User Comments - user14892

Posted on: Table for Three

Another vote for natural speaking speed in the dialogues, followed by Ken and Jenny dissecting the language and articulating individual words more clearly, later.  That way, we get the best of both worlds.  I used to enjoy some of the more challenging lessons--e.g., contact lenses, the man and the dog, the tortoise and the hair.  Any chance of mixing some of that style lesson in with others that focus more on the idiomatic character of everyday speech?

Many thanks from Virginia!

Charlottesville Learner.

Posted on: Art Museum

I'm wondering whether, in the sentence 你为什么不跟他们一起去?, the 一起 is actually needed, since the 跟 already suggests "togetherness." Thank you, Andrew in Virginia

Posted on: Don't Litter

Thank you! Very helpful.

Posted on: Don't Litter

Any hints on how to think about the logic of this construction (你怎么在书上乱画？), which appears in the expansion exercises? The part that has me wondering is 在书上, which seems literally to mean "at book on." Is this just an idiomatic expression? Thanks much for many great lessons. Andrew in Charlottesville, VA

Posted on: Yang Jie's Diary: He's Not Stupid

Hi, I have puzzled over the difference in meaning between the two characters for "de"--as in the sentence 我有好多不懂的东西，他都耐心地教我。A friend says that the first is "adjectival" and the second is "adverbial," which seems to be about right to me--what think you? It would be great if Ken and Jenny could point to this kind of distinction in the pod-casts, though I realize that their time is limited. On the other hand, I wouldn't at all mind downloading and listening for a few extra minutes per lesson, to get more of this level of detail. Many thanks. Andrew in C'ville

Posted on: Lesson

In the expansion exercises, 你为什么不告诉他？is translated as "Why don't you tell him?"--which seems to imply a future action that is being suggested. But I'm wondering whether it should be translated as "Why aren't you telling him?"--suggesting a present state that is perhaps on-going and does not necessarily contain the suggestion of a prompting to tell. Is either translation okay and are these distinctions essentially irrelevant? Thanks very much, In Charlottesville, Virginia

Posted on: Useful Phrases #1

Thanks, Amber, I think that "The Fix" feature with this lesson is really a wonderful drill/tool for integrating vocab and subtle differences of meaning. Any chance that such exercises could be added to other lessons? Thanks very much, In Virginia

Posted on: Useful Phrases #1

In the expansion exercises, this sentence--今天你请客?--is translated, "Who is treating today?" But it seems to mean, "Are you treating today?" Shouldn't 谁 be substituted for 你 here, or is this just a looser way of saying the same thing? Thanks, in Virginia.