PMT Advanced #76: Practice Plurals

🌀 Pearls of Mandarin: Translation (Advanced) #76

Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟

This worksheet you’re reading right now is the 🌳 Advanced version, specifically designed for learners around HSK levels 4–5-6.

If you’re looking for something simpler to practice first, check your inbox for the Easy version or click here!

In this week’s CGG #77 lesson, we explored how Chinese handles plurals and quantities. We learned about the 们 system, discovered when context tells us if something is singular or plural, and practiced using measure words for different situations.

Today’s translation exercises will help you practice these structures in real sentences. The more you practice these patterns, the more natural they’ll feel when you’re speaking Mandarin. Each exercise focuses on different aspects of what we covered, helping you build confidence with these important structures.

Let’s get started and make these expressions a solid part of your Mandarin skills!

Recap of CGG #77 lesson

• Context-based plurals: Chinese nouns never change form to indicate plural. Context determines whether a noun is singular or plural, making explicit plural markers unnecessary in many situations.

• Personal pronouns + 们: Most personal pronouns form plurals by adding 们 (men): 我们 (wǒmen) “we,” 你们 (nǐmen) “you all,” 他们 (tāmen) “they,” though 您们 (nínmen) sounds awkward and formal addresses like 各位 (gèwèi) are preferred for groups.

• 咱们 vs 我们: 咱们 (zánmen) is inclusive “we” that specifically includes the listener, while 我们 (wǒmen) is general “we” that may or may not include the listener. 咱们 creates a sense of togetherness and inclusion in conversations.

• Human nouns + 们: People-referring nouns can take 们 (men) to emphasize the group as a collective unit, but this is restricted to animate beings and cannot be used with numbers or other plural markers.

• Number + measure word + noun: Exact plural quantities require a measure word between the number and noun, with 个 (gè) serving as the versatile general measure word and 两 (liǎng) used for “two” in this context.

• Special measure words for specific quantities: Chinese has specialized measure words that inherently indicate plural quantities:

  • 双 (shuāng): “a pair” for identical items like shoes or chopsticks

  • 对 (duì): “a pair” for complementary or matching items like married couples or earrings

  • 群 (qún): “a group,” commonly used with people and animals

  • 批 (pī): “a batch” or organized group, often used for goods

  • 打 (dǎ): “a dozen,” borrowed from English and commonly used with eggs

• 些 for indefinite plurals: 些 (xiē) creates indefinite plural expressions without requiring separate measure words:

  • 一些 (yìxiē): “some” for unspecified quantities

  • 这些/那些 (zhèxiē/nàxiē): “these/those” as plural demonstratives

  • 有些 (yǒuxiē): “some (of the...)” for introducing general statements about partial groups

• 几 for small numbers: 几 (jǐ) expresses small quantities and always requires a measure word:

  • 几 (jǐ): “a few,” typically under 10

  • 好几 (hǎojǐ): “quite a few” for emphasis, suggesting more than just a couple

• Large quantity expressions: Chinese offers several ways to express “many” with subtle differences:

  • 很多 (hěn duō): most common colloquial way to say “many” or “a lot”

  • 不少 (bù shǎo): “quite a lot” with implication of “more than expected”

  • 许多 (xǔduō): formal equivalent of 很多, preferred in written Chinese

🌳 Today’s Advanced Exercises

Translate these English sentences into Mandarin:

1. My grandmother’s collection includes hundreds of vintage photographs documenting three generations of family memories.

2. A group of international students organized a cultural exchange event to share traditions from their home countries.

3. During our summer vacation, we discovered dozens of hidden waterfalls nestled deep within the mountainous regions.

4. The mountaineers carefully planned their expedition route, considering weather patterns, altitude challenges, and emergency evacuation procedures.

Take your time, and remember: practicing will help you sound more natural and confident in your Mandarin conversations. You’ve got this! 💫

🌳 Translation #1

My grandmother’s collection includes hundreds of vintage photographs documenting three generations of family memories.

We’re expressing a large but countable quantity of specific objects. When describing substantial quantities of flat objects like photographs in Mandarin, we use the pattern 几百 + 张 because 几百 (jǐbǎi) indicates “hundreds” (a large but imprecise number), while 张 (zhāng) is the specific measure word for flat items like photos, papers, or tickets.

📚 Structure: [Subject] + [Verb] + 几百 + 张 + [Object]

Let’s break down the translation step by step:

• 我 (wǒ) here means “my.”

• 奶奶 (nǎinai) means “grandmother.”

  • When referring to close family members, the possessive particle 的 (de) is typically omitted between the pronoun and family term.

  • We say 我奶奶 (wǒ nǎinai) rather than 我的奶奶 (wǒ de nǎinai), creating a more intimate, natural sound.

• 的 (de) is the possessive particle connecting 我奶奶 (my grandmother) to 收藏 (collection).

• 收藏 (shōucáng) means “collection.”

• 包括 (bāokuò) means “to include.”

• 几百 (jǐbǎi) means “hundreds” (literally “a few hundred”).

  • 几 (jǐ) means “several” or “a few.”

  • 百 (bǎi) means “hundred.”

  • Together, they indicate a large but imprecise quantity.

• 张 (zhāng) is the measure word for flat objects.

  • This is essential for photographs, which are flat rectangular objects.

• 记录 (jìlù) means “to record” or “to document.”

• 三 (sān) means “three.”

• 代 (dài) means “generation.”

• 家庭 (jiātíng) means “family.”

• 回忆 (huíyì) means “memories.”

• 的 (de) is the attributive particle.

• 老 (lǎo) means “old.”

• 照片 (zhàopiàn) means “photographs.”

Notes

• Don’t use 个 (gè) for photographs, as 张 (zhāng) is the specific measure word for flat objects.

• The word 老照片 (lǎo zhàopiàn) specifically refers to vintage or old photographs, carrying nostalgic connotations.

• 几百 (jǐbǎi) suggests an impressive but not precisely counted quantity.

• The phrase 三代家庭回忆的老照片 (sān dài jiātíng huíyì de lǎo zhàopiàn) demonstrates the A的B的C → AB的Csimplification pattern, where what could theoretically be 三代的家庭的回忆的老照片 is streamlined to avoid excessive 的 particles, keeping only the final one before 老照片 (lǎo zhàopiàn).

Recap

• 我奶奶的收藏包括几百张记录三代家庭回忆的老照片。

• 我 / 奶奶 / 的 / 收藏 / 包括 / 几百 / 张 / 记录 / 三 / 代 / 家庭 / 回忆 / 的 / 老 / 照片 。

• wǒ nǎinai de shōucáng bāokuò jǐbǎi zhāng jìlù sān dài jiātíng huíyì de lǎo zhàopiàn.

• My grandmother’s collection includes hundreds of vintage photographs documenting three generations of family memories.

• my / grandmother / (possessive particle 的) / collection / includes / hundreds / (measure word 张) / record / three / generations / family / memories / (attributive particle 的) / old / photographs.

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🌳 Translation #2

A group of international students organized a cultural exchange event to share traditions from their home countries.