6  THE NOUN PHRASE

6.1  DEFINITENESS AND DEMONSTRATIVES

6.1.1 CLASSIFIER – NOUN PHRASES

嫁個有錢人
gagoyáuhchínyàhn
marryCLrichman
‘to marry a rich man’ (title of film)

A poster of the film:

6.1.2  DEMONSTRATIVES

嗰張檯  gó jēung tói ‘that table’

呢間學校 lī gāan hohkhaauh ‘this school’

6.1.3  DEMONSTRATIVES IN APPOSITION

學語言呢件事好複雜嘅
Hohkyúhyìhnlīgihnsihhóufūkjaahpge
learnlanguagethisCLmatterverycomplicatedSFP
‘Learning languages is a complicated matter.’

6.2  NOUN CLASSIFIERS

6.2.1  SYNTAX AND USAGE OF CLASSIFIERS

用筆寫好啲
Yuhngbātséhóudī
usepenwritegooda-bit
‘It’s better to write with a pen’.

你有幾多錢喺個袋度呀?
Léihyáuhgéidōchínháigodóidouha?
youhavehowmuchmoneybe-atCLpocketthereSFP
‘How much money do you have in your pocket?’

6.2.2  MEASURE (QUANTITY) CLASSIFIERS

呢啲魚三蚊一兩
Līdīyúsāammānyātléung
thisCLfishthreedollaronetael
‘These fish are three dollars a tael.’

6.2.3  SORTAL (TYPE) CLASSIFIERS

我份人至冇所謂嘅
Ngóhfahnyàhnjimóuhsówaihge
ICLpersonmostnot-havecareSFP
‘As a person, I couldn’t care less (about many things).’ (film)

6.2.4  ALTERNATIVE CLASSIFIERS

我介紹呢位同事俾大家識
Ngóhgaaisiuhlīwáitùhngsihbéidaaihgāsīk
IintroducethisCLcolleagueforeveryoneknow
‘I’m introducing this colleague to everyone.’

6.2.5 VERBAL CLASSIFIER PHRASES

我想睇BB睇多一眼
Ngóhséungtáibìhbītáidōyātngáahn
Iwishlookbabylookmoreoneeye
‘I want to take another look at the baby.’

6.3  POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

6.3.1 POSSESSIVE CONSRUCTIONS WITH GE

教授嘅辦公室
gaausauhgebaahngūngsāt
professorLPoffice
‘the professor’s office’

我的一生
ngóhdīkyātsāang
ILPonelife
‘my whole life’

上帝之手
seuhngdaijīsáu
GodLPhand
‘Hand of God’ (as in the Hand of God goal in a World Cup football match)

6.3.2 POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH CLASSIFIER

你個朋友 你嗰個朋友
léihgopàhngyáuh léihgógopàhngyáuh
youCLfriend youthatCLfriend
‘your friend’ ‘that friend of yours’

6.3.3 ASSOCIATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

着嘅衫
jeukgesāam
wearLPclothes
‘clothes for wearing’