Chinese (Essential Grammars)

The book does however explain the use of "le" well and the contexts in which is used. The noun section is good and again good for a beginner level however for me the verb section really lets it down.

I have studied in both England and China, with tutors in both countries, having used a wide variety of books. They either focus on a really basic level or are too complicated. Often is the case one needs a degree in English to understand the explanation being given!

The perfect Chinese Grammar book I am sure is out there, however as to date I have not yet discovered it.

It is not exactly bed-time reading, but the small sections make it digestable and you can go away feeling that you have learnt something.

I was initially disappointed when I realised that all the text was in pinyin and English. ( Although the glossary includes all the important Chinese characters.) After I began to read I realised that it was quite difficult to read the pinyin. I am used to relaying on characters and having them taken away makes you think about spoken Chinese a lot more. If you want to know what 'shi' they are talking about, then look at the back of the book. It made me concentrate fully on the grammar patterns.

I live in China and would definately recommend this book to anyone that wants to take Chinese seriously. It is definately not for the advanced, but if you are trying to get your head around Chinese grammar this book will explain things simply. It doesn't introduce vocabulary, it purely is a grammar book which I think is excellent- It is so hard to find something that accomadates the post-beginner. The same author has written "Basic Chinese, a Grammar and workbook". Get them together and you'll be laughing all the way to Beijing.