Should it be grammatically correct???

Thought I'd say hi and pop in a quick post. I haven't been on in awhile due to health but haven't forgotten my blog either!

The other day I was telling a Chinese friend how my son said 'I love my mum' completely unprompted! Very exciting stuff! :-) Anyway, I was explaining how my son said 我爱我妈妈 (wo ai wo ma ma), and left out 的(de) which turns 'I' (我) into my (我的) making it possessive. Basically, I was taught (and books teach) that to say 'I love my mum', you would say 我爱我的妈妈 (wo ai wo de ma ma). My friend told me however that when speaking, Chinese people normally leave out 的(de) and just say it the way my son did. Apparently the other way is still correct but Chinese people don't normally speak like that and often just say 我 instead of 我的.

It seems to me that when foreigners are taught Chinese, we are taught to say what is grammatically correct, not what native Chinese people actually say. It makes it feel a bit tricky sometimes and I wonder about what I've learnt and whether Chinese people would really speak like that. I guess it's just a case of learning it properly and then trying to get experience and discovering the 'real' way to say it. Or maybe if you're only worried about speaking, you could just go straight for learning how Chinese people usually speak. I want to learn speaking, reading, and writing though so I probably need to know it grammatically too. I really hope I have the opportunity soon to learn the language in an authentic setting where I am surrounded by it and can learn how it is used by native speakers.

Flash Cards for Lesson 4

Thought it was about time I made the effort to keep uploading more sets of flashcards. I have actually had them all made for months but I don't have the translation bit done on all of them and it is time consuming to get the pinyin with the tones above the letters. Please keep in mind that the translation comes from my teachers who are native Chinese speakers and have lived there for many years. They may not be exact dictionary definitions or I may only have one meaning for a word that can actually mean a number of things. These books are aimed at children (but can still be used by adults) so some definitions are simplified and could be considered 'kiddy language'.

Click on the link below to see my flash cards.

Flash Cards for Lesson 4

If you notice any mistakes or have any suggestions, feel free to comment!