In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• Introduction to Prepositions
• The Preposition 喺 hai2 / 响 hoeng2 I (‘in, on, at’)
• The Question Word 邊度 bin1 dou6 (‘where’)
• The Question Word 邊 bin1 (‘which’)
• Placement of Question Words in Wh-Questions
• Vocabulary List
• Vocabulary: Common Places in Hong Kong
• Vocabulary: Public Universities in Hong Kong

We use prepositions to add different types of information in a sentence.

We put a noun after a preposition to form a prepositional phrase. In grammar, we call the noun after a preposition the object of the preposition.

We put a prepositional phrase before the verb we want to modify.

Since prepositions share some similarities with verbs in Cantonese, they are also called coverbs. We will use the term prepositions in this book.

The preposition 喺 hai2 (also pronounced as 响 hoeng2) means ‘in, on, at’. We use 喺 hai2 to indicate where an activity takes place. We put a location after 喺 hai2 to form a prepositional phrase.

We put the prepositional phrase before the verb we want to modify.

⚠️ The preposition 喺 hai2 (‘in, on, at’) and the verb 係 hai6 (‘to be’) are different in their tone. We say 喺 hai2 with the high rising tone and 係 hai6 with the low level tone.

Use the preposition 喺 hai2 to add the location of the activity to each sentence. Then, check your answers and repeat after the recordings.

Example

我返工。
ngo5 faan1 gung1.

📍   中環  zung1 waan4  Central [a business district in Hong Kong]

1.

佢哋踢緊波。
keoi5 dei6 tek3 gan2 bo1.

📍   學校  hok6 haau6  school

2.

我老公行緊街。
ngo5 lou5 gung1 haang4 gan2 gaai1.

📍   旺角  wong6 gok3  Mong Kok [a district in Hong Kong]

3.

我哋打緊機。
ngo5 dei6 daa2 gan2 gei1.

📍   屋企  uk1 kei2  home

4.

佢睇緊書。
keoi5 tai2 gan2 syu1.

📍   圖書館  tou4 syu1 gun2  library

5.

我女朋友打緊波。
ngo5 neoi5 pang4 jau5 daa2 gan2 bo1.

📍   公園  gung1 jyun2  park

The question word 邊度 bin1 dou6 is similar to where in English. We can use 邊度 bin1 dou6 to form a question that elicits a location as the answer.

When 邊度 bin1 dou6 appears after a verb (as the object), we can optionally contract 邊度 bin1 dou6 to 邊 bin1.

The question word 邊 bin1 is similar to which in English. We use 邊 bin1 when we want to elicit an answer from a set of choices, or specify the type of thing we want to ask about.

When using 邊 bin1, we need to add a classifier and a noun after 邊 bin1. The noun specifies the type of thing expected to be the answer. The classifier is determined based on the noun.

We can optionally omit the noun if it is obvious in the context.

We can optionally add the number 一 jat1 before the classifier if we expect the answer to be only one item.

Follow the example to add the question word 邊 bin1 and the classifier before each noun. Then, check your answers and repeat after the recordings.

Example

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

In a wh-question, the position of the question word is determined by its grammatical role.

When we are not sure where we should put the question word, we can always think of the answer to the question.

For nouns, the suitable classifiers are put in square brackets after the nouns.

Hong Kong can be divided into three areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The New Territories also includes the Outlying Islands. The places below are listed in alphabetical order by their English names.

There are eight public universities in Hong Kong. They are listed in alphabetical order by their English full names below.

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Talking About the Location of Companies or Schools
• Talking About Company or School Names