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HSK1·Lesson 8

My Father Also Works at a Hospital

我爸爸也在医院工作

Be able to understand and describe locations, positions, and related details | Master the use of the preposition "在" to indicate direction/location | Master the use of the modal verb "能"

Text 1

在王一飞家，白家月和陈天中来做客

zài wáng yì fēi jiā ， bái jiā yuè hé chén tiān zhōng lái zuò kè

At Wang Yifei's home, Bai Jiayue and Chen Tianzhong came over for a visit

白家月 (Bai Jiayue)房间外有一只小猫。
陈天中 (Chen Tianzhong)我没看见，它在哪儿呢？
白家月 (Bai Jiayue)它在桌子下呢。
陈天中 (Chen Tianzhong)这只小猫真漂亮！

Text 2

在教室里，下课后，白家月给李文打电话

zài jiào shì lǐ ， xià kè hòu ， bái jiā yuè gěi lǐ wén dǎ diàn huà

After class, Bai Jiayue was calling Li Wen in the classroom

白家月 (Bai Jiayue)我们在哪儿见呢？
李文 (Li Wen)在学校书店前见吧。
白家月 (Bai Jiayue)好的。下午两点你能到吗？
李文 (Li Wen)我能到。我在学校吃午饭。

Text 3

在医院里，刘明和同事胡医生在聊天儿

zài yī yuàn lǐ ， liú míng hé tóng shì hú yī shēng zài liáo tiān ér

In the hospital, Liu Ming was chatting with Dr. Hu, his colleague

刘明 (Liu Ming)小胡，还没吃饭呢？
胡医生 (Dr. Hu)没吃呢。
刘明 (Liu Ming)大医院病人多，医生非常忙。
胡医生 (Dr. Hu)是的。我爸爸也在医院工作，他也非常忙。
刘明 (Liu Ming)你家有两个医生？
胡医生 (Dr. Hu)对。
HanziPinyinEnglish
房间fángjiānroom
外wàioutside
只zhīfor certain animals
小xiǎosmall; little
猫māocat
没méino; not; not yet
看见kànjiànsee; catch sight of
桌子zhuōzitable; desk

pair_dialogue

双人活动：两人一组，使用以下词语对话。

Pair Work: Work in pairs and use the following words/phrases to create a dialogue.

e.g. A: 你的手机在哪儿？B: 我的手机在桌子上。你的手机呢？A: 我的手机在家里。……

下
xià
low position or rank; under
漂亮piàoliangpretty; beautiful
在zàiat; in (preposition)
学校xuéxiàoschool
书店shūdiànbookstore
前qiánfront; in front of
能néngcan; be able to
到dàoarrive; reach
午饭wǔfànlunch
饭fànmeal; cooked rice/food
大dàbig; large
病人bìngrénpatient
多duōmany; much
医生yīshēngdoctor
工作gōngzuòto work
胡医生Hú yīshēngDr. Hu

Positional Words

The positional words expressing direction and location introduced in this volume are: 上 (on/above), 下 (under/below), 里 (inside), 外 (outside), 前 (front), 后 (back), 外边 (outside).

  • 房间里有一只小猫。 (Fángjiān lǐ yǒu yī zhī xiǎo māo.)

    There is a little cat inside the room.

  • 我们去书店外吧。 (Wǒmen qù shūdiàn wài ba.)

    Let's go outside the bookstore.

  • 小雪的手机在桌子上呢。 (Xiǎo Xuě de shǒujī zài zhuōzi shàng ne.)

    Xiao Xue's phone is on the table.

Preposition "在" (zài)

The preposition "在" (zài) combines with words or phrases that indicate a location or place. This structure is placed before the verb to show where an action takes place.

  • 我在学校吃午饭。 (Wǒ zài xuéxiào chī wǔfàn.)

    I have lunch at school.

  • 他爸爸在医院工作。 (Tā bàba zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.)

    His father works at a hospital.

  • 你在哪儿买菜？ (Nǐ zài nǎr mǎi cài?)

    Where do you buy groceries?

Modal Verb "能" (néng)

The modal verb "能" (néng) is placed before the verb to indicate the ability, condition, or possibility of doing something.

  • 下午两点你能到吗？ (Xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn nǐ néng dào ma?)

    Can you arrive at 2 PM?

  • 爸爸能去。 (Bàba néng qù.)

    Dad can go.

  • 我不能去学校吃午饭。 (Wǒ bù néng qù xuéxiào chī wǔfàn.)

    I can't go to school for lunch.