Elementary Season 2

Season 2 of the Elementary series continues where Season 1 left off. You will learn essential Chinese grammar for a variety of social situations like going on dates, parties, shopping and more!

Upper Intermediate

Curriculum

Elementary Season 2

Season 2 of the Elementary series continues where Season 1 left off. You will learn essential Chinese grammar for a variety of social situations like going on dates, parties, shopping and more! Our hosts will also teach you life saving cultural tips that will help you on your next trip to China!

Lesson	Title	Topic	Function	Conversation in target language	Cultural Insight	Vocabulary	Expressions	Grammar
1	Clothes Make the Man	Shopping in China	everything is sold out	A 你买什么了？ B 什么也没买。 A 啊？为什么？你不是想买衣服吗？ B 毛衣、牛仔裤、大衣，什么都卖完了。	Buying Clothes in China	衣服、毛衣、衬衫、裤子、牛仔裤、大衣、夹克、袜子、什么、卖完	毛衣、牛仔裤、大衣，什么都卖完了。 "Sweaters, jeans, coats... everything was sold out."	"Everything", "Anything": 什么
2	Hunting for Bargains in China	Shopping in China	everything is on sale	老公，给你买的靴子，打5折！真便宜，恩？怎么这么紧哦，他们只有42的什么？！你知道我穿44的！打5折呢，这么便宜，谁不想买。	Quality of Goods in China	打折, 靴子, 运动鞋, 紧, 鞋带	谁不想买？ "Who wouldn't buy them?"	the proper use of 谁 as a question word meaning "who"
3	The Chinese Ice Age	Staying warm in China	it's very cold	你家真冷啊…… 哦，暖气坏了，两个都不热。能开空调吗？空调夏天就坏了。这样啊，我下次再来吧……	Staying Warm in China	夏天, 就, 冬天, 都, 空调, 暖气, 冷, 热, 暖和	暖气坏了，两个都不热。 "The heaters are broken. Neither is hot."	the adverb 都 literally translates as "both" or "all"
4	You're Lying to Me!	argument	breaking up	你怎么了？跟女朋友吵架了？别提了，吹了。啊？她又发脾气了？她连话都没说就走了，我受够了！	Romance in China	跟，吵架，别提了，吹，发脾气，连⋯⋯都，受够了，生气，分手	她连话都没说就走了。 "She ran away without saying anything."	"even... all...": 连 + (Subject) + 都/也 + (Predicate) (Subject) + 连 + (Object) + 都/也 + (Verb) (Subject) + 连 + (Predicate) + 都/也 (Verb)
5	Love at First Sight	falling in love	dating	那天，我一看见她就爱上了。哦，一见钟情。没错，然后我们开始约会。那现在你还想她吗？想她？现在我一想她就烦。	Dating in China	一⋯⋯就，爱上，一见钟情，然后，约会，烦，想，结婚，同居	现在我一想她就烦。 "When I think of her, I get annoyed"	"As soon as...then...": 一...就...
6	Rules of the Road	be very careful	being careful	爸爸，我准备好了！记住，开车要很小心！知道了。马路相当危险！知道了。安全带非常重要！知道了。还有...... 还有，车钥匙也非常重要。爸，给我钥匙。	Chinese Olympic Traffic Jams	记住, 小心, 相当, 非常, 重要, 准备好, 安全带, 钥匙。	安全带非常重要！ "Wearing your seat belt is incredibly important."	adverb is always placed before the verb or adjective. Adverbs are used to express degree. (Very, extremely)
7	Who Will Get the House?	it certainly will be me	it's for sure	A 爷爷死了... B 哦...那谁会分到他的房子？ C 肯定是我！ B 为什么？ C 我非常听话。 B 肯定不是你，肯定是我！ C 为什么？ B 我常给他做饭。 A 你们都不是，是我！ C 为什么？ A 因为我是他的律师，遗嘱是我写的。	Funerals in the Village	分到,肯定,听话, 做饭，律师，遗产，遗嘱，法律	肯定不是你，肯定是我！ "Certainly not you. It certainly will be me."	to compare two sentences in which the outcome or result is unsure
