Tidying the Living Room Before Guests Arrive | Learn Chinese in English

About This Lesson

Use Tidying the Living Room Before Guests Arrive to practice Chinese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

客人很快就要来了。

Kèrén hěn kuài jiù yào lái le. Our guests are coming soon.

那我们应该在他们到之前把客厅收拾好。

Nà wǒmen yīnggāi zài tāmen dào zhīqián bǎ kètīng shōushi hǎo. Then we should clear the living room before they arrive.

我会把书放回书架上。

Wǒ huì bǎ shū fàng huí shūjià shàng. I'll put the books back on the shelf.

我会把沙发上的靠垫摆整齐。

Wǒ huì bǎ shāfā shàng de kàodiàn bǎi zhěngqí. I'll straighten the cushions on the sofa.

我们也应该吸一下地毯吗？

Wǒmen yě yīnggāi xī yíxià dìtǎn ma? Should we vacuum the rug as well?

吸一下会有帮助，尤其是门口附近。

Xī yíxià huì yǒu bāngzhù, yóuqí shì ménkǒu fùjìn. Vacuuming would help, especially near the doorway.

房间已经感觉舒服多了。

Fángjiān yǐjīng gǎnjué shūfu duō le. The room already feels more comfortable.

等一切准备好后，我们泡茶吧。

Děng yíqiè zhǔnbèi hǎo hòu, wǒmen pào chá ba. Let's make tea once everything is ready.

Word by Word

客人客人 means guests, referring here to the people who will visit the home. It can be used for visitors who are being welcomed or expected.

很快很快 means soon, indicating that the guests’ arrival is not far away in time. It commonly appears with an event that is expected shortly.

就就 helps make the upcoming arrival sound immediate in 就要来了, contributing the sense of “soon” or “already about to.” It commonly appears before 要 when an event is expected very soon.

要要 in 就要来了 means “be about to,” showing that the guests are expected to come soon. It commonly appears before a verb when an event is imminent.

来来 means come, describing movement toward the home in 来了. It is used when the person or people are moving toward the speaker’s location.

了了 marks a changed situation or a newly established result in the dialogue. In 来了, it helps present the guests’ arrival as imminent, and in 舒服多了, it marks the room’s change to a more comfortable state.

那那 means then or in that case, linking the guests’ expected arrival to the next suggestion. It is commonly used at the beginning of a response when one situation leads to a decision.

我们我们 means we or us, referring to the two people acting together. It is used as the subject of a shared plan or activity.

应该应该 means should or ought to, expressing that clearing the room is the appropriate action. It commonly comes before the action that is being recommended.

在在 introduces the time point in 在他们到之前, meaning before the guests arrive. It can introduce a time or place setting before the main action.

他们他们 means they or them, referring here to the guests. It is used as the subject of the arrival event in the time expression 在他们到之前.

到到 means arrive here, describing the guests reaching the home. It can be used after a person or group to state that they reach a place or time point.

之前之前 means before and places the tidying action earlier than the guests’ arrival. It commonly follows a time, event, or clause to mark what happens first.

把把 marks 客厅 as the object that will be dealt with before the action 收拾好. This construction commonly places the handled object before a verb phrase that shows what happens to it.

客厅客厅 means living room, the room being tidied before the guests arrive. It can be used as the object of an action involving cleaning or arranging a room.

收拾收拾 means tidy or put in order, describing the action performed on the living room. It is commonly used for organizing a room or its contents.

好好 in 收拾好 shows that the tidying is completed properly and the room is ready. It commonly follows an action verb when that action reaches a satisfactory result.

我我 means I or me, identifying the speaker who will return the books. It is used as the subject when the speaker states a personal plan or action.

会会 in 我会把书放回书架上 marks a future commitment or intention: the speaker will do the action. It commonly comes before an action that the speaker plans to carry out.

书书 refers to the books that will be returned to their place. It is used here as the object of 放回 and can refer to reading materials being handled.

放回放回 means put back, returning something to its previous place. Here it takes 书 as the object and is followed by the destination 书架上; this object-and-destination pattern is reusable.

书架书架 means bookshelf, the destination for the books. It can be followed by a location marker when describing where something is placed.

上上 marks the location on the bookshelf in 书架上. It commonly follows a place or surface noun to show where something is located or placed.

沙发沙发 means sofa, the piece of furniture associated with the cushions. It is used here as the place described by the following modifier.

