DSE Chinese | Classical Chinese Function Words and Patterns: A Tutor Guide

DSE Chinese | Classical Chinese Function Words and Patterns: A Tutor Guide | Split First, Translate Second

2026-11-03

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Chinese

Students usually translate classical Chinese by looking up every character and gluing the glosses together, which produces sentences nobody can read. This lesson does one thing only: use six function words to cut a 420-character passage into clauses, translate clause by clause, and only then reassemble.

Objectives — Students can: (1) name the job of the six function words zhi, qi, er, yi, yu and nai in a sentence; (2) derive 5.7 minutes per question and 0.56 marks per minute from 420 characters, 5 questions, 18 marks and 32 minutes; (3) cut any clause longer than 30 characters into three sections before translating; (4) state the signal for judgement, passive, inverted and elliptical patterns.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Content and function words	Is zhi usually a content word or a function word?	A function word, mostly a pronoun or a structural particle
Sentence order	What is the normal order behind wu shui qi?	Wu qi shui, with the object fronted
Multiple meanings	Which two relations can er mark?	Addition and contrast
Timing	With 18 marks in 32 minutes, how many marks per minute?	About 0.56

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Splitting opener	Give one 30-character clause and ask where to cut	Identify function words as cut points
8-20 min	Six function words	Model zhi, qi, er, yi, yu and nai	Give one job for each
20-32 min	Four patterns	Judgement, passive, inversion, ellipsis	Write the signal for each
32-42 min	Splitting practice	Three sections pulled from the 420-character passage	Cut and translate each section
42-52 min	Independent practice	Three questions in ten minutes	Mark answers and label the error type
52-60 min	Exit check	Three questions spoken, notes closed	Pass only when all three are right

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Function words are the joints of the sentence

The six words zhi, qi, er, yi, yu and nai account for most function-word occurrences in DSE passages, and their positions are usually where clauses divide. Have students pencil a circle around every one of the six before doing anything else; the long clause then falls into short sections on its own. Wrong circles are fine, since they give something to correct, whereas a student who circles nothing translates from the first character to the last and loses the thread.

Ask the student to circle every function word and say how many sections result.

Scene 2: Split first, translate second

Four hundred and twenty characters, five questions, eighteen marks and thirty-two minutes give 5.7 minutes and 84 characters per question. The only way to translate 84 characters in 5.7 minutes is to cut the passage into three or four sections first and then translate in one pass. Students who cut and translate at the same time stall in the third section because their own earlier mistakes block the way. During practice, no translation is allowed until three slashes are drawn.

Ask the student to draw the slashes first and name the subject of each section.

Scene 3: Each pattern has a fixed signal

Judgement clauses usually carry zhe and ye; passive clauses carry jian, wei and suo, or bei; inversion puts an interrogative or negative word early; ellipsis simply drops a subject or object. Do not teach definitions, teach signals: see the signal, name the pattern, then restore the missing element. Give one real exam clause per pattern and ask for the signal word and pattern name only, with no translation, so recognition is trained before production.

Ask which pattern wei and suo mark and restore the omitted subject.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Function word choice	One clause with two instances of zhi	Check position, decide the job, choose the gloss	Pronoun, particle or verb
Splitting	A clause over 30 characters	Circle function words, find the subjects, cut into three	Every section has a subject and a predicate
Pattern naming	Jian, wei and suo, zhe and ye	Find the signal, name the pattern, restore the element	Passive, judgement, inversion or ellipsis
Translation	A whole 84-character section	Cut, translate each part, reassemble and read aloud	Readable Chinese is the test

Sanity check (teach this): Order check: 18 divided by 32 is about 0.56, and 5.6 means a misplaced decimal. Eighty-four characters times five questions returns 420, matching the passage length. Five questions at 5.7 minutes is about 28.5 minutes, plus 3.5 minutes of reading at 120 characters per minute, which fills 32. A plan that adds up to more than 32 minutes has over-budgeted the reading.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Marks per minute for 18 marks in 32 minutes	0.56 marks	Decimal point in place
Characters per question for 420 characters and 5 questions	84 characters	Divided the right way round
Which pattern wei and suo mark	Passive	Not confused with judgement

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Glossing character by character	“Each of these little words just means something on its own.”	“These are function words, not content words. Say what job each one does in the clause instead of hunting a gloss for it.”
Cutting inside a phrase	“I cut after wu, then after wen, then after junzi.”	“Yi yan ju ren is one section; yi there means by means of, so it cannot be separated from what follows.”
Translating an inversion in original order	“I kept the object in front because that is how the text reads.”	“That is a fronted object. Modern Chinese puts it after the verb, so restore the normal order in the translation.”
Leaving an ellipsis unfilled	“Jian qi translates as saw the deception.”	“Who deceived whom? The subject and the object are both omitted, and a translation is unfinished until they are restored.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Chinese chapter index — Revise classical grammar, then do questions 1 and 2
Classical Chinese grammar — Question 1 tests function-word jobs, so give three usages
DSE Chinese practice paper — Time the classical section and log minutes per question

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Marks per minute for 18 marks in 32 minutes	0.56	Error: decimal point moved
Characters per question	84 characters	Error: used sub-part count
Pattern marked by wei and suo	Passive	Error: called it judgement
First step in splitting	Circle the six high-frequency function words	Error: guessed the meaning first

09 Tutor FAQ

How do you start with a student who refuses classical Chinese?

Start with one 30-character clause, never a whole passage. Cutting one section correctly gives a visible win, and length is added afterwards.

Are six function words enough?

DSE passages use more, but these six cover the largest share of occurrences. Hold these six first, then extend to ten.

Should students memorise translations?

No. Memorise the pattern signals and the jobs of the function words; memorised translations collapse on an unseen passage.

Find a tutor — free Tutor Registration →

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.