User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: I can't buy my size
June 1, 2007 at 4:18 PMhi user15188 and piers, It's the weekend here in Shanghai now, so won't be at work tomorrow, but will get back to you with some examples for this pattern on Monday, if that's OK. I know it seems confusing, but once you get the hang of using it, you won't even have to think about it--it will just come out of your mouth.
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
June 1, 2007 at 10:43 AMhi henning, Exercise 3 has been fixed now. Thanks for pointing that out. As for Exercise 1, not quite sure what is up with that. Maybe think of it as an extra challenging question ;)
Posted on: Resisting Relocation
June 1, 2007 at 10:30 AMhenning, OK, it's fixed now! sorry about that.
Posted on: Resisting Relocation
June 1, 2007 at 9:53 AMHi Man2Toe, I've check the PDF and it has the 還. henning, Thanks, we'll get that fixed as soon as possible!
Posted on: Massage Therapy
June 1, 2007 at 8:49 AMhi lutien, They might ask you like this: 你想做哪一种按摩？ (Nǐ xiǎng zuò nǎ yī zhǒng ànmó?) ...and you could answer: 我想做头部 / 足底 / 全身 按摩。 (Wǒ xiǎng zuò tóubù / zúdǐ / quánshēn ànmó.) I would like a head massage / foot massage / full-body massage. Until we get a lesson on manicures and pedicures, here is how to say it in Chinese to tide you over: manicure 美甲 (měijiǎ) or 修指甲 (xiū zhǐjiǎ) pedicure 修脚 (xiūjiǎo)
Posted on: My New MP3 Player
June 1, 2007 at 6:10 AMHi AZERDocMom, I think in that case you would have to use the English for the brand name. But for PC you can just say "电脑 diànnǎo", so maybe like "Mac 电脑" (Mac diànnǎo). Though it does sound a little strange :)
Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 15: Uncomfortable Encounter in a Bar
June 1, 2007 at 6:04 AMhi zaneclaes, No problem, take a look at our "Help" tab, under the box "Technical Questions", then "Writing Chinese Character
Posted on: Lili and Zhang Liang 15: Uncomfortable Encounter in a Bar
June 1, 2007 at 5:57 AMhi fanshuren, A more direct translation to ask someone not to do something would be: 别做 (biézuò)
Posted on: I can't buy my size
June 1, 2007 at 3:45 AMHi Piers, Sorry I wasn't able to answer your question yesterday as I wasn't in the office. But, alas, though a bit late, here is somewhat of an explanation for you. In the case of the sentence: 运动品牌有的卖。(Yùndòng pǐnpái yǒu de mài.) The meaning is that some brands of sport shoes have large sizes for sale, or available to purchase. Or, to illustrate: "Nike has large sizes." This sentence actually isn't that easy to translate into English, because it's a bit awkward. But if you can master this sentence pattern, you can think in Chinese, which is always better in the long run than translating from English in your mind. As far as your comment that upon asking around in Taiwan about how to say this sentence, the response you got was to just say: 他们有卖 (Tāmen yǒu mài.) Actually, this is possible as well. What has happened in this sentence is that the speaker has just omitted the "的 (de)." This is not incorrect. Some speakers will leave out the 的 (de) in this pattern. As far as the differences between 的 (de), 地 (de) and 得 (de), we are always happy to answer this question for our users when they ask, and in many previous lessons have happily explained the differences before. Since the difference is not readily apparent in spoken Chinese, here is a little explanation to help you see which "de" is which in written form: 的 (de): connects nouns (N + de + N), indicates possession (N + de), connects adjectives to nouns (Adj + de + N), and comes at the end of sentences as a modal particle (…de.). 得 (de): comes after verbs and is followed by a complement (V + de + Adj and V + de/bù) 地 (de): comes before verbs in adverbial constructions (Adj + de + V) Hope that helps makes things clearer for you!
Posted on: I can't buy my size
June 2, 2007 at 12:41 AMHi fish & all, Sorry for the confusion. Actually, when I was clarifying the three "de"s I was answering a seperate question from the user piers, who mentioned that he wanted to know the difference between de 的 and de 得." However, as John mentioned earlier in the comments, in the sentence in this dialogue: 有的卖 (yǒu de mài), the pattern is: 有的 / 没的＋动词 (yǒu de / méi de + dòngcí) have sth. to V / not have sth. to V. I will get you some more examples to further illustrate the usage when we're in the office after the weekend!