For those who already know basics of Chinese.

[LilyCharon]

Hi everyone,

I am starting this thread because I find that some of you already know some Chinese. I realised that looking at a purely Chinese thread would be very tedious for beginners, and because not everyone is on the same level, I suggest that those who already know some Chinese (can understand and write some) post here instead of at ‘大家好’ thread.

I am doing this without permission from Kerian (have yet to obtain) but I don't think he will mind. I WILL respect his decision in the end since he is the Chinese teacher here. Kerian has plans to make an official thread and will be doing corrections there, so until then, I'll do my best.

I'm Lily, and am quite fluent in Chinese even though I have not studied this for quite some time. I welcome everyone who already knows some Chinese to post here instead of at '大家好'. Why?

Because I will be making corrections of your phrasings and words to ensure that you sound fluent in Chinese. I will also add in extra details now and then to further your understanding of how Chinese language works. I find that doing that in '大家好' thread spoils the chatting mood entirely, that is why I'm making this thread.

If you like, please post the Chinese sentences that you have constructed here along with your intended meanings (in English). I will look through and correct you. I will be using a mixture of English and Chinese to explain clearly, and I will ask Kerian to look through when he has time, to see if I make any mistakes.

I will be occasionally grabbing sentences from ‘大家好' thread which sounds wrong and post the corrected version here. Those of you who don't mind can post here to let me check through first, and change to the corrected version at the other thread once I'm done.

I will not mention names here, unless you specifically want me to correct your sentence. But I will remove the names and your posts and only retain the corrections once you've understood it. This is for learning, and although I agree one should not be afraid of making mistakes when learning, I also stand by the fact that one should not not be made to feel needless embarrassment over it.

I welcome criticism and suggestions, but please be polite.

I may make mistakes in English as well, so those of you who spot them, please inform me so that I can change. If there is something wrong with the way this thread is conducted, please inform me as well.

If you're too shy to post here, please PM me. I promise no names will be mentioned when I upload the corrections here.

That's all.  

[LilyCharon]

I copied this over as an example.

"我还需要一点的练习所以我不要用英文语法。"

I took it to mean that ' I still need abit more practice so that I will not use English Grammar.' If that is the case, please read on.


所以: it means 'therefore/so'. <- should not be used in this case. You should use '才能' which literally means 'then can ____'.

See why we should not use direct translation? Something in Chinese when directly translated sounds very wrong in English. sweatdrop


一点的练习: (literally) a bit of practice. <- this is direct translation of English, and this is exactly what you should watch out for. In Chinese, we should use '练习一点', which sounds wrong in English (literally: practise abit)


So your phrasing "我还需要一点的练习所以我不要用英文语法." would mean 'I still need a bit practice therefore/so I don't want use English Grammar.'


Suggested phrasing:

我还需要多练习一点，才能不用英文语法。

When directly translated, it sounds very wrong in English.
"I still need more practice a bit, then can don't use English Grammar."

But in Chinese, it flows.
Please take note.  

[LilyCharon]

Arashi-Shinji

给你的帮助再谢谢，我要更常练习，才能我纠正这错误！

In this case, there are two parts to note:

给你的帮助再谢谢，我要更常练习，才能我纠正这错误

For the green part:
I judged that you are saying 'For your help, thanks again'. But the wording is misplaced.

First, '给你的帮助' is literally 'help given to you'.
'给你' means to 'give you', which is different from '你给' (you give). In this case, you should use '你给的帮助' (Help that you give) instead of '给你的帮助' (Help given to you). But even that does not sound fluent when used in this sentence, although it is a correct phrase by itself. You should simply leave out the '给' and say ‘你的帮助' (Your help).

The next part will be '再谢谢'. First, 谢谢 should be in front of the sentence in general. It could be used in these two ways:
再谢谢你 - in which 再 acts as a connecting word like 'then' (等我成功后再谢谢你 = Wait till I succeed then I will thank you.)
再次谢谢 - in which 再次 means 'the second time', or 'again'
In your case, it is best to use '再次' instead of '再' alone, as it better represents your intended meaning of 'again'.

So overall, for the green part, suggested wording will be: '再次谢谢你的帮助' which means 'Thanks once again for your help'

For the indigo part:

If it is simply this phrase: 才能我纠正这错误
You can use either of the two suggested wordings below. This is simply a minor mistake.
才能纠正这错误 : then can correct this mistake (Note that '我' is removed)
我才能纠正这错误 : I then can correct this mistake

But because you have another part to this phrase, and you have already used a '我' in the earlier part, we will have to consider the effect of combining the two phrases into one sentence.
'我要更常练习，才能纠正这错误！' should be the correct wording, as you should not have too many '我' in one sentence. 'Keep it simple' was the suggestion my China friend told me when I asked her advice on how to improve. If a simpler version can convey the meaning, use it.


Conclusion:

Original sentence: 给你的帮助再谢谢，我要更常练习，才能我纠正这错误！

Corrected sentence: 再次谢谢你的帮助, 我要更常练习，才能纠正这错误！