#quick grammar

[languagestudymaterials]

Quick Grammar Lesson! Compound Adjectives

Tip #1 You don’t have to use actual adjectives to make a compound adjective. You can turn a whole clause into an adjective. Pretty cool, huh?

How do you do it? Use HYPHENS!

“-” That’s a hyphen; short horizontal stroke with no spaces before and after it.

Compound adjectives will make your English sound way more natural and will make your sentences shorter and less clumsy. Compare: I have sent you an essay that has three pages. I have sent you a three-page essay. Three is a numeral; page is a noun, but when connected, they turn into an adjective.

In the picture, the author went really creative with his compound adjective.

“…of my 3-AM-Monster-Energy-ADHD-Medicine-Induced-Self-Hatred-Fuelled-Writing-Extravaganza about…” (Small correction: of my 3-AM-Monster-Energy-ADHD-Medicine-Induced-Self-Hatred-Fuelled Writing Extravaganza. Writing Extravaganza is a noun phrase here.)

Some more examples: good-for-nothing friends never-to-be-forgotten experience a 3-year-old boy 4-bedroom house

Get creative and spice up your essays with compound adjectives!

[languagebraindump]

Quick grammar lesson!

Compound adjectives

Tip #1 You don't have to use actual adjectives to make a compound adjective. You can turn a whole clause into an adjective. Pretty cool, huh?

How to do it? Use HYPHENS!

"-" That's a hyphen; short horizontal stroke with no spaces before and after it.

Compound adjectives will make your English sound way more natural and will make your sentences shorter and less clumsy. Compare: I have sent you an essay that has three pages. I have sent you a three-page essay. Three is a numeral; page is a noun, but when connected, they turn into an adjective.

In the picture, the author went really creative with his compound adjective.

"...of my 3-AM-Monster-Energy-ADHD-Medicine-Induced-Self-Hatred-Fuelled-Writing-Extravaganza about..." (Small correction: of my 3-AM-Monster-Energy-ADHD-Medicine-Induced-Self-Hatred-Fuelled Writing Extravaganza. Writing Extravaganza is a noun phrase here.)

Some more examples: good-for-nothing friends never-to-be-forgotten experience a 3-year-old boy 4-bedroom house

Get creative and spice up your essays with compound adjectives!

[zhcngwen]

quick grammar - 好像

好像 = it seems

not just it seems, but the concept of ‘seems to be’

sentence structure:

subject + 好像 + statement

example sentences:

they seem to be from beijing = 他们好像是北京人。

he’s been coughing all day, he seems to be sick = 他整天都在咳嗽，好像生病了。

sentence structure 2:

好像 + statement

this structure doesn’t require a subject and changes to the meaning ‘it seems like’

example sentences:

it seems like it will rain = 好像要下雨了。

it seems like he just left = 好像他刚离开了。

it seems like she didn’t go = 好像她没去。

[zhcngwen]

quick grammar - 当然

so! i leave for china on the 26th of august and have been so busy lately i’ve hardly looked at the language at all. i’m going through the exercises my uni set for over the summer and especially focusing on hsk 3 and 4 grammar that i ignored or forgot how to use. there is.... quite a lot so these posts will just be condensed, basically just grammar wiki mini pages for me to look back at.

(basically i’m not spending a ton of time on these so any mistakes i’ve made please correct)

当然 = of course, certainly

used to indicate the speaker KNOWS something to be TRUE

sentence structure:

subject + 当然 + do something, can’t do something, is something etc

example sentences:

i’ve been learning chinese for a year, of course i can say hello =  我学汉语学了一年，我当然会说 “你好”。

of course i’m already tired = 我当然已经很累。

difference between 当然 and 一定:

一定 = definitely (talking about something you ASSUME to be true, but isn’t OBVIOUSLY SO)

当然 = certainly (talking about something that is CLEARLY true, stating the OBVIOUS)

e.g. i’ve been studying for 2 hours, of course i’m bored = 我已经学习了两个小时，我当然很无聊。

he’s been studying for 2 hours, he’s definitely bored = 他已经学习了两个小时，他一定无聊。

(when talking about yourself it’s clear how you’re feeling, there is no assumption, but with other people you can’t know for certain how they feel)

other uses:

那当然啊！ = of course!

standalone phrase

[writingtipsandtricks]

Quick Grammar: They're/There/Their and Your/You're

This one seems REALLY simple, but I see misuse of these a lot, so I'm going to talk about it. They're: a contraction of "they" and "are" I.e. They're going to the movies. There: used to refer to a place. I.e. Go over there. Or it can also be used to show that something exists. I.e. There is the book you're looking for. Their: used as a possessive adjective. I.e. I don't want to go to their party. Your: second person possessive adjective. I.e. This is your seat. What is your name? You're: a contraction of "you" and "are" I.e. You're not going to mix these words up anymore. Hope this helps! Thanks! -Amanda

[writingtipsandtricks]

Quick Grammar: Lie vs Lay

I had to look this one up the other day, so I figured some other people might have problems with it, so here’s a quick grammar tip on when to use which one.

Lie: “to rest or recline” i.e. I lie on my bed, thinking of how much I need to write, but end up drifting off to sleep.

Lay: “to place an object down” “I lay down my laptop on my desk every day and spend all of it on this god forsaken website instead of writing.

Now, here’s where things get tricky: the past tense version of lie is lay...English is hard. So here’s a “chart” type thing about what to use for each word and tense.

Infinitive        Present Tense     Past Tense     Past Participle     Present Participle

to lie               lie(s)                       lay                    lain                        lying

to lay             lay(s)                     laid                    laid                        laying  

Hopefully this helps! :D As always, feel free to ask any questions you may have and I will do my very best to answer them.

-Amanda