help w/ more sentences

[82riceballs]

Can someone help me correct these sentences that I wrote? Thanks!

1. 和他共事過的人都知道他絕不拘泥小節，一向果斷。他一下定決心，要阻止他已經太遲了。
   Anyone who has worked with him knows that he never fusses over petty conventions and is always resolute. Once he makes his mind, it is too late to stop him.
   
2. 我們的國父們能建立目前世界最偉大的國家，行事一定既有恆心又有魄力。
   Our founding fathers who were able to establish what is now the mighiest country, must have been both perseverent and courageous.
   
3. 那名著名的中校雖嚴厲，但他還是心慈手軟而無法執行長者的命令，把小朋友的狗殺掉。
   Though that famous lieutenant is strict, he was still too soft-hearted to carry out his superior's order to kill the child's dog.
   
4. 話題是文章的核心。他決定論文，語氣和個人的論點。換言之，他幾乎決定一切所有。
   The topic is the heart of the essay--it determines the thesis, tone, and individual arguments. In other words, it determines practically everything.
   
5. 在考試時，你只要有正確的答案就能考的好。不過，在寫文章時，你必須顯示一些活力與精力。對話題的興趣的缺乏會在每字顯示。
   When you're taking an exam, you just have to get the answers right to get a good grade. When you're writing an essay, however, you need to show some verve and energy. A lack of interest in the topic will show in every word you write.
   

btw, the last two English sentences come from Sparknotes Ultimate Style: How to Write an Essay by Justin Marshall.

[dancingalone]

sorry,can you read simplified chinese characters? just some advices.

和他共事過的人都知道他絕（从）不拘泥小節，一向果斷。他一（一旦他）下定決心，要阻止他已經太遲了。（就没有什么能挡住他了。）

Anyone who has worked with him knows that he never fusses over petty conventions and is always resolute. Once he makes his mind, it is too late to stop him.

我們的國父們能建立目前世界最偉大的國家，行事一定既有恆心又有魄力。

（能建立如今这伟大的国家，我们的国父们必然既勇敢又坚强。）

Our founding fathers who were able to establish what is now the mighiest country, must have been both perseverent and courageous.

那名著名的中校雖嚴厲，但他還是(too, 太)心慈手軟，（而）無法執行（遵照）長者的命令，把小朋友的狗殺掉。

Though that famous lieutenant is strict, he was still too soft-hearted to carry out his superior's order to kill the child's dog.

話題（主题）是文章的核心。他(它)決定(了)論文，語氣和個人的論點。換言之，他幾乎決定一切所有。

主题是文章的核心。它决定了文章的论题，语气，和个人的论点。换言之，它几乎决定了所有的一切。

The topic is the heart of the essay--it determines the thesis, tone, and individual arguments. In other words, it determines practically everything.

在考試時，你只要有正確的答案就能考的好。不過，在寫文章時，你必須顯示一些活力與精力。對話題的興趣的缺乏會在每字顯示。

在考试时，你只要做对题目就能取得好成绩。但在写文章时，你必须展现出热情和经历。对主题缺乏兴趣，会体现在你写的每一个字里。（or, 你写的每一个字都能体现出你对主题缺乏兴趣。）

When you're taking an exam, you just have to get the answers right to get a good grade. When you're writing an essay, however, you need to show some verve and energy. A lack of interest in the topic will show in every word you write.

[studentyoung]

1. 和他共事過的人都知道他絕不拘泥小節，一向果斷。他一下定決心，要阻止他已經太遲了。Anyone who has worked with him knows that he never fusses over petty conventions and is always resolute. Once he makes his mind, it is too late to stop him.

和他共事過的人都知道他一貫果斷，絕不拘泥於小節。一旦他下定決心，就撞倒南牆都不回頭。

2 我們的國父們能建立目前世界最偉大的國家，行事一定既有恆心又有魄力。

Our founding fathers who were able to establish what is now the mighiest country, must have been both perseverent and courageous.

founding father: 開國者，創立者，開國元勳 （In Chinese 國父 is only one person, but 開國者、創立者、開國元勳 can be more than one.）

mighty country: 強大的國家

great country: 偉大的國家

(All countries in the world are great countries, but only few of them are mighty countries.)

能建立目前這個世上最強大的國家，我們的開國元勳行事定必兼備恒心與魄力

3. 那名著名的中校雖嚴厲，但他還是心慈手軟而無法執行長者的命令，把小朋友的狗殺掉。

Though that famous lieutenant is strict, he was still too soft-hearted to carry out his superior's order to kill the child's dog.

Superior: 長官 (not 長者).

Aged people: 長者

Child: 小孩 (小朋友 is usually a nickname used by an elder person to a younger one. For example, a father wakes his son up and says, “小朋友，快起床”.)

那位威名赫赫的中校雖然嚴厲，但他還是太心軟了，無法按照長官的命令把那個小孩的狗殺死。

（唉~ ~，不是他心軟，而是他心裏還有慈悲一念，不願妄開殺戒，此時的中校就是佛祖——阿彌陀佛，善哉善哉！）

5. 在考試時，你只要有正確的答案就能考的好。不過，在寫文章時，你必須顯示一些活力與精力。對話題的興趣的缺乏會在每字顯示。

When you're taking an exam, you just have to get the answers right to get a good grade. When you're writing an essay, however, you need to show some verve and energy. A lack of interest in the topic will show in every word you write.

考試時，你只要答案正確就能考個好成績。不過寫論文的時候，你必須顯示出激情與活力。你要是對話題本身沒什麼興趣，就會在字裏行間中流露出來。

Cheers!

