你是怎么来的？ How did you get here? — HSK 2, lesson 8

Dialogues

A tourist in Beijing

A

你是什么时候来北京的？

Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái Běijīng de?

When did you come to Beijing?

B

我是上个星期来的。

Wǒ shì shàng ge xīngqī lái de.

Last week.

A

你是坐飞机来的吗？

Nǐ shì zuò fēijī lái de ma?

Did you come by plane?

B

是，机票是在网上买的，不太贵。

Shì, jīpiào shì zài wǎngshang mǎi de, bú tài guì.

Yes, I bought the ticket online — not too expensive.

A

你住在哪个酒店？

Nǐ zhù zài nǎge jiǔdiàn?

Which hotel are you staying at?

B

就在前面。我是来旅游的，下周就要回国了。

Jiù zài qiánmiàn. Wǒ shì lái lǚyóu de, xià zhōu jiù yào huí guó le.

Just up ahead. I’m here as a tourist — I’m going home next week.

The weather

A

你看，外面阴了，快要下雨了。

Nǐ kàn, wàimiàn yīn le, kuài yào xià yǔ le.

Look, it’s clouded over — it’s about to rain.

B

明天呢？

Míngtiān ne?

And tomorrow?

A

明天是晴天。

Míngtiān shì qíngtiān.

Tomorrow will be sunny.

B

太好了！门票我已经在网上买了，我们明天去玩儿吧。

Tài hǎo le! Ménpiào wǒ yǐjīng zài wǎngshang mǎi le, wǒmen míngtiān qù wánr ba.

Great! I’ve already bought the entrance tickets online — let’s go out tomorrow.

A

好！你等我一下，我上网看一下怎么去。

Hǎo! Nǐ děng wǒ yíxià, wǒ shàngwǎng kàn yíxià zěnme qù.

OK! Wait a moment, I’ll look up how to get there online.

New words

旅游lǚyóutrip; journey; tourism
出国chūguógo abroad
机票jīpiàoplane ticket; airline ticket
门票ménpiàoticket (for theater, cinema etc)
票piàoticket; ballot; banknote
酒店jiǔdiànwine shop; pub (public house); hotel
飞fēito fly
鸟niǎobird; "bird" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 196)
晴qíngclear; fine (weather)
阴yīnovercast (weather); cloudy; shady
周zhōuto make a circuit; to circle; circle
快要kuàiyàonearly at the point of (doing sth); about to (do sth)
着zheparticle of a continuing state
等děngto wait for; to await; by the time; when; till
网上wǎng shangonline
上网shàngwǎngto go online; to connect to the Internet

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 是…的 — “when / where / how exactly”

Subject + 是 + when / where / how + verb + 的

When we know something already happened and ask about details — when, where, how, with whom — we use 是…的: 你是什么时候来的？ “when did you come?”, 我是坐飞机来的 “I came by plane”, 票是在网上买的 “the ticket was bought online”. 是 can be dropped in statements; the negative is 不是…的.

你是什么时候来的？

Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái de?

When did you come?

我是坐飞机来的。

Wǒ shì zuò fēijī lái de.

I came by plane.

我不是一个人来的。

Wǒ bú shì yí ge rén lái de.

I didn’t come alone.

2. 要…了, 快要…了, 就要…了 — “about to”

Something about to happen: (快)要 + verb + 了 — 快要下雨了 “it’s about to rain”, 我们要上课了 “class is about to start”. With a specific time use 就要: 下周就要回国了 “I’m going home as soon as next week” (快要 is not used with a time word).

快要下雨了。

Kuài yào xià yǔ le.

It’s about to rain.

明天就要考试了。

Míngtiān jiù yào kǎoshì le.

The exam is tomorrow.

3. 着 — an ongoing state: 门开着

verb + 着

着 after a verb shows a lasting state: 门开着 “the door is open”, 他穿着红色的衣服 “he’s wearing red”, 外面下着雨 “it’s raining outside”. To describe a place: place + verb + 着 + thing: 房间里坐着很多人 “there are lots of people sitting in the room”.

门开着。

Mén kāizhe.

The door is open.

房间里坐着很多人。

Fángjiān li zuòzhe hěn duō rén.

Lots of people are sitting in the room.

4. Weather, week, waiting: 晴, 阴, 周, 等

晴 is “sunny”, 阴 “cloudy”: 今天晴, 明天阴; 晴天 “a sunny day”. 周 = 星期: 下周 “next week”, 每周 “every week”. 等 is “to wait”: 等我一下 “wait for me a moment”, 等一会儿.

鸟在天上飞。

Niǎo zài tiānshang fēi.

Birds are flying in the sky.

你等我一下。

Nǐ děng wǒ yíxià.

Wait for me a moment.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

Answer
我是坐飞机来的。 Wǒ shì zuò fēijī lái de. — I came by plane.
Answer
快要下雨了。 Kuài yào xià yǔ le. — It’s about to rain.
Answer
门开着。 Mén kāizhe. — The door is open.
Answer
票是在网上买的。 Piào shì zài wǎngshang mǎi de. — The ticket was bought online.

2. Choose the correct option

“When did you come?”
Answer
你是什么时候来的？
“I’m leaving next week”: 下周我___走了。
Answer
就要
他穿___红色的衣服。
Answer
着
房间里___很多人。
Answer
坐着

3. Build the sentence

I came last week.
Answer
我是上个星期来的。 Wǒ shì shàng ge xīngqī lái de.
It’s about to rain.
Answer
快要下雨了。 Kuài yào xià yǔ le.
It’s raining outside.
Answer
外面下着雨。 Wàimiàn xiàzhe yǔ.
Wait for me a moment.
Answer
你等我一下。 Nǐ děng wǒ yíxià.

4. Dialogue: answer as the tourist

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

A

你是哪国人？

Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

Where are you from?

B

我是俄罗斯人。

Wǒ shì Éluósī rén.

I’m from Russia.

A

你是什么时候来中国的？

Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái Zhōngguó de?

When did you come to China?

B

我是昨天来的。

Wǒ shì zuótiān lái de.

Yesterday.

A

你是来旅游的吗？

Nǐ shì lái lǚyóu de ma?

Are you here as a tourist?

B

是，我下周就要回国了。

Shì, wǒ xià zhōu jiù yào huí guó le.

Yes, I’m going home next week.

5. Translate into Chinese

I came by train.
Answer
我是坐火车来的。Wǒ shì zuò huǒchē lái de.
It’s going to get cold soon.
Answer
天快要冷了。Tiān kuài yào lěng le.
The door is open — come in!
Answer
门开着，请进！Mén kāizhe, qǐng jìn!

💡 Did you know?: The “Golden Week”

From October 1, National Day, China has a week off — 黄金周 huángjīnzhōu, the “Golden Week”. It is the peak travel season: stations, trains and museums are packed, so buy tickets online in advance. The other peak is the Spring Festival.