@toneandcolor,

good question!

both 还清and 还完are correct. but 还好huánhǎo is wrong.

好as a complement means confirmed or finished. In the south of china, if people say做好，吃好，看好,it means they have 做完，看完，吃完,but in the north, it means 做得好（do well),吃得好（eat well)，看好（have made a decision after looking at sth.).

and for 还完 or 还清，we can just remember them....

@luolin,

I personally think one of the clearest grammar books out there for native English speakers is "A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners" by Li Dejin and Cheng Meizhen. We have a dog-eared copy here in the office that gets used quite frequently.

As far as learning strategies go, I believe lots of listening exposure is key (but that reading becomes more important once you've got basic communication skills in place). We're introducing a few new features in the next version of the site that may help as well: dialogue-only recordings and that sort of thing. I've always found myself learning more in less explicitly educational environments... one reason we try to stay away from having very dry textbook-style dialogues on Popup Chinese.

One tip: since you're a subscriber here, you might want to try taking more advantage of our Speaking Practice lessons. Don't worry about the substance of what the lesson expects - it is just an opportunity to talk and get feedback - set yourself a challenge (short speech, joke, etc.) and then record it and our staff will get back to you with a reply in a day or two.

Best,

--dave

p.s. everyone goes through up-and-down cycles. As long as you aren't puzzled by materials you understood before, I wouldn't worry about it. The feeling that you're plateauing for some periods is normal.

D and E,

谢谢

I will get back to the speaking lessons. Gail had given me some great feedback.

I picked up the Chinese-English Dictionary of Function Words from the library. Now, I will have to open the book up and read it.