16 Lesson 6 Dialogue 2: Calling a Friend

Dialogue:

（张学友是一位数学老师。他接了一个电话。）
杨爱文：喂，是学友吗？
张学友：我就是。您哪位？
杨爱文：我，爱文。
张学友：什么事？
杨爱文：我想请你帮一下我儿子。
张学友：怎么了？
杨爱文：他上小学五年级，但是他不太用功，学习不太好。昨天他在家做数学练习题，问了我几个问题，我也不懂，所以想请你帮他一下。
张学友：行。可是我现在在办公室上班，下午两点得跟同事们开一个会，所以不太方便。
杨爱文：那你什么时候有空？
张学友：我五点下班，六点才到家。你儿子几点下课？
杨爱文：他下午四点就下课。要是你觉得方便，我和儿子七点跟你在星巴克见面，好吗？
张学友：没问题。现在我还有一节课，得去上课了。
杨爱文：那你去忙吧，我挂了。

Vocabulary:

Grammar Notes:

1. The modal verb 得 (děi):
   It is often followed by a verb or a verbal phrase, meaning “need to”, “have to”, or “must”. For example,
   你得好好学中文。(You must work hard on Chinese.)
   现在是八点半，太晚了，我得回家。(Now it’s 8:30 pm. It’s too late. I have to go home.)
   今天是周末，我得给我爸妈打电话。(Today is weekend. I need to call my parents.)
2. The character 几
   We have learned this character before. It is often followed by measure words, used to ask quantity questions, meaning “how many”. For example:
   你喝几杯咖啡？(How many cups of coffee do you drink?)
   你有几个姐姐？(How many big sisters do you have?)
   In this dialogue, 他问了我几个问题 is not about quantity questions. Here 几个问题 means “several questions”. More examples:
   上个星期他认识了几个女人。(Last week, he got to know several women.)
   下个月我有几个考试。(Next month I will have a couple exams.)
3. The adverb 就 (jiù):
   In this dialogue, it has two meanings:
   First, it means “as early as”. It is often used before a verb to indicate that something happened earlier or sooner than expected. For example, 我现在就给他打电话。(I will call him now.) In this sentence, 就 is used before the verb phrase “给他打电话” to indicate that this action will happen soon.
   Second, 就 is often used before verb phrases or prepositional phrases to “add emphasis”. In this sense, it often has an intense or provocative feel to it, similar to “just.” For example, in the sentence 他就是我的爸爸, the character 就 is used before the verb 是 to emphasize the fact 是我的爸爸.
4. The verb phrase 见面 (jiàn miàn)：
   见面 is a “verb + object” structure, where 见 is the verb and 面 is the object. Note: (1) When using this phrase, no objects are needed. (2) 见面 is often used with words like 和 or 跟. For example, 我想跟他见面。(I want to meet him.)
   见 has the same meaning as 见面; however, 见 is often often by an object. For example, 我想见他。(I want to meet him.) This sentence has the same meaning as 我想和/跟他见面。
5. The sentence 你(去)忙吧：
   This sentence is often used at the end of a conversation, meaning “I won’t bother you. You carry on”. It is another informal way to end a conversation between family members, close friends, and colleagues.
6. The question expression 怎么了：
   It is often used to ask “what has happened”, “what’s up”, “what’s wrong”, or “what’s the problem”. Here is an example:
   A：明天我不能去你家玩。(I cannot go to your home tomorrow.)
   B：怎么了？(What has happened?)
   A：下个星期我有一个考试，明天得在家准备一下。(Next week I will have an exam. Tomorrow I have to stay home to prepare for it.)

Culture Notes:

1. Telephone numbers in China are organized according to the Chinese Telephone Code Plan. Land lines and mobile phones follow different systems. Land lines use area codes, with the numbers having a two or three-digit area code followed by a seven or eight-digit inner number. However, mobile phones do not use area codes, and the numbers consist of eleven digits in the format 1XX-XXXX-XXXX, in which the first three digits (13X to 19X) designate the mobile phone service provider. For example, 139-1092-8765  is a complete mobile phone number. When people call Chinese number from overseas, they should dial + country code phone number (e.g. (+86) 139-1092-8765).
   
2. There are many ways to end a phone call politely. Here are three of them:

• • Apologize, and then end the call: 对不起，我先挂了。(duì bù qǐ, wǒ xiān guà le). Sorry, I’ll hang up first.
  • Explain briefly, and then end the call: 我有事儿，先挂了。(wǒ yǒu shì ér, xiān guà le). I have things to do. I’ll hang up first.
  • Be considerate: 你忙吧，我们以后再聊。(nǐ máng bā, wǒ mén yǐ hòu zài liáo). You carry on. Let’s chat later.

To learn more about other ways to end a call, please watch this video.