Day 21: Week 3 Review

everything from Days 15–20, tested · 45 min

Week 3 was word order and auxiliary verbs. Everything after today is consolidation plus 了 — the one genuinely difficult particle in Chinese.

Tests first. Fill in the numbers table in section 7 — you now have three data points.

1. Week 3 on one page

★★ 在 and word order (Day 15)

### Subject → TIME → PLACE → VERB

我在北京。 (在 = verb) vs 我在北京工作。 (在 = preposition, before the verb) ⚠️ 我工作在北京 ❌ · ⚠️ 我在家明天工作 ❌ — time before place ★ Position words go AFTER the noun — 桌子上, 银行旁边, 车站对面 ★ 在 = "the" · 有 = "a" — 书在桌子上 (known) vs 桌子上有一本书 (new)

Directions (Day 16)

怎么走 (walking) vs 怎么去 (any transport) ★ 往 + direction + verb — 往左拐, 一直走 · 就在对面 远吗? · 要多长时间? · 大概二十分钟 ★ The recovery script: 请说慢一点儿 → …对吗?

Transport (Day 17)

★ 坐 (sit in) · 骑 (sit astride) · 开 (you drive) · 走路 ★★ Serial verb: 坐地铁去学校 — the taking comes first 几号线 · 在哪儿换 · 几号出口 · ⚠️ 三路车 (bus) vs 三号线 (subway)

Shopping (Day 18)

⚠️ 买 mǎi (buy) vs 卖 mài (sell) — pure tone ★★ 有点儿 + adj (complaint, first) vs adj + 一点儿 (request, last) ★ Reduplication softens — 看看, 试试, 等一下, 想想 ★ 八折 = you pay 80% = 20% off · 三折 = 70% off

★★ Can and want (Day 19)

⚠️ 不要 = "don't!", not "don't want" · 我不想去 = I don't want to go · ★ 不用了,谢谢 = the polite refusal

★★ Must and should (Day 20)

★ 得 děi (spoken) · 必须 (formal) · 应该 (should) ⚠️ 得 has no negative → 不用

★★ 不用 = don't have to · 不能 = must not

The four things English speakers get wrong

1. Place after the verb — 我工作在北京 ❌
2. 有点儿 / 一点儿 swapped — 贵有点儿 ❌
3. 不要 meaning "don't want" — it means don't!
4. 得 read as de — it is děi

2. ✍️ Dictation — 20 sentences

1. 你在哪儿? 我在咖啡店。
2. 我在北京工作。
3. 书在桌子上。
4. 这儿附近有银行吗?
5. 银行在超市旁边。
6. 请问,火车站怎么走?
7. 一直走,到红绿灯往右拐。
8. 走路大概十分钟。
9. 我坐地铁去学校。
10. 坐几号线? 在哪儿换?
11. 师傅,请到这儿。
12. 这个怎么卖? 有点儿贵。
13. 便宜一点儿吧。
14. 有大一点儿的吗?
15. 我会说一点儿中文。
16. 我今天不能来,我得工作。
17. 可以拍照吗? 不行。
18. 我想去中国。
19. 你不用来。
20. 这儿不能抽烟。

Scoring

⚠️ ★ Score the tones separately, and compare all three weeks. If the tone percentage is not climbing, that is the problem to fix before week 4, not vocabulary.

3. 🗣 Speaking test — three minutes

One take, no notes. Half again as long as Day 14.

The checklist

• ☐everything from Day 14 (name, family, likes, job)
• ☐★ where you live and where you work — 在 in both jobs
• ☐★ how you get there — 坐/骑/开 + 去
• ☐two places by position — 旁边, 对面, 附近
• ☐★ one 有 sentence and one 在 sentence about the same area
• ☐two things you 会, one you 不会
• ☐one thing you 今天不能 do
• ☐one thing you 得 do
• ☐one thing you 想 do
• ☐a question back

Model answer (~2 min 50)

你好! 我叫Alex,我是美国人。我现在住在北京。 我在一个学校学中文。我家在学校附近,走路十分钟。 我家旁边有一个超市,对面有一个咖啡店。我常常在那个咖啡店学习。 我每天早上七点起床,八点坐地铁去学校。坐二号线,不用换。大概二十分钟。 我会说一点儿中文,也会说英文。我不会做中国菜,但是我很想学。 今天晚上我不能出去,因为我得工作。明天可以。 周末我想去上海。票有点儿贵,五百块。 我觉得中文很难,可是很有意思。 你呢? 你周末想做什么?

