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    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4
    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4
    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4
    Ebook141 pages1 hour

    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4

    By Vivienne Zhang

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    About this ebook

    Author Vivienne Zhang is a native Chinese speaker fluent in English who has been translating, interpreting and teaching for many years. She has tried, tested and perfected various lessons and techniques that apply well to Chinese studies. These modern techniques are now published in a series of four books.

    Each book teaches the reader both Pinyin and Hanzi (Chinese characters). One of the unique features in these books is the literal translation into English of common Chinese expressions and vocabulary. For example, you can often see the annotation “lit.” with the grammar points in BOOK 1, showing the direct translation of the Chinese text. This technique reinforces an understanding of sentence structure and grammar which has proven to be instrumental in helping the students and readers to retain the Chinese that they have already learned. Other Chinese language books do not use this approach.

    In BOOK 1, Part 1 teaches the Chinese Pinyin system, the Romanization of Mandarin, often considered the foundation for learning the language. After Part 1 is completed, you can move on to Part 2 which provides an understanding of grammar points. There are useful examples to help you grasp each of the grammar points. Part 2 is arranged in such a way that any topic in this part can be studied independently.

    Upon completion of this book, you will attain mastery of Chinese grammar and vocabulary.

    NOTE: After you have learnt Pinyin (initials, finals and tones) in Part 1 of BOOK 1, you are ready to continue studying any books within the Modern Chinese series...BOOK 1, 2, 3 and 4.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherVivienne Zhang
    Release dateMar 13, 2013
    ISBN9781625901361
    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4
    Author

    Vivienne Zhang

    After graduation from University in 2009, Vivienne worked as a freelance interpreter for many international companies such as Huawei, Samsung, Apple, Mercedes, Siemens, Areva, Peugeot, and others. In 2010, Vivienne decided to fully dedicate herself to teaching Chinese language to foreign expats employed at those same multi-national companies where she worked as an interpreter before. In 2012, based on the success of her teaching, Vivienne wrote a series of books that teach Chinese using her unique learning methods. These techniques have become very popular among her students and readers.

    Read more from Vivienne Zhang

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    Book preview

    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 - Vivienne Zhang

    Modern Chinese (BOOK 1)

    – Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way

    – Series 1, 2, 3, 4

    Vivienne Zhang

    Copyright Vivienne Zhang 2012

    Published at Smashwords

    Acknowledgements

    Preface

    Part 1 Pinyin

    Charts of Initials and Finals

    Four Tones

    Neutral Tone

    Some Basic Tone Change Rules

    Part 2 Grammar Points

    Numbers (0-100)

    Time

    Pronouns

    Numbers and Usages

    Measure Words and Money

    Interrogatives

    Prepositions

    Conjunctions

    Adjectives

    Comparative Degree of Adjectives

    Superlative Degree of Adjectives

    Common Adjectives and Their Related Words

    Other books by Vivienne Zhang

    Acknowledgements

    There are many people without whose helpful support and encouragement BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 would not have become a reality. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my good friend, Pax Webb, for his patience and meticulous care in proofreading the drafts and offering suggestions.

    I wish to thank my parents for their undivided support and interest, whose wisdom inspired me and encouraged me to go my own way, without whom I would be unable to complete these books. I am also very grateful to my siblings, especially my younger sister Vicky who shares my daily happiness and woes. My appreciation of their love for me truly goes beyond mere words.

    I also give my sincere appreciation to all the teachers who have taught and encouraged me during my life studies. From their instructive courses and stimulating discussions I have acquired many insights and a genuine love for languages and linguistics.

    I hope you find these books as interesting, challenging and rewarding as I did writing them.

    Preface

    In recent years, China has grown to be a powerhouse in the world economy. Mandarin, Putonghua in Chinese, has always been the world’s most spoken language by sheer volume of native speakers but its value has also become especially important among foreigners and business professionals. With the ever increasing focus on international trade with China, Western interest in learning Chinese has grown exponentially.

    As a Chinese native speaker fluent in English, I have been translating, interpreting and teaching for many years. I have not always been satisfied with the available books and materials for teaching Chinese to foreigners. Over the last several years I have tried, tested and perfected various lessons and techniques that apply well to Chinese studies. I have collected and now publish all of these modern techniques into books.

    One of the unique features in these books is the literal translation into English of common Chinese expressions and vocabulary. For example, you can often see lit. with the grammar points in BOOK 1, showing the direct translation of the Chinese text. This will reinforce an understanding of sentence structure and grammar which has proven to be instrumental in helping you retain the Chinese you have already learned. Other Chinese language books do not use this approach.

    In BOOK 1, Part 1 teaches the Chinese Pinyin system, the Romanization of Mandarin, often considered the foundation for learning the language. After Part 1 is completed, you can move on to Part 2 which provides an understanding of grammar points. There are useful examples to help you grasp each of the grammar points. Part 2 is arranged in such a way that any topic in this part can be studied independently.

    Upon completion of this book, you will attain mastery of Chinese grammar and vocabulary.

    Part 1 Pinyin

    The Pinyin system is composed of three parts: initials, finals and tones.

    Initials are the sounds that come at the beginning of words, finals are the sounds that come at the end of words, and tones describe the level at which those words are spoken. Let’s have a closer look.

    Charts of Initials and Finals

    When first learning how to speak pinyin, we use the 1st tone to pronounce all initials and finals.

    The finals begin with a, o, e:

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