User Comments - mnixon

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mnixon

Posted on: No TV Before Your Test!
July 15, 2009 at 5:01 AM

Just a quick question. It seems that to my Taiwanese friends, 干 (gàn) implies something rude...but here in CPod, this is a perfectly acceptable word. Is there a difference between mainland and Taiwan on the use of this word?

Thanks.

AY

Posted on: Language Exchange
July 15, 2009 at 4:57 AM

I have a question surrounding the placment of 跟我 (gēn wǒ) in the lesson. Is it safe to say that this phrase should always lie between the auxiliary and primary verbs. For example from the lesson... nǐ kěyǐ (auxiliary verb) gēn wǒ liànxí (primary verb) shuō Yīngwén ma? Intuitively, I might be inclined to think that one could say, nǐ gēn wǒ kěyǐ (auxiliary verb) liànxí (primary verb) shuō Yīngwén ma? Just looking for a quick "rule of thumb".

AY

Posted on: Language Exchange
July 15, 2009 at 4:57 AM

I have a question surrounding the placment of 跟我 (gēn wǒ) in the lesson. Is it safe to say that this phrase should always lie between the auxiliary and primary verbs. For example from the lesson... nǐ kěyǐ (auxiliary verb) gēn wǒ liànxí (primary verb) shuō Yīngwén ma? Intuitively, I might be inclined to think that one could say, nǐ gēn wǒ kěyǐ (auxiliary verb) liànxí (primary verb) shuō Yīngwén ma? Just looking for a quick "rule of thumb".

AY

Posted on: Keys, Wallet, Phone
September 12, 2008 at 7:55 AM

Straightforward lesson from a vocab perspective...though I have a question regarding the construction of the first sentence - 东西都带了吗? (dōngxi dōu dài le ma?)

I apologize for all the grammar-phobes out there! Can someone explain why the following sentence does not work from a grammar perspective. And feel free to be technical and long-winded as I still think/translate from English. "Nǐ dài le nǐ de dōu dōngxi ma? Any thoughts on how you other CPoddies got past this would be great!

Thanks.

AY

Posted on: Taxi Destination
July 27, 2008 at 1:34 PM

If one "needed" permission to "take a look", we could say, "Rang4 wo3 kan4 yi1xia4", right?

AY 

Posted on: Taxi Small Talk
July 27, 2008 at 1:21 PM

Two small questions surrounding di4 san3 sentence.

1) Should we / is it preferred to use 'le' or 'ma' in these sentences to truly express asking a question about the past?

"Lai2 gong1zuo4 le ma?" "Lai2 xue2xi2 le me?"

2) Also, we opt to omit "ni" in dialogue (as in the di4 san3 sentence) when it is apparent who you are talking to - just like in English - we don't always say "You" - we just make eye contact.

Thanks.

AY

Posted on: How embarrassing!
June 28, 2008 at 1:58 PM

Great lesson! A nice reminder of the utility of the saying, 我来，'wǒ lái'.

Just a quick context question. Is there any contextual difference between 这回 (zhè huí) and 这次 (zhè cì)?

Thanks.

AY

Posted on: Getting Dressed
May 30, 2008 at 1:11 AM

How does one say the opposites, ex: untie (_ 系), un button (_ 扣), unzip (_拉)?

Thanks. AY

Posted on: Stand Up
April 4, 2008 at 3:30 AM

How does one say "up" or "down" in the direction sense. For example, "I want to go up." or "I want to go down." Are these correct? 我 想 去上。 我 想 去 下。 Or better yet, how does one saym "Pick me up!" or "Put me down!" Thanks. AY

Posted on: Before Noon, After Noon
March 28, 2008 at 1:30 AM

Just a curiosity question here... It seems that 下 (below, under) and 上 (above, on) have many different meanings. But can someone explain to me how 上 can also imply "to go" as in 上学 (shang4xue2). Is there a link here that I am missing? Thanks AY