Chen Hao brings his car in for its annual test. The clerk checks the papers and has the boot emptied.
Chen Hao
您好，我的车今年要年检，在这儿办吗？
Nín hǎo, wǒ de chē jīnnián yào nián jiǎn, zài zhèr bàn ma ?
Hello, my car is due for its annual test this year, is it done here?
The clerk
在这儿。证件和保险单都带了吗？
Zài zhèr. Zhèngjiàn hé bǎoxiǎn chán dōu dài le ma ?
It is. Have you brought the papers and the insurance certificate?
Chen Hao
都带了，您看一下。
Dōu dài le, nín kàn yīxià.
All here, take a look.
The clerk
车上的东西请先拿下来，后备箱也要空着。
Chē shàng de dōngxi qǐng xiān ná xiàlai, hòubèixiāng yě yào kōng zhe.
Please take your things out of the car, and the boot has to be empty too.
Chen Hao
好。大概要等多长时间？
Hǎo. Dàgài yào děng duō cháng shíjiān ?
Right. Roughly how long is the wait?
The clerk
今天人不多，四十分钟左右就检查完了。
Jīntiān rén bù duō, sìshí fēnzhōng zuǒyòu jiù jiǎnchá wán le.
It is not busy today, it will be done in about forty minutes.
Chen Hao
上次检查的时候灯不亮，后来我换了新的。
Shàng cì jiǎnchá de shíhou dēng bù liàng, hòulái wǒ huàn le xīn de.
At the last test one of the lights would not come on, I had it replaced afterwards.
The clerk
换了就没问题。车最近修过吗？
Huàn le jiù méi wèntí. Chē zuìjìn xiū guò ma ?
Then that is settled. Has the car been in the garage recently?
Chen Hao
上个月刚修过，还有发票。
Shàng gè yuè gāng xiū guò, háiyǒu fāpiào.
Last month, and I have the invoice.
The clerk
那应该能过。您先在那边坐一会儿。
Nà yīnggāi néng guò. Nín xiān zài nàbian zuò yīhuìr.
Then it should pass. Have a seat over there for a while.
Chen Hao
好的，麻烦您了。
Hǎo de, máfan nín le.
Very good, thank you for your trouble.
修过 uses 过 as a mark of experience: the car has been repaired at some point. 能过 uses 过 as a verb: to pass, to get through the test. The first sticks to the verb before it and is pronounced toneless; the second is the verb of the sentence and is said guò, fourth tone. The strokes are the same; their place in the sentence tells them apart.
Chinese can state a condition by closing it with 的话: 人不多的话, if it is not too busy. The marker comes at the end of the clause, never at the beginning, and combines happily with 要是 or 如果, which double it at the head. Used on its own it is lighter and more spoken, and it is the form you hear at a counter.
着 after a verb or an adjective says a state is being kept up: 空着, to stay empty; 开着, to stay open; 亮着, to stay lit. It is not to be confused with 正在, which describes an action under way. A door that is 正在开 is opening; a door that is 开着 is open and stays so.
