Maharashtra HSC Chinese (MSBSHSE) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

了 (verb suffix)

Marks a completed action viewed as a whole: 我吃了饭 (I ate). It does not mark past tense; time comes from context or time words.

过 (aspect particle)

Marks past experience at an indefinite time: 我去过中国 (I have been to China). Contrast with 了, which marks a specific completed action.

把 construction

Subject + 把 + definite object + verb + complement or 了, used when the object's result matters: 我把书放在桌子上. Stative verbs like 是, 有, 在 reject 把.

Measure word 本

Classifier for books and bound volumes: 一本书, 三本词典. Using 个 instead of 本 for books is a common accuracy error in HSC writing.

此致 敬礼

Formal letter closing. 此致 ends the last body line; 敬礼 begins the next line at the left margin. Equivalent to 'Yours sincerely' in English letters.

Tone sandhi for 不

不 is bù normally but bú before a fourth tone: 不是 bú shì, 不去 bú qù. Before other tones it stays bù: 不吃 bù chī.

Four Great Inventions

造纸术 (papermaking), 印刷术 (printing), 火药 (gunpowder), 指南针 (compass). These are standard cultural knowledge items in HSC Chinese papers.

是…的 construction

Highlights the time, place, or manner of a completed event: 他是昨天来的 (He came yesterday). Cannot be used for future events.

的 / 地 / 得

的 links adjectives to nouns (漂亮的花); 地 links adverbs to verbs (慢慢地走); 得 follows verbs for complements (跑得快). Mixing them is a frequent error.

比 comparison

A 比 B + adjective, with optional degree: 我比他高一点儿 / 他比我高得多. Negative comparison uses 没有: 我没有他那么高.

Spring Festival 春节

Lunar New Year, first day of the first lunar month. Customs: 贴春联, 吃饺子, 给红包, 拜年. The most important family festival in China.

Question particle 吗

Placed at the end of a statement to make a yes/no question: 你是学生吗? The word order does not change, unlike English inversion.

Marathi SOV transfer

Marathi and Chinese are both Subject–Object–Verb, so word order often transfers directly. English requires reordering to Subject–Verb–Object when translating.

Resultative complement

A second verb showing the result of the first: 看见 (see), 做完 (finish), 找到 (find), 写好 (write well). The pair functions as one predicate.

Potential complement 得/不

Insert 得 for 'can' and 不 for 'cannot' between verb and complement: 看得懂 (can understand), 听不懂 (cannot follow by ear).

Topic-comment sentence

The topic comes first and the comment follows: 那本书我看过了 (That book, I have read). The topic need not be the grammatical subject.

Measure word 条

Classifier for long flexible things: 一条鱼, 两条路, 三条裤子. Also used for news items: 一条消息.

Notice 通知 format

Title 通知 centred; body states what, when, where, who; issuer and date at bottom right. Short impersonal sentences, no 你/您 greeting.

一 tone change

一 is yī alone or sentence-final, yì before tones 1–3 (一天 yì tiān), yí before tone 4 (一个 yí gè).

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

Fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Associated with 月饼 (mooncakes) and 团圆 (family reunion), and with moon-viewing.

Double-object verbs

Verbs like 给, 送, 教 take an indirect then direct object: 给我一本书, 送他一份礼物. 给 also marks a beneficiary.

在 as progressive marker

在 or 正在 before a verb marks ongoing action: 他在看书 / 他正在看书. 着 marks a continuing state rather than an action in progress.

Chinese zodiac 十二生肖

Order: 鼠牛虎兔龙蛇马羊猴鸡狗猪. Each lunar year maps to one animal, and people born in that year take that sign.

Pivot sentence 兼语句

Verb + object + verb with one pivot noun: 我请他吃饭 (I invited him to eat). No conjunction is needed between the verbs.

了 as change of state

Sentence-final 了 marks a new situation: 下雨了 (It has started raining), 我明白了 (I understand now). It is not past tense.

被 passive

Subject + 被 + (agent) + verb + result: 杯子被打破了. In speech 让/叫 often replace 被. The agent can be omitted.

Silk Road 丝绸之路

Ancient trade route linking 长安 (Xi'an) with Central Asia and Europe. Carried silk, Buddhism, and technology; a frequent culture question topic.

Measure word 双

Classifier for pairs: 一双鞋, 一双筷子, 一双手. Contrast 对 for pairs of abstract or matched items: 一对夫妻.

Adverb 才 vs 就

才 implies later than expected (他八点才来); 就 implies earlier or immediate (他七点就来了). Both precede the verb.

Degree complement 极了

Placed after an adjective to mean 'extremely': 好极了, 累极了. Similar: 得很 (好得很), 死了 (colloquial, 累死了).

Dragon Boat Festival 端午节

Fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Customs: 吃粽子 and 赛龙舟, associated with the poet 屈原.

Modal 会 vs 能

会 marks learned ability (我会说汉语); 能 marks circumstantial ability or possibility (我今天不能来). 可以 usually marks permission.