Promotional Information

"It is rare to find a Chinese language textbook that is linguistically accurate, culturally rich, and pedagogically sound... The ample opportunities for reading and writing and the varied and flexible exercises make teaching and learning a truly productive and creative experience." -- Agnes Weiyun He, SUNY, Stony Brook

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: The Basics of Pronunciation and CharactersLesson 1 Chinese NamesVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsTopic-Comment SentenceFixed AdverbsQuestion ParticlesModifier ParticleSentence Patterns and WOrld UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsExpressions Used in ClassLesson 2 Chinese FamiliesVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsNumbersMeasure WordsNoun PhrasesCoverbsSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarComprehensive ExercisesOral ExerciseWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsMoneyLesson 3 China: The North and the SouthVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsPlace Words Type of Place WordsUse of Place WordsSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarOral ExerciseWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsLocationsLesson 4 The Ten SunsVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsThe Functions of leSentence-Final le (Sentence- le)Verb Suffix le (Verb- le)Combination of Verb- le and Sentence- leTime Elapsed Without Doing SomethingSituations When V- le is Not UsedSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciation and CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarComprehensive ExercisesWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsTimeLesson 5 Heaven and EarthVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsThe Use of le in DiscourseAction Verb and Complements of ResultActual TypePotential TypeSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciation and CharactersVocabulary and GrammarComprehensive ExercisesOral ExerciseWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsWeatherLesson 6 The Story of Chinese IdiomsVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsThe ParticleSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsCommonly Used Measure WordsLesson 7 The Great WallVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsDirectional Complements (DC)Actual Type of DCPotential Type of DCSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarComprehensive ExercisesWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsTravelLesson 8 Li Bai Learns a LessonVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsSentence Patterns Using "ba"When and Why a Speaker Uses the "ba" ConstructionSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary and GrammarComprehensive ExercisesWritingReading ComprehensionOral ExerciseWord and Expressions on Specific TopicsCampus LifeLesson 9 Shen Nong and Chinese MedicineVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical PointsSequencing in Chinese Narrative DiscourseSuccession of Events and SituationsSimultaneityOverlapAspect Marker "guo"Sentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciation and CharactersGrammar and VocabularyOral ExercisesWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsAsking for DirectionsLesson 10 Chinese FoodVocabularyTextReading SkillsDialogueGrammatical Points The " shi...de" constructionSentence Patterns and Word UsageExercisesPronunciationChinese CharactersVocabulary PracticeGrammarOral ExercisesWritingReading ComprehensionWords and Expressions on Specific TopicsShoppingAppendix IA Brief History of the Creation of Chinese Characters and the Evolution of the Chinese Writing SystemAppendix IIComprehensive Vocabulary ListEnglish-ChineseChinese-EnglishAppendix IIICharacter Stroke Order

About the Author

Duanduan Li is director of the Chinese Language Program at the University of British Columbia; Irene Liu was the previous director of the Chinese Language Program at Columbia University, and Lening Liu is the present director; Yanping Xie, a speech and language pathologist, was a lecturer of Chinese in the Columbia program; Hailong Wang and Zhirong Wang are lecturers of Chinese in the Columbia program.