Xiaoyu is queueing for a train ticket. The gentleman in front of her never buys on his phone.
Xiaoyu
请问，这是买票的队吗？
Qǐngwèn, zhè shì mǎi piào de duì ma ?
Excuse me, is this the queue for tickets?
A gentleman
是。前面还有十几个人。
Shì. Qiánmiàn háiyǒu shí jǐ gè rén.
It is. There are still a dozen or so people ahead.
Xiaoyu
我的车十点十分开，来得及吗？
Wǒ de chē shí diǎn shí fēn kāi, lái de jí ma ?
My train leaves at ten past ten, will I make it?
A gentleman
应该可以，这个窗口很快。
Yīnggāi kěyǐ, zhè gè chuāngkǒu hěn kuài.
You should, this window is quick.
Xiaoyu
那我就在这儿等。
Nà wǒ jiù zài zhèr děng.
Then I will wait here.
A gentleman
您别站在外面，往里站一点儿。
Nín bié zhàn zài wàimian, wǎng lǐ zhàn yīdiǎnr.
Do not stand out there, come in a bit.
Xiaoyu
好的。刚才那个人怎么直接走到前面去了？
Hǎo de. Gāngcái nà gè rén zěnme zhíjiē zǒu dào qiánmiàn qù le ?
Thank you. Why did that person just now walk straight to the front?
A gentleman
他没排队，大家都在说他。
Tā méi páiduì, dàjiā dōu zài shuō tā.
He did not queue, everyone is talking about him.
Xiaoyu
现在很多人用手机买票，不用排队。
Xiànzài hěnduō rén yòng shǒujī mǎi piào, bù yòng páiduì.
A lot of people buy tickets on their phones now and skip the queue.
A gentleman
我不会用，还是来窗口方便。
Wǒ bù huì yòng, háishi lái chuāngkǒu fāngbiàn.
I do not know how to, the window is still easier for me.
Xiaoyu
轮到您了，您先去吧。
Lúndào nín le, nín xiān qù ba.
It is your turn, do go ahead.
来得及 says you will make it in time, 来不及 that it is too late. The pair is used on its own, with no object: 还来得及吗, will I still make it? It is not to be confused with 来得了, which speaks of being able to come rather than of time available. The most useful form is the negative, shouted in a station: 来不及了.
十几 names a number between ten and nineteen, with no more precision. The device repeats at every ten: 二十几, twenty-odd; 几十, a few dozen; 几百, a few hundred. It is not to be confused with 多, which is added after the number to say "and a bit more": 十多个 comes to the same thing, but 一百多 is said and 一百几 is not.
还是来窗口方便: all things considered, the window is easier. Placed before the verb, 还是 no longer offers an alternative as it does in a question; it marks the solution you come back to after wavering. It is the word of resigned decisions, and it is heard ten times a day.
