30

Talking about the present

Here are the expressions and structures most often used to indicate that a state exists at the present time or that an action is occurring at the present time.

30.1Time expressions that indicate present time

/ xiànzài ‘now’

!"#$!"#$

Nm xiànzài qù nkr?

Where are you going now?

mùqián ‘at present’

!"#$%!"#$%

Tp mùqián zài xué Zhsngwén.

He is presently studying Chinese.

jRntiPn ‘today’

!"#

Tp jrntipn hln máng.

He is very busy today.

!/ ! zhège xRngqR ‘this week’ or

!/ ! zhège lMbài ‘this week’

!"#$!"#$

Zhège xrngqr hln llng.

This week it is very cold.

/ zhège yuè ‘this month’

!"#$%!"#$%

Tp zhège yuè zài Nioyuq.

She is in New York this month.

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TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENT

30.3

jRnnián ‘this year’

!""# $

Jrnnián shì èr líng líng liù nián.

This year is 2006.

30.2Using zài and zhèngzài to indicate ongoing actions in present time

zài or zhèngzài can occur before action verbs that have duration to indicate that the action is ongoing at the present time.

!"!"

Gqgq zài dk qiú.

Elder brother is playing ball.

!"#$%&'()!"#$%&'()

Tp zhèngzài xm zko, bù néng jiq diànhuà.

He’s bathing right now (and) can’t get the phone.

NOTE zài and zhèngzài are only used when talking about actions. They are not used when the main verb of the sentence is an adjectival verb, a stative verb, or a modal verb. / xiànzài ‘now’ can be used when talking about states or actions that occur in the present time.

Say this	Not this
!"#$(AV)	G !"#$
!"#$	!"#$
Qìyóu xiànzài guì le.	Qìyóu zhèngzài guì le.
Gasoline is expensive now.
!"#$(AV)
!"#$
Tp xiànzài hln gpoxìng.
He is happy right now.
!"#$%&'(SV)	G !"#$%&'
!"#$%&'	!"#$%&'
Tp xiànzài xmhuan nàge nán de.	Tp zhèngzài xmhuan nàge nán de.
She likes that boy now.

Í13.4.1, 35.2

30.3Using the final particle ne to indicate ongoing situations in present time

The final particle ne may be used at the end of a sentence when an action is ongoing in the present time. ne often co-occurs with zài and zhèngzài.

!"

Tp tiào wo ne.

He is dancing.

216

Using D/ zhe to emphasize ongoing duration

30.4

!"#$!"#$

Nm zài xikng shénme ne?

What are you thinking?

!"#$%!"#$%

Tpmen zhèng zài kpi huì ne.

They are having a meeting now.

30.4Using D/ zhe to emphasize ongoing duration or an ongoing state in the present time

Open-ended action verbs may be suffixed with D/ zhe to emphasize ongoing duration at the present time. D/ zhe often co-occurs with zài, zhèngzài and/or ne.

D!"#$

Tp zài shuszhe huà ne.

He is speaking.

Change-of-state verbs that describe posture or placement such as zhàn ‘to stand,’zuò ‘to sit,’ tkng ‘to lie,’ cún ‘to save/to deposit,’ fàng ‘to put/to place,’/ guà ‘to hang,’ and tíng ‘to park’ may be suffixed with D/ zhe to indicate that the state is ongoing in present time. ne may occur at the end of the sentence.

!"D!"#$

Shéi zài ménknu zhànzhe?

Who is standing at the door?

!"#D!"#$%&

Kèren zài kètrng lm zuòzhe ne.

The guests are sitting in the living room.

!"#D!"#$%

Bìngrén zài chuángshàng tkngzhe.

The patient is lying on the bed.

!"#$%&'D!"#$%&'()*

Wnmen de qián dsu zài yínháng lm cúnzhe ne.

All of our money is (saved) in the bank.

!"#$D!"#$%&'

Nà zhpng huà zài qiáng shàng guàzhe ne.

That painting is hanging on the wall.

!"#$D!"#$%&'

Wn de sht zài nkr fàngzhe ne?

Where is my book? (Where is my book placed?)

217

TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENT

30.7

!" #"D!" #"$%&

Wn de chq zài tíngchqchkng tíngzhe ne.

My car is parked in the parking lot.

Í25.3.3, 35.2

30.5Indicating present time by context

Time expressions are optional when the context makes it clear that the sentence refers to a present time situation. For example, in the following conversation, /xiànzài ‘now’ can be included, but it is not necessary, because the question and response clearly refer to the present time.

( ) !"#	!( ) !
( ) !"#	!( ) !
Mpma: Nm (xiànzài) zuò shénme
gsngkè?	Háizi: Wn (xiànzài) zuò shùxué.
Mom: What homework are you doing	Child: I am doing math (now).
(now)?

30.6Negation in present time situations

Present time situations are negated with bù with one exception. The verb ynu is always negated with méi.

!"#$%	!"
!"#$%	!"
Tp jrntipn bù lái shàng kè.	Wn méi ynu qián.
He is not coming to class today.	I don’t have money.

Í23.1

Action verbs may be negated with méi or méi ynu, but when so negated, they do not refer to present time. Instead, they indicate that the action did not happen in the past.

!"#$%&!"#$%&

Nm wèi shénme méi lái shàng kè?

Why didn’t you come to class?

Í13.3, 33.3

30.7Talking about actions that begin in the past and continue to the present

To indicate that an action began in the past and continues to the present, end the sentence with sentence final - le. If the verb is followed by an object or a duration expression, the sentence will have two instances of le, one following the verb, and

218

Describing situations that are generally true

30.8

the other at the end of the sentence. Sentences like these are sometimes described as having ‘double le.’ The sentence final - le is sometimes described as indicating the ‘present relevance’ of the situation.

Í34.1.3

!"# $!"# $

Wn kàn le likng bln sht le.

I’ve read two books (so far).

!"#$%#&!"#$%#&

Tp zài Mliguó zhù le shínián le.

He has lived in America for 10 years (and is still there).

The adverb / ymjing ‘already’ often occurs in these sentences to emphasize the fact that the situation has been ongoing from some time in the past up to the present time.

!"#$%&'"(!"#$%&'"(

Tp ymjing xué le spn nián de Zhsngwén le.

She has already studied three years of Chinese.

!"#$%&'()*!"#$%&'()*

Wn jiào Zhsngwén ymjing ynu èrshí dus nián le.

I’ve already taught Chinese for over twenty years.

30.8Describing situations that are generally true

To indicate that a situation is generally true, the verb is presented without any modifiers that indicate time phrase: no time phrases, no adverbs, no verb suffixes.

!"#$!"#$

Zhsngguó rénknu hln dus.

China has a very large population.

!"#$%!"#$%

Zhèr de tipnqì hln rè.

The weather is very hot here.

219