User Comments - John
John
Posted on: Adjusting the Temperature
August 6, 2010 at 8:55 AMI'd say the woman wasn't in a foul mood, but "slightly whiny" is probably a fair assessment. I wouldn't worry about trying to cultivate the exact manner of speaking.
Posted on: Going on a Picnic
August 5, 2010 at 1:46 AMFixed. Sorry about that.
Posted on: Going on a Picnic
August 4, 2010 at 7:58 AMHeh... Trust me, the Chinese don't consider sandwich-making hard. How many times have I heard, "western food is so simple; it's all just a bunch of sandwiches"?
Posted on: Discussing a Thesis Topic with an Advisor
August 3, 2010 at 10:18 AMI think a lot of American universities only require students to write a thesis if they want to graduate with honors. (Obviously, it's not the only requirement...)
Posted on: Tea Tasting
August 3, 2010 at 1:43 AMCan you be more specific? Do you mean 怎样 vs. 怎么样?
Posted on: Transportation
August 3, 2010 at 1:40 AMI can't think of any other question words that so regularly precede verbs. 怎么 is somewhat special, yes.
Posted on: August, Study Tips and Expo Insights
August 3, 2010 at 1:35 AMWow, that's really cool! Your notebook method sounds like one I used when I first came to China. I eventually abandoned it because I felt it wasn't necessary anymore, but now I use Anki again for words I want to remember that don't seem to stick.
Out of curiosity, what are the other languages you've studied? Do any of them help you learn Mandarin?
Posted on: Tea Tasting
August 2, 2010 at 3:51 AM哪种 (na3zhong3) - which kind (sort implies there are several types to choose from)
怎么样的 (zen3meyang4 de) - what kind of (very general)
怎么样 (zen3meyang4) - "how about it?" "how is it?"
I hope that helps!
Posted on: Separable Verbs
August 2, 2010 at 3:27 AMGlad you found it useful! I should say that it's definitely possible to diagram Chinese sentences as well; I did it in grad school as part of my studies.
Most basic grammar words are easy to look up: 名词、代词、动词、形容词、副词、量词、连词、助词、介词等等。
Posted on: August, Study Tips and Expo Insights
August 9, 2010 at 10:24 AMThat's really cool! Thanks for the response.
I agree that technology makes it easier to study languages, but you still really have to put in the time. I'm always tempted to start studying more languages, but I don't like to go halfway. I stopped studying Korean before, and I'm in a "holding pattern" at low levels of Shanghainese and Shanghainese sign language already.