My attempt at a 1st grade level essay, grade me!

[necroflux]

On a boring flight last week I decided to try to write a short essay on my upcoming move to Taiwan - I would love to hear from you guys on grammar mistakes, etc. Thanks!

我考慮臺灣的時候, 我就想像很多人和太多車了. 是因為臺灣有很多我的最好的東西, 所以我還要出國去那裡. 過了四年, 我已經住在芝加哥, 所以我過去經常看太多車了.

Corrected version: 我想到台灣, 我就想到一大堆的人和車子. 但是因為台灣有許多我深愛的事物, 我還是想要去那裡. 我已經住在芝加哥四年, 所以我已經習慣看到很多車了.

Question:I realize I meant to use "再過四年", so how is this:"再過四年,我已經住在芝加哥, 所以我已經習慣看到很多車子"?

(The above was an attempt to say: "When I think about Taiwan, I imagine lots of people and too many cars. But because Taiwan has so many of my favorite things, I still want to go there. For the past 4 years, I've been living in Chicago, so I'm used to seeing too many cars.")

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我最喜歡的中文飯是蔬菜水餃. 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是蔬菜水較比較好吃. 我移民到台灣的時候, 也許我最大的問題是我不喜歡海鮮. 最近我嘗試吃更多魚肉, 所以我現在可以吃它.

Corrected version: 我最喜歡的中國菜是素食水餃. 葷的水餃雖然不錯, 可是(or 不過)我覺得素食水餃比較好吃. 我搬到台灣的時候, 也許我最大的問題是我不喜歡(吃)海鮮. 最近我嘗試多吃魚肉, 所以現在我至少可以吃魚了.

("My favorite Chinese food is the vegetable dumpling. Meat dumplings aren't bad, but vegetable dumplings taste better to me. When I move to Taiwan (migrate was probably a bad word), perhaps my biggest problem is that I don't like seafood. Recently I have tried to eat more fish, so now I can at least eat that.)

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我第二最大的問題是運輸. 我要買一輛摩托車, 但是我覺得別的車就要殺死我了. 我不要開車因為臺灣沒有很多停車場, 也很高價的.

Corrected version: 我第二個最大的問題是交通工具. 我想要買一輛摩托車, 但是我覺得我可能會被汽車撞死. 我不要開車因為臺灣沒有很多停車場,停車場也很昂貴.

("My second biggest problem is transportation. I want to buy a motorcycle, but I feel another car will crash into and kill me. I don't want to drive a car because taiwan doesn't have very many parking lots, and they're expensive.")

As I said, this is 1st grade stuff.. and I couldn't even do that right!

[semantic nuance]

我考慮臺灣的時候, 我就想像很多人和太多車了. 是因為臺灣有很多我的最好的東西,所以我還要出國去那裡

Could you paste what you were trying to express in English in the first place? Because I could guess what you're trying to say,but wasn't sure. It's better that you tell us what you were trying to convey in order not to make a semantic mistake.

過了四年, 我已經住在芝加哥, 所以我過去經常看太多車了.

我已經住在芝加哥四年, 所以我已經習慣看到很多車了. (Did you mean you've already lived in Chicago for 4 years, so you were used to seeing a lot of cars?)

我最喜歡的中文飯是蔬菜水餃. 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是蔬菜水較比較好吃.

我最喜歡的中國菜是素食水餃. 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 不過素食水餃就比較好吃.

ps: In Taiwan, I've never had any 蔬菜水餃. We do have 素食水餃, which is for vegetarian. So, I change your 蔬菜水餃 to 素食水餃.

我移民到台灣的時候, 也許我最大的問題是我不喜歡海鮮. 最近我嘗試吃更多魚肉, 所以我現在可以吃它.

first, what did you mean by 移民 (immigrate ?) 我移民到台灣的時候, 我最大的問題是我不喜歡(吃)海鮮. 最近我嘗試多吃魚肉, 所以現在我可以比較接受海鮮了.

我第二最大的問題是運輸. 我要買一輛摩托車, 但是我覺得別的車就要殺死我了. 我不要開車因為臺灣沒有很多停車場, 也很高價的.

我第二個最大的問題是交通工具. 我想要買一輛摩托車, 但是我覺得我可能會被汽車撞死. 我不要開車因為臺灣沒有很多停車場,而且汽車也很昂貴.

ps//別的車? what did you mean? I guess you were trying to say cars?

Hope it helps!

[necroflux]

Semantic nuance, these suggestions are a HUGE help! Thanks!!

