A10547 · Section A: Everyday Activities 日常活动

Home life and daily routine 家庭生活与日常作息

Key learnings

Furniture measure words: 张 / 把 / 个
Furniture nouns each take a specific measure word, not a default 个. Flat furniture takes 张 — 一张床/一张书桌/一张沙发 (yì zhāng chuáng/shūzhuō/shāfā, bed/desk/sofa); a chair takes 把 — 一把椅子 (yì bǎ yǐzi); a wardrobe or bookshelf takes the generic 个 — 一个衣柜/一个书架 (yí gè yīguì/shūjià). Example: 我的卧室里有一张床、一张书桌和一把椅子。(Wǒ de wòshì lǐ yǒu yì zhāng chuáng, yì zhāng shūzhuō hé yì bǎ yǐzi.) — In my bedroom there is a bed, a desk and a chair.
Sequence a day + time-before-verb order
Two rules for describing a day. (1) The time expression goes BEFORE the verb: 我每天早上七点起床 (每天早上七点 before 起床), never after. (2) Chain actions with the fixed-order connectives 先……，然后……，接着……，最后…… (xiān/ránhòu/jiēzhe/zuìhòu, first/then/next/finally). Example: 我先刷牙，然后吃早饭，接着上学，最后回家做作业。(Wǒ xiān shuāyá, ránhòu chī zǎofàn, jiēzhe shàngxué, zuìhòu huíjiā zuò zuòyè.) — First brush teeth, then breakfast, then school, finally home for homework.
Chores + frequency adverbs 常常/每天
Pair each chore verb with a frequency adverb so it reads as a habit: 做家务 (zuò jiāwù, housework), 打扫房间 (dǎsǎo fángjiān, tidy the room), 洗碗 (xǐ wǎn, wash up), 倒垃圾 (dào lājī, take out rubbish), 遛狗 (liù gǒu, walk the dog); add 常常/每天/有时候 (often/every day/sometimes). Example: 周末我常常帮妈妈做家务，比如洗碗和倒垃圾。(Zhōumò wǒ chángcháng bāng māma zuò jiāwù, bǐrú xǐ wǎn hé dào lājī.) — At weekends I often help my mum, e.g. washing up and taking out the rubbish.

Common mistakes

Drawn from real examiner reports.

Time expression placed after the verb

Chinese puts the time expression before the verb, never after it — English word order is the trap. ✗ 我起床每天早上七点。✓ 我每天早上七点起床。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng.) — Every morning I get up at seven. The whole time phrase 每天早上七点 sits in front of the verb 起床.

了 added to a habitual routine action

了 marks completion or a change of state, not past tense in general, and it does not belong on a habit cued by 每天/常常/有时候. ✗ 我每天七点起床了。(了 wrong — a daily habit, not one finished event) ✓ 我每天七点起床。(Wǒ měitiān qī diǎn qǐchuáng.) — I get up at seven every day. Reserve 了 for a genuinely completed one-off: 昨天我七点起床了。— Yesterday I got up at seven.

Digest: 了 aspect-marker misuse is the most heavily documented grammar error at both sittings; 了 used where it does not belong is named on the s23 Paper 41 grammar list.

Vague "做家务" with no chore named

Task Completion needs a named chore, not a vague claim that housework happened. ✗ 我周末做了很多家务。(no task named) ✓ 我周末做了很多家务，比如洗碗、打扫房间和倒垃圾。(Wǒ zhōumò zuòle hěn duō jiāwù, bǐrú xǐ wǎn, dǎsǎo fángjiān hé dào lājī.) — At the weekend I did a lot of housework, such as washing up, tidying my room and taking out the rubbish. Name the actual task, not just 做家务 on its own.

Digest cross-cutting Everyday-activities note: Writing Q3 housework tasks must move beyond I did a lot of housework to a specific detail (s23 Paper 41 Q3(b)); the bare-restatement failure is the single most citable Writing insight.

Generic 个 for furniture (床/椅子)

个 does not collocate with most furniture — use the specific measure word. ✗ 我房间里有一个床和一个椅子。✓ 我房间里有一张床和一把椅子。(Wǒ fángjiān lǐ yǒu yì zhāng chuáng hé yì bǎ yǐzi.) — In my room there is a bed and a chair. Flat furniture (bed, desk, sofa) takes 张; a chair takes 把; only a wardrobe or bookshelf takes 个.

Digest: wrong or omitted measure words are on the Writing common-error list at both sittings, concentrated on object-counting contexts (s22 and s23 Q2/Q3 grammar checklists).

Duration 小时 needs 个 (两个小时)

Unlike 天/年, which take no measure word, 小时 (hour) needs 个 before it in a duration phrase. ✗ 我每天做两小时的作业。✓ 我每天做两个小时的作业。(Wǒ měitiān zuò liǎng gè xiǎoshí de zuòyè.) — Every day I do two hours of homework. Learn the duration chunk 两个小时 (liǎng gè xiǎoshí) as one unit.

Digest: a missing measure word before a time-duration noun such as hours of homework is named at both sittings (s22 Speaking Card 2; s22 and s23 Q2/Q3 grammar checklists).

Chore matched to the wrong person

In Listening and Reading a wrong option is often a chore or time genuinely said, but attached to the wrong family member. Do not grab the first chore word you hear — check WHO does it. If you hear 妈妈洗碗，我倒垃圾, the answer to what YOU do is 倒垃圾, not 洗碗. Process the whole clause, not one word.

Digest: distractor-echo is the dominant Listening error — the wrong option is a true detail attached to the wrong person or place (s23 Paper 11/12).

了 does NOT always mean "past tense"

了 marks completion or a change of state, not tense in general — it does NOT belong with 常/每天/一般 habitual sentences. ✗ 我每天早上七点起床了，然后刷牙了。✓ 我每天早上七点起床，然后刷牙。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang qī diǎn qǐchuáng, ránhòu shuāyá.) — Every morning I get up at seven, then brush my teeth. Only add 了 for one specific completed or changed-state event: 昨天我起晚了。— Yesterday I got up late.

Exam tips

Structure a home-and-routine answer
Order: (1) set the scene — a room plus furniture with correct measure words (我的卧室里有一张床和一把椅子); (2) sequence with 先……，然后……，最后……; (3) name a SPECIFIC chore (帮妈妈洗碗), not just 做家务; (4) keep habitual sentences in the plain present, no 了.
Writing: characters only, cover every point
In Writing, pinyin, English and digits score zero for that content — write everything in 汉字 (六月三日, not 6月3日). Cover every bullet point and keep the greeting short (你好！). Aim for the stated length (about 80-100 characters).
Match the tense the task cues
Watch the time frame the task sets. A habitual prompt (你每天……) stays in the plain present with no 了. A past-day prompt (你昨天做了什么？) needs 昨天 plus 了 on the completed actions: 昨天我帮妈妈洗了碗。Using the wrong time frame makes the answer ambiguous.

Revision notes