In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• Demonstrative Expressions for Locations II
• Location Expressions II
• The Preposition 向 hoeng3 (‘toward’)
• The Modal Verb 應該 jing1 goi1 (‘should’)
• The Verb 即係 zik1 hai6 (‘to be equal to, to mean’)
• The Conjunction 即係 zik1 hai6 (‘that means’)
• The Noun 嘢 je5 (‘thing’) III
• Vocabulary List
• Vocabulary: Street Names in Hong Kong
• Vocabulary: Places in a Community II

Note that some of the expressions below have more than one pronunciation. For these expressions, we will only use the highlighted pronunciations in this book. You can focus on them first and learn the other pronunciations later.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 26.2, we learned that we can use 呢 ni1 / nei1 and 嗰 go2 to form demonstrative expressions to refer to a specific location based on its distance from us. Here are the expressions we learned previously:

In this lesson, we will sometimes refer to a specific area based on its distance from us. We combine 呢 ni1 and 嗰 go2 with 頭 tau4 to mean ‘this area’ and ‘that area’. 頭 tau4 means ‘head’ in other contexts, but it doesn’t express this meaning here.

To refer to the side of a place, we can put 呢邊 ni1 bin6 (‘this side’) or 嗰邊 go2 bin6 (‘that side’) after the place. We usually use 呢 ni1 if we are currently at the place, and 嗰 go2 if we are not currently at the place. Note that the actual meaning will often be the area of a place.

To refer to the area of a place, we can put 呢頭 ni1 tau4 or 嗰頭 go2 tau4 after the place. We use 呢 ni1 if we are currently at the place and 嗰 go2 if we are not currently at the place.

We can combine 邊 bin1 (‘which’) with 邊 bin6 / bin1 (‘side’) or 面 min6 (‘side’) to mean ‘which side’. Note that we usually say 邊邊 bin1 bin6 / bin1 bin1.

We can combine 邊 bin1 (‘which’) with 頭 tau4 to form ‘which area’.

Culture

The expression 嗰頭近 go2 tau4 kan5 (‘that area’ + ‘close’) means ‘to be near death’.

Follow the examples to complete the expressions. Use 邊 bin6 for expressions that can end with 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 26.3, we learned that we can use the location expressions below to refer to different locations. Most of them end with 邊 bin6 / bin1 (‘side’) or 面 min6 (‘side’). 邊 bin is usually more often pronounced with Tone 6 (bin6) nowadays, except in the words for ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘lefthand side’ and ‘righthand side’, where 邊 bin is still commonly pronounced with both Tone 6 (bin6) and Tone 1 (bin1).

For expressions with more than one pronunciation, we will only use the highlighted pronunciations (the ones with bin6) in this book. You can focus on them first and learn the other pronunciations later.

In this lesson, we will learn these new location expressions:

The location expressions for compass directions end with 邊 bin6 / bin1 (‘side’) or 面 min6 (‘side’). For ‘east’, ‘south’, ‘west’ and ‘north’, 邊 bin can be pronounced with Tone 6 (bin6) or Tone 1 (bin1). For ‘northeast’, ‘southeast’, ‘southwest’ and ‘northwest’, 邊 bin is usually only pronounced with Tone 6 (bin6).

西北邊 sai1 bak1 bin6 西北面 sai1 bak1 min6	北邊 bak1 bin6 / bak1 bin1 北面 bak1 min6	東北邊 dung1 bak1 bin6 東北面 dung1 bak1 min6
西邊 sai1 bin6 / sai1 bin1 西面 sai1 min6		東邊 dung1 bin6 / dung1 bin1 東面 dung1 min6
西南邊 sai1 naam4 bin6 西南面 sai1 naam4 min6	南邊 naam4 bin6 / naam4 bin1 南面 naam4 min6	東南邊 dung1 naam4 bin6 東南面 dung1 naam4 min6

We will learn several structures with a location expression below. Pay attention to the word order. It may be different from English.

To refer to a location relative to a place, we can put the reference point before a location expression. We can optionally add the particle 嘅 ge3 between the reference point and the location expression. 嘅 ge3 functions like the apostrophe s (’s) in English here.

In grammar, a location expression put right after a noun without 嘅 ge3 is called a postposition. Postpositions are similar to prepositions, but postpositions appear after a noun. Postpositions can also be called localizers because they are usually related to locations.

To refer to a location between two places, we can use 中間 zung1 gaan1 (‘between’) with the structure below. We use 同 tung4 / 同埋 tung4 maai4 (‘and’) to connect the two reference points.

We can use the structure below to refer to something at a specific location.

We sometimes don’t indicate a reference point. We often do so when the reference point is our current position.

We can add 呢 ni1 or 嗰 go2 before the classifier to indicate whether the thing is close to or far away from us.

We can use the verb 喺 hai2 / 响 hoeng2 (‘to be in, on, at’) to indicate the location of something with this structure:

We can use the verb 有 jau5 (‘to have’) or 冇 mou5 (‘to not have’) to indicate a specific location has or doesn’t have something with this structure:

Follow the examples to complete the expressions. Use 邊 bin6 for expressions that can end with 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6.

Structure 1

Structure 2

Structure 3

Structure 4

Structure 5

The preposition 向 hoeng3 means ‘toward’. We use 向 hoeng3 to indicate the direction or the place we move toward. We put a direction or a place after 向 hoeng3 to form a prepositional phrase.

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

If the location expression after 向 hoeng3 ends with 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6 (e.g., 前邊 cin4 bin6 ‘front’, 東邊 dung1 bin6 ‘east’), we can optionally omit 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6 in it.

However, we don’t omit 邊 bin6 / bin1 or 面 min6 in these location expressions:

The modal verb 應該 jing1 goi1 is similar to should in English. We can use 應該 jing1 goi1 to indicate what we should do (as in we should walk toward this side). We put a verb after 應該 jing1 goi1.

We may sometimes add a prepositional phrase to the sentence. We can put the prepositional phrase before or after 應該 jing1 goi1, depending on the meaning we want to express. In this lesson, we will see examples in which the prepositional phrase is put after 應該 jing1 goi1.

We can also use 應該 jing1 goi1 to indicate that something is very likely to be true or correct (as in there should be a supermarket near the wet market).

The verb 即係 zik1 hai6 means ‘to be equal to, to mean’. We use it to introduce information that helps the listener to identify the thing or person in the subject. We put the information after 即係 zik1 hai6 (as a subject complement).

We can also use 即係 zik1 hai6 in a question to ask for information that helps us to identify the thing or person in the subject. We put a question word after 即係 zik1 hai6.

Let’s look at the sentences and questions above in pairs:

In Grammar and Vocabulary 37.5, we learned that the verb 即係 zik1 hai6 means ‘to be equal to, to mean’.

We can also use 即係 zik1 hai6 as a conjunction. When used as a conjunction, 即係 zik1 hai6 means ‘that means’. We can use it to introduce our interpretation of a situation. We use 即係 zik1 hai6 to start a new clause and put the interpretation after it.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 18.6 and 21.4, we learned that the word 嘢 je5 (‘thing’) can sometimes refer to things that are not usually referred as thing in English.

In this lesson, we will see that 嘢 je5 can mean ‘shop’ if it is obvious in the context.

For expressions with more than one pronunciation, we will only use the highlighted pronunciations in this book. You can focus on them first and learn the other pronunciations later.

😈 Sensitive Content

Most street names in Hong Kong end with one of the following words:

All the places below are shops. We use the classifier 間 gaan1 with them.

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Finding a Place on the Street I