III. The negative forms
  1. If the complement is a stative verb, replace hěn 很 with bù 不 or bù 不 and other elements modifying the stative verb, such as bú tài 不太, bù zěnme 不怎么, etc. If the complement takes the form of 'stative verb + reduplicated stative verb + de 的 ', the negative form uses bù 不, the stative verb is not reduplicated and de 的 is eliminated.


    1. Tā shuō de bù hǎo.
      他说得不好。
      He does not speak well.

    2. Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de bú tài hǎo.
      他说中文说得不太好。
      He does not speak Chinese so well.

    3. Tā zhǎng de bù gāo.
      他长得不高。
      He has not grown very tall.

    4. Jīntiān tā dǎbàn de bú piàoliàng.
      今天她打扮得不漂亮。
      Today she is not dressed beautifully.

  2. If the complement is a verbal or idiomatic expression, place méi 没 or méi yǒu 没有 before the main verb and eliminate the sentence-end le 了, if there is one.


    1. Tā méi è de hūnguòqu.
      他没饿得昏过去。
      He was not so hungry as to faint.

    2. Tā méi yǒu pǎo de chuǎnbúshàng qì lái.
      他没有跑得喘不上气来。
      He did not run to the extent that he was out of breath.

    3. Tāmen méi máng de bùkě kāijiāo.
      他们没忙得不可开交。
      They are not extremely busy.

    4. Wǒ méi è de bù dé liǎo, wǒ zhǐ shì yǒu yì diǎnr è.
      我没饿得不得了，我只是有一点儿饿。
      I am not terribly hungry. I am just a little hungry.

      Because the hěn 很 and the huāng 慌 in the idiomatic expressions de hěn 得很 and de huang 得慌 are adverbs, the negative form for these two expressions uses bú 不 or bú tài 不太 before the main verb while de hěn 得很, de huang 得慌 and de duō 得多 are eliminated. Compare the positive and negative of de hěn 得很 and de huang 得慌.

      1. Positive

        Tiānqi lěng de hěn.
        天气冷得很。
        it's terribly cold.
      2. Negative

        Tiānqi bù lěng.
        天气不冷。
        it's not cold.
      1. Positive

        Wǒ è de huāng, gěi wǒ diǎnr dōngxi chī.
        我饿得慌，给我点儿东西吃。
        I 'm very hungry, give me something to eat.
      2. Negative

        Wǒ bú tài è, nǐ zìjǐ chī ba.
        我不太饿，你自己吃吧。
        I 'm not so hungry, YOU eat it.

  3. If the complement is a clause, place méi 没 or méiyǒu 没有 before the main verb and eliminate the sentence-end le 了, if there is one.


    1. Tā méi shuō de wǒ gèng hútu.
      他没说得我更糊涂。
      The way he said it did not make me even more confused.


    2. Tiānqi méi yǒu lěng de shéi dōu bù xiǎng chūqù.
      天气没有冷得谁都不想出去。
      It is not so cold that no one wants to go out.