The Nitty Gritty: Basic Chinese Grammar and Numbers
Maybe you’re one of those people who cringe at the mere mention of the word grammar. Just the thought of all those rules on how to construct sentences can put you into a cold sweat.
Hey, don’t sweat it! This chapter could just as easily be called “Chinese without Tears.” It gives you some quick and easy shortcuts on how to combine the basic building blocks of Chinese (which, by the way, are the same components that make up English) — nouns to name things, adjectives to qualify the nouns, verbs to show action or passive states of being, and adverbs to describe the verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. After you know how to combine these parts of any given sentence, you’ll be able to express your ideas and interests spanning the past, present, and future.
When you speak English, I bet you don’t sit and analyze the word order before opening your mouth to say something. Well, the same can hold true when you begin speaking Chinese. You probably didn’t even know the word for grammar before someone taught you that it was the framework for analyzing the structure of a language. Instead of overwhelming you, this chapter makes understanding Chinese grammar as easy as punch.
If you be patient with yourself, have fun following the dialogues illustrating basic sentences, and listen to them on the accompanying CD, you’ll do just fine.
