User Comments - go_manly

Posted on: Discussing Contract Renewal

CPod,

In the Key Vocabulary list, you have the Pinyin for 实在 as 'really' instead of shízài.

Posted on: The Clogged Toilet

I'm not sure your reference to motion towards or away from the speaker is always true.

What you say is correct when someone else is doing the moving,

But when the speaker himself is moving, he can't be moving towards or away from himself.

When the speaker is moving, I think it works the same as in English. In the case you refer to, we would say "I'm coming", not "I'm going". The point of reference appears to be the addressee.

Posted on: Ping Pong

Thanks Connie. But I'm not sure you answered my first question entirely. In English, if you 'receive' someone's shot in table tennis, it doesn't mean you managed to lay your bat on it. It simply means their shot arrived safely at your end of the table. Does 接到 means more than this - that you managed to 'handle' their shot ?

Posted on: In a Moment

Thanks John. The 2nd reference makes sense to me, especially the way 了 adds a sense of urgency. The examples without the 了 are translated as 'soon', but the one with the 了 is translated as 'immediately' - a more 'urgent' version of 'soon'.

Posted on: Preparing for the Heat

In the following dialog sentence:

有多热？ (Yŏu duō rè?) How hot is it?

1. Can the 有 be omitted? [perhaps 今天多热 (jīntiān duō rè) ? ]

2. Can we say 他有多大 (tā yǒu duōdà) ? [I don't think 有 is normally used here, so I'm asking whether it CAN be used].

3. Are there any other ways for asking "how hot" [aside from 几度 (jǐ dù) ] ?

Also, in the sentence:

大概四十度。 (Dàgài sìshí dù.) Probably 40 degrees.

shouldn't 大概 translate to its alternate meaning of 'approximately'?

Posted on: Pregnancy

Regarding the first line of the dialog:

A: 告诉你一个好消息，我怀孕了。 (Gàosu nĭ yīge hăo xiāoxi, wŏ huáiyùn le.) I have some good news to tell you. I'm pregnant.

Isn't 条 (tiáo) the measure word for 消息 (xiāoxi) ?

Could 件 (jiàn) be used also?

[ By the way CPod, could you please remove the post above by staffanlincoln. The dialog plays from his post every time you enter this page, which is quite annoying. ]

Also, in the line:

你要做妈妈了。(Nĭ yào zuò māma le.) You're going to be a mom.

could we have instead used 当妈妈 (dāng māma) ? Is there any difference in meaning? Which is used more frequently? Are there any other words which could be used in place of 做 in this sentence?

Posted on: Ping Pong

Thanks again Connie and lujiaojie. In your Pinyin mouseover, 'to get' is given as the meaning for 得了. Perhaps the 了 should not be included in this definition.

Also, please note my 3 original questions.

Posted on: Ping Pong

And another Expansion sentence question:

这次的比赛她居然得了第一名。(Zhècì de bĭsài tā jūrán dé le dìyì míng.) Surprisingly, she got first place in this competition.

Could someone explain 得了 (dé le). MDBG gives this a meaning of 'to be finished, to be ready, thats enough'. Nciku add 'expressing a suggestion' to this list. And Yellowbridge instead calls it déliǎo. I can't see how these meanings apply to the Expansion sentence. What is going on here?

Also, is the meaning of 得了 in any way related to 不得了 (bùdéliǎo)?

Finally finished this lesson. This one is a bit difficult isn't it?

Posted on: Ping Pong

Two more questions about the expansion sentences:

1. 现在由他发球。(Xiànxài yóu tā fāqiú.) Now, it's his serve.

Does this 由 (yóu) have the same meaning as 被 (bèi) ? Exactly the same?

2. 我才刚开始学抽球。(Wŏ cái gāng kāishĭ xué chōuqiú.) I just started learning the drive ball.

Is there any difference between 才刚 (cái gāng) and 刚才 (gāngcái) ?

Posted on: Ping Pong

Three questions:

1. Regarding the 5th line in the commentary:

哇。对方居然接到了。(Wā. Duìfāng jūrán jiēdào le.) Whoa. Surprisingly, his opponent handled it.

Doesn't 接到 simply mean 'to receive'. What part of this sentence indicates that he 'handled' it? By 'handled' I assume you mean he got it back.

2. In the 6th line:

回球刚刚过网。(Huíqiú gānggāng guò wăng.) The return ball just went over the net.

I thought 刚刚 meant 'just' only in a time sense. That is 'just recently, just now'. All online dictionaries only give this sense. Can it really mean 'just' in the sense of 'barely', which I assume is the intended meaning here ?

3. In the 7th line:

好。再抽一板。(Hăo. Zài chōu yì băn.) Good. Another smash.

How does 抽一板 mean 'to smash'. I don't understand the 一板.