M: Péngyoumen, nǐmenhǎo! Huānyíng shōutōng xiànzài xué hànyǔ. Wǒshì ML.

S: Wǒshì Stuart. Hey, ML, I’m curious how you keep yourself always in the pink.

M: That’s because I eat a lot of fruit every day. 因为我每天都吃很多水果。

S: So today we’ll start learning the names of some very common fruits, such as píngguǒ, which we learnt in last lesson. Listen carefully and try to mimic us, very important.

S: ML, what are you eating? Nǐzài chī shénme? 你在吃什么？

M: I’m eating an apple. 我在吃苹果。Wǒzài chī píngguǒ.

S: It seems very good to eat! Kànqǐlái hěn hǎochī. 看起来很好吃！

M: That’s right! 水果都很好吃。All fruit is good to eat. Shuǐguǒ dōu hěnhǎochī.

S: Yes, I can see that! On your table I also saw oranges, grapes, peaches and pears. Zài nǐde zhuōzi shàng wǒhái kàndàole chéngzi, pútao, táozi, he yālí.

M: Ok, now let’s look at the new stuff.

S: I asked ML why she always looks so healthy, she answered –

M: Yīnwéi wǒ měitiān dōuchī hěnduō shuǐguǒ. 因为我每天都吃很多水果。每，MEI, měi, third tone, means ‘every’. Měitiān, every day, měitiān. Shuǐguǒ, SHUI GUO, 水果, means ‘fruit’. 我每天都吃很多水果。I eat a lot of fruit every day.

S: Then I asked ML, ‘你在吃什么？’ What are you eating now? Nǐ zǎi chī shénme? We’ve learnt the word ‘zài’, as in ‘zài zhuōzi shàng’, on the table; and ‘zài yǐzi xiàmian’, under the chair. But here it indicates an action in progress. Listen carefully and find out how ML answers my question.

M: 我在吃苹果。I’m eating an apple. Wǒzài chī píngguǒ.

S: Very simple. Just add the ‘zài’ in front of the verb, and you get the present continuous tense.

M: More examples. Remember how to say ‘playing tennis’? Right. 打网球，dǎwǎngqíu. So how do we say, I’m playing tennis?

S: Hěnhǎo. Wǒzài dǎwǎngqíu. 我在打网球。

M: And remember jogging is? Duìle, 跑步，pǎobù. So, how do we say “I am jogging”?

S: Méicuò, wǒzài pǎobù. 我在跑步。Did you guys have all the above correct? You did? Congratulations! Let’s have a break.

M: I am eating an apple. 我在吃苹果。Wǒzài chī píngguǒ.

S: Hmm, kànqǐlái hěn hǎochī! Seems very good to eat! 看起来很好吃！

M: Shuǐguǒ dōuhěn hàochī. Literally, Fruits all very good to eat. Of course it means, ‘all fruits are very delicious.’ 水果都很好吃。水果都很好吃。

S: And ML means it: on her table I also saw oranges, grapes, peaches and pears. How do we name those fruits in Chinese? Let’s find out next lesson.

M: Zàijiàn!