LESSON XI
The Passive Voice, and Adverbs of Place and Time
Peh (撥) (Mandarin 被) is used to form the Passive, and is the regular and proper form of the Passive. Thus: the verb °tang (打) means to “Strike.” °Ngoo °tang yi (我打伊) means “I strike him.” To put this into the Passive we would say °ngoo peh yi °tang (我撥伊打). Literally “I gave him strike,” or “I was struck by him.”
“Here” is expressed by leh-°li or °tsh-di° (垃裏, 此地) or di°-deu (第頭). °Tsh-di° means literally “this place.”
“There” is leh-la° (垃拉) or i-deu (伊頭) or i-kwhe° (伊塊). “I am here” is °ngoo leh-li° (我垃裏). “I am there” is °ngoo leh-la° (我垃拉).
These adverbs are often used as adverbial nouns and may take prepositions before them. Thus Tau° °di-deu le (到第頭來) means “Come here.” Lit. “To here come.” Tau° i-deu chi° (到伊頭去) means “Go there.” Lit. “To there go.” °Pa la° °tsh-di° (擺拉此地) means “Place it here,” Lit. “Place it at here.” °Pa la° i-kwhe° (擺拉伊塊) means “Place it there.” Lit. “Place it at there.”
VOCABULARY
- Half an hour, pen° °tien-tsoong 半點鐘, (pen° means half).
- Quarter of an hour, ih khuh 一刻.
- A minute, ih fung 一分.
- In the morning, °zaung-pen°-nyih 上半日. Lit. Above half day.
- In the afternoon, °‘au-pen°-nyih 下半日. Lit. Lower half day.
- Night, ya° 夜.
- At night, ya°-deu 夜頭 or ya°-°li 夜裏.
- Day before yesterday, koo°-nyih-°ts 過日子, zien-nyih-°ts 前日子, i-nyih-°ts 伊日子.
- Day after to-morrow, °‘eu nyih 後日.
- Early in the morning, °tsau-zung-deu 早晨頭. °Tsau is early.
- In the evening, ya°-kwha° 夜快. Lit. Night coming fast.
- In the middle of the day or noon, nyih-tsoong 日中.
- To cook, sau 燒.
- To strike, °tang 打.
- To wait, °tung 等. °Tung-ih-°tung means “Wait a little.”
- To rest, hyih 歇. Hyih-ih-hyih means “Wait a little.” We also have °tung-ih-hyih.
- To remember, kyi° 記 or kyi°-tuh 記得.
- To forget, maung°-kyi° 忘記.
- An affair (abstract), ih °jien z°-°thi or ih tsaung z°-thi 一樁事體.
- A thing or object (concrete), ih-kuh meh-z° 一個物事.
- Wind, foong 風.
- A loaf of bread, ih-kuh men-deu 一個饅頭.
- A mosquito, ih tsak mung-°ts 一個蚊子 or ih kuh mung-°ts.
- A boat, ih tsak zen 一隻船.
- Many, much, too-hau° 多化, or too 多.
- To sting, ting 叮.
- To bite, °ngau 咬.
- To spoil, wa° 壞, or wa°-theh 壞脫 (completely spoil).
- A snake, ih diau zo 一條蛇.
EXERCISES
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