User Comments - changye
changye
Posted on: Due This Week
March 7, 2010 at 5:52 AMHi go_manly
One of my Chinese grammar books devotes about thirty pages to explaining the usage of “了”, but I feel that's still not enough. Actually, to use “了” properly is very difficult even for "seasoned" learners of Mandarin.
Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends
March 7, 2010 at 5:41 AMHi svik
Mundane, but difficult for us learners to answer. You can also say “昨天在路上碰到了我大学同学” or “昨天在路上碰到了一个大学同学”. Personally I would prefer “碰到了一个大学同学” to “碰到大学同学了”, but don't ask me why. In general, “verb + 了 + specific object” (like 碰到了一件麻烦事) is a most common pattern when talking about something happened in the past.
Posted on: 望子成龙
March 7, 2010 at 5:21 AMHi wangpingliquan
The word “争气” （> 争口气 > 争一口气） means "strive to gain credit/determine not to fall short", so “给妈妈争口气” consequently means "to make your mother proud".
Posted on: Finding One's seat
March 7, 2010 at 12:22 AMHi go_manly
That should have been translated as "She has sat in my seat".
Posted on: Man-to-Man Advice on Women
March 6, 2010 at 11:57 PM百闻不如一见，百读不如一闻。
Posted on: Man-to-Man Advice on Women
March 6, 2010 at 1:30 PM> 学中文跟追女朋友一样
说的很好，汉语确实越学越搞不懂，和女人一样难对付！
Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends
March 6, 2010 at 7:24 AM备品越多越放心。
Posted on: Due This Week
March 6, 2010 at 4:56 AMHi go_manly
The "杯" has not come yet when you place an order. On the other hand, the situation in which there is so much work and you have to bother them has already happened. Furthermore, the “又” also carries the nuance of "sorry/once again", like “他又来了” (He came AGAIN, (although I don't welcome him)). I can't explain well the subtle difference.
Posted on: Due This Week
March 6, 2010 at 2:20 AMHi go_manly
这么多工作，又要辛苦你们了。
The “又” implies that such a situation has already happened. The second phrase means "I have to give you trouble again" or something like that.
Posted on: Due This Week
March 7, 2010 at 7:18 AMHi go_manly
According to the book 《汉语史纲要》 (by 史存直), the particle “了” (le) became differentiated from the verb “了” (liao3, finish, complete) in the era of Tang dynasty (618-907).