你的英文讲得很好。。。。WOOPS

[heifeng]

people are always confusing Canada and Australia

makes sense to me, just a hip, skip, and a jump away....in a really outta date text book.

At least you can talk about geography then:mrgreen:

oops....just noticed someone went back on topic....

[Yiwan]

I'd rather think you talk funny if you say 哪里哪里, 跟你比还差得远 and stuff. Perhaps I'm too used to the southern way of speaking.

[gougou]

So, Yiwan, would you care to share the Southern way of replying to it?

[Yiwan]

没有啦! Or 哪有!

[imron]

Perhaps I'm too used to the southern way of speaking.

Or perhaps you don't have people saying this to you several times a day, so you don't try to think of varied responses to prevent yourself from going crazy

[Yiwan]

I know what you mean. Seeing you people speak good Chinese, it gotta be often for you getting comments like "你的中文很好" (which is what the original poster wanted I guess). The major reason I find 跟您比还差远着呢 funny is, personally, I think it tends to be sarcastic and people who say this are hypocritical. It certainly depends on the context though.

[imron]

The major reason I find 跟您比还差远着呢 funny is, personally, I think it tends to be sarcastic

Well, personally I never say 差远, only 差点 And yes, it's supposed to be sarcastic, but in a joking, funny kind of way, rather than a hypocritical kind of way.

[Lu]

I know what you mean. Seeing you people speak good Chinese, it gotta be often for you getting comments like "你的中文很好"

It's more than that. I, and many with me, get this compliment every time we open our mouth to say Ni hao with approximately the right pronounciation. I must have heard it hundreds, if not thousands, of times by now, and it's usually not based on a clear notion of the actual level of my Chinese. It has very little to do with speaking good Chinese, more with being an obvious foreigner who is making an attempt to speak Chinese. So the compliment, however well-meant, is completely meaningless about 99 times out of 100.

The major reason I find 跟您比还差远着呢 funny is, personally, I think it tends to be sarcastic and people who say this are hypocritical.

Sarcastic, yes. But hypocritical?? Why?

[imron]

But hypocritical?? Why?

I would guess Yiwan possibly meant 虚伪. I could be wrong though.

[Yiwan]

There is something very pleasant about the mouth of people of certain regional background, nicknamed 油嘴子, who are associated with that kind of expressions talked above. In some cases even if they don't like you, they don't make it clear. Hence my impression - they are hypocritical. It's a stereotype thing really.

[skylee]

In some cases even if they don't like you, they don't make it clear. Hence my impression - they are hypocritical. It's a stereotype thing really.

Some people would consider it politeness, or kindness.

[Yiwan]

How about badmouthing you behind your back when act like the nicest person in front of you? I don't think you will call two-faced people nice, will you?

[skylee]

How about badmouthing you behind your back when act like the nicest person in front of you? I don't think you will call two-faced people nice, will you?

No I don't think a person is nice if he "badmouths you behind your back but acts like the nicest person in front of you". But I think "those people who don't make it clear even if they don't like you", as said in your post #50, could be being polite/kind. Sorry that I didn't make it very clear in my last post. But then I didn't know that there was another factor like "badmouthing you behind your back" to consider.

[Yiwan]

Well, actually what is said in my last point is of the person's character that I dislike and that in the post before this is how she talks. I didn't want to bring up the badmouthing point because I had a feeling of sounding like 愤世嫉俗, that I'm really not.

[redmini]

so back on topic....

is it gramatically correct to respond with "还需要很多进步" or is that the completely wrong way to express it?

[Yiwan]

is it gramatically correct to respond with "还需要很多进步" or is that the completely wrong way to express it?

It's grammatically correct but I have never heard anyone say this. Why don't you just say 还需要很多努力?

Or 还算不上好呢!

[muyongshi]

is it gramatically correct to respond with "还需要很多进步" or is that the completely wrong way to express it?

It's grammatically correct but I have never heard anyone say this. Why don't you just say 还需要很多努力?

Actually both of these are grammatically incorrect....

进步 is not a noun it is a verb or an adjective and for it work as an adjective you would need to add 点 in both examples 如：还需要多点努力，还需要多点进步 but you cannot use the 很 in those example

You could say 我要继续进步 or 我要进步下去. They are grammatically correct but very seldom said.

[Yiwan]

I'm sure I've heard 很多进步 and 很多努力 in real life. As a native I don't learn the language academically. So I'm not that sure in terms of grammar.

[muyongshi]

Where did you grow up though?

I knew you were a native speaker that is why hearing something like that sounds very weird to me...

I know if you say 作出很多努力, or 付出很多努力 then that is a correct sentence....

[Yiwan]

I grew up in Guangdong, speaking Mandarin and the Chaozhou (Shantou) dialect. However I spoke Mandarin most before the age of 14, which made me mistaken for Beifang-ren often. I however have been speaking Cantonese most on a daily basis since I came to Australia at 17.

Where did you grow up though?

I knew you were a native speaker that is why hearing something like that sounds very weird to me...

I know if you say 作出很多努力, or 付出很多努力 then that is a correct sentence....

Ok, I see the problem now. You people are being strictly grammatical! If someone says I speak good English, I may say, "没有啦, 还需要很多努力啦." It's just a variation of Mandarin. Just your Chinese teacher may not be happy with it.

I'm not alone.

Proof:

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=%22%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E5%BE%88%E5%A4%9A%E5%8A%AA%E5%8A%9B%22&btnG=Search&meta=