In the Grammar and Vocabulary section, you will learn:

• The Classifiers 種 zung2 (‘type’) and 隻 zek3 (‘type’)
• The Expression 多唔多 do1 m4 do1 (‘Does … have many / much … ?’)
• The Verbal Particle 完 jyun4 (‘finished’)
• The Sentence Particle 話 waa2 (Repetition)
• The Conjunction 一係 jat1 hai6 (‘either … or …’)
• Vocabulary List
• Vocabulary: Seasoning for Fish and Seafood

The classifiers 種 zung2 and 隻 zek3 mean ‘type’. We can use them with the demonstratives 呢 ni1 / nei1 (‘this’) and 嗰 go2 (‘that’) to mean ‘this type of …’ or ‘that type of …’. We can optionally omit the number 一 jat1.

We sometimes omit the noun after 種 zung2 or 隻 zek3 if it is obvious in the context.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 32.1, we learned that the word 多 do1 means ‘many, much’.

We can use the X-not-X construction to form the expression 多唔多 do1 m4 do1.

We use the expression 多唔多 do1 m4 do1 to form questions that ask if something has a lot of another thing. It functions like Does … have many / much …? in English (as in Does this type of fish have many bones?).

To answer the questions, we can give a long answer or a short answer.

We can also add a degree word before 多 do1 in the answers.

For negative answers, we can also use the expression 好少 hou2 siu2 (‘very few, very little’).

Note that we don’t usually use 有冇好多 jau5 mou5 hou2 do1 to ask ‘Does … have many / much …?’. As we have learned above, we will use 多唔多 do1 m4 do1 for that.

The word 完 jyun4 means ‘to be finished’ or ‘to come to an end’ as a verb. We can also use 完 jyun4 as a verbal particle to mean ‘finished’. The verbal particle 完 jyun4 indicates that an action has been finished and emphasizes that the action has come to an end. We use 完 jyun4 when the end of the action is important in the context. For example, we use 完 jyun4 when we want to indicate that an action should be done after the end of another action.

完 jyun4 may look similar to the aspect particle 咗 zo2 (Grammar and Vocabulary 13.4) and the verbal particle 好 hou2 (Grammar and Vocabulary 29.1), but there are some differences among these three particles:

The meaning of the three sentences above may look similar to each other. However, in some other situations, the meaning can differ significantly when a different particle is used. We will see more examples in later books.

When we talk to another person, we sometimes can’t catch everything they are saying and will miss some of the information. We can use the sentence particle 話 waa2 to form a question that asks them to repeat the information we have missed. To form the question, we will repeat what the other person has said, but replace the information we have missed with a question word (e.g., 乜嘢 mat1 je5 / 咩 me1 ‘what’, 幾多錢 gei2 do1 cin2 / 幾錢 gei2 cin2 ‘how much’).

If the information is the choice between two options, we can simply repeat the two options to form the question.

If we don’t catch anything and are totally lost 🤯, we can say 乜嘢話 mat1 je5 waa2 / 咩話 me1 waa2.

The conjunction 一係 jat1 hai6 means ‘either … or’. We use it to indicate two options that we can choose between. We put 一係 jat1 hai6 before each option.

The options can be verb phrases.

The options can also be noun phrases.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 14.4, we learned to use the conjunction 就 zau6 to show contrast between things. We often put 就 zau6 after 一係 jat1 hai6 to show contrast.

In the Communication section, you will learn:

• Buying Fish and Seafood