Page:A Manual of the Foochow Dialect in Twenty Lessons.pdf/18

Rh Two families, 二主 lûng ciō. (b) Some nouns denoting fixed sets or numbers. The Three Kingdoms (a famous Chinese historical work), 三國 Săng-Guók. The Four Books (Chinese Classics), 四書 Sé̤ṳ-Cṳ̆. (c) Nouns noting divisions of time. Three days, 三日 săng nĭk. Eight year, 八年 báik nièng. Two days work, 二工 lâng gĕ̤ng. The N. A. however, is used with months. Three months, 三个月日 săng gá ngŏuk nĭk. (d) Some nouns, preceded by the numerals from twenty upwards, omit the N. A. as twenty-six men 二十六𠆧 nê sĕk lĕ̤k nè̤ng. (e) The N. A. is understood and not expressed in sentences where its noun and the verb preceding it form the Predicate. This Bible is mine, 只一本聖經是儂家其 cī siŏh buōng Séng-Gĭng sê nè̤ng-gă gì, which may also be expressed 嚽是儂家其聖經 cuòi sê nè̤ng-gă gì Séng-Gĭng. (f) The N. A. is not used after the Possessive Case. These are my things, 嚽是儂家其乇 cuòi sê nè̤ng-gă gì nó̤h. (g) The N. A. is not used with indefinite numbers. He is looking at the horses, 伊看馬 ĭ káng mā. (h) The names of weights and measures are themselves used as N. A. Three yards of silk, 三碼綢 săng mā dìu. (i) In speaking of "a box of money", "a table full of books," "half a basin of tea", the words "box, table and basin" become N. A., as a cup of tea, 一杯茶 siŏh buŏi dà. A box of books, 一箱書 siŏh siŏng cṳ̆. (j) The room accompanying the N. A. is often understood, especially in answering questions where it has been already expressed. How many books have you? Eight. 汝務幾本書 ''Nṳ̄ ô gūi buōng cṳ̆? Báik buōng''.

2 [sic]. In asking in English the questions—Which person? Which thing? We leave the word “one” to be understood. Chinese idiom requires the “one” and other numbers to be indicated, and followed by