Perhaps this is the dullest topic ever, but this is a small something that no Chinese has been able to give me a clear answer. 

Q: When do I know when to place a comma; when do I know when to place a period?

I often read a string a phrases that are strung together by commas and then are finally ended with a period, but I can't see if there is rhyme or reason to it.  I have pointed this out to some Chinese, and they say these phrases have a relationship so they are connected by a comma.  This seems pretty willy-nilly.  Are there firm rules?

What is this about? 

I sometimes lack confidence in my grammar when trying to translate English tenses into Chinese.  I hope to somewhat clear up this problem here.  I am aware that it is probably futile to make solid rules for translating English tenses into Chinese.  Well, I’m not looking for rules.  I’m looking for rules of thumbs.  If you feel you know something about grammar, help a pathetic laowai out and look at my simple examples below.   

Regarding my examples, I’m especially curious about the following:

·         Are my translations grammatically correct?

·         Do my translations convey the original English meaning?

·         Are my translations relatively natural (or at least not unbearably awkward)?

·         Do you know an easier way?

Thanks to anyone who can help me out. 

Present Tense

I read books.

我看书。

Present Continuous Tense

I am reading a book.

我在看书。

I am reading a book tomorrow.

我明天会看着书。(I’m really suspicious of using 着 in this sentence)

Present Perfect Tense

I have read that book.

我看过那本书。(Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?)

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

I have been reading that book.

我最近在看着那本书。

Past Tense

I read that book.

我看了那本书。

Past Continuous Tense

I was reading that book.

我以前看那本书。

Past Perfect Tense

I had read that book.

我已经看了那本书了。

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been reading that book.

我以前看着那本书了。

Future Tense

I will read that book.

我会看那本书。

Future Continuous Tense

I will be reading a book.

我会看着书。(Again, I’m not so sure about the 着 in this sentence.)

Future Perfect Tense

I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.

我十点会看完那本书了。

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

I will have been reading that book for 2 weeks.

到那个时候我已经看了那本书两个星期。(Should there be a 了 at the end of this sentence?)

What is this about? 

This is a continuation of my grammar post that can be found here.  The reason for this update is to consolidate and update what has been advised so far in order to easier facilitate further instruction.   Anybody who knows something about the nitty-gritty details of grammar is encouraged to give input on the accuracy of the examples below.  But of course, those who just got a good sense are also encouraged to contribute.

I especially hope to have these questions answered about the examples below:

• Is the translation grammatically correct?
• Does the translation convey the original English meaning?
• Is the translation relatively natural (or at least not unbearably awkward)?
• Do you know an easier way?

(Note: I changed many examples using 看because 看 seems to present a unique problem in the present continuous.)

Thanks to anyone who can help me out.  If I made an error or missed one of your suggestions, a thousand apologies, and please let me know!

1) Present Tense (No comments thus far)

I read books.

我看书。

2) Present Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)

I am eating food. 

我吃着饭。

I am eating at 6 o'clock.

我六点会吃着饭。（我六点打算吃着饭。）

Question: I personally think that I am trying too hard to force English grammar into Chinese grammar, and that it would be good enough to say 我六点吃饭.  Am I right?

3) Present Perfect Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)

I have read that book.

我看过那本书了。

• (It isokay to add 了 . But there is no need to add "了"since "过" and "完" both mean something has been done!) In fact, to add "了"at the end of this sentence just emphasizes加强语气.
• (Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?) no need to add 了since 过 is an experiential marker.
• (Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?) if you add 了，maybe you could say it 那本书我看过了

4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)

I have been watching a lot of TV.

我最近在看着很多电视。

5) Past Tense (No comments thus far)

I read that book.我看了那本书。

6) Past Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)

I was reading a letter.我以前写着一封信。

Question: I am never sure if 以前 carries the same exact meaning of ‘before' in English.  In English, ‘before' implies a significant amount of time has passed.  Is it the same with 以前?  If ‘before' and 以前 are the same, how would I rewrite this sentence if I meant I was writing a letter three hours ago?

7) Past Perfect Tense (No comments thus far)

I had read that book.

我已经看了那本书了。

8) Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)

I had been reading that book.

