Lesson 120: Review: getting better

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1Limba’s diary

Limba is better

End of July. The fever, the cough, the stomach: all gone. This morning I walked to the market alone for the first time in ten days, and the air smelt of rain and grass.

Tsetseg saw me from behind her stall and called out my name as if I had come back from a long journey. In a way, I had.

Looking back, I learnt a whole unit of Mongolian from my bed: where it hurts, for how long, what I had better do, what I needed to buy and why, and what was probably to blame. I would rather have learnt it at Naadam.

2Dialogue

ЦэцэгЛимба! Удаан харагдсангүй. Хаана байсан бэ?Limba! I haven't seen you for ages. Where have you been?
LimbaӨвдөөд арван хоног гэртээ хэвтсэн.I was ill and spent ten days in bed at home.
ЦэцэгХөөрхий! Юу болсон бэ?Poor thing! What happened?
LimbaТэрэлжид бороонд нороод ханиад хүрсэн. Бас голын ус уусан болохоор гэдэс өвдсөн.I got soaked in the rain in Terelj and caught a cold. And because I drank river water, my stomach hurt.
ЦэцэгТүүхий ус уух хэрэггүй шүү дээ! Одоо бие чинь ямар байна вэ?You mustn't drink untreated water! How are you feeling now?
LimbaОдоо сайн. Эдгэрээд хоёр хоног болж байна.Fine now. I've been well for two days.
ЦэцэгСайн байна. Бүрэн эдгэрэхийн тулд жимс их идвэл дээр. Энэ алимыг ав.Good. To get completely better, you'd better eat lots of fruit. Take this apple.
LimbaҮгүй ээ, би мөнгө төлье.No, no, I'll pay.
ЦэцэгБитгий. Мөнгө өгсөн ч би авахгүй. Энэ бэлэг.Don't. Even if you give me money, I won't take it. It's a present.
LimbaБаярлалаа! Та их сайхан сэтгэлтэй юм.Thank you! You are very kind.
ЦэцэгСараа эмч өнөөдөр ажил дээрээ байгаа байх даа?Doctor Saraa is probably at work today, isn't she?
LimbaТийм. Тэр өглөө эрт эмнэлэг рүү явсан.Yes. She left for the hospital early this morning.
ЦэцэгТүүнд миний мэндийг хүргээрэй.Give her my regards.

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	English
удаан	for a long time
харагдах	to be seen (удаан харагдсангүй, I haven't seen you for ages)
хэвтэх	to lie down; to stay in bed
хөөрхий	poor thing
жимс	fruit
алим	apple
бэлэг	present, gift
сайхан сэтгэлтэй	kind, good-hearted
ажил дээрээ	at work
мэнд хүргэх	to send greetings (миний мэндийг хүргээрэй, give her my regards)

4Grammar and explanations

What this unit taught

Lesson	Point	Example
111	symptoms: өвдөх, халуурах, ханиах	Би халуурч, ханиаж байна.
112	the body; your own body with –аа	Амаа ангай.
113	advice: –вал дээр, –хгүй бол дээр	Амарвал дээр.
114	even if: –сан ч, тэгсэн ч, хэдий ч	Халуурсан ч явмаар байна.
115	how long: –аад … болж байна	Өвдөөд хоёр хоног болж байна.
116	purpose: –хын тулд, –хаар	Эм авахаар явлаа.
117	when, because: –хаар	Хүйтэн болохоор гэртээ байдаг.
118	the seven cases together	Тэрэлжээс машинаар буцаж ирсэн.
119	probably: байх, байж магадгүй	Уснаас болсон байх.

Describing the problem

The body part is the subject, and –аад … болж байна says for how long:

Ханиад хүрээд гурван хоног болж байна.cold reach-CONV three day become-CONV be-PRES-FUT"I caught a cold three days ago."

Хоолой, толгой өвдөж байна.throat head hurt-CONV be-PRES-FUT"My throat and head hurt."

Giving advice, even when the patient argues

Халуун буусан ч хэд хоног амарвал дээр.fever go.down-PAST even few day rest-CONV better"Even though the fever has gone down, you'd better rest for a few days."

Эрт унтахын тулд кофе уухгүй бол дээр.early sleep-PART-GEN for coffee drink-NEG if better"To get to sleep early, you'd better not drink coffee."

Cause, purpose and probability

Two endings on the –х form are easy to confuse: with a verb of motion, –хаар is a purpose; elsewhere it is a cause or a moment. And байх after a verb turns a statement into a guess:

Бороо орохоор тэр гэртээ байгаа байх.rain fall-PART-INS he home-DAT-REFL be-PART be-PART"Since it's raining, he's probably at home."

Тэр эм авахаар эмийн сан руу явсан байх.he medicine buy-PART-INS pharmacy towards go-PAST be-PART"He has probably gone to the pharmacy to buy medicine."

Tsetseg's three habits of speech

In this dialogue, listen for –сан ч (Мөнгө өгсөн ч би авахгүй), –хын тулд … –вал дээр (Бүрэн эдгэрэхийн тулд жимс их идвэл дээр) and байх даа (ажил дээрээ байгаа байх даа), which asks you to agree with her guess, like биз дээ in lesson 88.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian converbs · All seven cases on one page

5Good to know

Phrases for an emergency, worth keeping in your phone: Түргэн тусламж дуудаарай! "Call an ambulance!", Надад эмч хэрэгтэй. "I need a doctor.", Би … харшилтай. "I am allergic to…". And when someone you know is ill, the kind thing to say is Хурдан эдгэрээрэй! "Get well soon!"

6Exercises

Choose the right answer, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.

Хаана өвдөж байна вэ? means…
"I have a fever.":
"Raise your arm.":
"You'd better rest.":
"You'd better not go out.":
Бороо орсон ч бид явна. means…
"I have been ill for three days.":
Choose: Хурдан ___ тулд эмээ уу.
"I went out to buy bread.":
In Хүйтэн болохоор хүмүүс гэртээ байдаг, болохоор means…
эмийн сангаас is in the…
Уснаас болсон байх. means…
The least certain of these is…
What does Tsetseg give Limba?
хоног means…

Well done! Lesson 120 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

Write your answer on paper or in your head first, then reveal the model answer.

Ask "Where does it hurt?"
Show answer
Хаана өвдөж байна вэ?
Say "My head and my stomach hurt."
Show answer
Толгой, гэдэс өвдөж байна.
Say "You'd better drink warm water."
Show answer
Бүлээн ус уувал дээр.
Say "Even though I'm tired, I'll go to class."
Show answer
Би ядарсан ч хичээлдээ явна.
Say "I caught a cold a week ago."
Show answer
Ханиад хүрээд долоо хоног болж байна.
Say "I'm going to the pharmacy to buy medicine."
Show answer
Би эм авахаар эмийн сан руу явж байна.
Say "When it gets cold, I drink hot tea."
Show answer
Хүйтэн болохоор би халуун цай уудаг.
Say "It was probably the water."
Show answer
Уснаас болсон байх.

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