Cleaning Up Spilled Water | Learn Chinese in English

About This Lesson

Use Cleaning Up Spilled Water to practice Chinese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

地上有水。

dìshàng yǒu shuǐ There is water on the floor.

水正在向门口流。

shuǐ zhèngzài xiàng ménkǒu liú It is spreading toward the door.

小瓶子破了。

xiǎo píngzi pò le The small bottle broke.

我去拿一条干毛巾。

wǒ qù ná yì tiáo gān máojīn I will get a dry towel.

你能先把包挪开吗？

nǐ néng xiān bǎ bāo nuó kāi ma Can you move the bag first?

我会把它放在椅子上。

wǒ huì bǎ tā fàng zài yǐzi shàng I will put it on the chair.

然后我们就可以清理地板了。

ránhòu wǒmen jiù kěyǐ qīnglǐ dìbǎn le Then we can clean the floor.

包放在那里就不会湿了。

bāo fàng zài nàlǐ jiù bú huì shī le The bag will stay dry there.

Word by Word

地上 “地上” means on the floor or ground here, as in “地上有水”. It is useful for saying where something is, such as “地上有东西” in a new example when something is on the floor.

有 “有” says that something exists in a place here: “地上有水” means there is water on the floor. A reusable pattern is “地点 + 有 + 东西”, such as “桌上有杯子” in a new example.

水 “水” means water here, the liquid on the floor and moving toward the door. It can be used as the object of actions such as “喝水” in a new example.

正在 “正在” shows that an action is in progress at this moment, as in “水正在向门口流”. It commonly comes before the action, in the pattern “正在 + 动作”, such as “正在下雨” in a new example.

向 “向” introduces the direction toward which something moves: “向门口流” means flow toward the doorway. A reusable pattern is “向 + place + action”, such as “向前走” in a new example.

门口 “门口” means the doorway or the area by the door here, as in “向门口流”. It can be used after a direction word to indicate where movement is heading, such as “走到门口” in a new example.

流 “流” means to flow here, describing the water moving toward the doorway in “水正在向门口流”. It is used for liquids moving from one place toward another, such as “水往下流” in a new example.

小 “小” describes the bottle as small in “小瓶子”. It normally comes before the noun it describes, in the pattern “小 + noun”, such as “小房间” in a new example.

瓶子 “瓶子” means bottle here, specifically the small bottle that broke. It can be combined with a describing word before it, as in “大瓶子” in a new example.

破 “破” describes the bottle as broken in “小瓶子破了”. With “了” here, the expression presents the bottle’s broken state as a change that has happened. A reusable pattern is “东西破了”, such as “杯子破了” in a new example.

了 The “了” in “小瓶子破了” presents a change of state: the bottle is now broken. It commonly follows a description when reporting a newly changed situation, such as “门开了” in a new example.

我 “我” means I or me here, identifying the speaker who will get a towel and move the bag. It commonly appears before the action, as in “我去拿” in the dialogue and other new examples.

去 “去” means go here and forms “去拿” with the following action, expressing that the speaker will go and get something. A reusable pattern is “去 + action”, such as “去看看” in a new example.

拿 “拿” means get or take here in “去拿一条干毛巾”. The object follows it, so “拿 + thing” is a useful pattern, such as “拿书” in a new example.

一 “一” means one or a here in “一条干毛巾”. It appears before the classifier “条” in the pattern “一 + classifier + noun”, such as “一本书” in a new example.

条 “条” is the measure word connecting “一” with “毛巾” in “一条干毛巾”, meaning one towel. A reusable pattern is “一条 + noun” when that measure word is appropriate, such as “一条鱼” in a new example.

干 “干” means dry here and describes the towel in “一条干毛巾”. It comes before the noun it describes, in the pattern “干 + noun”, such as “干衣服” in a new example.

毛巾 “毛巾” means towel here, the item the speaker will get for cleaning the water. It can follow a describing word or measure phrase, as in “一条毛巾” in a new example.

你 “你” means you here, identifying the person being asked to move the bag. It commonly comes before the ability word and action in “你能先把包挪开吗？”.

能 “能” asks whether someone is able or willing to do the action in “你能先把包挪开吗？”. A reusable question pattern is “你能 + action + 吗？”, such as “你能帮我吗？” in a new example.

先 “先” means first here, asking that the bag be moved before the cleaning. It commonly comes before the first action in a sequence, as in “先吃饭” in a new example.

