这 zhè and 那 nà are demonstrative pronouns,
which means that they point out where something is.
这 zhè means this and 那 nà means that.
Pronunciation point:
You should be careful not to confuse 那 nà with the
interrogative pronoun 哪 nǎ. 那 nà has a fourth tone falling sound, which sounds commanding or even angry to English speakers.
nǎ has the falling and then rising third tone, which to English
speakers sounds a bit like someone who is mildly incredulous of something.
The structural particle 的 de is usually put between the interrogative pronoun 谁 shéi and the noun it is an attributive of.
22.04
It's the teacher's book
萨拉:
这是什么？
Zhè shì shénme?
王军:
这是书。
Zhè shì shū.
萨拉:
这是谁的书？
Zhè shì shéi de shū?
王军:
这是老师的书。
Zhè shì lǎoshī de shū.
22.05
This is my roommate's magazine - Concept review dialogue
马特:
那是什么？
Nà shì shénme?
李雪:
那是杂志。
Nà shì zázhì.
马特:
那是谁的杂志？
Nà shì shéi de zázhì？
李雪:
那是我同屋的杂志。
Nà shì wǒ tóngwū de zázhì.
22.06
Which magazine is yours? - Example sentences
哪本杂志是你的？ Nǎ běn zázhì shì nǐ de?
Which magazine is yours?
哪本小说是他的？ Nǎ běn xiǎoshuō shì tā de?
Which novel is his?
哪本词典是她的？ Nǎ běn cídiǎn shì tā de?
Which dictionary is hers?
哪本书是王军的？ Nǎ běn shū shì Wáng Jūn de?
Which book is Wang Jun's?
哪张地图是我的？ Nǎ
zhāng dìtú shì wǒ de?
Which map is mine?
22.07 Sentences with possessive pronouns
这本书是我的。 Zhè běn shū shì wǒ de.
This book is mine.
那本课本是我同屋的。 Nà běn kèběn shì wǒ tóngwū de.
That textbook is my roommate's.
这本杂志是他的。 Zhè běn zázhì shì tā de.
This magazine is his.
那份报纸是张老师的。 Nà fèn bàozhǐ shì Zhāng Lǎoshī de.
That newspaper is Zhang teacher's.
Pronunciation point:
这 Zhè and 那 nà is the
pronunciation you typically find in textbooks, but sometimes they may be
pronounced as zhèi and nèi, respectively. This
pronunciation is only used when the words are specifying which is which, as in "Which book out of all of these are Anna's? - This one."
Zhèi and nèi is considered to be less standard pronunciation, so there's no reason to worry about
it too muc去h. If you are living in China and in a region where zhèi and nèi are being used you will probably pick them up instinctually,
the way one picks up slang.
Otherwise, you can never go wrong saying Zhè and nà.