8	Dilemma of the Chinese Socialites	Nightlife in China	going out	咱们去酒吧吧！不，去夜店吧。为什么？夜店比酒吧热闹。酒吧比夜店便宜。夜店的音乐比酒吧好。算了，不出去了。	The Chinese Nightlife	比，酒吧，夜店，热闹，鸡尾酒，门票，威士忌，跳舞，出去。	夜店比酒吧热闹。 "The club is livelier than the bar."	Using "比" to indicate the difference in degree or property of two persons, or two things. (subject) + 比 + (noun) + (adjective)
9	The Picky Chinese Eater	Tasting Chinese food	commenting on food	亲爱的，我做的菜好吃吗？汤最好淡点儿。淡点儿？猪肉最好咸点儿。咸点儿？还有... 还有什么？！青菜最好嫩点儿。以后你自己做饭。	Bite-Sized Chinese	亲爱的，淡，汤，猪肉，青菜，嫩，咸，甜	汤最好淡点儿。 "The soup could use a little less salt."	一点儿 (yīdiǎnr) means "a bit" and we can use it individually as a set phrase or combined at the end of an adjective and a verb. We commonly use it as a suggestion.
10	The Jealous Girlfriend in China	comparison	Being the prettier one	你又看别的女人？！宝贝，别生气，你没有她难看。你说什么？她没有你难看。什么？我说，她比你好看。啊？？你最好看，你最好看！！	Chinese Beauty	好看，难看，有，没有，比，比较，最，宝贝	她没有你难看。 "She's not as ugly as you."	comparison: (subject) + 没有 + (noun phrase) + (adjective)
11	The Latest Chinese Diet	being skinny	going on a diet	你越来越瘦了，多吃点儿我节食呢你注意身体没事，我天天锻炼哎，别喝减肥茶了没事你已经很瘦了你不懂，现在越瘦越好	Heavy Versus Healthy	节食, 越来越, 减肥药, 减肥茶, 健康, 注意, 身体, 天天, 锻炼	现在越瘦越好。 "Right now, the skinnier I am the better."	"the more... the more...": 越 + (adjective / verb phrase) + 越 + (adjective / verb phrase)
12	The Chinese Math Professor	basic math	calculation	二加二得几？五那是二加三六那是二乘以三一拜托，那是二除以二你到底想问什么？会不会数学！	Major Math in China	加，减, 得，等于，乘以，拜托，除以，到底，会不会，数学	二加二得几？ "Two plus two is how many?"	basic math + - * /
13	The Persistent Salesman in China	selling	promoting your product	朋友，看看这个。谢谢，我没兴趣。又好看又好玩。不要。又好又便宜，十块钱。这个东西根本没用。你不买怎么知道？我不要！走开！	Overpriced Goods	看看，试试，尝尝，兴趣，感兴趣，好玩, 根本，没用，走开	看看这个。 "Take a look at this one."	duplicate a simple word to: 1)make the action short and have the meaning "suggesting somebody to try sth" 2)soften the intonation, which is often used when making suggestions
14	The Rising Price of Chinese Oil	cut down on oil	in addition	油又涨价了。那做饭少放点儿。嗯？不但省钱，而且健康。不是吃的油，是汽油！哦，那别开车了，走路吧。什么？不但省钱，而且健康。	China's Gas Companies	油，涨价，降价，放，不但……而且，省钱，健康，汽油，开车，走路	不但省钱，而且健康。 "Not only do you save money, but it is healthy."	"Not only... but also...": 不但+word1/clause1 而且+word2/clause2 note: clause2 (the one after 而且) means sth even more than clause1
15	DIY in China	DIY	repairman in need	你好，物业。我的马桶坏了。什么问题？冲水的时候，总是没水。是吗？不冲水的时候，总是漏水。是吗？什么时候能修？对不起，我们不修厕所。你自己想办法吧。	Chinese Handy Men	物业，马桶，冲水，时候，总是，漏水，能，修，自己，办法	什么时候能修？ "When will you be able to fix it?"	"When" 什么时候 1) at ... moment 2) using as a question
16	A Trip to the Chinese Doctor	feeling ill	going to the doctor	医生，我难受。哪儿难受？肚子。这儿疼吗？嗯，不疼。那这儿呢？还有这儿？嗯...也不疼。到底哪儿疼？我……我哪儿都疼。给你一张假条。看完球赛就好了。	Saving for Health	医生，医院，药，生病，难受，哪儿，到底，检查，假条，球赛	我哪儿都疼。 "I hurt everywhere."	"where", "everywhere", "anywhere": 哪儿
17	The Worst Chinese Movie	the extremes	extremely bad	哎，今天的电影怎么样啊？别提了，烂透了。说说，怎么回事儿？时间太长，故事也没意思。比如？比如，女主角丑极了，男主角老死了。真的吗？是啊，总之，感觉糟透了。	Chinese Blockbuster Films	烂，透，怎么回事儿，故事，比如，主角，丑，极，总之，糟	别提了，烂透了。 "I don't want to talk about it. It was horrible."	three different words to express extremes: 透 (tòu), 极 (jí), and 死 (sǐ)
