sentences with a noun as the predicate, used to give dates, days of the week, age, prices and time; how to say years, months and days, and the zodiac years.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 2 · Lesson 20

今天星期二。

Jīntiān xīngqī'èr.

Today is Tuesday.

Explanation

A noun-predicate sentence is one in which a noun, noun phrase, numeral-measure phrase, time noun, etc. serves as the predicate. The word order is: subject (S) + predicate (N). The meaning is "S is P", but 是 is not used before the predicate. The negative uses "不是 + noun (N)". Noun-predicate sentences express time, price, date, quantity, weather, age, hometown, etc.

Dates: years are read digit by digit (1949年 is read yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián); there are names for the 12 months (一月 … 十二月) and for the days (一日(号), 二日(号) … 三十一日(号)). The order for dates is: year, month, day (年、月、日). "日" and "号" both mean the day of the month; "日" is used in writing and "号" in speech. Dates and days of the week can be expressed with a noun-predicate sentence or with a 是 sentence.

Note: "属" means recording the year of one's birth with the 12 zodiac animals. The 12 animals are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig: 鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪. The adverb "就" in "就在我的房间" expresses emphasis.

Structure

1
SsubjectN (vị ngữ, không dùng 是) / S不是Nnoun
A noun, numeral-measure phrase or time noun serves as the predicate; the meaning is "S is P", but 是 is not used before the predicate. Negative: 不是 + N. Used to give time, prices, dates, quantities, weather, age and hometown.
- A：今天几号？ B：今天十月八号。
  A: Jīntiān jǐ hào? B: Jīntiān shíyuè bā hào.
  A: What's the date today? B: Today is October 8th.
- A：今天星期几？ B：今天星期二。
  A: Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? B: Jīntiān xīngqī'èr.
  A: What day is it today? B: Today is Tuesday.
- A：苹果一斤多少钱？ B：一斤两块五。
  A: Píngguǒ yì jīn duōshao qián? B: Yì jīn liǎng kuài wǔ.
  A: How much is a jin of apples? B: Two and a half yuan a jin.
- 他二十岁。
  Tā èrshí suì.
  He is twenty years old.
- 明天阴天。
  Míngtiān yīntiān.
  Tomorrow will be overcast.
- 我中国人，他美国人。
  Wǒ Zhōngguó rén, tā Měiguó rén.
  I'm Chinese, and he's American.
- A：现在几点？ B：现在八点半。
  A: Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? B: Xiànzài bā diǎn bàn.
  A: What time is it now? B: It's half past eight.
2
年月日 (号)
The order for dates is year, month, day (年、月、日); "日" is used in writing and "号" in speech. Years are read digit by digit.
- 1840年
  yī bā sì líng nián
  the year 1840
- 1949年
  yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián
  the year 1949
- 1978年
  yī jiǔ qī bā nián
  the year 1978
- 2008年
  èr líng líng bā nián
  the year 2008
- 1919年5月4日（号）
  yī jiǔ yī jiǔ nián wǔ yuè sì rì (hào)
  May 4th, 1919
- 1949年10月1日
  yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián shí yuè yī rì
  October 1st, 1949
3
Ssubject是ngày tháng / thứ
Dates and days of the week can be expressed with a noun-predicate sentence or with a 是 sentence.
- 今天是十月二十七号。
  Jīntiān shì shíyuè èrshíqī hào.
  Today is October 27th.
- 今天是星期三。
  Jīntiān shì xīngqīsān.
  Today is Wednesday.
4
属12 con giáp
Use the 12 zodiac animals to record the year of birth: 鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪 (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig).
- 你属狗？
  Nǐ shǔ gǒu?
  Were you born in the year of the dog?
5
就在Nnoun
The adverb "就" here expresses emphasis.
- 就在我的房间。
  Jiù zài wǒ de fángjiān.
  Right in my room.

Practice

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