Re: Chinglish

[rainbow402]

Dear Teacher,

Being English learners, many Chinese of us usually write/speak more or less chinglish unconsciously because Chinese and English are two quite different languages to each other. I have to fight with these mistakes all along during my English learning.

I'd like to learn whether the sentences marked # 1 as belows are improper or not (or do they sounds clumsy?) The sentences marked # 2 are the corrections. But I still have doubts on them. Please kindly give me a hand. Thanks in advance!

#1 The price is very suitable for me.
#2 The price is just right.

#1 Would you like to join our party on Friday?
#2 Would you like to come to our party on Friday night?

#1 this is my first time to come here
#2 my first time here.


very excellent
excellent ("very" is a redundant modifier.)<---really?

[Niall]

All three of your interpretations are correct. None of the phrases in blue work, as you guessed, apart from the second one about the party, which is correct, but sounds awkward.

As for "very excellent", that doesn't really work- it is just not said!

[rainbow402]

Niall,

Thanks for your reply. They are not my interpretations but the excerpts from a collection of chinglish expressions correcting in a thread of another BBS.

I think I would make the similar mistakes as I listed above without reading the corrections.

#1 The price is very suitable for me.
#1 this is my first time to come here

Hmm, Do the sentences above sound clumsy or they are wrong grammatically? Why do they not work? Thanks!

[Niall]

Originally Posted by rainbow402

#1 The price is very suitable for me.

In syntax this if ok, but the choice of the adjective suitable makes it sounds odd, which is why we replace "very suitable" with "right".
The price is right for me.

Originally Posted by rainbow402

#1 this is my first time to come here

Here, you cannot use the infinitive, you must use the gerund instead:
this is my first time coming here

[rainbow402]

Originally Posted by Niall

Here, you cannot use the infinitive, you must use the gerund instead:
this is my first time coming here

Thank you, Niall. How should I use " the gerund" and " the infinitive" properly?

Coming here is my first time.

To come here is my first time. <--wrong?

I think the infinitive can be subject, can't it?

[Niall]

You can sometimes use the infinitve as the subject of a sentence, but you more often use the gerund.
Here is some information on gerunds and here is some information on infinitives.

Originally Posted by rainbow402

Coming here is my first time.

To come here is my first time.

Both of these phrases are incorrect, because you are describing "coming here" and "to come here" which are general processes rather than specific events, so we cannot describe them as "my first time".

We can talk generally about "Coming here", for example:
Coming here is fun.

To talk about a specific event we have to say:
This is my first time.

A better way to describe a specific event is to use the past tense:
I came here today for my first time.


I hope I have been clear enough. Otherwise I can explain futher.

[rainbow402]

Niall,
Thank you. I don't really understand. Here are new examples.

A.) To learn English is important.
B.) Learning English is important.

I think both A & B are correct. Right? So what is the difference between gerund and the infinitive?

[Niall]

They are both correct, but the gerund definitely sounds a lot more natural.

There is often no difference between the gerund, as in this case. But other times there can be a difference:
For a phrase where we need to say "in order to" we have to use the infinitive, you can say "I went to the park in order to play" but you cannot say "I went to the park in order to playing.
In some situations using the gerund instead of the infinitive changes the meaning, as in:
I stopped to look at the tree.
I stopped looking at the tree.

In most situations when describing a process such as "fishing", "playing", "eating", "learning" etc. I would use the gerund rather than the infinitive, because that is what native speakers normally use.

[rainbow402]

Niall, thank you very much for your replies again and again.

Hmm, let me sleep it on. I have posted too many questions today and my head can not work on English now. I will post my thought here tomorrow.

Have a good day.

[rainbow402]

Originally Posted by Niall

Here, you cannot use the infinitive, you must use the gerund instead:
this is my first time coming here

Hi Niall,

Is " coming here" adverbial in above sentence? I wonder why " to come here" is wrong? Can't the infinitive be adverbial? Thank you!