Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ yéye nǎinai xǐhuan zài jiāoqū sànbù, shuō nàli de kōngqì bǐ chéngli xīnxiān, rén yě bù nàme yōngjǐ. - My grandparents like to take walks in the suburbs; they say the air there is fresher than in the city and there aren’t as many crowds.

我爷爷奶奶 and 我的爷爷奶奶 are both grammatical.
我爷爷奶奶 sounds a bit more natural and intimate in everyday speech.
If you want to emphasize possession or be slightly more formal/clear, you can say 我的爷爷奶奶.

So the sentence omits 的 because family terms very commonly do that in spoken and informal written Chinese.

Does 爷爷奶奶 mean “my grandparents” in general, or does it specifically mean the grandparents on my father’s side?

Literally:

爷爷 = grandfather on the father’s side
奶奶 = grandmother on the father’s side

So 爷爷奶奶 technically refers to paternal grandparents.

However, in everyday conversation, when people say 我爷爷奶奶, they often just mean “my grandparents” (and they rely on context; they usually don’t discuss maternal grandparents at the same time, so confusion is rare).

If you need to be precise:

Paternal grandparents: 爷爷、奶奶
Maternal grandparents: 外公、外婆 (or regional variants like 姥爷、姥姥)

Why is there no 和 between 爷爷 and 奶奶? Why not 我爷爷和奶奶?

For very common “fixed pairs” like grandparents, parents, etc., Chinese often just puts the two nouns together without 和:

爷爷奶奶 = grandparents (paternal)
爸爸妈妈 = parents
哥哥姐姐 = older brothers and sisters

我爷爷奶奶 is natural and idiomatic.

You can say 我爷爷和奶奶, but it sounds slightly more formal or deliberate, and is less common in casual speech.

In 喜欢在郊区散步, why is 在郊区 before 散步? Could you say 喜欢散步在郊区?

Chinese generally puts location before the main verb:

Pattern: 在 + place + Verb
Example: 在郊区散步 = take walks in the suburbs

So:

喜欢在郊区散步 = “[They] like to take walks in the suburbs.”

散步在郊区 is not natural, and 喜欢散步在郊区 is ungrammatical in modern Mandarin. The 在 + place almost always comes before the action verb.

What is the difference between 郊区, 城市, 城里, and terms like 农村 or 乡下?

城市 (chéngshì) = city (the city as a whole, the urban area)
城里 (chéngli) = inside the city / in town
- 里 means “inside,” so 城里 = “inside the city.”
郊区 (jiāoqū) = suburbs / outskirts of a city
- Not fully rural, but not central urban either.
农村 (nóngcūn) / 乡下 (xiāngxia) = the countryside / rural areas.

In this sentence:

郊区 contrasts with 城里: suburbs vs in the city.

Why use 散步 instead of something like 走路 for “take a walk”?

散步 (sànbù) = to stroll, to take a walk (for relaxation, leisure).
走路 (zǒu lù) = to walk (as a way of moving from place to place).

So:

在郊区散步 focuses on the activity of leisurely walking.
在郊区走路 would sound more like “walking in the suburbs (as transport)” and is less idiomatic for “go for walks there.”

How does 说那里 work here? Why isn’t there a subject like 他们说?

Chinese often drops subjects when they are clear from context.

The logical subject of 说 is 我爷爷奶奶 from the first part:

我爷爷奶奶喜欢在郊区散步，(他们)说那里…
“My grandparents like walking in the suburbs, (they) say that there…”

You could explicitly say:

我爷爷奶奶喜欢在郊区散步，他们说那里……

Both are correct. The original just omits 他们 because it’s obvious who is speaking.

What is the role of 的 in 那里的空气?

的 links an attributive phrase to a noun.

那里 = there
那里 + 的 + 空气 = “the air there”

So 那里的空气 literally means “there’s air” or “the air of that place,” i.e., “the air there.”

