Polite booking: 请问 + 我想 + 量词 phrase
Open a transaction with 请问 (qǐngwèn -- may I ask) and frame the request with 我想 (wǒ xiǎng -- I would like). Pattern: 我想 + verb + number + measure word + noun. 我想订一个双人房，住三个晚上。(Wǒ xiǎng dìng yí gè shuāngrén fáng, zhù sān gè wǎnshang.) — I would like to book a double room for three nights. The duration 三个晚上 follows the verb 住, not the front. Ask about a facility with 有没有: 请问，房间里有没有无线网络？(…yǒu méiyǒu wúxiàn wǎngluò?) — Is there wifi in the room?
Report a problem with 了, then ask 怎么办 / 请帮我
To report that something has gone wrong, mark the change of state with 了 (le), then ask for help. 我的行李丢了，怎么办？(Wǒ de xíngli diū le, zěnme bàn?) — My luggage is lost, what should I do? 丢了 shows it was fine before and is now lost (change of state, NOT past tense). Follow up: 请帮我解决这个问题。(Qǐng bāng wǒ jiějué zhège wèntí.) For a complaint give the reason with 因为: 我想投诉，因为房间的空调坏了。— because the air-con is broken.
Directions: 去…怎么走 / 往 + direction + 走/转
Ask the way with 请问，去……怎么走？(Qǐngwèn, qù … zěnme zǒu?) — how do I get to …? Give directions with 往 (wǎng -- towards) + a direction + 走 (walk) or 转 (turn): 往前走，到红绿灯往右转。(Wǎng qián zǒu, dào hónglǜdēng wǎng yòu zhuǎn.) — Go straight, turn right at the traffic light. At Higher tier add an opinion with a reason across time frames -- past 上次, future 下次: 上次我坐地铁去，很方便，所以下次我还想坐，因为又快又便宜。
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Match the question word: WHERE ≠ HOW OFTEN
Match the interrogative exactly. ✗ 我常常去 (how often) when asked 你常在哪儿买东西？(where do you usually shop?) ✓ 我常在市中心的商店买东西。(Wǒ cháng zài shì zhōngxīn de shāngdiàn mǎi dōngxi.) — I usually shop in the city centre. 你一般什么时候出去吃饭？(when…?) needs a TIME (周末), not a frequency. Name the question word first: 哪儿, 什么时候, 多久, 多少钱.
Digest: candidates answered "where do you shop" as how often, and "when do you eat out" as how often (June 2023 1CN0/4H); ignoring the question word recurs in the Speaking role play (June 2023 1CN0/2H).
Past vs future: HAVE BEEN ≠ WILL BE
Higher transactional tasks need accurate time frames. ✗ 我会在这里住三天 (I WILL stay three days) when asked 你已经在这里住了多久？(how long HAVE you been here?) ✓ 我已经在这里住了三天了。(Wǒ yǐjīng zài zhèlǐ zhù le sān tiān le.) Signal it: past 了 + 已经/上次, future 会/要/以后/下次. Future: 我打算明天退房。— I plan to check out tomorrow (no 了).
Digest Speaking: past-tense questions are the weak spot -- HAVE BEEN confused with WILL BE, and how long ago vs when the flight will arrive (June 2024 1CN0/2H; June 2023 1CN0/2H).
Right measure word: 一杯茶, 一张房卡
Number + the CORRECT 量词 + noun is compulsory, and different nouns take different classifiers. ✗ 一个茶、一个房卡 ✓ 一杯茶 (yì bēi chá -- a cup of tea), 一张房卡 (yì zhāng fángkǎ -- a room card), 一个房间, 一瓶水 (a bottle of water). Use 杯 for drinks, 张 for flat things (cards, tickets), 瓶 for bottles, 个 as default. A wrong classifier is a stock error when ordering or checking in.
(general FL trap): wrong or omitted measure words (一个茶 -> 一杯茶) are a stock error flagged in the Appendix-2 grammar list.
Put time and place BEFORE the verb
Chinese puts time and place adverbials BEFORE the verb, not after (an English-order calque loses marks). ✗ 我们坐飞机去了上海上个月 ✓ 我们上个月坐飞机去了上海。(Wǒmen shàng gè yuè zuò fēijī qù le Shànghǎi.) — Last month we flew to Shanghai. ✓ 我住在市中心的酒店。Order is topic -- time -- place -- manner -- verb; re-read a booking sentence to check the date and place sit before the verb.
(general FL trap): time/place-before-verb word order, aggravated by not re-reading, is a standard writing error in the Appendix-2 grammar list.
Register: 您 for staff, 你 for a friend
Match the register to who you address. Use polite 您 (nín) and 请问 with hotel staff or an official; use friendly 你 in a message to a friend. ✗ 你有没有房间 to a receptionist (too blunt) ✓ 请问您还有房间吗？(Qǐngwèn nín hái yǒu fángjiān ma?) — do you still have a room? Weak or missing connectives (因为……所以, 虽然……但是) also cap the mark for range -- link your sentences.
(general FL trap): register (formal vs informal, 你 vs 您) and weak connectives cap the mark for range in the Appendix-2 grammar list.
Myth: 了 is simply a past-tense marker
了 (le) marks COMPLETION or a CHANGE OF STATE, not past tense -- which is why 我的行李丢了 (my luggage is lost) takes 了 even though it is lost RIGHT NOW. ✗ adding 了 to a habit: 我每天去了餐厅 (wrong) ✓ 我昨天去了那家餐厅 — a single completed event. ✓ 我以前常常去那家餐厅 — a habit, no 了. For experience use 过: 我去过中国。Decide: event (了), experience (过) or habit (no marker).
