User Comments - joeborn
joeborn
Posted on: Thank You Note
November 12, 2009 at 10:28 AMLet me pick a nit.
To me the first sentence's translation seems to need correcting. It says "helped plan a birthday party for me" rather than--as I believe John said in the podcast--"helped me prepare a birthday party." The written translation implies that the party was given for the writer, who may not even have known about it beforehand, whereas John's oral translation implies that the writer participated in the preparation, and it leaves open the possibility that the party was given for someone else.
Posted on: Light and Dark Colors of Clothing
October 14, 2009 at 12:59 PMlujiaojie:
Your contrasting the use of 一点儿's use following an adjective with its use preceding a noun helps reinforce what changye said. Thanks a lot.
Posted on: Light and Dark Colors of Clothing
October 13, 2009 at 5:48 PMchangye and JasonSch:
Thank you both.
Posted on: Light and Dark Colors of Clothing
October 13, 2009 at 1:17 PMchangye,
Thanks a lot for the clear explanation.
Posted on: Light and Dark Colors of Clothing
October 13, 2009 at 10:11 AMThe exercises suggest that there's a difference between the adjectival usages of 一点儿 and 有点儿. Perhaps the former is preferred for implied comparisons, but I had thought the two are otherwise interchangeable. Can anyone shed any light?
Posted on: Light and Dark Colors of Clothing
October 13, 2009 at 9:39 AMI take it that the translation "I like lighter-flavored coffee" of the expansion sentence 我喜欢浅一点儿的咖啡色 is incorrect but would have been right if the terminal had 色 been omitted?
Would adding 的 to make it 我喜欢浅一点儿的咖啡色的 result in "I like something that's a little lighter brown"?
Posted on: Funny Business 5
September 25, 2009 at 11:54 AMJenny,
Thanks a lot. As you say, the trick will be knowing whether the adjective is attributive, but your explanation will help me classify what I see.
Posted on: Funny Business 5
September 24, 2009 at 2:57 PMPlease indulge a lower-intermediate-level lurker:
The absence of 的 after 关键 in 关键证据 is another instance from which one might infer that the "rule" requiring 的 after multi-character adjectives is honored more in the breach. Is anyone aware of a source that discusses how cavalierly one is justified in ignoring that rule?
Posted on: Jet Lag
November 13, 2009 at 7:45 PMCould someone authoritative confirm that the appropriate reading of 倒 in 倒时差 should indeed be dăo rather than 倒's other reading, dào? When I consult MDBG regarding the two readings' meanings, dào seems more appropriate than dăo in this context. (Also, the dialog sounded like dào to me.)