HSK 2 · Lesson 5你跑得快吗？ Do you run fast?

Sport: 跑步, 游泳, 踢足球, 打篮球. How well — 跑得快 (得); 地 before a verb; 每 “every”; 经常 “often”, 一起 “together”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

What sport do you like?

A
你喜欢什么运动？
Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yùndòng?
What sport do you like?
B
我喜欢踢足球，也喜欢游泳。你呢？
Wǒ xǐhuan tī zúqiú, yě xǐhuan yóuyǒng. Nǐ ne?
I like football, and swimming too. And you?
A
我经常跑步，每天跑半个小时。
Wǒ jīngcháng pǎobù, měi tiān pǎo bàn ge xiǎoshí.
I run a lot — half an hour every day.
B
你跑得快吗？
Nǐ pǎo de kuài ma?
Do you run fast?
A
不太快。明天我们一起去打篮球吧！
Bú tài kuài. Míngtiān wǒmen yìqǐ qù dǎ lánqiú ba!
Not very. Let’s go and play basketball together tomorrow!
B
好啊！
Hǎo a!
Sure!

My sister dances

A
你妹妹跳舞跳得真好！
Nǐ mèimei tiàowǔ tiào de zhēn hǎo!
Your sister dances really well!
B
她从小就学跳舞，每天都跳两个小时。
Tā cóngxiǎo jiù xué tiàowǔ, měi tiān dōu tiào liǎng ge xiǎoshí.
She’s learned to dance since she was little — two hours every day.
A
她累不累？
Tā lèi bu lèi?
Doesn’t she get tired?
B
很累，但是她每天都高高兴兴地去跳舞。
Hěn lèi, dànshì tā měi tiān dōu gāogāoxìngxìng de qù tiàowǔ.
Very, but she happily goes dancing every day.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. How well: verb + 得 + adjective

Subject + verb + 得 + (很) + adjective

To say how an action is done, put 得 and the description after the verb: 他跑得很快 “he runs fast”, 你说得对 “you’re right”. The negative goes into the description: 跑得不快. Questions: 跑得快吗？ / 跑得快不快？

他跑得很快。
Tā pǎo de hěn kuài.
He runs fast.
你说得对。
Nǐ shuō de duì.
You’re right.

2. With an object: 跳舞跳得好

(verb) + object + verb + 得 + adjective

If the verb has an object, repeat the verb: 她跳舞跳得很好 “she dances well”, 他说汉语说得很好. The first verb may be dropped: 他汉语说得很好. Not: “他说汉语得很好”.

他说汉语说得很好。
Tā shuō Hànyǔ shuō de hěn hǎo.
He speaks Chinese well.
她汉字写得很漂亮。
Tā Hànzì xiě de hěn piàoliang.
She writes characters beautifully.

3. 跑步, 游泳, 跳舞 — separable verbs

These verbs are “action + object” (跑步 “run-steps”, 游泳 “swim-swimming”, 跳舞 “jump-dance”). For how long, either repeat the verb: 游泳游了一个小时, or put the time inside: 游了一个小时泳. They never take another object.

我游泳游了一个小时。
Wǒ yóuyǒng yóule yí ge xiǎoshí.
I swam for an hour.
我们一起去跳舞吧。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù tiàowǔ ba.
Let’s go dancing together.

4. 地 before a verb; the three “de”

There are three particles read de: 的 before a noun (我的书), 得 after a verb, before the description (跑得快), 地 after a description, before a verb (高高兴兴地去 “happily goes”). Same sound, different characters.

她高高兴兴地去学校。
Tā gāogāoxìngxìng de qù xuéxiào.
She happily goes to school.

5. 打 / 踢 + ball; 每, 经常, 一起

Ball games played with the hands use 打 — 打篮球 “play basketball”; with the feet, 踢 — 踢足球. 每 “every” comes before a measure word or 天 / 年, often with 都: 每天都跑步. 经常 “often” and 一起 “together” go before the verb: 我们经常一起打球.

我每天都跑步。
Wǒ měi tiān dōu pǎobù.
I run every day.
我们经常一起踢足球。
Wǒmen jīngcháng yìqǐ tī zúqiú.
We often play football together.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    他跑得很快。 Tā pǎo de hěn kuài. — He runs fast.

  2. Answer
    我每天都游泳。 Wǒ měi tiān dōu yóuyǒng. — I swim every day.

  3. Answer
    我们一起去打篮球吧。 Wǒmen yìqǐ qù dǎ lánqiú ba. — Let’s go and play basketball together.

  4. Answer
    她跳舞跳得真好。 Tā tiàowǔ tiào de zhēn hǎo. — She dances really well.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “He speaks Chinese well”

    Answer
    他说汉语说得很好。
  2. 我们___踢足球。

    Answer
    经常
  3. “She sings happily”: 她高高兴兴___唱歌。

    Answer
    地
  4. 他___篮球打得很好。

    Answer
    打

3. Build the sentence

  1. Do you run fast?

    Answer
    你跑得快吗？ Nǐ pǎo de kuài ma?
  2. I run every day.

    Answer
    我每天都跑步。 Wǒ měi tiān dōu pǎobù.
  3. He writes characters beautifully.

    Answer
    他汉字写得很漂亮。 Tā Hànzì xiě de hěn piàoliang.
  4. We often play football together.

    Answer
    我们经常一起踢足球。 Wǒmen jīngcháng yìqǐ tī zúqiú.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你喜欢什么运动？
Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yùndòng?
What sport do you like?
B
我喜欢游泳。
Wǒ xǐhuan yóuyǒng.
Swimming.
A
你游得快吗？
Nǐ yóu de kuài ma?
Do you swim fast?
B
游得不太快。
Yóu de bú tài kuài.
Not very fast.
A
你经常游泳吗？
Nǐ jīngcháng yóuyǒng ma?
Do you swim often?
B
我每天都游一个小时。
Wǒ měi tiān dōu yóu yí ge xiǎoshí.
An hour every day.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. You sing really well!
    Answer
    你唱歌唱得真好！/ 你唱得真好！
  2. I swam for two hours and I’m very tired.
    Answer
    我游泳游了两个小时，很累。
  3. Every morning we run together.
    Answer
    我们每天早上一起跑步。Wǒmen měi tiān zǎoshang yìqǐ pǎobù.

💡 Did you know?: Ping-pong and morning exercise

The most “Chinese” sports are table tennis, 乒乓球 pīngpāngqiú, and badminton: ping-pong tables stand right in courtyards and parks. Early in the morning people practise tai chi, 太极拳 tàijíquán, in parks, and in the evening they dance in squares.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).