User Comments - watyamacallit

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watyamacallit

Posted on: The Complement 不了
May 8, 2011 at 3:03 AM

But 做不完 simply indicates that you haven't finished. With 做不了 we were trying to show that you couldn't (weren't able to) finish.

Posted on: The Complement 不了
May 7, 2011 at 11:08 PM

How about: ...整个做不了

Posted on: When Opposites Collide (1)
May 7, 2011 at 1:16 PM

I see that 长短 can also mean duration (which makes sense); accident; right and wrong; good and bad. What is the connection between those last three meanings and the basic meaning - especially 'accident' ?

Posted on: 5000 Years of History
May 6, 2011 at 8:42 AM

I don't think anyone would consider painting a form of writing, unless the symbols that are being painted depict words. Pre-1770 aboriginal life is definitely a part of PRE-history.

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 5, 2011 at 10:18 AM

Any takers from Chinese Pod on the original question?

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 2, 2011 at 12:15 PM

Yes, I'm more interested in the Chinese question - sorry for the trivial distraction.

Second the BUMP BUMP for CPod.

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 2, 2011 at 9:07 AM

I don't know why, but those examples for 'near future' sound right to me and yours doesn't. So yes, I've heard it (and use it all the time), but your example threw me. I can't explain it, but "after work I'm reading a book" sounds wrong.

The only thing I can offer is that all the sentences that do work for me contain verbs of movement: "going", "coming", "visiting", "meeting (in the sense of going to meet)". They seem to focus on transference from the present state to the future (the title for the page is indeed 'Present Continuous'), and do not talk about a steady-state in the future (like the act of reading).

If someone asked you to ponder a problem, it would make sense to say "Tomorrow I will think about it", but does "Tomorrow I am thinking about it" sound right to you? I guess I can imagine a (subcontinental) Indian speaking in that second way.

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 2, 2011 at 5:58 AM

Are you suggesting that "I'm reading a book" could be used to express the future? I have never heard it used that way, and if you meant it that way I'm afraid it sounds weird.

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 1, 2011 at 1:49 PM

OK, let me add another question to the mix: You've indicated how to make clear that you are referring to the past - how could you make absolutely sure that the intended meaning is the future, especially since this refers to an unspecified time in the future?

Posted on: What does she look like?
May 1, 2011 at 11:02 AM

Could that sentence have referred to the past when used in a different context? That is, 'After I bought some stuff, I then headed home'. Or would it need to be modified in some way?