Listen to three conversations. The speakers will introduce themselves by saying their names. Match each sentence below to the correct speaker.

Conversation 1

Conversation 2

Conversation 3

Listen to the conversations again. Read the scripts while listening. What are the speakers’ names? Write the names in the boxes.

Conversation 1

Conversation 2

Conversation 3

Listen and repeat the conversations.

Replace the highlighted words in the scripts with the following names to make your conversations.

In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• Personal Pronouns
• The Verb 係 hai6
• Verb Conjugation
• Introduction to Sentence Particles
• The Sentence Particle 呀 aa3 I (Question)
• Applying Rising Intonation to Questions
• The Sentence Particle 呢 ne1 (‘how about’)
• Personal Names
• Vocabulary List

1.

We add 哋 dei6 behind a single personal pronoun to form a plural personal pronoun.

⚠️ This rule is only applied to personal pronouns, but not other nouns.

2.

佢 keoi5 and 佢哋 keoi5 dei6 don’t indicate the gender of the person or people being referred to.

3.

In English, the pronouns it and they can be used to refer to something that does not have life.

In Cantonese, we mostly use 佢 keoi5 and 佢哋 keoi5 dei6 to refer to human being or something animate (i.e. having life or sensations).

4.

In English, personal pronouns for the subject and the object in a sentence are different.

In Cantonese, we use the same sets of personal pronouns for both the subject and the object in a sentence.

The verb 係 hai6 means ‘to be’. We form a sentence with 係 hai6 using the sentence structure below.

A subject complement indicates the identity of the subject or describes the subject. We generally use a noun phrase as the subject complement after 係 hai6. Note that a personal pronoun or a name can be a noun phrase on its own.

In English, verbs conjugate, or change in their form, according to the subject of the sentence.

In Cantonese, verbs don’t conjugate. A verb always has the same form, no matter what subject.

Sentence particles (SPs) are a type of words that we add at the end of a sentence. They can perform different functions in a sentence. Here are some examples:

Forming a Question

Adding Meaning to a Sentence

Changing the Tone of a Sentence

Note that the word tone here refers to the emotion of a sentence, not the pitch of a syllable.

There are a lot more functions that sentence particles can perform. We will discover them as we proceed.

When asking a question, we can optionally add the sentence particle 呀 aa3 at the end of the question.

Note that adding 呀 aa3 is not enough to turn a sentence into a question. To form a question, we need a question word or a question construction. 呀 aa3 only serves as a supplementary means to help signal a question. Look at the examples again. There is a question word in each question.

When asking a question, we can optionally apply rising intonation to the question. To apply rising intonation, we raise the pitch of the last syllable and say the syllable a bit longer.

We can either add the sentence particle 呀 aa3 or apply rising intonation to a question, but we don’t do both at the same time.

The sentence particle 呢 ne1 functions like how about in English. We use 呢 ne1 to ask about a different thing in a conversation by adding 呢 ne1 after the thing we want to ask about.

Hong Kong Cantonese speakers usually have a full name with three syllables. The first syllable is the surname. The second and third syllables are the first name.

Some people have a first name with only one syllable. In that case, the full name consists of only two syllables.

There are a few two-syllable surnames (e.g., 歐陽 au1 joeng4 and 司徒 si1 tou4). Depending on whether the first name contains one or two syllables, the full name may consist of three or four syllables.

After we choose a Cantonese name, the name will be translated into English based on the Cantonese pronunciation. Note that this English translation differs from the Romanized Cantonese we use, as it follows a different set of rules by convention. The English translation is used in items like identity cards and credit cards.

In everyday life, we don’t often use full names to refer to someone, except in school. Here are some common ways to refer to someone.

1.

We take the last syllable of the name and add the prefix for names 阿 aa3 before it.

⚠️ The prefix for names 阿 aa3 and the sentence particle 呀 aa3 are pronounced the same, but they are different words.

2.

It is also common to use English names, especially in workplace. If the English name has only one syllable (e.g., May, Pat), we often add the prefix for names 阿 aa3 before it.

3.

When we refer to a child or want to refer to someone intimately, we can take the last syllable of the name and duplicate it.

⚠️ We rarely refer to ourselves this way.

If the last syllable of the name is the low falling tone (Tone 4), we often change the duplicated syllable to the high rising tone (Tone 2).

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Saying someone’s name
• Identifying someone by name

We can also say our name first and then ask the other person’s name.

Generally, we can use 叫 giu3 and 係 hai6 interchangeably in situations where we need to say or ask someone’s name. However, we usually use 係 hai6 when a person’s identity is important in the situation (e.g., visiting a company with an appointment).

Are the following descriptions true or false? Correct the description if it is false.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Complete the conversations with personal pronouns. Then, listen to the recordings to check your answers. Finally, repeat after the recordings.

Conversation 1

Conversation 2

Translation

Conversation 1

Conversation 2

Unscramble the sentences. Then, listen to the recordings to check your answers. Finally, repeat after the recordings.

Example

叫 giu3 / Jason / 我 ngo5

我叫Jason。
ngo5 giu3 Jason.
My name is Jason.

1.

叫 giu3 / 我 ngo5 / Fiona

2.

阿 aa3 / 係 hai6 / 佢 keoi5 / 琪 kei4

3.

樂 lok6 / 佢 keoi5 / 樂 lok6 / 叫 giu3

4.

Sean / 阿 aa3 / 係 hai6 / 我 ngo5

5.

輝 fai1 / 佢 keoi5 / 係 hai6 / 阿 aa3

6.

彤 tung2 / 叫 giu3 / 佢 keoi5 / 彤 tung4

Follow the example to make the sentences. Then, listen to the recordings to check your answers. Finally, repeat after the recordings.

Example

周家安 zau1 gaa1 on1

佢叫阿安。
keoi5 giu3 aa3 on1.
His name is On.

1.

劉嘉敏 lau4 gaa1 man5

________

2.

陳俊謙 can4 zeon3 him1

________

3.

Jay

________

4.

黃志偉 wong4 zi3 wai5

________

5.

李凱婷 lei5 hoi2 ting4

________

6.

Koey

________