4 Lesson 9 Dialogue 2 借车

Dialogue:

张文天: 李京，后天下午你用不用车？
李京: 不用。怎么了？
张文天: 后天我得去机场接人，可是我自己没买车。可不可以借你的车用一下?
李京: 你要去接谁?
张文天: 我爸和我妹。他们从北京坐飞机去上海玩了几天，后天会来我这儿。新年快要到了，他们想来看看我。
李京: 你会不会开车？
张文天: 当然会。上大学以前，我常开我爸的车。
李京：那好。给你车钥匙。
张文天：谢谢！
李京：跟我客气什么！
（接了爸爸和妹妹以后，张文天回来了。）
李京：路上怎么样？
张文天：还行，不过高速公路上的车太多了，每一个人都开得很快。我特别紧张。
李京：你以后开得多了就好了。
张文天：对了，我给你的车加了油。今天用了你的车，我觉得挺不好意思的。
李京：这有什么不好意思的？跟我客气什么？对了，你爸爸和妹妹什么时候走？
张文天：一个星期以后。
李京：要不要我开车送他们去机场？
张文天：我不好意思让你去，还是我自己去吧。到时候我可以再用一下你的车吗？
李京：没问题。一个星期以后你找我拿钥匙，到时候给我打手机或者发短信。
张文天：太麻烦你了！
李京: 没事儿！

Vocabulary:

Grammar notes:

1. 会 in the sentence 后天会来我这儿
   We have learned that the verb 会 can be used to express “learned skills”, as in the example 我会说中文. In the sentence 后天他们会来我这儿, the word 会 is used to express the possibility of someone will do something or something will happen. The structure is “subject + (不)会 + verb phrase”. For example:
   明天我的男朋友会来学校看我。(Tomorrow my boyfriend will come to school to visit me.)
   下课以后，我会给你打电话。(After class, I will call you.)
   别问我，我不会告诉你。(Don’t ask me. I won’t tell you.)
2. 要…了 in the sentence 新年快要到了
   We have learned that the particle 了 indicates the change of status, which can also be paired with 要 or 快要 or 就要 or 就快要 to indicate a change of situation in the future. The structure is “Subject + (就/快)要 + verb phrase + 了“. Here are more examples:
   新年快要到了。(New Year is coming soon.)
   快要考试了，我们得准备一下。(We’ll have an exam soon. We will have to prepare for it.)
3. The word 上 in the sentence 路上怎么样
   This preposition 上 is often used after nouns, indicating “on the surface of…, above…” The structure is “noun + 上“. For example, the English “on the road” and “on the highway” are translated into “路上”, “高速公路上” in Chinese.
4. The structure “每 + measure word + noun + 都 …” in the sentence ”每一个人都开得很快“
   This pattern is used to express “every” when describing a quantitative amount. In the sentence above, 每一个人 is “every person”. 都 is used together with 每 to stress the tone, similar like “every… all…”. Below are more examples about this structure:
   我喜欢每一节中文课。(I like every Chinese class.)
   他们每天都工作。(They work every day.) Note: time words such as 天、年、周 do not need measure words.
5. 对了
   This phrase has two meanings. One means “correct”. For example, 你对了，他错了。(You are right. He is wrong.) The other meaning is often used when something suddenly comes to the speaker’s mind and the conversation topic is changed. For example:
   A: 我们去看电影吧。(Let’s go to watch a movie.)
   B: 对了，我得给爸爸打一个电话，告诉他我不回家吃饭了。(It suddenly came to my mind that I have to give my dad a call to tell him that I won’t go back home to eat.)
6. The expression 到时候 in the sentence ”一个星期以后你找我拿钥匙，到时候给我打电话或者发短信“
   The expression 到时候 means “when the time comes”, pointing to a specific time in the future. When using it, we need to start with a statement that sets things up, then the things that will happen in the future is placed after 到时候. The structure is “statement，到时候 + things that will happen.” In the sentence above, “一个星期以后你找我拿钥匙” is the statement that sets up the situation, 到时候 is used to indicate “in one week when the time comes”, and the thing that will happen is 你给我打电话或者发短信. Below are more examples:
   我们十点去看电影，到时候我去接你。(We will go to watch a movie at 10:00. I will go to pick you up then.)
   你先自己学一下，如果你还不会，到时候我再教你吧。(Study on your own first. If you still don’t know how, I will teach you then.)
7. 麻烦
   This is a very useful word, meaning “trouble”, “to trouble”, and “troublesome”. It can be used both as a verb, an adjective, and as a noun. When used as a verb, it has the similar meaning as 请, which Chinese people use to show politeness when asking for help. For example:
   麻烦你给我一张纸。(Please give me a piece of paper.)
   谢谢，这个事儿麻烦你了！ (Thanks for your help!)
   When used as a noun, it is often used with verbs like 找、遇到(to encounter)、添(to add)，带去/来(to take/bring). For example:
   麻烦没有来找你, 你自己就不要去找麻烦。(Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.)
   昨天我遇到了一点儿麻烦。(Yesterday I was in trouble.)
   不好意思，给您带来了麻烦。(Sorry to have brought you trouble.)
   When used as an adjective, it means “troublesome”. For example:
   我的妹妹太麻烦了。(My little sister is troublesome.)
   学中文很麻烦，你得预习、复习、考试，事儿太多了。(To learn Chinese is troublesome. You have to preview, review and take exams. Too many things to do.)

Culture notes:

Chinese people seldom say “thank you” to close friends, relatives, loved ones or among family members. For example, if a Chinese child does the laundry for the family, her parents normally would not say “thank you” to her, However, that does not mean that Chinese parents are not polite to their children. There is a culture reason: a child does nice things for the family because she is a family member. The parents and the child are all one family. Saying “thank you” will actually create formality and distance that shouldn’t exist among them, which will violate their intimate relationship.

If you say “thank you” to your Chinese friends or co-workers, they might feel offended. Some of them might respond directly to you: “You are way too polite. Real friends do not need to say ‘thank you’.”

However, Chinese people say “thank you” to strangers or people who are not very close or familiar. What are the ways that they say “thank you”? Here are some common ways:

• Use the word 谢 as in the following examples：谢谢(你) (Thank you.)！多谢 (Many thanks)！太谢谢你了 (I am very grateful)！万分感谢 (Thousands of thanks)！真不知道怎么谢谢你 (I don’t know how to thank you)！
• Use the word 麻烦 as in the following examples：(太)麻烦你了！给你添(tiān, to add)麻烦了！

How to respond to “thank you”? Here are some ways Chinese people say “you are welcome”:

• Use the word 客气 (polite) in negative sentences or with words like 什么、怎么、太…了. For example: 不客气。不用客气。别客气。客气什么！你怎么这么客气！你太客气了！
• Use the word 谢 (thank; to thank) in negative sentences or with 什么. For instance: 不谢。不用谢。别谢了。谢什么！说什么谢不谢的！
• Use the word 见外 (literally, to act as a stranger) in negative sentences: 不要见外。别见外！你太见外了！
• Other expressions that contains 小 or 没 to express “a piece of cake” or “no problem”: 小事。小意思。没事儿。没问题。