Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors

Here is a concise guide to supplement any course of study and help with homework, travel, and test preparation. Topics include word order, time, nouns, verbs, adjectives, word choices with verbs and adverbs, and letter writing. The simple format has one goal: quick mastery and growing confidence. Qin Xue Herzberg, a graduate of Beijing Normal University, has taught Chinese for decades and has been an upper-level Chinese professor at Calvin College for ten years. Larry Herzberg did his PhD work in Chinese and founded the Chinese language programs at Albion College and Calvin College. Qin and Larry live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are co-authors of the popular China Survival Guide as well as the recently released Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: BASIC WORD ORDER 1) Basic Word Order 2) Action and Location 3) Action and Time 4) Word Order for When Something Happens 5) Duration of Time 6) Placement of the word “Why?” CHAPTER TWO: TIME EXPRESSIONS 1) When/While… 2) Days, Weeks, Months, Years CHAPTER THREE: NOUNS 1) Plurals 2) Counting Things 3) “This” and “That” 4) Nouns for Nationalities and Languages 5) “All” of some Noun 6) Indefinites 7) Not Even One Bit of Something 8) Location Words CHAPTER FOUR: VERBS 1) Past Tense 2) Present Tense 3) Future Tense 4) The Word “It” with Verbs 5) Helping Verbs 6) Going, Coming, Returning 7) The “Ba” Pattern with Verbs 8) The “Shi…de” Pattern with Past Tense Action Verbs 9) Passive Voice CHAPTER FIVE: ADJECTIVES 1) General Rules for Adjectives?2) How to Translate “Bad”?3) “Not Bad”?4) “Nice”?5) “Pretty” 6) Positive Comparisons 7) Negative Comparisons CHAPTER SIX: USES OF THE PARTICLE “LE” 1) Action Verbs in Past Tense 2) Change of Status with Adjectives 3) Imminent Action 4) “Not Any More” CHAPTER SEVEN: USES OF THE PARTICLE “DE” 1) Uses of ?(de) 2) Uses of ?(de) 3) Uses of ?(de) CHAPTER EIGHT: CONJUNCTIONS (AND; OR) 1) “And”: Connecting nouns; verbs and adjectives 2) “Or”: In a statement; in a question CHAPTER NINE: SUBORDINATE CLAUSES 1) Connecting sentences with “who”/”that”?2) If…then?3) As soon as>?4) Even>?5) Because>?6) No Matter Whether>?7) Besides? CHAPTER TEN: How to Express the verb “can” in Chinese?1) Know how to (hui)?2) Physically able (neng)?3) May/permitted (keyi)?4) Resultative Endings? CHAPTER ELEVEN: Word Choice Issues with Certain Important Verbs?1) To “be” (“shi” vs. “zuo” vs. “dang”) ?2) To “know” (“zhidao” vs. “renshi”)?3) “Like” vs. “Would like to” (“xihuan” vs. “xiang”)?4) “To think/to feel” (“xiang” vs. “juede”)?5) “To ask”?6) “To tell”?7) “To seem like” (“haoxiang” vs. “xiang”)?8) “To receive”?9) “To be afraid”?10) “To worry”?11) “To help”?12) “To take”?13) “To lose”?14) “To produce”? CHAPTER TWELVE: Word Choice Issues with Adverbs?1) “from”?2) “first” 3) “actually” 4) “although” 5) “almost” 6) “unless” 7) “every time” CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Letter Writing Issues 1) Greetings and Salutations 2) Writing to one’s Parents 3) Closing the Letter 4) More on Ending the Letter 5) Social Niceties

About the Author :
Larry Herzberg and Qin Herzberg, a married couple, are professors of Chinese language and culture at Calvin College in Michigan. They travel to China every year, both with students and without, and have been featured travel experts on MSNBC and other outlets. Qin and Larry live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are also co-authors of Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors (Stone Bridge Press, 2011) and Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings: With Observations on Culture and Language (Stone Bridge Press, 2012). Larry Herzberg did his PhD work in Chinese and founded the Chinese language programs at Albion College and Calvin College; he is also a professional violinist. In 2011 Larry was awarded the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching, the highest honor that Calvin College bestows on a faculty member. Qin Xue Herzberg, a graduate of Beijing Normal University, has taught Chinese for decades and has been an upper-level Chinese professor at Calvin College for more than ten years.