About This Lesson
Use Basic daily actions to practice Chinese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
你在做什么？
nǐ zài zuò shénme? What are you doing?
B
我现在正在吃东西。
wǒ xiànzài zhèngzài chī dōngxi. I am eating now.
A
我正在喝水。
wǒ zhèngzài hē shuǐ. I am drinking water.
B
我正在做晚饭。
wǒ zhèngzài zuò wǎnfàn. I am making dinner.
A
我正在打扫我的房间。
wǒ zhèngzài dǎsǎo wǒ de fángjiān. I am cleaning my room.
B
我正在洗澡。
wǒ zhèngzài xǐzǎo. I am taking a shower.Word by Word
你
你 means “you” in 你在做什么？, referring to the person being asked. It appears before the action phrase in this question. A new example is 你喝水吗？, “Do you drink water?”
在
在 marks the action in 你在做什么？ as happening now. Here it comes before 做 and works with the action phrase as a whole. A new example is 你在吃饭吗？, “Are you eating?”
做
做 means “do” in 你在做什么？, asking about the action the other person is carrying out. It is followed by 什么 in this question. A new example is 我在做作业, “I am doing homework.”
什么
什么 means “what” in 你在做什么？ and asks which action is happening. It comes after 做, forming the question about the other person’s activity. A new example is 你在喝什么？, “What are you drinking?”
我
我 means “I” in 我现在正在吃东西。 and the other statements beginning with 我. It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. A new example is 我喝水, “I drink water.”
现在
现在 means “now” in 我现在正在吃东西。, specifying the time of the action. It appears before 正在 and the action phrase. A new example is 我现在在家, “I am at home now.”
正在
正在 indicates that the action is currently in progress, as in 我现在正在吃东西。 It comes before the action being described. A new example is 我正在喝水, “I am drinking water.”
吃
吃 means “eat” in 我现在正在吃东西。, describing the speaker’s current action. In this dialogue it is followed by 东西, together expressing eating food or something to eat. A new example is 我正在吃晚饭, “I am eating dinner.”
东西
东西 refers to food or something being eaten in 我现在正在吃东西。 It follows 吃, so the full phrase describes eating something rather than naming a specific food. A new example is 桌子上有东西, “There is something on the table.”
喝
喝 means “drink” in 我正在喝水。, describing the action currently in progress. It is followed by 水, which names what the speaker is drinking. A new example is 我喝茶, “I drink tea.”
水
水 means “water” in 我正在喝水。, the object of the action 喝. It follows the verb in this sentence. A new example is 请给我水, “Please give me water.”
晚饭
晚饭 means “dinner” in 我正在做晚饭。, referring to the evening meal being prepared. It follows 做, so 做晚饭 means making or preparing dinner as a whole. A new example is 我们吃晚饭, “We are eating dinner.”
打扫
打扫 means “clean” in 我正在打扫我的房间。, describing the action of cleaning. It comes before 我的房间, the place being cleaned. A new example is 我正在打扫厨房, “I am cleaning the kitchen.”
的
的 links 我的 with 房间 in 我正在打扫我的房间。, showing that the room is associated with or belongs to the speaker. The pattern is 我的 + noun. A new example is 我的书, “my book.”
房间
房间 means “room” in 我正在打扫我的房间。, the place being cleaned. In 我的房间, 的 connects it with 我 to form “my room.” A new example is 我的房间很小, “My room is small.”
洗澡
洗澡 means “take a shower” or “bathe” in 我正在洗澡。, describing the speaker’s current bathing action. It functions as the action after 正在. A new example is 我晚上洗澡, “I take a shower in the evening.”
Grammar Points
正在 + 动词
我正在吃东西。
wǒ zhèngzài chī dōngxi.I am eating.
正在放在动词前，表示动作正在进行，相当于英语的 be + -ing。
我的 + 名词
我的房间
wǒ de fángjiānmy room
我的表示所属关系，放在名词前；中文用“的”表达英语的 my。
Chinese Vocabulary
吃东西
phrase
chī dōngxi
eat; eat something
打扫
verb
dǎsǎo
clean
喝
verb
hē
drink
你
pron
nǐ
you
什么
pron
shénme
what
水
noun
shuǐ
water
晚饭
noun
wǎnfàn
dinner
我
pron
wǒ
I; me
现在
adv
xiànzài
now
在
adv
zài
be doing; currently
正在
adv
zhèngzài
be currently doing
做
verb
zuò
do; make
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
eat; eat something
Show Answer
吃东西dinner
Show Answer
晚饭now
Show Answer
现在clean