Unit 1: Learn Modal Verbs

Learning Objectives

In this section, we will learn the grammatical forms and functions of seven commonly used modal verbs in Mandarin Chinese, 能、会、要、想、可以、得、应该。 You will see seven parts of a narrated PPT that present the seven modal verbs in rich cultural and language contexts, and based on authentic, relatable examples. 

Specifically, see the seven videos below and the accompanying PowerPoint slides. The embedded video clips are not available in the PPT slides. If you are a teacher making use of these materials, you should be able to find these films in your libraries or at Chinese streaming sites. 

The specific goals are: 

•Understand the meaning and typical grammar patterns of the seven modal verbs.

•Develop advanced proficiency by understanding authentic examples, including the language patterns, interactional nuances and cultural contexts.  

•Learn formulaic expressions.

Part 1: Introduction and 能

Part 2: 会

Part 3: 要

Part 4: 想

Part 5: 可以

Part 6: 得

Part 7: 应该

Instructional PPTs

Data Sources

The majority of instances are selected from Academia Sinica Balanced Corpus of Modern Chinese and CCL-PKU (Beijing

University, Department of Chinese Linguistics, Beijing, China).

Images: Capture Queen (for color pencil image) https://www.flickr.com/photos/uaeincredible/231011361/

Characters' pictures are from http://www.zdic.net/z/22/zy/80FD.htm

Video clips used are from these sources:

• http://movie.douban.com/subject/3926132/ iPartment 爱情公寓

• http://movie.douban.com/subject/3824672/ 听说 Hear Me

• http://movie.douban.com/subject/3882715/ My Own Swordsman 武林外传

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWtSp-Gt_EU 林书豪采访 《哈佛小子》(Good TV)

• Blue Gate Crossing ending clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWPIgFlHk6Y