My Chinese teacher keeps repeating this grammar rule of “First Say, First Do” and I keep saying, but I don’t understand what that means. Then she says, “You must learn this. It’s very important in Chinese.” But what the heck does it mean? Today we were doing sentences like "Wo3 Qing3 Ta1 Chi1 Fan4 (I invited/will invite him to dinner) And she keeps saying “First Do, First Say.” It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I can see a do-I invited, but where does the say come in, and how does this help me understand the word order in a Chinese sentence? :?
Can anybody shed some light on what she is trying to tell me?
I have absolutely no clue what your teacher is talking about. I can definitely understand your experience, though. Years ago when I first began to study in Taiwan, my teacher would sometimes try to give brief explanations in English. I usually couldn’t understand what the hell she was saying, but she would at least map things out on a blackboard. She also taught me mostly using Chinese. I learned most basic grammar by just previewing the textbook before class, so there was never too much need for her to waste time explaining things in Engish. It really helps a student’s confidence if the teacher speaks the target language rather than constantly switching into the student’s language. Whatever this rule is that your teacher thinks is so important, it would probably benefit you more if she would just stop speaking English/wasting time on teacher talk, and instead give you more listening and speaking practice in Chinese.
[quote=“alwayslol”]My Chinese teacher keeps repeating this grammar rule of “First Say, First Do” and I keep saying, but I don’t understand what that means. Then she says, “You must learn this. It’s very important in Chinese.” But what the heck does it mean? Today we were doing sentences like (I invited/will invite him to dinner) And she keeps saying “First Do, First Say.” It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I can see a do-I invited, but where does the say come in, and how does this help me understand the word order in a Chinese sentence? :?
“Wo3 Qing3 Ta1 Chi1 Fan4” in Chinese means “I buy he/she a meal”
There is only one action, it can’t be used in “first do, first say”
It’ll more make sense:
“wo3 qing3 ta1 lai2 wo3 jia1 chi1 wan3fan4” (I invite she/he come to my home for dinner)
Have you got or can you borrow some kind of digital recorder? Ask her to explain what she means IN CHINESE, record it and e-mail it to me. I’ll convene a panel of experts and we’ll try to figure out what the heck this person is trying to convey. Or else try to figure out on your own which member of your class is a spy, because it could be some kind of complicated countersign only thinly veiled as a grammatical explanation…?
Hey, guys, not so complicated. It’s just make a sentence with 2 or more actions by time order.not “first SAY, first DO”
“wo3 [color=red]qing3 ta1 [/color][color=green]lai2 wo3 jia1 [/color][color=blue]chi1 wan3fan4[/color]”
or “wo3 [color=red]dai4 hai2zi [/color][color=green]qu4 gong1yuan2 [/color][color=blue]wan2[/color].”
Why would anyone bother to point THAT out? What native English speaker is going to try to come up with “I to my house for dinner invite her” unless threatened with electric stimulation of sensitive body parts?
Not that I’m sayin’ you’re not right about the analysis of what the teacher means, mind you…
[quote=“Lu Ren Jia”]Hey, guys, not so complicated. It’s just make a sentence with 2 or more actions by time order.not “first SAY, first DO”
“wo3 [color=red]qing3 ta1 [/color][color=green]lai2 wo3 jia1 [/color][color=blue]chi1 wan3fan4[/color]”
or “wo3 [color=red]dai4 hai2zi [/color][color=green]qu4 gong1yuan2 [/color][color=blue]wan2[/color].”[/quote]
Are you trying to say that verbs are placed the same order that the action happens ? That is obvious (unless you’re German). Why can’t they just say that instead of “First do, first say” which is gibberish ?
I shall. But I ought to be patriotic & empathetic sometimes and transform Taiwanese nonsense into something meaningful. Besides, maybe there is something beyond me.
so…? i am Taiwanese too
This first say first do or first so first say thing is weird
what’s wrong with Wo3 Qing3 Ta1 Chi1 Fan4
to me that is fine, you have to understand Chinese in context…unless u’re really off… I see no problem of using “Wo3 Qing3 Ta1 Chi1 Fan4” in a daily conversation…
A:
Can we just forget about “first do, first say” or “first say, first do”?
Actually there are many similarities between English and Chinese.
Okay, say (separate each word of sentence):
I invite her to dinner=sub. + verb. + obj. + verb. + noun.
Wo3 Qing3 Ta1 Chi1 Fan4=sub. + verb.+ obj. + verb. + noun.
Chi1 Fan4 can be a prhase, as well as separated: Chi1 a verb, Fan4 a noun. It’s all depands on the preceding.
Hope that helps