[dancingalone]

楼上的，much better translations!

[studentyoung]

楼上的，much better translations!

啊~ ~，不敢当，不敢当。dancingalone ，你太客气了。(Thank you so much for your kind words! )

谢！

[82riceballs]

thank you very much, guys!

i have just a few questions, though:

• 我們的開國元勳行事定必兼備恒心與魄力

  what does 定必 mean? i can't seem to find it in any dictionaries.
  

• 一旦他下定決心

  is it okay/grammatically correct to say "他一旦" instead of "一旦他" or is this a specific sentence structure?
  

• 絕不拘泥於小節。

  Is it still correct if I leave out 於 and just say 拘泥小節?
  
• is sentence #4 correct?
  

[Emily2008]

I thought that "定必" is equal to "必定" .

I believed that the two is both ok.

and sounds like 决不拘泥于小节 is better,but 拘泥小节 is okay too.

[82riceballs]

k, that helps me w/ 2 of my questions. thanks!

can someone please help me answer the other two? thanks in advance.

[muyongshi]

is it okay/grammatically correct to say "他一旦" instead of "一旦他" or is this a specific sentence structure?

Both are okay.

[dancingalone]

I thought that "定必" is equal to "必定" .

are you sure? i've never heard such expression though.

[skylee]

I thought that "定必" is equal to "必定" .

are you sure? i've never heard such expression though.

Positive.

[82riceballs]

謝謝大家！

[Emily2008]

I'm sure:) u c,chinese is an pictograph language, the character is the combine of meaning and pronounce,and if the meaning could be expressed clearly ,the grammar require isn't too strict, "定必" is informal but not wrong.and I 'm junior majoring in teaching chinese as a foriegn language ,if u have some question ,u can sen e-mail to me,i'll try my best to help u,hehe~~~bx142604422@hotmail.com

[fireball9261]

"定必" is equal to "必定" !?!

I don't think so. "必定" is the usual phrase. "定必" has to be used carefully in certain sentences and context. They are not quite equal in this sense.

It's true that "必定成功" and " 定必成功" maybe OK either way. However, "你這樣做必定不行" sounds right, but "你這樣做定必不行" sounds wrong. It's one of those awkward use of Chinese again -- For those who did not know, I am paying back my English teachers who have told me my awkward use of English!

[82riceballs]

i did a google search for "必定" and "定必" (in quotation marks) and it appears that the

former has more hits (2,890,000 to be exact)

than the latter (747,000).

just thought i'd say that

[muyongshi]

So who's write about this skylee or fireball??? I love it when there is a conflict like this... I personally think the difference is not large but 必定 I think tends to be used more.

[Emily2008]

ok,thank u,fireball9261.I checked the latest dictionary of contemporary chinese to find "定必",and i couldn't find it ,so the word isn't an formal word in mardarine chinese .and in traditional chinese,"定"and "必" are two words.定 means "must" and "be needed to" ,meanwhile ,"必" has the some meaning. one character is a word in traditional chinese but in simplized chinese has the trend that two syllables compose one word.so "必"plus"定" to become the word "必定".

and then,i did a baidu search (the largest chinese search in the world) for"定必",and there're all kindes of use of the word ,such as"Ａ股定必是全世界最便宜的股票","这个定必出2码的思路",do u think it's an awkward use?but chinese still use it.

if my foriegn student says"你这样做定必不行" ,i'll tell him "u're wrong"and "u must use 必定","必定" is formal.however when i read the sentence ,i can understand it.sometimes,the confines of two chinese word is unclear,that's one reason that the chinese language is so difficult to learn and to teach.

[fireball9261]

if my foriegn student says"你这样做定必不行" ,i'll tell him "u're wrong"and "u must use 必定","必定" is formal.however when i read the sentence ,i can understand it.sometimes,the confines of two chinese word is unclear,that's one reason that the chinese language is so difficult to learn and to teach.

Chinese is an evolving language. Many Chinese phrases with two words of the similar meanings sometimes got reverse over the years. One of the primary reasons was the wrongful use of phrases by people who were not familiar with the phrases. When enough people used these wrong phrases, they became the commonly used phrases. It happened all throughout the Chinese history. For example, the word "bad smell" 臭 used to mean "good smell" in the ancient time. After x number of years, the original meaning became forgotten, and the new meaning of the word became the official meaning.

The same thing also happened with the phrases with the two words of the similar meanings. The original usage was only using one of the words in the sentences. Then, someone used both words to emphasize the meaning, like "it's very greatly impacted by ...". "Very" and "greatly" had similar meanings, but they were used here for the purpose of emphasizing. In this way, to reverse the words really did not impact the meaning of the phrase any way, so … many people said, "Who cares! This sounds good, and it is a new way of saying an old thing. It makes me sounded fashionable and creative." Therefore, people started using the term, and it became a formally used phrase after x number of years.

In this time period, "必定" is still the correct, formal, and original term. However, "定必" is getting to be the new and fashionable way of saying an old phrase. You are witnessing the transformation of an old Chinese phrase and the creation of the new one.

[muyongshi]

Chinese is an evolving language.

All languages must evolve or otherwise they will die.....

[Emily2008]

thank u again,fireball9261:) i still keep my opinion about the "定必".and if " '定必' is getting to be the new and fashionable way of saying an old phrase. "what's the new concept of the word,and which occasion it'll be used in ? i believed that the word has been informal until now.i asked some friends and net-partners,someone even say that:"oh,i've never heared the word.maybe it has the same meaning with '必定',i don't use the word in my daily life" meanwhile. and i got ur meaning ,i like ur expression very much.may i make a friend with u? haha