I'm taking private Mandarin classes in Taipei. I'm having trouble referring to the beginning/middle/end of things. I asked my teacher how to say this, and the more I explained the more confused she got. Is this a cultural difference?
After some discussion, this basically seems to be a strange idea to communicate to her. But I'm having a hard time accepting this.
For example I asked how to say "the beginning of the week was rainy" She offered something involving me as the subject: 我剛開始 (wǒ gāng kāi shǐ )... I explained It doesn't have anything to do with me. So now I'm more confused as I look over my notes. For whatever reason, it appears that referring to the beginning/middle/end of things requires a verb in Mandarin? I can accept this if I have to, but could someone help me put the following ideas into Mandarin:
the beginning/middle/end of the week (was hot)
the beginning/middle/end of the book (was exciting)
the beginning/middle/end of the summer (is when students arrive)
the beginning/middle/end of the year (seemed promising)
the beginning/middle/end of the speech (was inaudible)
the beginning/middle/end of the word ....
the beginning/middle/end of the hour
the beginning/middle/end of the movie
Thanks!!