User Comments - eunica
eunica
Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People
August 17, 2008, 11:41 PMI think I've asked this question before (to no avail), but I think it's appropriate to put it here. - Some sentences that are like the following (I don't know to explain this is grammatical terms) "He is a friend/shopkeeper/father/idiot/diabetic/tall person etc." contain 是个, some 是一个. Is there a rule of thumb when to use一?
@xiaoan I should have been more specific, what I meant was that it's not a specifier for PEOPLE. ;-)
Posted on: The 是...的 (Shì...de) Pattern
August 17, 2008, 12:20 PM@emberswift, according to my grammar book, 是 can be used for emphasis, but without a 的. If the 的 occurs, then it becomes the pattern discussed in the podcast which is intrinsically a way to stress particular aspects. If you only use 是, it can appear in contexts like "You really ARE annoying" or "We ARE going out today". That's not to say that 你是特别重要的。 is incorrect, I really don't know.
Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People
August 17, 2008, 10:59 AMmonica, do they really say 吗? 几 is already a question word, so 吗 is superfluous. It's appropriate to use 位 in your reply, provided that the waiter also used 位.
checkingoutchina, Adding to xiaoanolga's explanation: you don't need a measure word for 哥哥, and 家 isn't one anyway, it means family. If you want to say "and A friend" 我(的)一个朋友 is ok. Otherwise just say 我的朋友, especially if your interlocutor knows which friend you're referring to. Thus, you can say 我哥哥和我(的一个)朋友一起去餐馆.
Posted on: Chinglish in Reverse and University Culture
August 16, 2008, 08:58 PMThanks, kimiik. Nice picture indeed.
naicha, sorry for having to correct you, but isn't it 帅哥 shuai4ge1? Probably got distracted by a handsome guy, didn't you? ;-)
lostinasia, during my time at university, I've seen countless students playing computer games during lectures. At least they were awake....
Posted on: Chinglish in Reverse and University Culture
August 16, 2008, 12:03 PM@ancalagon Sure, here they are:
麻烦 ma2fan2 - trouble(-some)
阿姨 a1yi2 - aunt, maid
方便 fang1bian4 - convenient ("...很不方便...")
请 qing3 - please!, treat (请客 qing3ke4 - treat guests)
老外 lao3wai4 - foreigner (endearing term, though sometimes a bit like "gringo")
外国人 wai4guo2ren2 - foreigner (neutral)
高??? gao1jia? - elevated freeway (is it 驾, 驾照的驾?)
高级 gao1ji2 - high class, fancy
送 song4 - send, give
骗 pian4 cheat, rip off
拉肚子 la1du4zi diarrhea
买单 mai3dan1 pay the bill (or as in "服务员, 买单"- "Waiter, the bill, please!")
没有 mei2you3 not have
舒服 shu1fu comfortable, well
走吧 zou3ba let's go
Posted on: Chinglish in Reverse and University Culture
August 16, 2008, 11:10 AMCan't contribute uch to the Zhonglish discussion, apart form admitting that I frequently use 好的 hao3de, 你呢 ni3ne and answer the phone with 喂 wei2, of course not on purpose. Chinese messes up my usage of prepositions in English, though.
A Chinese friend of mine is notorious for enriching the English language, though. I have no clue what kind of dictionary he's using but he comes up with the most obscure, obsolete and "ancient" English words. Sometimes it's quite 麻烦 ma2fan2 chatting with him cause he sounds like a blend of a hip schoolkid and a Victorian scholar, albeit with a thick Chinese accent.
Posted on: The 是...的 (Shì...de) Pattern
August 15, 2008, 07:30 PMI would guess it could be 你是怎么学习中文的?
No idea how to reply to that, stating for example "I have studied on my own, relying on brilliant resources like the website and podcasts of ChinesePod, and various textbooks as well as grammar reference books and having an occasional chat with native speakers online." *wink* Suggestions? (I'd be immensely grateful if someone could actually tell me how to explain my study habits...I'm not advanced enough to put this kind of sentence together. A drawback of this learning method is that active skills get somewhat neglected ;-) )
我是在家自学中文的。。。
Regarding this QingWen, I'm afraid Connie might have been underestimated!
Posted on: Is so-and-so there?
August 13, 2008, 09:31 PMQuestion: I only ever heard 稍等 (shao1deng3) in a rather formal context indicating you should wait for someone/something to "show up". Would it be possible to use it in the following way: (请)(你)稍等， 我想考虑一下. Also, how much does using 请 and 你 affect the tone/ level of politeness?
Can 等 and 一会 be combined?
Another question, not directly related to this lesson: What are the actual tones on a string of third tones, e.g "晚点给你打(电话)".
Thanks a lot in advance.
Posted on: Invitations to Eat (original)
August 13, 2008, 10:32 AM@Massive, in case you haven't noticed, Amber WORKS at ChinesePod and usually gives great explanations. The maintenance comments are not bad as well since they prevent the users from complaining again and again about stuff that's not working.
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
August 18, 2008, 01:13 AMacorrigan, I think the 次 has in fact snuck its way into the translation - it indicates that we are referring to his *upcoming* trip, as to why the compound's translation reads "this", I am at a loss as well, but on the other hand, "this" (indicating proximity) is more appropriate than "this time", albeit still misleading.