PMT Easy #76: Practice Plurals

🌀 Pearls of Mandarin: Translation (Easy) #76

Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟

This worksheet you’re reading right now is the 🌱 Easy version, specifically designed for learners around HSK levels 2–3-4.

If you’re looking for more of a challenge, check your inbox for the Advanced version or click here!

In this week’s CGG #77 lesson, we explored how Chinese handles plurals in a completely different way from English. We discovered that Chinese nouns usually don’t change form to indicate plural, relying instead on context, and we learned about the various tools for expressing plurality: from 们 (men) with people and pronouns, to special measure words like 双 (shuāng) and 对 (duì), to indefinite plural expressions with 些 (xiē).

Today’s translation exercises will help you master these plural concepts in real-world contexts. The more you practice these structures, the more naturally you’ll recognize when context alone is enough versus when you need explicit plural markers.

These exercises are designed to build your confidence in navigating Chinese plurals, helping you sound more natural and accurate in your everyday conversations.

Let’s dive in and make these plural patterns feel completely natural in your Chinese!

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 Easy Exercises

Translate these English sentences into Mandarin:

1. We should eat dinner together tonight.

2. Cats are very cute animals.

3. Some people think coffee tastes better than tea.

4. A dozen roses costs quite a lot of money.

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

🌱 Translation #1

We should eat dinner together tonight.

Here, we’re making a suggestion that includes both the speaker and the listener. When expressing “we” in Mandarin where you want to explicitly include the person you’re speaking to, 咱们 (zánmen) is the perfect choice because it creates an inclusive sense of togetherness. Unlike 我们, which can be ambiguous about whether the listener is included, 咱们 specifically signals “you and I together,” making it ideal for suggestions and invitations where you want to emphasize shared participation.

📚 Structure: 咱们 + [Verb Phrase] + 吧

Let’s break down the translation step by step:

• 咱们 (zánmen) means “we” (inclusive).

  • This specifically includes both the speaker and the listener.

• 今晚 (jīnwǎn) means “tonight.”

• 一起 (yīqǐ) means “together.”

  • 📖 Learn more about expressing “together” in CGG #64.

• 吃 (chī) means “to eat.”

• 晚饭 (wǎnfàn) means “dinner.”

• 吧 (ba) is a suggestion particle that softens the tone.

Notes

• Don’t use 我们 (wǒmen) here, as 咱们 (zánmen) is much more appropriate for inclusive suggestions.

• The 吧 (ba) particle is essential for making suggestions sound natural and friendly rather than demanding.

Recap

• 咱们今晚一起吃晚饭吧。

• 咱们 / 今晚 / 一起 / 吃 / 晚饭 / 吧 。

• zánmen jīnwǎn yīqǐ chī wǎnfàn ba.

• We should eat dinner together tonight.

• we (inclusive) / tonight / together / eat / dinner / (suggestion particle).

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🌱 Translation #2

Cats are very cute animals.