Here is a short video to introduce this infographic…
Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) so…, / in that case…, / then…
那/那么 is a conjunction that we use to express a suggestion, a result, or a decision from a previous situation. It is like “so…”, “in that case…”, or “then…” in English.
Knowing how to use this conjunction correctly is important. Once you become more advanced in Chinese, a required skill is storytelling. A good storyteller can choose the appropriate conjunction and make the paragraph and story outstanding.
Basic sentence structure
- Situation + 那/那么 + Suggestion/Result/Decision
Example 1,
Situation: Mom is tired today.
Decision: They decide to go out to eat. (So mom doesn’t need to cook.)
The sentence structure is,
Mom is tired today (Situation) + 那/那么 + let’s go out to eat! (Decision)
妈妈今天很累，那我们出去吃饭吧！
(Māmā jīntiān hěn lèi, nà wǒmen chūqù chīfàn ba!)
Example 2,
Situation: You said you don’t want to see a movie today. (not in the mood…)
Answer: So, what do you want to do?
The sentence structure is,
You said you don’t want to see a movie today (Situation) + 那/那么 + what do you want to do? (Answer)
你说你今天不想看电影，那么你想做什么？
(Nǐ shuō nǐ jīntiān bùxiǎng kàn diànyǐng, nàme nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme?）
Example 3,
Situation: My cell phone is broken.
Suggestion: Get a new one!
The sentence structure is,
My cell phone is broken (Situation) + 那/那么 + get a new one! (Suggestion)
A: 我的手机坏了。(A: Wǒ de shǒujī huàile.)
B: 那就买新的吧！(B: then get a new one!)
Example 4,
Situation: It is nice today.
Suggestion: Let’s go to the park and play!
The sentence structure is,
It is nice today + 那/那么 + let’s go to the park and play! (Suggestion)
孩子: 今天天气很好。(Háizi: Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo.)
妈妈: 那我们去公园玩吧！(Māmā: Nà wǒmen qù gōngyuán wán ba!)
Use the “can-do” list to check if you learned this grammar.
Can-do checklist:
⃞ I can understand when to use the conjunction 那/那么.
⃞ I can write the conjunction 那/那么 in Chinese characters and/or in pinyin.
⃞ I can place the conjunction 那/那么 correctly in a sentence.
Simplified Chinese Version
Traditional Chinese Version
Using a video is a good idea!
Thank you, Grace. Same here! Using video can introduce this grammar step by step. So students can visualize it even clearer!