eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128
							<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
  "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
  <title>Simple "noun + adjective" sentences</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="../Styles/main.css"/>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>Simple "noun + adjective" sentences</h1>

  <p>In English, nouns can be "linked" to adjectives and other nouns with the verb <i><b>to be</b></i>. In Chinese, <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Nouns" title="Nouns" class="mw-redirect">nouns</a> are linked to other nouns in one way, but linked to <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Adjectives" title="Adjectives" class="mw-redirect">adjectives</a> in a completely different way. Nouns are linked to other <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22" title="Connecting nouns with &quot;shi&quot;">nouns with <span class="hanzi">是</span> (shì)</a>. Nouns are linked to adjectives with <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>).</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_207">Contents</h2>

  <div class="contents">
    <ul>
      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#Structure"> 1 Structure</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#Examples"> 2 Examples</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#.E5.BE.88_.28h.C4.9Bn.29.2C_what.27s_your_problem.3F.21"> 3 <span class="hanzi">很</span> (hěn), what's your problem?!</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#See_also"> 4 See also</a></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#Sources_and_further_reading"> 5 Sources and further reading</a> 

      <ul>
        <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#Videos"> 5.1 Videos</a></li>

        <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences#Books"> 5.2 Books</a></li>
      </ul></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_208"><span id="Structure">Structure</span></h3>

  <div class="deux">
    Noun + <span class="hanzist">很</span> + Adj.
  </div>

  <p>The noun in this structure is the subject of the sentence. Sometimes the <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>) in this structure is translated as "<b>very</b>", but often it is just a way to link a noun to an adjective.</p>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_209">Examples</h3>

  <p>In the following examples, <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>) is just a link (you could think of it as a substitute for the verb "to be"), and the sentences could be translated as "(Noun) is (adjective)".</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 很 好。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ hěn hǎo.</span> <br/>I'm good.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 很 漂亮。</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ hěn piàoliang.</span> <br/>You are pretty.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 很 高兴。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Tā hěn gāoxìng.</span><br/> He is happy.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">中文 很 难 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhōngwén hěn nán.</span><br/> Chinese is difficult.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">老板 很 生气。</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn hěn shēngqì.</span><br/> The boss is angry.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">猪 很 聪明 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhū hěn cōngming.</span><br/> Pigs are smart.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 哥哥 也 很 高。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ gēge yě hěn gāo.</span> <br/>My older brother is also tall.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 家 也 很 远 吗？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiā yě hěn yuǎn ma?</span> <br/>Is your house also far away?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">爸爸 很 忙，妈妈 也 很 忙。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Bàba hěn máng, māma yě hěn máng.</span> <br/>Dad is busy, and mom is also busy.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 和 他 弟弟 都 很 帅。</span> <span class="pinyin">Tā hé tā dìdi dōu hěn shuài.</span> He and his younger brother are both handsome.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>Remember that <span class="hanzi">是</span><b> (</b><span class="pinyin">shì</span><b>) is not used to link adjectives to nouns</b>. This is a classic mistake that almost everyone makes when learning Chinese. Make sure you use <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>) and not <span class="hanzi">是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì</span>) to link adjectives to nouns, as shown below:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><strike>他 是 高 。</strike></span><br/><span class="pinyin"><strike>Tā shì gāo.</strike></span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 很 高 。</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Tā hěn gāo.</span> <br/>He is tall.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_210"><span id=".E5.BE.88_.28h.C4.9Bn.29.2C_what.27s_your_problem.3F.21"><span style="color: rgb(255, 127, 80); font-family: NotoSansCJKsc; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal;">很</span> (<span class="pinyinst">hěn</span>), what's your problem?!</span></h2>

  <p>If you're like most learners, when you first learn this pattern, you're thinking, <i>"how can </i><span class="hanzi">很 </span><i>(</i><span class="pinyin">hěn</span><i>) mean "very" one minute, but then nothing but a "link" the next? How do I know if anything means anything in this language?"</i> That's a reasonable response. But in the case of these "Noun + Adj." sentences, you just have to think of this usage of <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>) as an exception. It's just part of the structure.</p>

  <p>If you actually want to add the meaning of "<b>very</b>" into the sentence, you could use another adverb instead of <span class="hanzi">很</span> (<span class="pinyin">hěn</span>). One good choice is <span class="hanzi">非常</span> (<span class="pinyin">fēicháng</span>).</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">他 很 高 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Tā hěn gāo.</span> <br/>He is tall.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 非常 高 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Tā fēicháng gāo.</span> <br/>He is very tall.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_211">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22" title="Connecting nouns with &quot;shi&quot;">Connecting nouns with "shì"</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_212">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_213">&gt;Videos</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Yoyo Chinese: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDoyhfSUpII&amp;list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD">"To be" + Adjectives</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_214">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 56-8)</li>

    <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 44-5)</li>

    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 126-8)　</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>) (pp. 20-1, 143)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>)(2nd ed) (pp. 23, 166, 249)</li>

    <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (p. 86)</li>
  </ul>
</body>
</html>