User Comments - bababardwan

Posted on: In a Moment

pjkemp1,

Very good question mate. I'm sorry but I don't know the answer to that and I'm starting to fear I may have led you astray.I hope we get some authoritative answer.In the meantime I'll give you my thoughts.了 can have several functions and as well as indicating a change of state,it can also indicate a completed action.So your question has made me think about your original question a bit further and on reflection I think it's completed action function was more applicable.i.e. the question asker knew the person was getting ready to go out but was basically asking if that action was completed yet...good to go.In my eating example the same...it's obvious the person has been eating but the question is have they finished...is it a completed action.So I think in this latest question of someone recovering it might be like asking someone if they'd finished recovering which to me would sound just a tad strange.But lets hope we get an authoritative answer as it may turn out to be perfectly valid.Sorry for any confusion. :)

Posted on: Can't Get to Sleep

I'm not sure ,but I would have thought that in the second example the 了 is indicating a change of state;ie that previously you didn't know but now you've got it [someone or somehow you've just been informed],whereas in the former I think it's indicating you already knew.I'm happy to be corrected on this though.Can anyone confirm.

Posted on: Slippery Ground

changye,

Yeah,it has been translated as that commonly on signs:

..this advice should have been given to Bambi before his first venture onto the ice.

Posted on: Slippery Ground

I agree,less homogenisation,more diversity.

Posted on: Slippery Ground

hehe,yeah,I like your association...reminds one of the cartoons.

Posted on: 不一样的《阿凡达》

呵呵，感谢长夜为你的说明。其实，听写的时候我感觉一点尴尬而想加一个声明说，”这里表达的观点并不一定是抄写者“

Posted on: How to Start a Conversation with Chinese People

ok,now that I've listened to the lesson I've got an idea of how to start a post.大家最近在忙什么？

Posted on: Bazza and Dating Chinese Girls

..like a star:

..shining out when all around it is dark:

..reminds me of that Monty Python skit;"your majesty is like a stream of bat's p [see xiaop for explanation,hehe]...what's that? what's that?...I merely meant your majesty [well the guy 2 before did refer to him as 王】that like a shaft of gold you shine out while all around it is dark

Posted on: How to Start a Conversation with Chinese People

无可奉告 【no comment]

Posted on: In a Moment

pjkemp1,

So you at least have an answer,I'll give you my take on it,but I hope it doesn't lead you astray ,so take it with a grain of salt.If we break it down,hao means good,le in this case indicates a change of state,and ma indicates it's a question.So I think what this question is generally asking is...has your state changed to now being good,and thus I feel it could be used in a variety of contexts,and in this case would be just like asking someone in English if they are now good to go [finished getting ready..a completed action...before they were not ready but are they now in that changed state that they are ready?]...it may or may not indicate varying degrees of impatience.I think a similar example is something like: ni3chi1hao3le ma?...have you finished eating?