User Comments - chris
chris
Posted on: So (adjective) that...
May 5, 2011 at 2:26 AMGood point John, on second read my request was rather cryptic! I'll reply with more details later - bit busy today - but I think you may have already provided the answer, since I was focusing on the whole "completed action" and "change of state" uses rather than the "about to happen" use!
Posted on: So (adjective) that...
May 5, 2011 at 12:28 AMAt the risk of kicking a hornet's nest, can anyone explain which type of 了 are being used in 5 of the 12 example sentences. I thought I was starting to understand 了 a bit better these days, but I can't for the life of me work out why certain of these QW sentences have it and others don't.
Posted on: Actually
May 4, 2011 at 4:30 AMThanks Ingrid, that's very useful.
Posted on: Actually
May 3, 2011 at 6:43 AMSomething that's been bugging me about the "把" structure - how do we know when it's more natural to use the structure and when it's not so natural?
Case in point in this lesson:
请把事实告诉我们 (qing3 ba3 shi4shi2 gao4su wo3men)
versus
请告诉我们事实 (qing3 gao4su wo3men shi4shi2)
"Please tell us the facts".
I'm guessing that there are no hard and fast rules and it is simply something that a non-native speaker will start to 'feel' when they get to a sufficient level?
Posted on: What does she look like?
May 2, 2011 at 9:39 AMWow, glad my comment triggered such a long thread :-) CPod, any chance of a definitive answer to my original question on the cherished 了 after the May day holiday is out of the way ;-)
Posted on: What does she look like?
May 1, 2011 at 6:45 AMA 了 question regarding the first batch of expansion sentences. In the 2nd sentence we have:
他最近在工作上碰到了一些困难
"He's run into some difficulties at work recently"
In the 3rd sentence we have:
我刚刚在路上碰到我的前女友
"I just ran into my ex-girlfriend on the street".
My question is why is there a 了 in the first sentence above but not in the second? I am thinking that the 刚刚 in the second sentence already tells us that the action is completed so a 了 would be redundant (although not grammatically incorrect if we inserted it?).
But then, in the first sentence, doesn't the 最近 also do the same thing, i.e. it gives us the time aspect so no 了 is necessary surely? Or is different, e.g. the difficulties at work may have started recently but are still continuing at the time of the statement - with the 了 actually indicating change of state (from no difficulties to some difficulties) rather than completed action?
Thanks, chris
Posted on: What does she look like?
May 1, 2011 at 6:08 AMI've seen this use of 这 quite a few times now in Cpod lessons. I always think of it in my head as "这件事" with the 这 just being a shortened version of this structure and the 事 (matter/event) being whatever it is that is being discussed from the context.
Posted on: What does she look like?
May 1, 2011 at 6:05 AMI'm a bit late to the party, but just wanted to add my word of thanks to Sunix. I've been hitting the Intermediate lessons pretty hard during the last few weeks and the ones that he is in always bring some light relief to the studying. I've noticed that he often speaks a bit faster than the other actors which is useful to help improve my comprehension.
Posted on: Transferring Money
April 29, 2011 at 5:34 PMI know exactly where you're coming from mate.....
Posted on: What does she look like?
May 7, 2011 at 1:06 PMJenny used 矮 to mean "short" in the banter right at the end of the lesson. I have only ever come across and used 低 to mean "low" or "short" (basically, the opposite of 高). My question is whether or not 低 can be used to describe people - or should I stick with my new word 矮? Or perhaps there is another word out there that is better suited for this?!