Cantonese Grammar Lesson 4
Locative Marker

Vocabulary

Function words

/hai/

 "at", "is at"

\mh\

not


Places

-uk- /kei/

house

屋企

 

hohk haauh

school

學校

\gung\ /yun/

public park

公園

\chaan\ \teng\

restaurant

餐廳

\yi\ /yun/

hospital

醫院

\ba\ sih jaahm

bus stop

巴士站

Grammar Description

"/hai/" is one of the few words in Cantonese that corresponds to an English preposition.  It takes the places of all the English prepositions describing location: "at, above, below, in, on, out, around, etc."  "/hai/" always requires an object corresponding to a location.  (This can be a place like a country or a building, or an object.)

The Locative Particle "/hai/"

Cantonese

English

 /hai/

 \mh\ /hai/

As used above, the phrase can be used as a linking verb.  It is also used to show where an action occurs, or to describe an object.  Examples of these various uses will be given in future lessons.

The location following "/hai/" gives the description ranging from General to Specific.  Descriptive phrases do not need any conjunction between them.  This can be as simple as Country-City such as "\Jung\ gwok \Heung\ /gong/" to as exact and specific as needed (like "on the bottom of a seat a man going to a seminar in Florida is sitting on, 15 feet above the ground").


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