A few questions:

過了四年 - so this doesn't mean "For the last four years?" Or is this just not a good way to use the expression.

不過素食水餃就比較好吃 - what does the 就 do here?

所以現在我可以比較接受海鮮了 - the dictionary lists 接受 as accept/receive - obviously that must not apply to this sentence. What would you translate this to?

我可能會被汽車撞死 - so this means I "will be hit by another car" right?

[zhenhui]

Hi,

thought i should give this a try, hope you don't mind

我考慮(i think you should actually write 回想 because 考慮 is more of ponder over an issue, 回想 is like rememberance ) 臺灣的時候 , 我就想像 (it's 想,像 is more of "alike" ) 很多人和太多車 (i don't know why but i feel 太多的車 is better) 了. 是因為臺灣有很多我的最好(my best things? do you mean to say 很多好東西)的東西, 所以我還要出國去那裡. 過了四年, 我已經住在芝加哥, 所以我過去經常看太多(how about 所以我過去經常看到很多的)車了.

我最喜歡的中文飯是蔬菜水餃. 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是蔬菜水較比較好吃 (don't need the比較 because you have used 但是 and 比較 is used to compared, if the beef dumplings is good to eat than you can say this is better). 我移民到台灣的時候, 也許我最大的問題是我不喜歡海鮮. 最近我嘗試吃更多魚肉, 所以我現在可以吃它.

我第二最大的問題是運輸 (this is transportation of goods, for people we use 我最大的问题是交通工具. ie. my biggest problem is the means of transportation.). 我要買一輛摩托車, 但是我覺得別的車就要殺死我了 (umm...other cars wants to kill you because you bought a motorcycle?). 我不要開車因為臺灣沒有很多停車場 (should be better as 不够..), 也很高價的 (而且又很贵..也is more like and, 而且 is more like moreover)

regards,

Diana/贞慧

[studentyoung]

過了四年 - so this doesn't mean "For the last four years?" Or is this just not a good way to use the expression.

“For the last four years” in Chinese is “在過去四年裏”.

不過素食水餃就比較好吃 - what does the 就 do here?

就 here doesn’t have any concrete meaning, but just adds some emphatic tone in the sentence.

所以現在我可以比較接受海鮮了

接受海鮮 doesn’t mean “ to accept/receive seafood from others”, but “to accept the flavors of seafood”.

我可能會被汽車撞死 - so this means I "will be hit by another car" right?

I might be hit by car.

Thanks!

[semantic nuance]

When I think about Taiwan, I imagine lots of people and too many cars.

我想到台灣, 我就想到一大堆的人和車子.

But because Taiwan has so many of my favorite things, I still want to go there.但是因為台灣有許多我深愛的事物, 我還是想要去那裡.

Meat dumplings aren't bad, but vegetable dumplings taste better to me.

葷的水餃雖然不錯, 可是(or 不過)我覺得素食水餃比較好吃.

ps:meat is 肉 but if you say 肉(類)的水餃meat dumplings is strange, though understandable. So, I use 葷的 as a contrast to 素食的.

Whend I move to Taiwan, perhpas my biggest problem is that I don't like seafood. Recently I have tried to eat more fish, so now I can at least eat that.

我搬到台灣的時候, 也許我最大的問題是我不喜歡(吃)海鮮. 最近我嘗試多吃魚肉, 所以現在我至少可以吃魚了.

過了四年 - so this doesn't mean "For the last four years?" Or is this just not a good way to use the expression.

過了四年means four years has past. Example: Four years has past since I came to Taiwan. 我來台灣都過了四年了.

不過素食水餃就比較好吃 - what does the 就 do here?

In your original chinese translation, you said 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是蔬菜水餃比較好吃. The sentence pattern is strange.When I added 就 in your Chinese translation, it would sound a bit natural. For exmaple, you like some writer who has written 2 books. You think one of them is much to your taste but the other is awful. In that case in Chinese,這個作家的這本書寫得很爛, 可是他的另外一本就寫得還不錯. Perhaps, I should translate your original sentence as 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是素食水餃就還不錯 instead of 牛肉水餃很不好吃, 但是素食水餃就比較好吃.

所以現在我可以比較接受海鮮了 - the dictionary lists 接受 as accept/receive - obviously that must not apply to this sentence. What would you translate this to?

First, I have to say I guessed what you had tried to convey because you didn't have English there. Obviously I was lame in guessing. Back to the topic, you know when translating, we don't do it verbatim. I thought you would like to say you don't like seafood, but after trying, you can accept the flavor of it. But after reading your English, it's another case.

Hope it helps!