In Lesson 4 you will learn several different ways to ask other people for help. 

Familiarize yourself with the words below. Practice writing and reading them. 

Grammar Points

The structure for asking questions in Chinese is different from the structure used in English. We will go through the different structures step by step. 

When asking someone for help, an important part of the structure is 能。 能 means able to or can do something. When used with 帮助, which means to help, the phrase 能帮助 means able to help. Look at the sentences below.

你能帮我吗？  Can you help me?

 一个忙     Help or favor

你能帮我一个忙吗？  Would you do me a favor? 

照张相     To take a picture

能帮我照张相马？   Can you help me take a picture?*

我能帮助你吗？     Can I help you?

当然可以  Of course

我的相机不见了  I can't see my camera. (My camera is lost)

别着急  Don't be nervous 

你真好 You are so kind.

谢谢  Thank you.

* Sometimes in Chinese sentences, the subject is implied. The subject is most commonly implied in sentences where it is 我 or 你. This makes sense because when someone is talking about him or herself, it isn't necessary to say "I" everytime it is used. When having a conversation and the speaker says something to another person and the sentence doesn't have a subject, it makes sense that the speaker would be addressing the other person. 

Examples 

别着急   (YOU)  don't be nervous

我的相机不见了   (I) don't see my camera, which can be expressed as "My camera is lost."

能帮我照张相马？  Can (YOU) help me take a picture? 

Skyping with your Language Partner

During this Skype call with your language partner, have a dialogue as if you were trying to help them with something. Then ask your partner for help.

Writing Assessment

Write a short dialogue between two people using the words and grammar from this lesson. Post the dialogue in a blog here.