当十八岁时，我常常弹吉他。我的吉他没掌握好，但是我弹得不错。

现在我三十七岁了。我忘记了怎么弹吉他。因为我喜欢弹吉他，于是我再练习吉他。有朝一日我会弹得很熟练。

我知道汉语比弹吉他有用。我觉得汉语很有趣，吉他也很有趣。

这是关于我的吉他爱好。

当我是十八岁时，我弹吉他很多。我不太掌握的吉他，但是我可以了弹吉他。

现在我三十七岁了。我不可以弹吉他；我忘记的。因为我喜欢弹吉他，于是我练习的。有朝一日我会熟练。

知道汉语比弹吉他有用。我想汉语有趣。我想吉他有趣。都很好爱好。

掌握－zhang4 wo4－master

忘记－wang4 ji4－forget

于是－yu2 shi4－so;then

关于－guan1 yu4－about; with regard to

有趣－you3 qu4－interesting

上星期我去了“San Francisco”。我去了中国城。我在那儿我买了儿童汉语书。

我喜欢我的新书。第一书叫“狐狸和乌鸦”。它是儿童书，可是今天我比儿童知道得少。

我锻炼很好。常常我步行。我喜欢去步行。

我今天没和我的澳大利亚朋友聊天。他们都忙。我也很忙。

今天天气很好。

现在我要吃晚饭。

上午我的太太锻炼。晚上我锻炼。今天晚上我锻炼过。我不常常锻炼，可是我喜欢的。

首先⋯⋯然后⋯⋯（接着⋯⋯）
shǒu xiān⋯⋯rán hòu⋯⋯（jiē zhe⋯⋯）
First … then … (then (a different then to sound less repetitive)…)

Notes
首先。 shou xian
然后: [ rán hòu ] (then)…
接着: [ jiē zhe ] (then – continuing…)

This one came about while I was talking to my teacher on Skype. The audio cut out for me so I said “我不听你”. I was trying to say “I can't hear you”, but what that translates into is “I refuse to listen to your advice” or “I wont listen to you” (more or less).

One correct way to say “I can't hear you” is:

我听不见你的声音
wǒ tīng bú jìan nǐ de shēng yīn.
direct: I listen not see your voice.
trans: I am listening but I can't hear you.

Another one might be (I need to double check):

我听不到
wǒ tīng bú dào
direct: I listen not to
I think: I have not heard.

Notes…

我不听你。
我听不见你的声音。

见: [ jiàn, xiàn ] (1. to see, 2. to meet, 3. to appear, 4. to interview)
声音: [ shēng yīn ] (1. sound, 2. voice)
声: [ shēng ] (1. noise, 2. sound, 3. voice, 4. tone)
音: [ yīn ] (1. news, 2. noise, 3. sound)

我听不到。
我听不懂。
我不听
你的话.
(huà)

Some conditional structures. The first one is the because structure. I've learned this before, but I forgot it. This will hopefully be a reminder.

因为…所以…
yīnwéi… suǒyǐ…
because… so…

This structure is a little odd from an English standpoint (which means it should be easy to remember) because The cause / outcome is reversed. For example:

(forgive me if the sentence is bad, I tried this on my own)

因为我去了超市所以我买了牛奶。
yīnwéi wǒ qù le chāoshì suǒyǐ wǒ mǎi le niúnǎi
direct: because I went super market so I bought milk.
trans: I bought milk because I went to the super market.

How do you say… This one is one of the most important phrases I think, and I can't believe I never asked how to say it before. One of the first things I learned in spanish was “Cómo se dice … en español”. In Chinese it's:

…怎么说？
…zěnme shuō?
direct: … how say?
trans: how do you say … ?
example: “elephant”怎么说？

If / then. This is another one I kind of knew at one point but forgot. This one is a bit more complicated in Chinese because the then part is different based on the tense. I don't fully understand it yet.

如果… 就(将)…
rúguǒ… jiù (jiàng)…
if… then (then future)…

examples (warning probably bad sentences (and might be wrong!) but I think the concept is correct)

如果你不是我的爸爸就我不是你的孩子。
(if you are not my dad, then I am not your son)

如果你不吃将你死。
(if you don't eat, then you will die)

Notes:
如果: [ rú guǒ ] (if)
就: [ jiù ] (then) (I have a hang up with this word: gee-yo)
将: [ jiàng, qiāng, jiāng ] (will, shall, “future tense”)

This last bit is a somewhat of a tongue twister for me to practice. Feel free to try yourself.

如果你努力学习，你就能学好。
rúguǒ nǐ nǔlì xúexí, nǐ jiù néng xúehǎo
if you study hard, you then can learn.

Notes
努力: [ nǔ lì ] (1. strive, 2. great effort, 3. try hard)

The First (第一）

从⋯⋯到⋯⋯
cóng⋯⋯dào⋯⋯

Which means “from… to…”, or maybe even “from… till…”. For example:

⋯⋯从今天到明天⋯⋯
⋯⋯cóng jīn tiān dào míng tiān⋯⋯
…from today to tomorrow…

The tones seem to be intuitive too. Rising for the from part and falling for the to part.

The Second （第二）

⋯⋯和⋯⋯有什么不同？
⋯⋯hé⋯⋯yǒu shénme bú tòng?
…and…have what difference?

Which means, more or less, “what is the difference between these two objects”. For example:

电脑和电视有什么不同？
diànnǎo hé diànshì yǒu shénme bú tòng?
What is the difference between the computer and the TV?

The Third （第三）

The last one is the equivalent of “just a second”.

请等一等
qǐng děng yī děng

The Forth (第四）

Ok, one more:

不用急。
bú yòng jí.
No rush, or not urgent.

(急jí means “worried” or “hurried)