Use the examples with their context and limits. Recall a sentence before reading the model. Original teaching additions accompany examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA); see the course reference provenance.
Arrange a time to meet
Ask the day and time, then agree when to meet.
Build the meaning
Numbers combine: 十一 is 11, 二十 is 20, and 二十三 is 23. For clock time, 三点 is 3 o’clock and 三点半 is 3:30.
星期几 asks the weekday; 几点 asks the clock time. A simple time phrase can come before the verb: 我明天三点去学校。
Useful words in context
- 明天 míngtiān — tomorrow. 我明天去学校。
- 星期三 xīngqīsān — Wednesday. 明天是星期三。
- 几点 jǐ diǎn — what time. 你几点去？
- 半 bàn — half. 三点半。
- 学校 xuéxiào — school. 我去学校。
Read for meaning
明天是星期三。王力三点去学校。林安三点半去学校。
Tomorrow is Wednesday. Wang Li goes to school at three. Lin An goes at half past three.
Listen to a different passage
Ask a partner to read this with the script closed. Use the online practice for browser playback.
明天星期三，我们下午四点在学校见。
Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will meet at school at four in the afternoon.
Speak and write
Ask a partner the day and time of a fictional meeting. They suggest Wednesday at four; confirm it.
Write a two-line meeting note: the weekday and time, then the place. Change at least one detail from the reading.
One speaking model: A: 星期几？几点？ B: 星期三下午四点。 A: 好，下午四点见。
One writing model: 星期四下午三点半。我们在学校见。
- The weekday and clock time are identifiable.
- The place is stated.
- The time differs from the reading.
Check the distinction: 星期三 is a weekday; 三点 is a clock time. Do not answer one question with the other.