Write your OWN trip, not someone else's
✗ describing a friend or famous person trip when the task says write about YOUR travel ✓ 去年暑假我跟家人去了广州，我们住的酒店很舒服，我玩得很开心。(Qùnián shǔjià wǒ gēn jiārén qù le Guǎngzhōu, wǒmen zhù de jiǔdiàn hěn shūfu.) — Last summer I went to Guangzhou with my family; the hotel was comfortable. Use first-person 我/我们, a concrete past time phrase and detail that is clearly your own.
Digest T2 Writing: some candidates described another person trip rather than their own (June 2024 1CN0/4H); cross-cutting stresses reading the rubric precisely.
Role play: do every task and ASK a question
A role-play card has several tasks -- complete them ALL, and some prompts need YOU to ask a question. Use the correct interrogative: 几点 (what time), 在哪儿 (where), 多少钱 (how much). ✗ a statement in place of a question ✓ 请问，早餐几点开始？— what time does breakfast start?
Cover every bullet; write only what is asked
Cover EVERY bullet the task lists, and write only what it asks -- extra detail can negate a correct point. Where a task offers option (a) OR (b), answer only ONE. Give exactly the facets asked (where, when, the problem, your question), then sense-check the facts.
A four-step travel-transaction routine
For a travel-transaction task: 1) OPEN politely (请问/您 with staff); 2) STATE the request with a modal (我想订……) and give every detail asked; 3) HANDLE the problem with 了 (行李丢了) + 请帮我, or ask with the right interrogative (几点/多少钱); 4) add an opinion with a reason.
This topic (Theme T2: Local Area, Holiday & Travel, T2.2) covers the high-frequency transactional language you need as a traveller: booking and checking into a hotel or hostel, asking about facilities, dealing with problems (lost luggage, a complaint, feeling ill, changing a booking), asking for and giving directions, eating out (ordering, dietary needs, paying) and shopping while travelling. It is central to the Paper 2 Speaking role play and to Paper 4 functional and extended Writing, and appears in listening and reading too. At Higher tier you must also handle a complication and give opinions with reasons across past, present and future time frames.
Accommodation 住宿 (zhùsù)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 旅行 | lǚxíng | to travel |
| 旅游 | lǚyóu | to tour, tourism |
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | hotel |
| 青年旅馆 | qīngnián lǚguǎn | youth hostel |
| 预订 / 订 | yùdìng / dìng | to book, to reserve |
| 单人房 | dānrén fáng | single room |
| 双人房 | shuāngrén fáng | double room |
| 入住 | rùzhù | to check in |
| 退房 | tuìfáng | to check out |
| 护照 | hùzhào | passport |
| 空调 | kōngtiáo | air conditioning |
| 无线网络 | wúxiàn wǎngluò | wifi |
| 早餐 | zǎocān | breakfast |
Problems & help 问题与帮助 (wèntí yǔ bāngzhù)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 行李 | xíngli | luggage |
| 丢 | diū | to lose |
| 钱包 | qiánbāo | wallet, purse |
| 投诉 | tóusù | to complain |
| 坏了 | huài le | broken (has broken) |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | to fall ill |
| 不舒服 | bù shūfu | to feel unwell |
| 药房 | yàofáng | pharmacy |
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what should I do |
| 改预订 | gǎi yùdìng | to change a booking |
Directions, eating out & shopping 问路、吃饭与购物 (wènlù, chīfàn yǔ gòuwù)
| 汉字 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 怎么走 | zěnme zǒu | how do I get to |
| 往前走 | wǎng qián zǒu | go straight ahead |
| 左转 / 右转 | zuǒ zhuǎn / yòu zhuǎn | turn left / turn right |
| 红绿灯 | hónglǜdēng | traffic light |
| 附近 | fùjìn | nearby |
| 点菜 | diǎn cài | to order food |
| 菜单 | càidān | menu |
| 吃素 | chī sù | to be vegetarian |
| 过敏 | guòmǐn | to be allergic |
| 买单 / 结账 | mǎidān / jiézhàng | to pay the bill |
| 纪念品 | jìniànpǐn | souvenir |
| 打折 | dǎzhé | to give a discount |
to book (a room) -- say it in Chinese with pinyin and use it in a short sentence
用中文写出四个在酒店办理入住时可能用到的词或短语（例如"双人房"），并标出拼音。
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
你打算暑假去北京旅游，想在一家酒店订房间。请给酒店写一封电子邮件，内容要写清楚以下几点：（1）你想订什么样的房间，住几个晚上；（2）你到达的日期；（3）问一个关于酒店设施的问题（例如早餐、无线网络或停车）。请用中文（汉字）书写，约80-90字，注意用正式、礼貌的语气。（8分）
你们学校的中文杂志正在征集关于「旅行」的文章。请写一篇文章，谈谈你自己的一次旅行经历，内容包括：（1）你去了哪里，是跟谁一起去的（用过去时间）；（2）旅行中遇到了什么问题，你是怎么解决的；（3）这次旅行给你什么感受，以后你还想不想再去，为什么。请写你自己的经历，用中文（汉字）书写，约130-150字，注意用连接词把内容展开，不要只写一句「旅行很有意思」。（16分）
这是一段口语角色扮演（Role Play）。情境：你在中国旅游，住在一家酒店。你（考生）扮演客人，老师扮演酒店的服务员。请你用中文完成下面的任务： （1）说你想做什么（例如：办理入住）； （2）说明你遇到的一个问题（例如：房间的空调坏了，或者你的房卡丢了）； （3）回答服务员一个关于你住几天的问题； （4）向服务员提一个问题（例如：早餐几点开始，或者怎么去地铁站）； （5）礼貌地感谢并结束对话。（约10分）
