Category Archives: Grammar

PROMPT: Communicate Online

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Daily writing prompt
In what ways do you communicate online?
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Like everyone, with a great deal less civility.

Also, with the recognition that no one is trapped by societal convention, so one must be concise, or no one will take it in.

Also, I end sentences with prepositions more.

BOOK: “Chinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Upper Intermediate” ed. by John Pasden

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Chinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Upper IntermediateChinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Upper Intermediate by John Pasden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — AllSet Learning

This is the third and final book in this series. It’s a straightforward grammar that’s easy to use and well-organized. The book contains basic rules in a concise format, examples, and any exceptions or points of confusion that may exist. With examples, it presents the Hanzi (Chinese characters,) pinyin (Romanized phonetic script,) and English translation adjacently. (This is a feature that I don’t like in readers, but which I find useful in a grammar.)

If you’re trying to learn the basics of Mandarin Chinese in Simplified Script, this is a useful series. I can’t speak to how good it is or isn’t for someone who intends to take the HSK tests, but for my purposes it was just what I needed with not much more (no extraneous information or complications.)

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PROMPT: Writing

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Daily writing prompt
What do you enjoy most about writing?
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EPIPHANIES.

But, if you think about it, writing is miraculous. In the scheme of gifts that nature grants, it is way out beyond left field. Encoding ideas and images in simple characters in a way that can evoke emotional or cognitive responses in readers is kind of a superpower. (As is reading.)

BOOKS: “Chinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Intermediate” ed. by John Pasden, et. al.

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Chinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: IntermediateChinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Intermediate by John Pasden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – AllSet

I’ve found this series helpful in offering a basic guide to grammar for learning Mandarin through Simplified Characters and pinyin. It provides plenty of examples and is not dense with explanation and elaboration but rather focuses on the core principles as well as demonstrations of common pitfalls. It covers the B1 grammar points which is a designation used by, but not original to, the series. (As far as I can tell, it’s a European standard that has been applied across languages to organize the concepts one should be able to express at a given level of language learning.

This is the second book of the series that I’ve worked through (the third if one counts the “Just the Basics” level which is a subset of the Beginner level book,) and I intend to continue on to the “Upper Intermediate” guide.

This may not be the series you want if you’re a linguist looking for nuanced insight into Chinese grammar, but it’s excellent for your average language learner. [It also seems to be quite affordable compared to many competing grammar books and series.]

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