Prepositional phrases

Original teaching practice. Read one pattern, cover its model and try the questions before checking the separate answer section. Examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA) retain the course-reference provenance.

that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià (and above / and below)

One more visitor, or two?

• A fictional room notice says thirty三十sān shíperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià，to comprise包括bāo kuòthirty三十sān shíperson人rén。 – thirty people or fewer, including thirty. There are twenty-nine people inside.
• One more person reaches the limit. Two more make thirty-one: beyond this notice’s allowed range.

Put the unit before the range word

• Use number + unit + that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià: 十八岁shí bā suìthat level or higher以上yǐ shàng – eighteen years old and above; thirty三十sān shíperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià – thirty people and below.
• In the age example, talent才能cái néng makes the age a required condition. It does not tell us whether every other entry condition is satisfied.

eighteen十八shí bāyears岁suìand above以上yǐ shàngonly then才cáican能néngwatch看kàn。

Separate an included limit from a strict one

• Our notice explicitly includes thirty. not to arrive不到bú dàothirty三十sān shíperson人rén – fewer than thirty people – excludes thirty; to surpass超过chāo guòthirty三十sān shíperson人rén – more than thirty – also excludes thirty.
• For whole people, the largest count below thirty is twenty-nine. Read a notice’s explicit definition before deciding whether its endpoint is included.

Keep the number and unit together

• 十八岁shí bā suìthat level or higher以上yǐ shàng，to comprise包括bāo kuò十八岁shí bā suì includes age eighteen in this fictional clip rule. It does not mean eighteen people, or under eighteen.
• 三十元sān shí yuánthat level or lower以下yǐ xià，to comprise包括bāo kuò三十元sān shí yuán sets a money limit. The same number with person人rén sets a headcount limit: units change what is counted.

Recalculate when the notice changes

• A new notice says 二十五èr shí wǔperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià，to comprise包括bāo kuò二十五èr shí wǔperson人rén. With twenty-four people inside, one more fits; two more do not.
• The old thirty-person answer cannot be reused. Identify the new limit, whether it is included, and the current count.

Make a decision from the full notice

• For the original inclusive thirty-person notice, compare the final count with thirty: twenty-nine plus one is allowed; twenty-nine plus two is not.
• that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià give a range. They do not establish whether a room is open, a ticket is available, or another condition is met.

Practise this pattern step by step.

Practice without the models

Choose a pattern, cover its teaching examples, and attempt its questions. Use the labels to find feedback in the separate key.

that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià (and above / and below)

0701.1 Using the lesson pattern in this demonstrated example: 18 and over may watch: 十八岁shí bā suì ………… talent才能cái néngto see看kàn。

0701.2 A notice explicitly says thirty三十sān shíperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià，to comprise包括bāo kuòthirty三十sān shíperson人rén. Which range is allowed?

• A. More than thirty people
• B. Thirty people or fewer

0701.3 {'en': 'that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià attach after the number or level.', 'zh': 'that level or higher以上yǐ shàng / that level or lower以下yǐ xià to receive接jiēat / in在zàiamount数目shù mùmaybe或huò(military) rank级别jí biéafter之后zhī hòu。'}

True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

0701.4 A sign gives a capacity limit of thirty, including thirty. What does thirty三十sān shíperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià，to comprise包括bāo kuòthirty三十sān shíperson人rén。 communicate?

• A. The explicitly stated allowed range includes thirty and smaller numbers.
• B. not to arrive不到bú dàothirty三十sān shíperson人rén includes exactly thirty people.

0701.5 The original notice includes thirty people. With twenty-nine inside, two more people stay within the limit.

True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

0701.6 The notice includes a maximum of thirty people. Twenty-nine are inside. What is the largest number of additional people allowed?

0701.7 A different sign says not to arrive不到bú dàothirty三十sān shíperson人rén. What is the largest whole-person count below thirty?

• A. Twenty-nine
• B. Thirty
• C. Thirty-one

0701.8 A new notice includes a maximum of twenty-five people. Twenty-four are inside. Can two more enter under this limit?

• A. No: the final count would be twenty-six
• B. Yes: use the old thirty-person limit

0701.9 Recall the situation: One more visitor, or two?. Decide what the speaker wanted to communicate. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.

Write or say your own response before reading the key.

A fresh situation

R1. Interpret and repair. A room notice permits thirty三十sān shíperson人rénthat level or lower以下yǐ xià and explicitly includes thirty. Twenty-nine people are inside. Someone admits two more. Repair the count.

R2. Use it yourself. Write an age notice explicitly including eighteen and over, then test ages seventeen and eighteen.

Write your responses before opening the key. Compare meaning as well as form; a different valid answer need not copy the model.