User Comments - Tal
Tal
Posted on: Grammar Lesson
September 3, 2009 at 4:38 AMBy no means! We all learn from errors. Keep on keepin' on! :)
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 14: The Finale
September 3, 2009 at 3:19 AMEven out in the trackless wastes of Jizhou, poddies have sat round campfires and by the neon glow of battered laptops, pondered the evolution of the Intermediate level.
"Fess up," croaks the man in the hat. "The beginning rocked. Jenny was so like:okayy, we're intermediate so we're just gonna shuo zhongwen and ken was just like:right, ok i mean haode... ha ha ha"
"But it's when love comes along in the shape of... err... a smart new presenter... and Lili and Zhangliang, that err... Intermediate had its *ahem* Tiananmen Spring. In fact that was the time when it was 'intermediate'," Dr. Strangelove chips in.
The avatarless poddies who always complain about "the gap" on comments threads do not usually find their way to Jizhou campfires, and so at this point no one disagrees.
The eye of horus however just smiles at the cunning plan, the way they play Slim Whitman in shopping malls to keep the kids out.
Posted on: Grammar Lesson
September 2, 2009 at 12:17 PMActually it is quite acceptable to use the pronoun 我 or 他/她 in front of 听说. Then it means something like: I've heard or He's heard.
e.g. 我听说你有新的工作。Wǒ tīngshuō nǐ yǒu xīnde gōngzuò. I hear you got a new job.
Levi's right though, it is extremely common in Chinese, and should be learned as a 'lexical chunk'.
Posted on: Grammar Lesson
September 2, 2009 at 10:46 AMNO, it's not!! You'd have to say 大家晚上好 (Dàjiā wǎnshang hǎo)。
Posted on: A Mouse Upstairs
September 1, 2009 at 11:57 PMHmm... I think I'd say: 我还是害怕。(But I'm not sure why! 老师们，你们在讲讲吧！)
Posted on: Love Tangle 2: A Lover Returns
September 1, 2009 at 11:53 PMmatt, 哎，那倒是。我一定要做现代化呀。好像我浪漫不够，其实中国男人肯定能教我啊。；）
Posted on: Love Tangle 2: A Lover Returns
September 1, 2009 at 8:17 AM真, doh! 反正两个 make a collection, 吗？lol
explodingmangoes, 请多多包涵。看样子你是一位又爽气又务实的女孩，我佩服你。恐怕如果你来中国的话，中国男人的浪漫也许让你失望了；）
Posted on: Love Tangle 2: A Lover Returns
September 1, 2009 at 4:07 AM没错，就是真浪漫，而且如果你能说这样跟感情的话，很有用，哈哈！
Posted on: Love Tangle 2: A Lover Returns
September 1, 2009 at 3:30 AM@explodingmangoes
The (kind of) language you have quoted is the Chinese version of 'burning passions etc'. Study it well to get laid. ；）
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 14: The Finale
September 3, 2009 at 10:17 AMmbettinson, you should be able to work out that I have way too much time on my hands. Sometimes I play with words for fun. I do not mean any harm by it.
Jizhou is not a real place by the way. It featured in a series of lessons here I'm fond of. My mention of the Lili and Zhangliang love story was only meant to be an indirect way of recommending a set of delighful Intermediate lessons.
Actually I should have said that the Beauty Pageant series was good too, and Lao Wang of course.
You're right that Intermediate has become much easier since the beginning. Perhaps that's a good thing.