In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• The Preposition 沿 jyun4 (‘along’)
• The Verbal Particle 到 / 倒 dou2 (‘to be able to’)
• Comparison Between 到 / 倒 dou2 and 咗 zo2
• The Verbal Particle 返 / 番 / 翻 faan1 III (‘back’)
• The Adverb 就 zau6 II (‘exactly’)
• The Adverb 再 zoi3 I (‘further’)
• The Conjunctions 之前 zi1 cin4 (‘before’) and 之後 zi1 hau6 (‘after’)
• Serial Verb Constructions VI (Successive Actions)
• Vocabulary List
• Vocabulary: Places in a Community III
• Vocabulary: Roads
• Vocabulary: Directions on the Street

The preposition 沿 jyun4 means ‘along’. We use 沿 jyun4 to indicate movement that follows a path. We put the path after 沿 jyun4 to form a prepositional phrase. The path is often a street.

We usually add the aspect particle 住 zyu6 after 沿 jyun4. 住 zyu6 here indicates that the state of following the path is continuous. We haven’t learned this use of 住 zyu6 yet. For now, simply remember 沿住 zyu6 jyun4 as a fixed expression.

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

We use the verbal particle 到 dou2 (also written as 倒) to indicate that we are able to complete an action or have completed an action successfully. It functions like to be able to in English (as in I was able to find the subway station).

We put 唔 m4 (‘not’) before 到 dou2 to negate 到 dou2.

We also add 到 dou2 after a verb of perception (見 gin3 ‘to see’, 聽 teng1 ‘to hear’, 聞 man4 ‘to smell’, etc.) to indicate that we are able to perceive something. We put the thing we perceive after 到 dou2.

We can also add 到 dou2 when forming yes-no questions with the X-not-X construction.

To answer the questions, we can give a long answer or a short answer. We give a short answer more often. In the short answers, we will keep 到 dou2.

⚠️ The verbal particle 到 dou2 (‘to be able to’) and the verbal particle 到 dou3 (arrival) are different in their tone. We say 到 dou2 with the high rising tone and 到 dou3 with the mid level tone.

Both the verbal particle 到 dou2 (also written as 倒) and the aspect particle 咗 zo2 indicate that an action has been completed, but 到 dou2 emphasizes the success of completing the action. We often use 到 dou2 when the action is something that we weren’t sure we could complete, considering the situation. It can also be an action that we had failed to complete previously. Compare:

In Grammar and Vocabulary 34.4, we learned that the verbal particle 返 faan1 (also written as 番 or 翻) can add the meaning of ‘back’ to the sentence (as in let me give you back the card), and we can use 返 faan1 to indicate that something is returned to someone.

We can also use 返 faan1 to indicate that someone moves back to their original or previous location. In this use, we often use 返 faan1 with a verb involving moment of a person.

We can use 返 faan1 with 去 heoi3 (‘to go’) or 嚟 lai4 (‘to come’).

We can also use 返 faan1 with a directional verb.

If 去 heoi3 or 嚟 lai4 is added after the directional verb to indicate the direction of the movement, we put 返 faan1 between the directional verb and 去 heoi3 or 嚟 lai4.

It is possible to use the verbal particle 返 faan1 with the directional verb 返 faan1 (‘to go back; to come back’, also written as 番 and 翻).

We also often use the verbal particle 返 faan1 with the verb 行 haang4 (‘to walk’). If we want to indicate the destination, we can add 去 heoi3 or 嚟 lai4. We put 返 faan1 between 行 haang4 and 去 heoi3 or 嚟 lai4.

If we don’t want to indicate the location explicitly, we can use the separable verb 返轉頭 faan1 zyun3 tau4 (‘to go back’, usually along the same path). We put the verbal particle 返 faan1 between the verb part 返 faan1 and the object part 轉頭 zyun3 tau4.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 17.11, we learned that we can use the adverb 就 zau6 to show determination.

The adverb 就 zau6 can mean ‘exactly’. We can add 就 zau6 before 係 hai6 (‘to be’) to emphasize that something is exactly something.

We can also add 就 zau6 before 喺 hai2 (‘to be in, on or at’) to emphasize that something is exactly in, on or at a specific location.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 24.13, we learned that the adverb 再 zoi3 means ‘again’.

The adverb 再 zoi3 can also add the meaning of ‘further’ to a sentence. We can use 再 zoi3 to indicate an action or a state is continued further for a longer distance or period.

We can use the conjunctions 之前 zi1 cin4 (‘before’) and 之後 zi1 hau6 (‘after’) to indicate the temporal sequence of two actions in a sentence.

We put 之前 zi1 cin4 (‘before’) after the action happening later in the sentence. If the two actions have the same subject, we often omit the subject in one of the two actions.

We put 之後 zi1 hau6 (‘after’) after the action happening first in the sentence. Again, if the two actions have the same subject, we often omit the subject in one of the two actions.

Notice above that 之前 zi1 cin4 or 之後 zi1 hau6 is put after the action, but not before the action like in English.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 8.5, 16.4, 18.2, 23.2 and 38.9, we learned to form serial verb constructions.

We will see another meaning relationship in this lesson: the actions in the verb phrases happen in successive order. That is, the action in the first verb phrase happens first, and then the action in the second verb phrase happens next.

The rightmost column is the classifiers we use with the nouns.

The classifier 條 tiu4 is used with things in a long shape. We will use it with several things below.

The rightmost column is the classifiers we use with the nouns.

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Finding a Place on the Street II