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A useful situation

• Your goal: Ask the day and time, then agree when to meet.
• Before you start, recall numbers one to ten, week星期xīng qī for weekdays and point点diǎn for clock time. Use the glosses for half hours and afternoon; no calendar calculation is needed.

Words you will use

• tomorrow明天míngtiān míngtiān — tomorrow. I / me我wǒtomorrow明天míngtiānto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào。
• Wednesday星期三xīngqīsān xīngqīsān — Wednesday. tomorrow明天míngtiānto be / is是shìWednesday星期三xīngqīsān。
• what time几点jǐ diǎn jǐ diǎn — what time. you你nǐwhat time几点jǐ diǎnto go去qù？
• half半bàn bàn — half. 三点sān diǎnhalf半bàn。
• school学校xuéxiào xuéxiào — school. I / me我wǒto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào。

Build the meaning

• Numbers combine: eleven十一shí yī is 11, twenty二十èr shí is 20, and 二十三èr shí sān is 23. For clock time, 三点sān diǎn is 3 o’clock and 三点sān diǎnhalf半bàn is 3:30.
• week星期xīng qīhow many / a few几jǐ asks the weekday; what time几点jǐ diǎn asks the clock time. A simple time phrase can come before the verb: I / me我wǒtomorrow明天míngtiān三点sān diǎnto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào。

Work through a decision: For we / us我们wǒ menFriday星期五xīng qī wǔafternoon下午xià wǔ三点sān diǎnhalf半bànat / in在zàischool学校xuéxiàoto appear见jiàn — we meet at school on Friday at half past three in the afternoon — first separate weekday (Friday星期五xīng qī wǔ), part of day (afternoon下午xià wǔ), clock time (三点sān diǎnhalf半bàn) and place (school学校xuéxiào). Asked what time几点jǐ diǎnto appear见jiàn, answer afternoon下午xià wǔ三点sān diǎnhalf半bàn, retaining the afternoon information. half半bàn adds half an hour; it is not a weekday.

Compare a plausible mistake: Wednesday星期三xīngqīsān means Wednesday, while 三点sān diǎn means three o’clock. I / me我wǒafternoon下午xià wǔ三点sān diǎnto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào says I go to school at three in the afternoon; without afternoon下午xià wǔ, the phrase 三点sān diǎn does not itself choose morning or afternoon. Keep a detail unknown when the message leaves it unstated.

Listen for a fresh detail

• Listen before revealing the script.
• Replay as often as you need. If the audio will not play, read the script instead.

Read a different account

tomorrow明天míngtiānto be / is是shìWednesday星期三xīngqīsān。Wang Li (1900-1986), one of…王力wáng lì三点sān diǎnto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào。林安lín ān三点sān diǎnhalf半bànto go去qùschool学校xuéxiào。

• The reading and listening have different details. Use the material for the question you are answering.
• Read once for the situation, then again for the relevant detail. Reveal help when needed.

Speak, write, and review

• Ask a partner the day and time of a fictional meeting. They suggest Wednesday at four; confirm it.
• Record yourself or practise with a partner. Try it without the model first, then compare the meaning and word order.

• Write a two-line meeting note: the weekday and time, then the place. Change at least one detail from the reading.
• Tomorrow, invent an invitation without looking at the examples and ask separate weekday/time questions. A few days later, change a whole-hour time to a half hour and explain the difference. Return to the phrase you confused, not just the shared number.

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