198. The Dastardly Deed of Decoding Grammar

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8:08 Comments & Emails

Matt by Email

I’m a linguist, second language Japanese. I have a mandarin speaking partner. I studied mandarin for 2 years at uni, and so I have basic mandarin. Pronunciation is not too much of a problem. I comfortable with all the basic grammar, but lack suitable resources for more advanced grammar.

I think my biggest hurdle is vocabulary, and also pragmatics (what are the kinds of things native mandarin speakers say, not just how do you translate xyz into English.
Thanks for your time!

17:56

Jack Wyldeck on It’s a Word! 找

Guys I can’t stress enough how much I love the lesser common usages of the characters you show. I’ve been learning Chinese for 7 years and I have never heard of the 找你5元. Please don’t stop doing this.

20:00

Lucas VILLANI on Level 41 Complete

I just thought of that, but you don’t really mention much about the “成语” and rather put a few of them here and there at times.

Does that mean you believe it is unnecessary to mention them as a whole and would only make our heads spin for no reason, or maybe I am missing a lesson dedicated to them somewhere?

I am very curious to see how you would recommend us to approach those, as while some of them are manageable without much trouble, some can be very obscure despite their frequency…

25:16

Jack Wyldeck on Time to Get Real About Sentences

Heck, I wish I started learning Chinese like this 7 years ago. My grammar would be so much better.

26:15

David James Knudsen on Choose Your Challenge

Definitely the Insanity Challenge. I’m gonna do as much as I can as soon as I can!

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28:05

Jack Wyldeck on It’s a Word! 活

生活，生命 and 人生 have always confused me.

30:37

Florine van Meer on 以为 in Context

B: 我记错时间了，我以为今天是休息日。
B: I wrote down the wrong time, I thought today was a day off.

Can this also be translated as “I remembered the wrong time?”

32:08

Jack Wyldeck on It’s a Word! 胖

It’s funny how China has the direct culture of saying you’re 胖 but they also have the 委婉 indirect culture.

35:16

Merideth Ezell on 样子 in Context

Are 然 and 样子 synonyms (both meaning “appearance”)?

37:50

Jack Wyldeck on Word Structure Part 3 of 8 – Verb-How 补充式

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but regarding 过来 i dont understand the deep grammar behind it. For example ‘come to me’ why can’t I say ‘来我’. I know that 到 typically means ‘to’ but still no one says ‘来到我’. I either hear/say ’你过来 or 到我这里来’. Can you explain why certain structures are and aren’t appropriate for this very short sentence?

40:48

Merideth Ezell on 办 in Context

Regarding: 那个问题办好了吗？Would a synonymous question be: 那个问题办了吗？

When I saw 好 I read the statement as, “Was that problem handled well?” (implying, of course, that it could have been handled poorly). Is that also a possible meaning of the question?

43:27

Jack Wyldeck on Pick a Prop 下

I want to use ‘hell’ for a prop but I’m worried that having a place for a prop will conflict with my ability to remember the place using the place system for remembering finals. Is this ok or do you not recommend it?

44:21

Merideth Ezell on 一边 in Context

Regarding the definition: “adv. at the same time, simultaneously”

When I read 我在学校学习，我在公司工作, I take it to mean that the speaker is in two places at once (think Hermione with the time turner in Prisoner of Azkaban) since the act of studying at school and working at the office are happening simultaneously. Is that a correct understanding of the sentence, or should I not take it so literally… is the speaker simply indicating that they are both enrolled as a student and working professionally in this phase of their life?

45:45

Kimberly Wong on 想 in Context

If you say 让我想一想 is it implied that you aren’t going to respond right away, because you need time to think it over? Thanks!

47:25

Abigail on Vocab Boost 单元 美元 美好 单位 地位 元旦 一旦

Is the sentence ‘这个小区有四个单元。’ under the correct usage? It doesn’t make sense ‘this district has four entrances’…I think it makes more sense ‘this district has four units’

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