DSE Chinese | Classical function words zhi qi er yi - tutor prep guide | Four-question routine, three-step answers

DSE Chinese | Classical function words zhi qi er yi – tutor prep guide | Four-question routine, three-step answers

2026-11-04

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary Chinese

Every student can read zhi, qi, er and yi aloud, yet in an explanation question they write one word: of. The problem is not memory but order – they never check position first, so every answer is a guess dressed as knowledge.

Objectives — Students can: (1) run a four-question routine to sort the four uses of zhi; (2) decide whether er sequences, contrasts or causes by naming the two actions on either side; (3) answer a function-word item in three steps – position, word class, back into the sentence – and write the reason beside the answer.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Classical patterns	Which pattern is “How wrong you are, in your lack of kindness”?	Predicate first, subject after
Old and new meanings	What does classical zou usually mean?	To run, not to walk
Pronoun idea	What does qi usually replace?	A third-person person or thing

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Three opening lines	Show three sentences with zhi, ask which is not “of”	Underline the evidence in each
8-20 min	Four questions for zhi	Demonstrate all four questions with one motto each	Run all four on one sentence
20-32 min	The two halves of er	Write the two actions as A and B, ask how they relate	Fill an A/B relation table
32-44 min	Position decides yi and qi	Two contrast pairs, word class from position	Label word class, then translate
44-56 min	Three-step answers	Full worked item with the reason written alongside	Do one item and self-mark
56-60 min	Exit check	Collect three items, mark at once	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Four questions before four definitions

The reflex answer is that zhi means of, which collapses on any sentence where it does not. Replace it with four questions asked in order: (1) Is a noun next? Then it is usually the structural particle of. (2) Is a verb before it? Then consider a pronoun standing for a person, thing or place. (3) Has the clause already got a subject and a predicate, with zhi sitting between them only to mark a pause? Then it nominalises the clause. (4) Is the word after it a place, with no other verb in the sentence? Then zhi is itself the verb to go.
Put the four questions on the board and require the student to name the question number out loud every time, then write that number in the answer. A marker who can see the route awards the route.

Ask the student to run all four questions on two sentences and say which number gave the answer.

Scene 2: Er marks a relation, not a meaning

Er has no fixed translation; it labels the relation between two actions. The method is to delete er, write the two actions as A and B, then ask: does B follow A, does B oppose A, or is A the reason or method for B?
Three relations, three translations. Students who skip A and B translate er as and nine times out of ten. Demonstrate the failure on purpose: translate a clear contrast as and, let the class hear how absurd it sounds, then go back and name the relation.

Ask the student to explain in one sentence why “B opposes A” beats “and”.

Scene 3: Yi and qi: position first, then meaning

Yi before a noun is usually a preposition (with, by, because of); between two verbs it is usually a conjunction (in order to). Qi before a noun is usually a third-person pronoun; at the head of a clause followed by a modal word it is usually an adverb of speculation or rhetorical question.
Fix it as two steps: mark the word class of the neighbour on each side, then choose the translation. Students skip step one, so the same word is right in one line and wrong in the next, and the errors look random when they are all the same skipped step.

Ask the student to find three instances of yi in one passage, label both neighbours, then translate all three.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Explain the function word	Give the meaning of zhi in a line	Four questions, report the number, then translate	One of four uses, with its question number
Compare two uses	Same character, two sentences	Run the routine separately on each	Two different answers, each with a reason
Translate the sentence	Render a short classical sentence	Word class first, then clause by clause, then read aloud	Keep the contrast or the cause
Analyse the effect	What does this particle do here?	Structure (pause, link) plus effect (rhythm, emphasis)	Both layers, or marks are lost

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity check: only four words are taught, but each comes with a fixed routine, so the student has a repeatable action; every answer must carry a reason, because the paper awards steps rather than luck; the tutor should make one deliberate mistake so students dare to be wrong out loud.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Four questions	Three sentences, each with a use and a question number	Whether the student jumps straight to of
Er relations	Two sentences: write A, B and the relation	Whether both actions are actually named
Three-step translation	Translate one sentence under 20 characters	Whether the contrast survives the translation

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
zhi always means of	the land of stopping ploughing	Delete the of – is the subject still doing something? Check whether a verb comes before it.
er always means and	A contrast rendered as and also blue	Write the two actions as A and B. Does B follow A, or oppose it?
Answer without a reason	Just the word pronoun	How do you know? Put the question number beside it, the marker needs your route.
yi always means because	because a knife chopped the wolf	Is the word after yi a noun or an action? After a noun it is usually with.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary Chinese index — All chapters for this subject
Prep guides index — Matching chapters in other subjects
Redo this chapter — Redo three sentences with question numbers and reasons

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Four uses of zhi	Pronoun, structural particle, clause nominaliser, verb to go	Missing one = back to act one
Three relations of er	Sequence, contrast, cause or method	Only and = repeat act two
Three-step answer order	Position, word class, back into the sentence	Cannot state it = back to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

Should students memorise a dictionary of particles?

No. Four high-frequency words with one routine beat a hundred entries, and the same routine carries the rest.

What if the student is weak in modern Chinese?

Then the routine matters more, not less: weak intuition has to be replaced by position and word class.

School papers look different from DSE items

The packaging differs, the action does not; the lesson drills the action.

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.