的的 links 沙发 to 靠垫, showing that the cushions are associated with or located on the sofa. It commonly connects a noun or noun phrase that describes something to the noun being described.

靠垫靠垫 means cushion, referring to the cushions on the sofa that will be arranged. It can be used as the object of an action involving placement or arrangement.

摆摆 means arrange or place, describing how the cushions will be put into position. It is commonly used with an object and a description of the resulting arrangement.

整齐整齐 means neat or orderly, describing the desired arrangement of the cushions. In 摆整齐, it describes the result that the arranging action should produce.

也也 means also, adding vacuuming to the other tidying tasks. It commonly appears before the added action or description.

吸吸 means vacuum or suck up here, referring to cleaning the rug with a vacuum. It is used as the action performed on 地毯.

一下一下 makes 吸一下 sound like a brief or light cleaning action rather than an emphasized long task. It commonly follows a verb to soften a request or suggestion.

地毯地毯 means rug or carpet, the surface that will be vacuumed. It is used here as the object of 吸.

吗吗 marks the sentence as a yes-no question in 我们也应该吸一下地毯吗？ It is placed at the end when asking whether a proposed action should be done.

有有 contributes the idea of having or providing something in 有帮助. The whole phrase 有帮助 means that the vacuuming would help, and 有 can commonly be used in expressions describing whether something has a useful effect.

帮助帮助 means help or assistance, referring to the useful effect of vacuuming. In 有帮助, it describes whether an action is beneficial.

尤其尤其 means especially, singling out the area near the doorway as particularly important. It commonly highlights one person, place, or detail after a more general statement.

是是 completes the focusing expression 尤其是, which means especially in the following location. Here it introduces 门口附近 as the particular area being highlighted.

门口门口 means doorway or entrance area, identifying the place where vacuuming is especially useful. It can be followed by a location word to describe a nearby area.

附近附近 means nearby or the vicinity. In 门口附近, it identifies the area near the doorway, and it can follow a place noun to specify its surrounding area.

房间房间 means room, referring here to the living room after it has been tidied. It is the subject of the statement about how the space feels.

已经已经 means already, showing that the room’s improved feeling is true at this point. It commonly appears before the action, state, or change that has occurred by now.

感觉感觉 means feel or seem, describing the room’s perceived condition after tidying. It commonly introduces a description of how a person, place, or thing feels.

舒服舒服 means comfortable, describing the improved condition of the room. In 舒服多了, it is the quality that has increased noticeably.

多多 in 舒服多了 intensifies the change and means much more in this context. It can follow a quality description to emphasize that the degree has increased.

等等 introduces the time condition in 等一切准备好后, meaning once everything is ready. It commonly introduces something that must be completed before the main action happens.

一切一切 means everything, referring collectively to all the preparation that needs to be finished. It is useful when treating several tasks or conditions as one whole.

准备准备 means prepare or get ready, referring to making the room and other details ready for the guests. In 准备好, it describes the process that reaches a ready state.

后后 means after, placing tea-making later than the preparation in 一切准备好后. It commonly follows an event or clause to mark the later action.

泡茶泡茶 means make tea, naming the activity planned after the room is ready. It is a reusable verb-object expression for preparing tea.

吧吧 marks the suggestion in 我们泡茶吧, making it a proposal to make tea together. It commonly appears at the end of a sentence that suggests an action.

Grammar Points

已经 + 谓语

一切已经准备好。

Yíqiè yǐjīng zhǔnbèi hǎo.

Everything is already ready.

“已经”放在谓语前，表示动作完成或状态已经出现。

动词 + 之前

客人来之前，收拾好客厅。

Kèrén lái zhīqián, shōushi hǎo kètīng.

Tidy up the living room before the guests come.

“之前”放在动词或事件后，表示“before”；中文通常把时间条件放在前面。

Chinese Vocabulary

到 verb

dào arrive

放回 verb

fàng huí put back

很快 adv

hěn kuài soon

靠垫 noun

kàodiàn cushion

客人 noun

kèrén guest

客厅 noun

kètīng living room

来 verb

lái come

沙发 noun

shāfā sofa

收拾好 phrase

shōushi hǎo tidy up and get ready

书 noun

shū book

书架 noun

shūjià bookshelf

之前 prep

zhīqián before

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

bookshelf

Show Answer

书架

tidy up and get ready

Show Answer

收拾好

living room

Show Answer

客厅

soon

Show Answer

很快