★ Compare with Day 14. Places before verbs, serial verbs, 会/能/得/想 — that is what week 3 bought you.

4. 🎭 Role-play — a day out, ten turns

Scene: a visitor's day in Beijing. Ten exchanges, no English.

1. Ask a stranger how to get to the subway station (请问 + 怎么走)
2. Fail to understand — ask for it slowly
3. Repeat it back and confirm — …对吗?
4. Ask which line, where to change, which exit
5. In a shop: ask the price, complain with 有点儿, request with 一点儿
6. Ask if you may try it
7. Buy it, ask about QR payment
8. Say what you 想 do this evening
9. Say what you 得 do instead
10. Propose another day, and ask 可以吗?

Rescue: 我不懂。· 请再说一遍。· 请说慢一点儿。· 这个怎么说? · 我中文不太好。

5. Fifty review questions

在 and word order (1–8)

1. "I work in Beijing" 2. "I'm at home" 3. "I eat at home" 4. "I'm working at home tomorrow"
2. on the table 6. next to the bank 7. opposite the station 8. nearby

在 vs 有 (9–11)

1. 书___桌子上 10. 桌子上___一本书 11. 这儿附近___银行吗

Directions (12–17)

1. "How do I get to the bank?" 13. Go straight 14. Turn left 15. Turn right
2. "Is it far?" 17. "How long does it take?"

Transport (18–25)

1. ___地铁 19. ___自行车 20. ___车 (driving) 21. ___ (on foot)
2. "I go to school by subway" 23. Which line? 24. Which exit? 25. bus number 3

Shopping (26–33)

1. buy 27. sell 28. "a bit expensive" 29. "a bit cheaper" 30. "a bit small"
2. "a bit bigger" 32. 八折 = ? 33. "Can I try it?"

★ Can (34–39)

1. "I can speak Chinese" 35. "I can't come today" 36. "May I come in?"
2. "I can't cook" 38. "Can you help me?" 39. A-not-A of 可以

★ Want (40–43)

1. "I'd like to go to China" 41. "I'll have a coffee" 42. "Don't go!" 43. "I don't want to go"

★ Must (44–50)

1. "I have to go" (casual) 45. "You must bring your passport" 46. "You should see a doctor"
2. "You don't have to come" 48. "You must not come" 49. How is 得 pronounced in 我得走了?
3. The polite refusal

Scoring: 44–50 excellent · 35–43 on track · 25–34 reread Days 15 and 19 · under 25 repeat week 3

6. Week 3 final check

★ Where you are at day 21

You can now: get anywhere by asking strangers, use the subway and taxis, bargain in a market, order and pay a full meal, and say what you can, want, have to, may and must not do. That is a functioning adult in Chinese.

What is missing is one thing: ★ 了. You cannot yet mark that something happened or that a situation has changed — which means every conversation is stuck describing the present. ★ Day 26 is that particle, and it is the last big day.

Week 4: word order properly (22) · 不 vs 没 (23) · question words (24) · the future (25) · ★ 了 (26) · feelings (27) · connecting (28) · conversation (29) · final challenge (30).

★ Nothing in week 4 is as hard as Day 11 or Day 19 — except 了, and that one is worth the whole week.

7. 📲 Upload to LangNote

Upload section 1 and section 2 → study language Chinese.

Your numbers so far

★ Two rows matter most: tone accuracy and speaking length. Accuracy in grammar moves unevenly; those two move in a straight line if you are doing the work.

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