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A useful situation

• Your goal: Distinguish people, quantities, places, and times in short messages.
• Before you start, recall people names, small numbers, at / in在zài locations, to have / there is有yǒu existence and clock times. Match quantities to their nouns; do not assume that nearby facts belong to the same person or object.

Words you will use

• table桌子zhuōzi zhuōzi — table. table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàngto have / there is有yǒubook书shū。
• on / above上shàng shàng — on / above. table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàng。
• cup杯子bēizi bēizi — cup. 两个liǎng gècup杯子bēizi。
• book书shū shū — book. three三sānmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū。
• measure word for books本běn běn — measure word for books. two两liǎngmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū。

Build the meaning

• Read or listen first for the type of information: who, how many, where, or when. Spotting a familiar word is not enough; check that it answers the question.
• table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàngto have / there is有yǒu两个liǎng gècup杯子bēizi locates two cups on a table. on / above上shàng follows the place noun; to have / there is有yǒu introduces what exists there.

Work through a decision: Read table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàngto have / there is有yǒu两个liǎng gècup杯子bēiziand / with和héthree三sānmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū。Wang Li (1900-1986), one of…王力wáng lìafternoon下午xià wǔ四点sì diǎnto go去qùschool学校xué xiào — two cups and three books are on the table; Wang Li goes to school at four in the afternoon. Asked to have / there is有yǒuhow many / a few几jǐmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū, choose three三sānmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū, the three books. 两个liǎng gè belongs to cups; 四点sì diǎn is a clock time. The same message can contain several numbers serving different roles.

Compare a plausible mistake: 林安lín ān(modifier / structural particle)的debook书shūat / in在zàischool学校xué xiào locates Lin An’s book at school; 林安在lín ān zàischool学校xué xiào locates Lin An herself. Where the book is tells you nothing about where its owner is. Likewise, table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàngto have / there is有yǒubook书shū identifies a setting for books but need not name their owner.

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

table桌子zhuōzion / above上shàngto have / there is有yǒu两个liǎng gècup杯子bēiziand / with和héthree三sānmeasure word for books本běnbook书shū。林安lín ān(modifier / structural particle)的debook书shūat / in在zàischool学校xué xiào。Wang Li (1900-1986), one of…王力wáng lìafternoon下午xià wǔ三点sān diǎnto go去qùschool学校xué xiào。

• 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

• Describe a fictional table with two cups and one book. Ask a partner how many cups they heard.
• Record yourself or practise with a partner. Try it without the model first, then compare the meaning and word order.

• Write a new table description with different quantities. Ask one detail question about it.
• Tomorrow, write a different short message from memory, then ask who, how many, where and when. Mark any question the message cannot answer. A few days later, switch one positive location to an absence statement and explain how that changes the answer.

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