我正在找工作

Chapter Overview and Learning Objectives

Communication Scenario

Where This Chapter Fits

Chapter 13 continues Unit III, building immediately on Chapter 12. This chapter adds a new communicative domain — study and work — while continuing to recycle ability, permission, directions, and location language from earlier chapters.

Core Vocabulary

These words are productive: you should be able to recognize, type, and use them in the tasks below. Neutral-tone syllables are marked with no tone mark, following standard Pinyin convention.

Recycled from earlier chapters: 忙 (Ch. 1), 的 (Ch. 3), 在 as location (Ch. 8), 会/能/可以 (Ch. 11), 去/来/走/坐 (Ch. 12).

Pronunciation and Listening Focus

This chapter continues tone-pair practice and adds attention to the neutral-tone syllable that appears inside several new words.

• 正在 (zhèngzài): both syllables are 4th tone. Keep them crisp and distinct rather than letting the second fall away — this is the same falling-tone discipline you practiced with 去图书馆 in Chapter 12.
• 找 (zhǎo, 3rd tone) vs 到 (dào, 4th tone): these two verbs are easy to confuse because both can appear before a place or goal. Practice the dipping shape of zhǎo against the sharp fall of dào.
• 兴趣 (xìngqù): the second syllable carries a 4th tone that beginners often flatten. Keep qù falling clearly, the same way you kept 去 falling in the previous chapter.
• 因为 (yīnwèi) and 所以 (suǒyǐ): practice these two words as fixed chunks — say them together with their partner clause rather than pausing awkwardly in the middle.

Practice the model dialogue below aloud at least three times, paying special attention to keeping 正在 and 因为...所以 smooth and natural rather than choppy.

Grammar and Sentence Patterns

在 and 正在: describing an action happening right now

You already know 在 as a location word meaning "at" (Chapter 8). 在 can also appear directly before a verb to mark that action as ongoing. 正在 is a stronger, more explicit version of the same idea — "right in the middle of doing something." The two are often interchangeable in short sentences like these; 正在 simply places more emphasis on the ongoing nature of the action.

A sentence may add 呢 at the end for a conversational, "still going on" feeling: 我正在找工作呢。 This is optional and does not change the basic meaning.

Expanding 的: attaching a description, not only showing possession

You learned 的 in Chapter 3 to show possession, as in 我的书 ("my book"). 的 can also attach a simple descriptive word directly before a noun, the way an adjective works in English.

In this chapter, practice only single-word descriptions before 的 plus a noun. Longer, clause-like modifiers built with 的 are developed in later volumes.

跟 and 和: saying who you are doing something with

跟 most often introduces a companion before a verb, describing who you do an action together with. 和 can do the same job, but it is also the ordinary word for "and" between two nouns.

因为...所以...: a formulaic reason-result pattern

因为 introduces a reason and 所以 introduces the result. In this chapter, learn and use the whole pattern as a fixed, formulaic unit for giving simple reasons. Its full grammar — including sentences that drop one half of the pair — is analyzed in a later chapter.

Use this pattern as a memorized frame for now. Do not try to combine it yet with the more advanced connectors introduced in later chapters, such as 虽然...但是....

Model Dialogue

Gloss: Anna asks David what he is busy with. He says he's currently looking for an internship — his major is computers, and he's very interested in jobs at computer companies. He's currently writing his résumé online and looking for companies; his friend Xiao Lin is also job-hunting, and they're searching together. Anna notes that because he likes computers, he wants a job at a computer company; David confirms this and adds that he has an interview tomorrow at a small company with a manager who is very nice. He goes to the interview alone, but Xiao Lin has been practicing interview questions with him.

Note: 我们跟一起找 is used here as a natural, slightly casual spoken shortcut for 我们跟他一起找; in your own writing, keep the person explicit after 跟, as shown in the Grammar section above.

Listening Practice

Ask a partner, instructor, or fluent speaker to read the passage below aloud twice at a natural pace before answering.

If no speaker is available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use. Read it aloud yourself, slowly at first, then at a natural pace. Any spoken model should be verified by a fluent Mandarin speaker before being treated as a pronunciation standard.

听力任务 — Listening task:

Reading Practice

Read the short message below and answer the comprehension questions.

理解问题 — Comprehension questions:

1. 经理为什么喜欢大卫的简历？ (Why did the manager like David's résumé?)
2. 大卫什么时候开始实习？ (When does David start the internship?)
3. 大卫现在正在做什么？ (What is David currently doing?)

Writing Workshop

Write a short message of five to seven sentences about your studies or a job/internship search, using only vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1-13.

写作任务 — Writing task: Type your sentences with Pinyin input if possible, or copy/handwrite the characters you have already been assigned for handwriting. Your writing must include:

1. An ongoing-action statement. Use 在 or 正在 to describe something you are currently doing.
2. An expanded 的 phrase. Use a simple description + 的 + noun, such as 好的工作 or 新的公司.
3. An accompaniment statement. Say who you are doing something with, using 跟 or 和.
4. A reason-result sentence. Use the fixed pattern 因为...所以....
5. At least one word from the study/work vocabulary, such as 专业, 工作, 面试, or 简历.

修改清单 — Editing checklist:

• 在/正在 comes directly before the verb, not after.
• The descriptive word comes before 的, and 的 comes directly before the noun.
• 因为 and 所以 are both included, with the reason first and the result second.
• A Chinese period (。) or question mark (？) ends each sentence.

Speaking Practice

Culture and Communication

Common Mistakes

• Placing 在/正在 after the verb: avoid *我找在工作. The progressive marker comes before the verb: 我在找工作。
• Forgetting 的 before the noun in a description: avoid *一个好工作 when you mean to highlight the description; with a single-syllable adjective plus 很, 的 is usually included before the noun: 一个好的工作。
• Confusing 跟 and 和 in the "and" function: 和 is the more common choice for simply joining two nouns ("A and B"); 跟 is more common for "together with" before a verb. Both are acceptable in many contexts, but do not assume they are always interchangeable in every sentence position.
• Using 所以 without 因为 (or the reverse) in this chapter: for now, keep the full pair together: 因为...，所以.... Dropping one half is analyzed in a later chapter.

Chapter Review

Practical Performance Task

Looking Ahead