Structure: [Place] + 的 + [Noun] is very common:

上海的天气 = Shanghai’s weather / the weather in Shanghai
学校的图书馆 = the school’s library / the library at school

How does 比 work in 空气比城里新鲜? Why is there no “than” or 更?

This is the standard comparison pattern:

A 比 B + Adjective = A is more Adj than B

Here:

那里的空气 = A
城里 = B (the city)
新鲜 = Adj

So 那里的空气比城里新鲜 = “The air there is fresher than (the air) in the city.”

Notes:

You don’t need 更.
比 already shows “more than.”
You can say 比城里更新鲜 to emphasize “even more,” but it’s optional.
The noun after 城里 (like 空气) is omitted because it’s obvious from context.

What exactly does 城里 mean, and how is it different from 城市?

城里 (chéngli) = “in the city / in town”
- 城 = city / town; 里 = inside.
- It’s about location: “inside the city area.”
城市 (chéngshì) = the concept of a city; “a city / cities” as entities.

In this sentence, 城里 is used because the comparison is between:

air there vs air in the city (location), not “air vs city as an abstract thing.”

You could also say 城市里, but 城里 is shorter and common in speech.

What does 也 do in 人也不那么拥挤? Is it just “also”?

Yes, 也 here roughly means “also / too,” connecting this second point to the first one.

The grandparents say:

The air there is fresher than in the city.
Also, the people are not so crowded.

So 也 marks that this is an additional positive reason:

空气比城里新鲜，(而且)人也不那么拥挤。
“The air is fresher than in the city, and people are also not that crowded.”

What does 那么 mean in 不那么拥挤? How is it different from just 不拥挤 or 很拥挤?

那么 before an adjective indicates degree: “so / that / so much.”

那么拥挤 = so crowded / that crowded
不那么拥挤 = not so crowded, not that crowded

Compare:

很拥挤 = (it is) very crowded.
不拥挤 = not crowded (at all, sounds more absolute).
不那么拥挤 = not so crowded (still some people, but not to a bad/extreme degree).

So 不那么拥挤 is softer and more natural when comparing with a more crowded place (the city).

Why use 不那么拥挤 instead of 没那么拥挤? Are 不 and 没 both okay here?

Both 不那么拥挤 and 没那么拥挤 are commonly heard in speech, and in conversation the meaning is almost the same: “not that crowded.”

Subtle points:

不 tends to be a more general/typical negation of states and habits.
没 often links to actual situations / specific occasions.

Here we’re comparing general conditions (suburbs vs city), so 不那么拥挤 fits very well.

Using 没那么拥挤 would also be understandable and accepted in everyday speech; it might sound a tiny bit more colloquial.

What does 人 refer to in 人也不那么拥挤? Why talk about “people being crowded”?

Literally it says:

人也不那么拥挤 = “the people are also not that crowded.”

Chinese often uses 人 + 拥挤 to describe crowding:

It implies there are not so many people packed together, so places are not that crowded.

You can understand this as:

“There aren’t so many people, so it’s not so crowded.”
But Chinese phrases it more simply as “people (there) are not that crowded.”

What is the overall structure of the sentence? It feels long—how is it organized in Chinese grammar?

The sentence has two main parts, separated by the comma:

我爷爷奶奶喜欢在郊区散步，
- Subject: 我爷爷奶奶 (my grandparents)
- Verb: 喜欢 (like)
- Verb-object phrase: 在郊区散步 (to take walks in the suburbs)
说那里的空气比城里新鲜，人也不那么拥挤。
- Implied subject: 他们 (they = my grandparents)
- Verb: 说 (say)
- Reported content:
  - 那里的空气比城里新鲜 (the air there is fresher than in the city)
  - 人也不那么拥挤 (and people are also not that crowded)

So in English-like structure:

“My grandparents like taking walks in the suburbs, (and they) say that the air there is fresher than in the city, and that it’s also not so crowded with people.”