Grammar Guide Update 6/7/10

Thanks, bababardwan. That was indeed a feature of the old exercises. It has since been replaced by the current format (matching/dictation/multiple choice). It is something we could consider for the future. I also like word ordering exercises, especially when you get into the INT/UPP levels and those little 都's and 了's pop up everywhere!

There are some entries on basic grammar rules (and entries on what a noun is, what a preposition is, etc.) Those have been hidden until they are fully translated and ready with examples/links. We're going to continue publishing grammar guide sections over the next few months, so expect such things in the near future (a really helpful one is the construction of comparisons, for example)...

It is something we could consider for the future

..thanks catherine, that would be great.

I guess I'm probably jumping the gun here,but I tried clicking on the green tick on the example sentences in the grammar guide and nothing happened.I'm not sure if it was meant to take me somewhere.The link at the bottom [where present] worked but it took me to the discussion page of the relevant lesson,rather than the expansion section.I guess this makes sense though.The idea being to check out the lesson it came from rather than the expansion sentences which are already in the grammar guide. I guess I was looking for those links in the expansion section that would take me back to the grammar guide and they're not there yet in the one I tried [ I was just going on a whirlwind return trip and didn't want any stopovers ,hehe].

Bababardwan: there aren't going to be links in the expansion section, but rather tags (that are links to the grammar guide) in the left-hand sidebar on the lesson page (below function/topic tags). Due to a little delay with tech. most of these will not be visible for a day or two. Thanks for bearing with us and thanks for your feedback! Keep it coming :) OH and the green tick - it just acts like a bullet point - not a link, sorry!

Thanks again Catherine.Yeah I did look at in the area you described initially...thought I was probably just jumping the gun...just keen you know. No problems and great to get your explanation,mingbai le ...look forward to checking out further when it's ready [including the ability to comment in the grammar guide which I guess will be activated in due course]. Cheers :)

Seems very detailed, but too overwhelming for me to get to grips with at the moment. Hopefully with tags in each lesson that will really help, so I can just check the grammar guide every time I "do" a lesson and eventually the knowledge will sink in. Are there going to be tags in every lesson, or just new ones?

There will eventually be tags in every lesson. We're not there yet (1400 lesson! oy vey!) but right now the team has tagged 700+. These tags will be visible on lesson pages around Thursday of this week.

Sounds good, looking forward to seeing the links - I'm assuming the more recent lessons have been done first?

...As long as the "eventually" doesn't turn out like the Qing Wen PDFs ;-)

Well the way we're tagging is a bit complicated. Instead of starting with the most recent lessons and moving backwards, we're starting with lessons that are related (topically) to the first grammar guide ENTRIES that we're publishing. That means that lessons from all time periods are being tagged. We're also tagging new lessons as they are released. We felt this would be a good way to make sure that all entries in the grammar guide have related lessons.

Has anyone found any grammar tags yet? I'm keen to try them out!

还没有找。。。 still dont know what they look like... and I thought the drop-down menu was gonna be back??????

Any update yet Catherine? :)

We're keen to try them out on the live site, too! Waiting on the tech. team which is in the process of making them visible. Should have an update by tonight or tomorrow.

Hiya. Just being a pest. Any further update?

John just finished Particles (woo hoo!) and Jiaojie is tagging lessons with the different particles. That will be published next. The grammar tags have been successfully added to around 700 lessons for the first sections, Adverbs and Verbs.

For example, on today's lesson you'll see a grammar tag on the left-hand side, under the topic and function tags: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/buying-sandals

Aha! I'm going to investigate - thanks catherine, quite keen to check this out!

I know you've all got lots on. But I just went through my first three pages of lessons, and none of them had any grammar tags. Just checking it hasn't fallen by the wayside - I really want to learn grammar, because I hate feeling thick :-)