User Comments - John
John
Posted on: Karaoke
December 30, 2008 at 2:02 AMsarahlct,
Yes, there is an element of pattern there, and it is the same verb repeating:
V Obj V Complement
This is actually the same pattern as:
你 说 (V) 中文 (Obj) 说 (V) 得很好 (Comp)。
跑调 can be thought of as a single word/phrase, but as in this case, it can also act as a Verb-Object combo.
Posted on: Late December News
December 30, 2008 at 1:27 AMIt's important to realize that Twitter is different from e-mail... Updates are not an "inbox." If you think you have to follow everything, you'll quickly get overwhelmed. Pop in and check every now and then, then pop out.
@andrew_c: I was thinking the same thing...
Posted on: Karaoke
December 29, 2008 at 4:19 AMChangye,
Empty orchestra, perhaps, but not empty stomach! That's what karaoke means to me...
Posted on: Chinese Hospitality and Finding Vegetarian Food
December 27, 2008 at 8:04 AMAmber has been a huge asset to ChinesePod, a pillar of the community, and just a (slightly Taiwanese-accented) ray of sunshine in general. We will sorely miss her.
Posted on: The Person Component
December 26, 2008 at 3:03 AMChangye,
我只希望他们以后不会过分地小心起来。
不会，我们脸皮很厚的！哈哈！
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hangzhou
December 26, 2008 at 2:23 AMlight487,
When my parents visited China for the first time in 2007, I had them see only three cities: Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou. True, there are more exotic places they could have visited, but they wanted a more relaxing trip, and Hangzhou is definitely slow-paced (plus it's so convenient to get there from Shanghai).
I highly recommend Hangzhou (my home for 3.5 years)!
Posted on: Not So Silent Night
December 24, 2008 at 2:10 AMWhoo-hoo!
先祝大家平安夜快乐！ (Xiān zhù dàjiā Píng'ānyè kuàilè!)
Posted on: Finding an Apartment
December 24, 2008 at 2:03 AMstanimal,
That's exactly right. So, yes, they both follow similar patterns to other verbs and other adjectives. If you're talking about other words flipping the two characters around to change the part of speech, then no, that's quite rare.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 1: Officially Pregnant
December 24, 2008 at 1:54 AMalexyzye,
As Changye mentions, the laws have changed recently, but at one time it was actually illegal for an unmarried woman to give birth in China.
So telling the doctor you were unmarried was equivalent to telling him you needed an abortion. Laws have changed, but perhaps certain protocols change more slowly.
Posted on: 重走丝绸之路
December 30, 2008 at 5:02 AMalang,
You're referring to a difference in dialect. It sounds like your friend is more used to northern Mandarin, but neither is incorrect or artificial. It's simply a matter of what you're used to.