Customer Reviews

A Practical Chinese Grammar (Mandarin)

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I highly recommend this book. Having pored over numerous Mandarin grammar books in Chinese language bookstores throughout California, Taipei and Beijing, I believe that "A Practical Chinese Grammar" is by far the best Chinese grammar book for beginners on the market (or at least the best that I have been able to find so far).

Most Chinese textbooks that I've seen do not provide adequate grammar explanations, and most stand-alone Chinese grammar textbooks are overly complicated, tedious, difficult to understand and painful to digest.

In contrast, "A Practical Chinese Grammar" provides refreshingly simple and straightforward explanations along with fairly comprehensive coverage of the basic grammar patterns of a first year university level Mandarin class. The text is geared toward students rather than grammarians, and thus much of the grammar gobbledygook terminology you normally find in other grammar books is mercifully left out. Each basic grammar pattern is accompanied by a (relatively) plainly worded explanation and then followed by several useful examples (the examples are written in simplified characters, followed by pinyin, followed by the English translation).

Although this book was written as a companion for "Practical Chinese Reader", volumes 1 and 2, the explanations would be helpful for anyone who is using a textbook that does not provide adequate grammar coverage (in fact, almost every Chinese language student I've shown this book to - including those not using PCR -- immediately wants to go out and buy a reference copy).

I only hope that Samuel Cheung and his team are working on a sequel to "A Practical Chinese Grammar" for advanced Chinese language students.

This large (500+ pages) paperback is a companion volume to the 'Practical Chinese Reader' series. PCR, which is available with accompaning cassette tapes, is said to be one of the more popular teaching / learning series for Mandarin Chinese. (I'm enjoying it a lot!)

The grammar explanations in PCR leave a lot to be desired, however. (They're terse to a fault; obviously intended to be fleshed out by a teacher.) This book matches the first two books of PCR, lesson by lesson, and supplements them by giving clear, detailed explanations of the grammar points brought up. There is a wealth of sample sentences provided (simplified characters, pinyin romanization, and English translation) that clarify the grammar.

Sophisticated analysis, yet accessible to beginners - this grammar shouldn't be missed.

I am an American studying Mandarin in Shanghai. Another student in my class found this book and recommended it to the rest of us. The book covers the questions that I have as a beginning student of Mandarin, and that our Chinese teachers don't always explain fully. I have found the explanations in this book to be clear and concise.

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I am the author or the Michel Thomas courses in spoken Mandarin.

I picked up a copy of the traditional character version of this in Taiwan at a used bookstore. It was my last week in the country and I was just browsing around when I came across a book that I had never known existed.

At the time I was studying advanced Chinese at a local school in Tai pei. I was hungry for something that would supplement the excellent instruction that I was receiving at the school ( International Chinese Language Program, National Taiwan University).

This book answered my need.

It is really almost like having a friend who knows the problems Western students have in studying Chinese, sit down and explain things to you.

It is not that I hadn't been exposed to the topics. The book covers the same topics that most first year texts cover, so no surprises here. However, it is how they are covered that made me buy the book. They are presented in one of the most user-friendly ways I have yet encountered in such texts.

I figured that even if I could learn just a few things it would be worthwhile. Well, I have learned more than just a few things.

I collect exemplary language learning-aids and consider this one such aid.

The edition I have is published by SMC Publishing, Inc. Taipei, Taiwan. 1994. ISBN 957-638-355-2. It is the traditional character edition, not the one advertised here.

Good for add'l grammar info no matter what text you're using, but it's more meaningful if you have the first two volumes of the Practical Chinese Readers (PCR's) on hand, as this author's Lessons 1-50 are written to correspond with the grammar of PCR's Lessons 1-50 (vol I-II.) My first semester at a local community college was PCR--then the college switched to the Integrated Chinese series (authors Tao-chung Yao and Yuehua Liu--AWFUL--like Bart Simpson says, " I didn't know something could suck and blow at the same time"---And I am an "A" student). Whereas the PCR may have been too simple/vague or outdated, it works well because it stays on 1 or 2 themes in each lesson, and it's up to the teacher to teach the themes that the PCR doesn't spend any detailed time on. The author of "A Practical Chinese Grammar" has packed all his materials/details into each lesson corresponding to each PCR Lesson. In contrast, the I.C. approach is disorganized and sporatic in its grammar presentations, throwing 5 or 6 specious grammar presentations in each chapter. The higher the Lesson #, the worse it gets. For example: Complement of Degree: I.C. was so horrible at explaining it, I had no idea what the f%$# it was even talking about, so I pulled out my PCR and there, in Ch. 25, is the most lucid, uncomplicated and wonderful explanation of Complement of Degree imaginable. Please, if you are reading this and you make decisions for texts for schools, DO NOT choose I.C. Three Deans of local community colleges other than the one I attend (Laney, in Oakland, CA) told me they HATE I.C. and won't use it. Unfortunately, my community college is presided over by a political hack (Frank Chang) who hired a dear friend of his to teach Mandarin (Gaye Ying)---she not only doesn't know any Pinyin, she's from Shanghai and doesn't even try to pronounce the words in standard Mandarin/Beijing pronunciation. He hired her without any Faculty Review process, and it was she who chose the new, I.C. text and got away with it, no questions asked. I recommend this book to anyone who desires to really understand the nuances of Mandarin grammar or fill in gaps of understanding concepts presented by PCR (if you feel the instructor is unsatisfactory in that respect). A good choice for the "A" students!

I am self studying Mandarin Chinese, and I have just finished reading this book in tandem with the first two volumes of the "Practical Chinese Reader" (PCR). This book has been an invaluable resource. The PCR is obviously intended for classroom study with an instructor. There is so much information missing from the PCR, I have often wondered why I am using it. This book is the best answer I can give for continuing to use the PCR. It does an excellent job of explaining the multitude of missing information in the PCR. It covers all of the grammar that should be explained in the PCR and provides many example sentences with clear concise explanations. The book is indexed, well thought out, and well organized. I would recommend it to anyone studying Mandarin Chinese regardless of whether or not the PCR is being used. You simply can't go wrong with a resource like this one!

This book has been rather over-rated. It isn't really that well written, and the examples and explanations, though decent, aren't too well organised and chosen, at least to the eyes of a native Chinese speaker. I don't know if there're better books in the market, but this isn't entirely satisfactory.