18	The Chinese Knock-Off Phone	what did you pick up?	describing your phone	司机师傅，您有没有捡到一个手机？对，捡到一个。那是我的！你的手机什么牌子？苹果的。什么样儿？黑色，最新款。看来这个不是你的。我捡的是山寨苹果。	Knock-Offs in China	司机，捡，手机，牌子，样儿，新款，看来，山寨	我捡的是山寨苹果。 "The one I picked up is an Apple knock-off."	"的"structure when the subject／object is obvious, we can omit it. verb + 的 adjective + 的
19	Getting Lost in the Chinese Kitchen	how to cook	cooking Chinese food	喂？喂，妈妈，我在做饭呢，鸡蛋怎么炒？先把油烧热。烧热了。再把鸡蛋放进去。放进去了。放盐，炒一炒，熟了就关火。哎呀，糊了！	Kitchen in China	鸡蛋，炒，把，烧，熟，开，关火，糊	再把雞蛋放進去。 "Again, place the eggs inside."	grammar pattern of 把：doer of action+把+direct receiver of action+verb
20	All Work, and No Play makes China a Dull Place	Things to do	planning for your weekend	明天你有什么计划？我先打扫卫生，再洗衣服，然后去运动。我们晚上一起去酒吧吧。不行，我没时间。明天不是星期六吗？我晚上还要去逛街，再遛狗，然后上床睡觉。	running errands in China	计划，先，打扫，卫生，洗衣服，运动，逛街，遛狗	我先打扫卫生，然后去运动。 "First, I have to clean up, then afterwards I'm going to go workout"	再 Zài is an adverb used to indicate that an event is taking place after something and not before that.
21	The Ideal Candidate	Who do you hate?	having a bad memory	你最讨厌什么人？我……对不起，你说什么来着？你最讨厌什么人？我最讨厌三种人。哪三种人？第一种是记性不好的人。第二种呢？第二种是脾气不好的人。最后一种？最后一种是记性不好的人。	The Inner Circle of Chinese Friends	讨厌，来着，种，记性，脾气，最后，性格(add)	你说什么来着？ "What did you say just now?"	来着（just now ) indicates something happened short time ago, and the action has been finished.
22	Hunting for Jobs in China	job hunting	makng mistakes	你找到工作了吗？没有，我还在找。情况怎么样？不太好，我没接到一个面试电话。那继续投简历呀！我每天都投十几份。来，我看看你的简历。给你。笨蛋，你把手机号写错了！	China's Job Market	找，情况，接到，继续，投，简历，面试，招聘，应聘，笨蛋	你把自己的手机号码写错了！ "You wrote down the wrong phone number!"	A complement is a word or phrase that we attach to the end of a verb or adjective to complete the meaning. This grammar point focuses on one type of complement, the resultative verb complement. A resultative verb complement directly follows the verb predicate. eg. 写<错>
23	The New Chinese Apartment	moving into new apartment	making suggestions	我今天签租房合同了！还交了押金。是吗？你什么时候搬家？房东说这个星期就可以，但是…… 但是什么？现在还没有电，也没有水。家具呢？只有一个睡袋。那你还是等等吧。	Chinese Apartment Hunting	签，租房，合同，押金，房租，搬家，房东，家具，睡袋	那你还是等等吧。 "Then how about you wait for a bit longer."	"After comparison" (还是) indicates a more satisfactory solution. It is generally used as a suggestion.
24	The Hight Speed Train in China	riding a train	describing with the intensity on adjective	我买了两张明天的火车票。火车！那多慢啊！不慢，这是动车组。只需要三个小时。车票多少钱？ 800块钱一张。这和飞机票差不多呀！对，但是在车上他们会送我们一瓶水。	China's Railway System	多，动车组，差不多，站台，候车室，餐车，车厢，出站，进站	火车！那多慢啊！ "The train! That that will take forever."	多 (Adverb of Degree) ＋ (Adjective)
25	Don't Forget to Pay your Chinese Bills	last time	frequency of action	哎呀，停电了！你没买电吗？这次应该你买吧？上次不是我买的吗？是我买的。电卡还在我这儿呢！哦，那我现在去银行买吧。还有水费，煤气费，这次也应该你交。(changed)	Lights Out!	哎呀，停电，交，应该，上次，下次，电卡，银行，水费，煤气费	上次不是我買的嗎？ "Didn't I pay last time?"	次 is a verbal measure word indicating the frequency of an action.