我之前一直看/读那本书。

• ‘had been doing'表示这个状态一直持续。

9) Future Tense (No comments thus far)

I will read that book.

我会看那本书。

10) Future Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)

I will be listening to my MP3 player.

我会听着我的MP3。

Question: Again, is that 着 necessary or even wanted?

11) Future Perfect Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)

I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.

我十点会看完那本书了。

• No need to add "了" here since the sentence already uses "完" to mean "finish"
  
  

12) Future Perfect Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)

When the clock strikes 7, I will have been listening to that man for two hours.

到起点，我就会听着那位男人两个小时了。

Question: Again, is that 着 necessary or even wanted?

Again, thanks a billion to everyone who has contributed so far!

To all who have been following my Please give grammar help!!! and (REVISED) Please give grammar help!!! posts, here is the final result.  Below I have consolidated the input of lujiaojie, aaaaz and diwaien.  Many thanks to them and all the others who have advised.  Rest assured I have read and profited by all those who have commented even if some aren't directly included in the final edit (i.e. please don't feel bad if you aren't mentioned by name).

Keep in mind that these are just guidelines.  Don't be bothered if you see a translation that has a slightly different meaning than the original English sentence.  The goal here is to capture the gist of the meaning as it is probably counterproductive and futile to precisely translate English tenses into Mandarin.  That said, if you see any big errors, please say so.

Assuming everything is A-okay, I suggest that if this post is informative for you, make a few of your own examples in the comment section below.

1) Present Tense
I read books.
我看书。

In addition: 汉语里常用：我经常(often)......；我总是(always)......；

2) Present Continuous Tense
I am reading a book.
我在看书。
I am reading a book tomorrow.
我明天会看书。

I am eating food.
我正在吃饭。or 我在吃饭。

In addition: 可以译成：我正在......；我在......

Only use 着 in the present continuous tense.

3) Present Perfect Tense
I have read that book.
我看过那本书。Or我看过了那本书。

4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been reading that book.
我最近在看那本书。Or我已近在看那本书了。

I have been watching a lot of TV.
我最近在看很多电视。

5) Past Tense
I read that book.
我看了那本书。or  我看过那本书。

I read that book.

我看了那本书。

6) Past Continuous Tense
I was reading that book.
那时我正在看那本书。

I was reading a letter.

我那时正在读一封信。

In addition: 一般使用的时间如下：在那时；昨天X点。时间一定要具体

7) Past Perfect Tense
I had read that book.
我已经看了那本书了。or 我已经看过那本书了。

8) Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been reading that book.
那时我一直在看那本书。( here 那时 can be several days.)

9) Future Tense
I will read that book.
我会看那本书。or 我会看那本书的。的 can be used at the end of a statement that not happened to indicate certainty.

In addition: 你只要用这种句型：我将会......；我马上去......；我将会去......

10) Future Continuous Tense
I will be reading a book.
我会看书。

11) Future Perfect Tense
I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.
 我10点会看完那本书。

12) Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been reading that book for 2 weeks.
到那个时候我已经看了两个星期那本书了。or 到那个时候，那本书我已经看了两个星期了。(There should be a "le" at the end of sentence to indicate Continuous.)

When the clock strikes 7, I will have been listening to that man (sing) for two hours.
到7点的时候，我就听了两个小时那个男人的歌了。

Do you put entire sentences on your flashcards? I've just started, and it's great stuff. Here's my new guideline:

When learning characters, study words. When learning words, study sentences.

I never believed in learning the characters in isolation. Seemed like a waste. Why not learn the words, instead? You'll have to learn the characters to get the words, anyway. Now I'm feeling the same way about words. However, having entire sentences on flashcards won't work very well if you don't know the characters. That's too much unknown stuff to put on a flashcard.

So right now, when I encounter a word where I know the characters, but didn't know the word, I make a search for it on nciku, find a good example sentence and add the whole thing into the vocabulary tool in CPod. This usually gives me a grammar construction and sometimes several new words (and if not, overlearning on old words) for free. Also, getting to know the word in a context really helps me to know how to use it (to avoid using it just like its English counterpart is used in English). However, I always make sure I know all the characters in the sentence. I never add a sentence with unknown characters.

Just thought I'd share. Do you work with memorizing sentences? Why or why not?