As the whirlwind romance that preceded Mary's honeymoon faded, it became increasing clear that her ill-fated marriage had thrust her into a conjugal death march. Yet despite her husband's passive aggressive hostility, Mary lived in the hope that sheer enthusiasm could somehow break through his frustrated silence, and so continued to ask after him and express an interest in his affairs, and all despite the fact that -- let's face it -- the man was an unremitting asshole.
ma1942
said on November 14, 2014
Hi,are some verbs more likely to always use 'ne' to soften?if so , some verb examples would be appreciated.are the following set phrase structure ?if you use .. then .. - yòng .. dehuà jiù .. when .. then .. - dang .. de shihou jiu ..what is the meaning of 'dang' at front some examples if possible
bretter23
said on November 16, 2014
So the husband threw the book on the floor, right? That's just what I assume.
trevelyan
said on November 17, 2014
@bretter23,We actually had him throw it at her in the studio, but he missed. Not sure if that was intentional or if he just had really bad aim. Likely the latter.
yeroc99
said on November 18, 2014
Even though he tosses the book onto the floor, she still thanks him, and even sounds sincere. I guess that's her way of dealing with his passive aggression -- to act like she doesn't notice :D
BDubs
said on November 19, 2014
When the husband threw a book at the wife, that was not passive aggression.
Gail天堂的声音
said on March 9, 2015
Grace you dont need to apologize all the time :)
Grace Qi
said on March 14, 2015
@BDubsAnd that's the odd and fun part - guess she's okay with her husband being an asshole - she might be secretly enjoying it:) haha.
Grace Qi
said on March 14, 2015
@ Gail,Sorry Gail, I will try to be less apologetic. Oh no I did it again, sorry. Hahaha
BDubs
said on March 14, 2015
@ Grace, You appear to have deep insights into the human experience. I appreciate you.
LincolnDog
said on March 17, 2015
Does anyone know when the dictionary search will be up and running? I used to like putting in a word and finding dialogues that included that vocabulary. Normally I would have looked up the two questions I have below and listened to examples in the archives.Here they are: What is the difference between using 要 and using 准备 when I talk about intending to do something in the future? Is it a matter of degree?I have the same question with using 得 and 必须. If I am talking about something I must do, are these two about the same, or is 必须 a bit stronger?Thanks!
trevelyan
said on March 19, 2015
@LincolnDog,(1) the dictionary search is already up (just put words in the search bar on the main page), (2) the same difference between "I'm going" and "I'm getting ready" to do something in English, and (3) 必须 is much stronger and more formal.
LincolnDog
said on March 20, 2015
Thanks for your help. I am using an ipad on safari. when I try to search the dictionary nothing comes up. If I pick an initial or a final I do get a list of characters. But if I try to get a definition, the following error message comes up. Is there anything I should be doing differently to access the dictionary?Not FoundError: The requested address '/dictionary/%E5%87%86' was not found on this server.- See more at: http://popupchinese.com/dictionary/%E5%87%86#sthash.0rqhhsp1.dpuf
Mallory.hummer
said on June 23, 2015
Could you say 可以給我 instead of 能給我？
lauracdaniell
said on August 17, 2016
Is there any way to make the automated random quiz about characters' definitions only ask for pinyin and not the mixture of pinyin and English translations? I am usually able to identify the meaning when I can remember the pinyin and so the pinyin for the character is what I need drilling on. If I cannot identify the pinyin, there I cannot hope to answer the English translation.Oh, you guys have made me an auditory learner!!! I didn't even realize that. The best way to learn languages.By the way, I hope she divorces him soon.
trevelyan
said on August 17, 2016
@lauracdaniell,Two options. First would be adjusting the settings on the popup quiz so that it only tests you on pinyin/english. You can't make the secondary hint (that appears below the character) disappear however:http://popupchinese.com/account/reviewSecond option would be to go to your vocab page, select any lesson's vocabulary and opt to review it manually through the flashcard function. This gives more control: you'll only be shown the options you've selected as visible on your vocab lists:http://popupchinese.com/tools/vocabulary
Arckal
said on August 10, 2017
Hi Popupchinese team !A question not directly related to the topic but what is the music at the beginning ?Thanks !
dapper45
said on August 12, 2017
Wang Fei's "Nothing Remains". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xaZkIYtd8I
Arckal
said on August 16, 2017
Thank you dapper45!
vallynn
said on February 4, 2018
I had wondered what the loud noise at the end meant, too, and the podcasters said nothing about it!! Like, this was a burning question for me, and I assumed it would be for other people as well!Like you mentioned, I first encountered 呢 when learning 你呢？ So I never knew about using 呢 to soften questions or ask about what happened to a noun. Very informative, thanks!
qtnguyen99
said on January 30, 2019
What is the meaning of 看看?(as opposed to one word 看 used by the husband in 2 different phrases)I am guessing 看看used in a question or request only, not in a simple statement
trevelyan
said on February 4, 2019
@qtnguyen99 -- it's colloquial shorthand for 看一看. The reduplication basically suggests that the action will be happening for a short while -- i.e. "take a look".
