S1 Chinese | Classical Chinese Particles: Lesson-Prep Guide for Tutors (zhi, qi, er, yi, five-step translation, four common errors)

2026-11-12

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Chinese

Students translate character by character and render every zhi as of. This lesson does three things: build one table of nine common uses across four particles, translate a ten-character sentence with five visible steps, and use four bad translations to make classifying come first.

Objectives — Students can: (1) state the three common uses of zhi (possessive, pronoun, verb go to) and the two of qi (his or its, that), and decide which one a sentence uses; (2) state the two uses of er (continuation, contrast) and of yi (with, because), and distinguish them with the tests of direction and of what follows; (3) translate the ten-character sentence learn and practise it in time, is that not a joy with the five steps of marking particles, classifying them, supplying the subject, reordering and reading through; (4) complete particle identification and full-sentence translation on four short sentences, and name what they dropped or added.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Word classes in modern Chinese	What kind of word are de, ta and yong?	A structural particle, a pronoun, and a verb or preposition
Sentence parts	In I eat rice, what are the subject, verb and object?	I is the subject, eat the verb, rice the object
Reading aloud with pauses	Where does the pause fall in learn and practise it in time?	After learn, and again before practise, since particles often mark a pause

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Translate badly once	Ask for a direct translation of the opening sentence and keep the word-by-word version on the board	Write your own version, wrong is allowed
6-15 min	Zhi and qi	Three zhi sentences (possessive, pronoun, go to) and two qi, each classified out loud	Fill the table with the word class
15-27 min	Five-step translation	Model marking, classifying, supplying the subject, reordering and reading through on the ten-character sentence	Perform the five steps once, one line each
27-36 min	Er and yi	One continuation and one contrast sentence for er, one with and one because for yi	State the direction test in your own words
36-41 min	Four bad translations	Post four weak versions, students name the missing step	Name what was dropped or added
41-45 min	Exit check	Collect three answers, mark live, name the act to reteach	Hand in three answers

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Act one: zhi is not always of

“Start with the commonest error: rendering every zhi as of. Zhi has at least three uses. First, a structural particle meaning of, as in the beauty of the campus. Second, a pronoun meaning him or it, as in learn and practise it in time, where it refers to what was learned. Third, a verb meaning go to, as in zhi jing, go to the capital. Decide from the surroundings: a noun follows and a modifier precedes, so read of; it stands alone after a verb, so it is a pronoun; a place follows, so it is go to. If you cannot name the word class, do not start writing.”

Zhi has three uses: of, pronoun, go to, decided by what surrounds it.

Scene 2: Act two: five steps make a sentence readable

“Translation is not swapping words one for one, it is five steps. Step one marks the particles, circling er and zhi. Step two classifies them: here er joins two actions in the same direction, so it is continuation. Step three supplies the subject, which classical Chinese leaves out, and puts it in brackets. Step four reorders, because inversions in the original must return to modern order. Step five reads the whole sentence aloud, and if it does not flow you go back to step two. Take learn and practise it in time, is that not a joy: ten characters become about sixteen in English, no more. Adding meaning is as much a fault as dropping a particle.”

Mark, classify, supply, reorder, read through: all five before writing.

Scene 3: Act three: er by direction, yi by what follows

“Er has two kinds. Continuation keeps the same direction, so it reads and then or and also, as in learn and practise it in time. Contrast reverses direction, so it reads but or yet, as in the dye comes from indigo yet is bluer than indigo. Ask whether the two halves point the same way. Yi also has two kinds: as a preposition it means with or by means of, as in kill a man with a knife; as a conjunction it means because, as in not delighted because of external things. The test is what follows: a noun after yi points to with, a clause after yi points to because. Direction for er, what follows for yi, and both tests are visible on the page.”

Er by direction, yi by what follows.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Classifying particles	In learn and practise it in time, what are er and zhi doing?	(1) Check the direction of the two actions (2) Same direction means continuation (3) Note zhi after a verb (4) Classify it as a pronoun for what was learned	Er marks continuation; zhi is a pronoun
Five-step translation	Translate learn and practise it in time, is that not a joy into modern Chinese.	(1) Mark er and zhi (2) Classify as continuation and pronoun (3) Supply the subject (4) Reorder to modern word order (5) Read through for fluency	Having learned, practise it in time, is that not a joy
Two uses of yi	How do the two yi differ in kill a man with a knife and not delighted because of external things?	(1) Check what follows each yi (2) A noun follows, so it is a preposition meaning with (3) A clause follows, so it is a conjunction meaning because (4) Translate both sentences	The first means with, the second means because
Checking a dropped particle	The translation runs he learned and revised and was happy. What has been dropped?	(1) Count ten characters in the original (2) Find the untranslated er, shi and zhi (3) Restore in time and the pronoun reference (4) Rewrite the whole sentence	Continuation, in time and the pronoun are all missing

Sanity check (teach this): Consistency check: (1) classify every particle before translating, since a translation written before classification is a guess. (2) The translation should run about one and a half to two times the original length; three times usually means added meaning. (3) Any supplied subject goes in brackets, otherwise the translation is a rewrite. (4) For er, same direction reads and, opposite reads but. (5) Read the finished sentence aloud and return to classification if it does not flow, rather than smoothing it by feel.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
What is zhi doing in the beauty of the campus?	A structural particle meaning of	Whether it was confused with the pronoun use
Is er in the dye comes from indigo yet is bluer than indigo continuation or contrast?	Contrast, read as yet	Whether direction was checked rather than word order
Translate not delighted because of external things.	Not joyful because of external things	Whether yi was read as with

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Every zhi read as of	Learn and practise it in time becomes a practising of what is learned	After a verb, zhi is a pronoun for the thing learned, so it reads it.
Word-by-word translation	Learn and time practise it, word for word	Classify and reorder first; the output must read as modern prose.
Er treated as always and	Every er is translated and	Check direction: same direction is and, opposite is but.
Subject never supplied	The translation has no subject, so nobody is learning	Classical Chinese drops subjects; supply one in brackets.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary Chinese chapter index — Rhetoric comes before classical Chinese, and both use the same answer language
Lesson-prep master index — Other subjects use a fixed step routine too
Redo this lesson — Copy three short sentences containing zhi, er and yi, walk the five steps and label each word class

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
What are the three uses of zhi?	Of, pronoun, go to	Answering only of means reteach act one
What are the five translation steps?	Mark, classify, supply the subject, reorder, read through	Missing the third means reteach act two
How is yi read in not delighted because of external things?	Because	Reading with means reteach act three

09 Tutor FAQ

Should S1 students memorise a list of uses?

No dictionary lists. Nine uses across four particles, judged repeatedly on the same short sentences, build far more than a memorised list.

What if the translation is fluent but drops a particle?

Count against the original character by character and circle each omission. Fluency is not accuracy.

Should loan characters be taught now?

Mention two or three common ones such as yue for joy, and leave the rest to S2 so the five steps get enough practice.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.