User Comments - John
John
Posted on: Getting Picked up by a Driver
April 19, 2011 at 2:24 AMIn the absence of a clear context, it feels to me like one person is telling another: "I've [already] asked the teacher [about that thing we wanted to ask]."
In 我问过老师了, this sentence-final 了 is known as 了2, and it is often optional. In this case it can be dropped. It's used to reinforce the idea that a situation has changed; 15 minutes ago I hadn't asked yet, but now I've asked.
Posted on: Getting Satellite TV
April 19, 2011 at 1:33 AMHa, and I was afraid my literal translations were getting old.
I feel that it helps you remember how to phrase things in Chinese. Sounds like it's working for you, at least...
Posted on: Getting Picked up by a Driver
April 15, 2011 at 3:42 AMEntrepreneurship is part of the Chinese DNA!
Posted on: Explaining Your Job
April 14, 2011 at 1:31 AMjerry,
That's the kind of thing we don't get into in Newbie lessons, but you're right about the "shi... de" pattern in the first line.
The answer does not use a "shi... de" pattern; it's just a normal "A shi B" sentence. Notice that in the original "shi... de" pattern, a verb phrase was used. (This is typical of "shi... de" patterns.) If the reply had used a verb phrase, it definitely would have used the "shi... de" pattern as well.
Posted on: Text Messages
April 12, 2011 at 3:03 AMWhen you repeat a one-syllable verb like that (we call it reduplication in linguistics), the second word becomes a neutral tone.
So, to answer your question, 猜猜 is "cāicai".
Your question shows that you're a keen observer, however, because the neutral tone in 猜猜 sounds pretty close to the original "cāi," whereas in other typical examples, like 看看 (kànkan), the difference between the two syllables is much more pronounced.
Don't worry about these tiny differences too much. Observe what native speakers say, and do your best to imitate.
Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound
April 12, 2011 at 2:17 AMUnfortunately, we don't have a PDF version right now, but it's a good idea. I'll see if we can do this!
Posted on: Checking out at a Hotel
April 7, 2011 at 10:07 AMHonestly, the English term "check in" is used a lot at airports in China. (I know a number of people that work for the airport or for airlines.)
It does seem like "办理登机手续" (bànlǐ dēngjī shǒuxù) is a little awkward, but in reality, Chinese people just refer to concrete actions like 换登机牌 (huàn dēngjī pái) or 托运行李 (tuōyùn xíngli) rather than referring to the abstract notion of "checking in."
Posted on: Awkward Silence
April 7, 2011 at 4:05 AMNo, I wan't sad about doing Newbie, I was sad about having to be awkward for a whole podcast!
Posted on: Awkward Silence
April 2, 2011 at 6:43 AM三楼。
Posted on: 就 for Emphasis
April 19, 2011 at 2:42 AM这个用法跟“就是了”差不多。