把 “把” introduces the object that will be handled in “把包挪开”, with the bag placed before the action that changes its position. A reusable pattern is “把 + object + action”, such as “把门关上” in a new example.

包 “包” means bag here, the object that needs to be moved away from the spilled water. It can appear after “把” when describing an action performed on it, as in “把包放下” in a new example.

挪开 “挪开” means move aside or move out of the way here in “把包挪开”. It is useful when an object must be moved so that another task can happen, such as moving a chair before cleaning in a new example.

吗 “吗” marks “你能先把包挪开吗？” as a yes-or-no question. It is placed at the end of a question, as in “你累吗？” in a new example.

会 “会” means will or be going to here, expressing the speaker’s plan in “我会把它放在椅子上”. A reusable pattern is “我会 + action”, such as “我会回来” in a new example.

它 “它” means it here and refers back to the bag in “我会把它放在椅子上”. It can be used after “把” when the object is already known, in the pattern “把它 + action”.

放 “放” means put or place here in “把它放在椅子上”. The place follows the action in the pattern “放在 + place”, such as “放在桌上” in a new example.

在 “在” introduces the place where the bag is placed in “放在椅子上”. It commonly appears in the pattern “放在 + place” to show the destination of placement.

椅子 “椅子” means chair here, the place where the speaker will put the bag. It can follow “在” in a location phrase, as in “在椅子旁边” in a new example.

上 “上” means on or on top of here in “椅子上”, showing that the bag will be on the chair. A reusable location pattern is “object + 上”, such as “桌子上” in a new example.

然后 “然后” means then and marks the next step after moving the bag: “然后我们就可以清理地板了”. It is useful for linking actions in sequence, such as “先洗手，然后吃饭” in a new example.

我们 “我们” means we or us here, referring to the two people who can clean the floor together. It commonly comes before the shared action, as in “我们一起走” in a new example.

就 “就” connects the earlier step with the resulting possibility in “然后我们就可以清理地板了”. It is useful when saying that an action can happen once a condition or previous step is completed.

可以 “可以” means can or be able to here, saying that cleaning the floor becomes possible after the bag is moved. A reusable pattern is “可以 + action”, such as “可以开始了” in a new example.

清理 “清理” means clean up here, specifically cleaning up the water on the floor in “清理地板”. It can be followed by the thing or area being cleaned, such as “清理房间” in a new example.

地板 “地板” means floor here, the surface that needs to be cleaned in “清理地板”. It can follow an action such as “清理” or be used in a location phrase, such as “地板上” in a new example.

那里 “那里” means there, referring to the place where the bag is put in “包放在那里”. It can follow a movement or placement action to identify the destination, such as “坐在那里” in a new example.

不 “不” negates the following phrase in “不会湿”, so the bag will not become wet there. A reusable pattern is “不 + description or action”, such as “不冷” in a new example.

湿 “湿” means wet here in “不会湿了”, describing the state the bag will avoid. It can be used after a subject to describe whether something is wet, such as “衣服湿了” in a new example.

Grammar Points

正在 + 动词

水正在向门口流。

shuǐ zhèngzài xiàng ménkǒu liú

Water is currently flowing toward the doorway.

正在放在动词前，表示动作正在进行，相当于英语的 be + -ing。

先……然后……

先拿干毛巾，然后清理地板。

xiān ná gān máojīn,ránhòu qīnglǐ dìbǎn

First get a dry towel, then clean the floor.

先表示先做一件事，然后表示接着做另一件事，用来表达动作顺序。

Chinese Vocabulary

地上 noun

dìshàng on the floor; on the ground

地上有水。

干 adj

gān dry

我去拿一条干毛巾。

流 verb

liú to flow

水正在向门口流。

门口 noun

ménkǒu doorway; entrance

水正在向门口流。

拿 verb

ná to get; to take

我去拿一条干毛巾。

瓶子 noun

píngzi bottle

小瓶子破了。

破 verb

pò to break; broken

小瓶子破了。

水 noun

shuǐ water

地上有水。

向 prep

xiàng toward

水正在向门口流。

小 adj

xiǎo small

小瓶子破了。

有 verb

yǒu to have; there is/are

地上有水。

正在 adv

zhèngzài be in the process of; currently

水正在向门口流。

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

be in the process of; currently

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正在

on the floor; on the ground

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地上

bottle

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瓶子

doorway; entrance

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门口