About the Author

Vivian Ling was born in wartime China and educated in the U.S. She taught for 24 years at Oberlin College before moving overseas to direct study-abroad Chinese language programs, most notably the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at National Taiwan University in Taipei and Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her last position was Director of the Chinese Flagship program at Indiana University. She has authored and edited Chinese language textbooks, dictionaries, books on modern Chinese literature, and most recently The Field of Chinese Language Education in the U.S.: A Retrospective of the 20th Century. She lives in Washington DC.

Peng Wang joined the faculty of the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures at Georgetown University in 2002, and has taught various levels of Chinese language courses, including Business Chinese and Intensive Chinese for Advanced Beginners. Professor Wang has also taught Chinese language as the chief instructor at the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University and as visiting professor at Oberlin College and Brown University. In the summer of 2010 and 2012, Professor Wang served as the academic director for the State Department-sponsored Critical Language Scholarship Program in Shanghai.

Reviews

"For learners of Chinese to express themselves clearly and for native speakers to enjoy their interactions with them, it's essential for them to learn informal and formal Chinese grammar well. The crystallization of decades of teaching experience on the part of the authors, this lively and eminently practical book can profitably be used for grammar review in class or self-study. Filled with insightful examples and useful exercises, it compares Chinese and English grammar patterns, pointing out potential pitfalls and how to avoid them." -- Cornelius C. Kubler, Stanfield Professor of Asian Studies, Williams College

"Informed by the wisdom accrued from decades of teaching experience, Essential Mandarin Chinese Grammar identifies a wide range of challenging vocabulary and grammatical features for English-speaking learners that are commonplace in the language of adult Chinese communication, yet are either under-explained or ignored altogether in current textbooks." -- Robert Sanders, Professor of Chinese, Komatsu University

"Drawing on vast knowledge and experience, the authors have accomplished a major tour de force: on-target, insightful and fully cognizant of the special characteristics of Chinese…Essential functions and patterns are given cogent and jargon-free explanations, followed up with ample examples and cognitively engaging exercises. Highly recommended!" -- Zheng-sheng Zhang, Ph.D., Professor of Chinese at San Diego State University & Editor-in-Chief of Chinese as a Second Language (Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association)