Mandarin does not have plural forms for nouns. The word 書 / 书 (shū) for example, could mean "book" or "books", depending on the context.

You can always use a number to indicate plurals, as in 一本書/ 一本书 (yī běn shū - one book), but a phrase such as 我的書在哪裡？ / 我的书在哪里？ (wǒ de shū zài nǎli?) could be translated as either "Where are my books?" or "Where is my book?"

One way of indicating plurals is with the adverb 都 (dōu) which translates as "all". It is used after the noun to be modified, as in this example:

水果都很便宜｡
Shuǐguǒ dōu hěn piányi.
All the fruit is inexpensive.

The adverb 都 (dōu) can also be used in negative sentences to mean "none" as in this example:

水果都不便宜｡
Shuǐguǒ dōu bù piányi.
None of the fruit is inexpensive.

Read more about the adverb 都 (dōu)...

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mandarin speakers tend to think of time as vertical, the past being above and the future below.

The character 下 (xià) can be translated as under, below, downwards, as well as next, so it gives us expressions such as 下個星期 / 下个星期 (xià gè xīng qī - next week), and 下個月 / 下个月 (xià gè yuè - next month).

Following the logic of 下 being later, we also have 下午 (xià wǔ - afternoon), which could be literally translated as "below noon".

And since time is flowing downward, we also have 下課 / 下课 (xià kè - class is over) and 下班 (xia ban - work is over).

Work and school are in the past, which is above us, so we are now below those events.

The best way to learn Mandarin is to immerse yourself in the language through an extended stay in Taiwan or China.

If Taiwan is in your sights, it will soon be easier than ever for foreign students to study there. According to an article on the Focus Taiwan website, Taiwan hopes to "double the number of foreign students studying in Taiwan from the current 45,000 to 88,000 in four years."

Almost US$200 million is being set aside to achieve this goal, primarily by promoting Taiwan's universities.

Approximately 15,000 students are currently in Taiwan to learn Mandarin, with the remaining 30,000 foreign students focusing on other academic disciplines. Taiwan's Ministry of Education hopes to attract greater number of both types of students, making this an ideal time to consider Taiwan as a study destination. For information about scholarships for American students, visit the Taipei Economic & Cultural Respresentative Office website.

A recent story on the Metro news site tells of a ten year old girl who is fluent in 4 languages. So fluent, in fact, that she has become the European Parliament's youngest interpreter.

According to the article, Alexia Sloane "has been tri-lingual since birth as her mother, a teacher, is half French and half Spanish, while her father, Richard, is English."

Since losing her sight at the age of two, Alexia was able to quickly adapt to her blindness, learning to read and write Braille by the age of four.

She started studying Mandarin when she was six, and has achieved a high competency in the language. She is currently learning German.

Alexia's story seems to reinforce the idea that some people have a natural affinity for learning languages, and that the earlier in life we are exposed to languages, the easier it is to learn new ones.