Noob question re. tone rules for yi

[Laban]

Hello,

 

I am new to mandarin and I am a bit confused as to what tones to use for yi.  

 

Quote

In isolation, or when used as an ordinal number, 一 is pronounced as a first tone. In other situations, when it comes before a fourth tone, it’s pronounced as a second tone. When it comes before anything but a fourth tone, it’s pronounced as a fourth tone

Ref: http://www.hackingchinese.com/optional-obligatory-tone-change-rules-mandarin/

 

My question is regarding yí ge, as in "nǐ yí ge rén":

 

Yi has tone 2 above (and in many other places I found), but according to the rule above, should it not be fourth tone (since it precedes ge, which has no tone)?  

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[Lu]

個 originally has a fourth tone, that's why 一 has the second tone here.

[Laban]

Interesting, that explains it (though it raises the question about why ge/個 is neutral here instead of its regular fourth tone...).  

 

 

[vellocet]

Pro TIP: Pinyin "Y" is only there for decoration.  You don't actually pronounce it.  Just say "ee" instead of "yi".  Listen to native speakers and you'll hear it. 

[Laban]

Thanks.