Good book for sentence structure?

[James Garrison]

Hi,

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding books that help with writing sentences and composing letters? Not necessarily formal letters, but just casual email among friends, colleagues, etc. I am looking for something beyond "I live in America, how about you" simplicity, but I don't want anything geared towards business correspondence.

I've been away from China for 3 years but continue to correspond with several former friends, however recently one of them told me my Chinese writing sucked (she put it in a slightly nicer way) and so I want to improve my longer, more complex sentences.

Clauses in sentences

complex time structure

compound sentences

I'm not sure if she is nitpicking or if it is really that bad, but it is kind of embarrassing for me to have studied in China and still be pumping out bad emails. Part of the problem is that I have no one to correct my writing, I don't want to ask my friends to do that, but at the same time I actually would enjoy a bit of practice and feedback. How to get feedback though! Thats the $64,000 question.

Cheers,

James G

[character]

Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, by Claudia Ross and Jing-heng Sheng Ma, ISBN 0-415-700108

It has a grammar overview section and then a much longer section covering many specific topics in Chinese.

There is also a workbook available for it.

[Hedge]

You could also post your emails (or some version of them) on Lang-8 and native speakers will correct them for you.

[imron]

See also this thread.

[hidden12345]

Post English language examples of something you want to say; "complex time structures" sounds like a Micheal J. Fox movie.

[James Garrison]

Thanks for the suggestions. I purchased (online) Schaum's Outline of Chinese Grammar, as the others were a bit too $$$ for me, and Claudia Ross contributed to both Schaum's Outline of Chinese Grammar and Modern Mandarin. Bought it used and paid 10% of the price of Modern Mandarin.

Example? I don't have any specific sentences in mind, actually, I just wanted some guidelines for the future... nice Michael J Fox reference, though. Now you make me want to know the word for "DeLorean" in Mandarin.