ok ignore my last topic, please help!

[xuechengfeng]

ok i just posted a question asking which sentence would be gramatically correct, but for some odd reason when i click on it, the page won't appear, plus the characters showed up wrong.. so let me try again

what would be right to say I've been studying Chinese for almost a year (and am continuing).

Wo nian le chabuduo yinian de zhongwen le.

Wo chabuduo nian le yinian de zhongwen le.

[back]

i think in spoken chinese , both are right. the meaning is the same. and others can understand you well if you say the two sentences.

but maybe....the later is better than the former in grammar. : )

这是因为“差不多”的用法可能更灵活些，但是如果用“已经”的话，就要注意了：

我学了已经一年的中文了。（wrong）

我已经学了一年的中文了。（correct）

[back]

i think in spoken chinese , both are right. the meaning is the same. and others can understand you well if you say the two sentences.

but maybe....the later is better than the former in grammar. : )

这是因为“差不多”的用法可能更灵活些，但是如果用“已经”的话，就要注意了：

我学了已经一年的中文了。（wrong）

我已经学了一年的中文了。（correct）

[Quest]

Wo nian le chabuduo yinian de zhongwen le.

Wo chabuduo nian le yinian de zhongwen le.

Wo nian zhongwen chabuduo yinian le.

Zhongwen ma, wo nian le chabuduo yinian le.

Chabuduo you yinian le ba, wo nian zhongwen yijing.

They are all correct.

In Cantonese you can also say something like this:

Zhongwen nian le chabuduo yinian le wo.

or

Chabuduo Nian le zhongwen yinian le wo.

[ever00t]

what would be right to say I've been studying Chinese for almost a year (and am continuing).

1.Wo xuexi zhongwen/hanyu chabuduo yinian le -->我学习中文/汉语差不多一年了

Furthermore,if you say

' I have studied Chinese for almost a year' (mission completed)

2.Wo xuexi le chabuduo yinian de zhongwen/hanyu -->我学习了差不多一年的中文/汉语

Do you notice the differences between them ? Yes,the first one is 'it's still continue' and the last one is 'it's been done',Chinese speakers can also express the exact meanings,sometimes it's just the different order in Chinese which result in a totally different outcome.

[xuechengfeng]

i have a harder time recognizing that as different because the way i've been learning is..

still continuing = verb le.....................le

did but done = verb le............

[ever00t]

Xuechengfeng:

I guess we shouldn't be so absolute about it,but something is related to context-sensitive.Here goes an example which overthrows what i have just claimed about the 'different order in Chinese sentences'

I have my car repaired -->

1.wo xiuli hao le wode qiche-->我修理好了我的汽车

2.wo ba wode qiche xiuli hao le-->我把我的汽车修理好了

In number 1 and 2,the orders of 'le' are quite different in the sentences but actually they are talking about the same thing,no differences at all.

[Shi Rui'en]

I remember going over this in the summer intensive study. It is (or was for me) really kind of hard to get it together right in my head. The best way to do this is to imagine yourself in certain situations where you would say a phrase. Then do the same with ther other aspect (the verb completed phrase). That is what helped me.

Picturing myself at the library studying.

我在圖书馆念了三个中头的书了。

But if I was there yesterday...

昨天我在圖书馆念了三个中头。　

[ever00t]

我在圖书馆念了三个中头的书了。 昨天我在圖书馆念了三个中头。

Replace both of the red zones as '钟头',furthermore,this chinese phrase is really a dialect,people from the southwest of China use it.

Try use the standard expression '小时' is a better idea,it's much more comfortable.

Keep it in mind,learn standard/official Chinese is the best resolution -->Chinese Mandarin

[skylee]

I think both 鐘頭 and 小時 are OK. But 中頭 is not.

[xuechengfeng]

skylee:

u just reminded me i wrote 頭 wrong my test today

[Quest]

aren't 钟头 and 中意 imports from Cantonese?

also 酷弊了-- does it have anything to do with the Cantonese 酷到痹?

[skylee]

I think they are not import from Cantonese. It's just that some terms are more commonly used in one area than another.

My "Pinyin Chinese-English Dictionary" (compiled by 北京外國語學院英語系漢英詞典編寫組 and published by the Commercial Press) lists both terms and says -

鐘頭 (zhong1 tou2) is 口語 meaning hour; and

中意 (zhong4 yi4) means "be to ones liking; catch the fancy of".

If they were considered dialect, the dictionary would have specified so.

[Shi Rui'en]

Haha. Thanks for catching my error. In my rush to get things done today, I must have had 'head' on the brain instead of time.

[kentsuarez]

I like 我學中文,學了差不多一年了

[xuechengfeng]

yea kent, that's what my teachers prefers, although she says it isn't necessary. i suppose it sounds better though?

[xuechengfeng]

昨天晚上我跟我朋友到第一中国饭馆去了。我得了开很远给他能去。饭馆在大学的右

边。我们到那日因为我听说比别的地方好的多。我先问了夥计把单，侯我跟我朋友

开始说话。

I'm sorry this is horrible hopefully, someone can help me revise it. There are some characters I couldn't find for what I wanted to resemble traditional, so if something sounds wrong, ask what I meant.

Remember this is supposed to be very basic, as you can see I'm a first year student. So if anyone could help revise this, I'd appreciate it.

[xuechengfeng]

if this helps, this is what i INTENDED to say (but failed i'm sure)..

Yesterday, a friend and I went to the #1 Chinese Restaurant. I had to drive very far so he was able to go. The restaurant is on the right of the University. We went there because I heard compared to other places it is a lot better. First, I asked the waiter to bring the menu, then my friend and I began to talk..

The rest of what I want to say I have no clue how to say.

[skylee]

Consider the blue ones -

昨天晚上我跟我朋友到第一中國飯館去了。我得開車開到很遠才能接了他一同去。飯館在大學的右邊。我們到那裏因為我聽說它比別的地方好得多。我先問夥計要了菜單，點了菜，然後我便跟我朋友開始說話。

I assume "I had to drive very far so he was able to go" means "I had to drive very far to pick him up so that we could go together".

[xuechengfeng]

skylee: correct assumption

i really appreciate the help, and i hate to ask for more, but some of the characters i'm not familiar with, and i can't figure them out w/the NJStar dictionary.

得 = and why 得 for 好得多 instead of 好的多, why is the de i used wrong?

才 = then, and only then?

接 =

便 = not sure the use of this??

点了菜 = and lost here

THANKS!