User Comments - watyamacallit

Posted on: What does she look like?

You're right, it is way too technical for me. But we all struggle to understand when to use and not use 了, and I feel that if I could somehow understand the concept of 'bounded', then a lot of questions would be answered for me. I think its something like Newtonian physics sufficing for most situations, but you need Einsteinian physics to understand everything about motion. Unfortunately, I don't really understand the work of Einstein, so I really need an 'Idiots Guide'. Perhaps one day I will stumble across an Idiots Guide to 'bounded' events.

The example this book gives is 墙上挂了一幅画, which is translated as 'On the wall hangs a painting'. Clearly this is neither a past event, nor a completed event. Nor is it the end-of-sentence 了. Somehow the event is bounded, but I have no idea what that means. I don't understand why the 了 is used here, or what is the difference between 挂了 and 挂着.

BTW, I'm not sure about your reference to 本.

Posted on: What does she look like?

I've been reading a pretty thick grammar book, and its quite hard going. It makes it clear that 了 does not mean completion. The term they use is 'bounded', and at this stage I only have an inkling of what they are talking about. I get the feeling that thinking about 'completion' will get you by most of the time, but that it doesn't give the full picture.

One thing I managed to pick up is that 'quantifying' the object (somehow) makes the verb bounded, and that is what is happening in the first example when they use 一些. In the second example 'my ex-girlfriend' is being discussed, so the object is not being quantified.

I wish I understood what I've read well enough to know what 'bounded' actually means, and why counting the object makes the verb bounded. Perhaps someone else can help.

Posted on: The First Tone

I know I'm being picky, but D-Major is the name of a musical key, or a chord, not a single note.

Anyway, you can't just pick any 'note' for the first tone. After you have experimented to figure out what range you are comfortable with (based on your own voice), the first tone is a flat tone at the top of your range.

Posted on: Our First Theme Week, and a Goodbye

I see in your blog you are looking at "localizing ChinesePod into Korean, Russian and Japanese". Will these ventures be directly managed by Chinese Pod, or will they be franchised out? I can see why you would choose these languages, as they are neighbors of China. I wonder though how much of a market there would be if you ventured into Spanish and Portuguese, allowing you to access all of Central and South America. Do you know, is there as much interest in China down there as there is in the English-speaking world?

Posted on: I'm pregnant!

Because you know it couldn't be yours, right?

Posted on: Push and Pull

For 5 days, all you have done is 'correct' the English translations in the Expansion sentences. You seem quite convinced that your translations are correct and that Chinese Pod's are wrong. In your profile you say that you are an Elementary learner, and this is quite evident. The alternative translations you have provided range from trivial rearrangements, to ones which are plain wrong. In this case, the translation provided is perfectly correct. You have clearly not yet learned how to use 要-yào to express future intent. I think you should also learn how to use 第.

Posted on: 算命

As do all Advanced lessons before August 2007.

Posted on: Substitute Teacher

Thanks for that both of you. This information is now store- in -d my brain cells.

Does anyone know, has this idea been explain- in -ed any lesson?

Can the 了 be stick before (i -> u) 在 if one wants?

Posted on: Substitute Teacher

Anyone? I've found another expansion sentence elsewhere where the 了 is in the same position, so I guess it is correct. But it just doesn't feel right.

Posted on: Sales Localization

Er, not fixed.