Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars) [Paperback]

Yip Po-Ching (Author), Don Rimmington (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415150329 | ISBN-13: 978-0415150323 | Publication Date: December 24, 2003 | Edition: 1

Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to Chinese grammar.
It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Chinese. The Grammar is an essential reference source for the learner and user of Chinese, irrespective of level. It is ideal for use in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types and will remain the standard reference work for years to come.
The volume is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Chinese grammar. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, and provides full and clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on Chinese as used by present-day native speakers.

An extensive index and numbered paragraphs provide readers with easy access to the information they require.
Features include:
* thorough and comprehensive coverage of the modern language
* use of script and romanisation throughout
* detailed treatment of common grammatical structures and parts of speech
* extensive and wide-ranging use of examples
* particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Yip Po-Ching was Lecturer in Chinese at Leeds University, and Don Rimmington is Emeritus Professor of Chinese formerly at Leeds University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415150329
• ISBN-13: 978-0415150323
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar, June 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars) (Paperback)

This is a very comprehensive book, with many well-explained examples. The book makes full use of simplified chinese characters (as used on the Chinese mainland), pinyin, and in some cases literal translations, as well as full english translations.

Key language concepts are well explained, and emphasis is placed on features which may pose an extra challenge to the learner of chinese as a foreign language.

This book treats the language from a fairly academic point of view. Thus it is excellent for those wishing to attain a deep understanding of the language, rather than to learn a few superficial phrases as is too often the case with travellers' phrase books.

However, this book 'is intended for readers who have some knowledge of the (chinese) language and are at ease with its written form'. This is certainly the case, as the book employs a wide range of complex vocabulary right from the outset. Thus, not for beginners.

Overall, an excellent reference book for those who already have at least a basic knowledge of chinese. Not recommended for beginners, but a separate book by the same authors entitled 'Basic Chinese' is a superb book for those new to chinese.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great grammar - n.b. a few errors, November 18, 2006

By 

James Forsyth "www.jamesforsyth.net" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars) (Paperback)

This is a grammar most deserving of its title. It is truly comprehensive in every sense of the word. The grammar is explained along lines that a Westerner with even a pinch of grammatical knowledge can understand.

It is probably a good idea that the examples of erroneous grammar are included, complete with an asterisk to indicate that it is an error. However, I can't help feeling that they'll remain in my memory and I won't be able to tell the difference between a sentence that's been hailed as a grammatically correct example and one that is incorrect. I can't really think of any alternatives to the way the authors have done this though.

It would be great if there were just a few exercises at the end of each chapter, complete with an answer key. That really wouldn't add all that much to the total page count of the book, but would greatly add to its overall usefulness. After all, most of us who actually buy/read this book are students of Chinese who need all the exercises we can get - aren't we?

Lastly, here are a few errors I found in this book:

In the index, on page 417 xiang3 points to a non-existent 8.1.6. It should be 18.1.6 (page 284).

ning4ke3 and ning4yuan4 (section 22.3.8, page 342) should have exactly the tones which I have indicated. In error, this book introduces both words with the correct tones, and then proceeds to give examples with the wrong tones.

Duo1 is confused with dou1 twice on page 181.

The index has an entry "causative sentences - 20.1". There are no causative sentences at 20.1.

I'm not sure whether the below should be classified as errors or shortcomings:

On page 46, section 2.14 should be cross referenced to chapter 7.

Hai2shi0 (or) is explained in section 23.4. But there's no reference made to huo4zhe3 at all, which is exceedingly relevant.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Chinese Grammar Book, August 14, 2006

By 

T. N. Turner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars) (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book, recommended only for serious learners of Chinese. This is a book you can use during your whole life of learning Chinese. The only reason I did not give it a 5 star rating is the author is so pedantic. The author should use language to speak to real people, not other linguists. However, this is a wonderful, very technical book. I still need a more simpler book on Chinese grammar, but do not regret having this book.