Introduction: Sharing Your World

In your AQA GCSE Chinese exam, being able to say "I like it" is a great start, but to get those higher marks, you need to explain why. This chapter focuses on the "Opinions, agreement and justification" section of your vocabulary list. Whether you are doing your Speaking exam (Paper 2) or Writing exam (Paper 4), these phrases are the "glue" that makes your Chinese sound natural and persuasive.

Don't worry if you find characters tricky at first! We will break these down into simple patterns that you can use across all three themes: Identity and culture, Local area/Global issues, and Study/Employment.

1. Asking for an Opinion

Before you give an opinion, you might need to ask for one! This is especially useful for the General Conversation part of your Speaking exam.

Key Phrase: 怎么样 (zěn me yàng) — How is it? / What is it like?

Structure: \( \text{Subject} + \text{怎么样} + ? \)

Example: 你的学校怎么样？ (Nǐ de xuéxiào zěnmeyàng? — What is your school like? / How is your school?)

2. Giving Your Opinion (Foundation Tier)

To express how you feel, you need a few "stative verbs" (verbs that describe a state of mind).

Common Opinion Verbs:
觉得 (jué de) — to feel / to think
喜欢 (xǐ huan) — to like
爱 (ài) — to love
想 (xiǎng) — to want / to think (often used for future intentions like "I want to...")

Making it Stronger:
In Chinese, we rarely just say "It is good." We usually add a modifier before the adjective:
很 (hěn) — very (the most common "link" word)
非常 (fēi cháng) — extremely
太...了 (tài... le) — too... (e.g., 太贵了 - too expensive)
真 (zhēn) — really (e.g., 真好 - really good)

Quick Tip: Use 比较 (bǐ jiào) to say "quite" or "relatively." For example: 比较喜欢 (quite like).

Key Takeaway:

A simple opinion sentence follows this pattern: \( \text{Subject} + \text{觉得} + \text{Description} \).
Example: 我觉得乒乓球很有意思。(Wǒ juéde pīngpāngqiú hěn yǒu yìsi. — I think table-tennis is very interesting.)

3. Agreement and Disagreement

In the Role-play or Photo Card tasks, you might need to agree or disagree with a statement.

对 (duì) — Correct / Right
不对 (bú duì) — Incorrect / Wrong
我不喜欢 (wǒ bù xǐ huan) — I don't like...
我不觉得 (wǒ bù jué de) — I don't think...

Memory Aid: Think of 对 (duì) as a "thumbs up." If you add 不 (bù), which means "no/not," you are turning that thumb down!

4. Justification: The "Why" (Foundation Tier)

This is where you earn your "Quality of Language" marks. You must use connectives to explain your reasons.

Because... therefore...: 因为...所以... (yīn wèi... suǒ yǐ...)

Structure: \( \text{因为} + \text{Reason} + \text{所以} + \text{Opinion} \)

Example: 因为老师很亲切，所以我喜欢数学。(Yīnwèi lǎoshī hěn qīnqiè, suǒyǐ wǒ xǐhuan shùxué. — Because the teacher is kind, therefore I like maths.)

Common Justification Adjectives:
好玩 (hǎo wán) — fun
有用 (yǒu yòng) — useful
难 (nán) — difficult
累 (lèi) — tiring
漂亮 (piào liang) — beautiful

5. Higher Tier: Level Up Your Opinions

If you are aiming for grades 6–9, you need more complex structures to connect your ideas.

不但...而且... (bú dàn... ér qiě...) — Not only... but also...
Example: 这里的菜不但很好吃，而且很便宜。(Zhèlǐ de cài búdàn hěn hǎochī, érqiě hěn piányi. — The food here is not only delicious, but also cheap.)

除了...以外 (chú le... yǐ wài) — Apart from / In addition to...
Example: 除了法语以外，我也学习汉语。(Chúle fǎyǔ yǐwài, wǒ yě xuéxí hànyǔ. — Apart from French, I also study Chinese.)

越...越... (yuè... yuè...) — The more... the more...
Example: 汉语越学越有意思。(Hànyǔ yuè xué yuè yǒu yìsi. — The more I study Chinese, the more interesting it gets.)

听说 (tīng shuō) — I heard that... (Great for introducing an opinion you've heard from others).
Example: 听说北京很大。(Tīngshuō Běijīng hěn dà. — I heard that Beijing is very big.)

Quick Review:
  • Foundation: Use 觉得, 很, and 因为...所以....
  • Higher: Use 不但...而且... and 越...越... to show off your range.
  • Negative: Don't forget 不 (bù) to make words negative!

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Forgetting the "Link" Word: In Chinese, we don't usually say "I am happy" as \( \text{我} + \text{是} + \text{高兴} \). Instead of using 是 (shì), use 很 (hěn): 我很高兴.

2. Wrong Word Order: Always put your reason (因为) before the result (所以). In English, we can swap them, but in Chinese, the order is almost always "Cause then Effect."

3. Character Confusion: 觉得 (jué de) and 睡觉 (shuì jiào - to sleep) look similar because they both use the 觉 character. Make sure you look at the first character to tell them apart!

Note: For more information on comparing things (e.g., "better than"), please see the chapter on "Connectives, negatives and comparisons".