Adjectival verbs translate into adjectives in English. They include 高 gāo ‘be tall,’ 贵/貴 guì ‘be expensive,’ 小 xiǎo ‘be small, ’ 大 dà ‘be big,’ 好 hǎo ‘be good,’ etc.
Mandarin adjectival verbs, unlike English adjectives, are not preceded by a linking verb such as the verb 是 shì ‘be.’
| Say this | Not this |
| 他高。 | *他是高。 |
| Tā gāo. | Tā shì gāo. |
| He is tall. | |
| 那本书贵。 | *那本书是贵。 |
| 那本書貴。 | 那本書是貴。 |
| Nà běn shū guì. | Nà běn shū shì guì. |
| That book is expensive. | |
| 那个学校大。 | *那个学校是大。 |
| 那個學校大。 | 那個學校是大。 |
| Nàge xuéxiào dà. | Nàge xuéxiào shì dà. |
| That school is big. |
The properties of adjectival verbs are discussed below.
NOTE
是 shì may occur before adjectival verbs, but only for emphasis.
► 57.3
Adjectival verbs are negated by 不 bù. They are never negated by 没/沒 méi.
| 他不高。 | *他没/沒高。 |
| Tā bù gāo. | Tā méi gāo. |
| He is not tall. | |
| 那本书不贵。 | *那本书没贵。 |
| 那本書不貴。 | 那本書沒貴。 |
| Nà běn shū bù guì. | Nà běn shū méi guì. |
| That book is not expensive. | |
| 那个人不好。 | *那个人没好。 |
| 那個人不好。 | 那個人沒好。 |
| Nàge rén bù hǎo. | Nàge rén méi hǎo. |
| That person is not good. |
Adjectival verbs can occur in yes-no questions formed by 吗/嗎 ma or the verb-not-verb structure.
那个学校大吗？
那個學校大嗎？
Nàge xuéxiào dà ma?
Is that school big?
那个学校大不大？
那個學校大不大？
Nàge xuéxiào dà bù dà?
Is that school big?
► 28.1
Adjectival verbs can be modified by intensifiers. Most intensifiers precede the adjectival verb.
| Intensifier | Intensifier + adjectival verb | ||
| 很 | very | 很好 | be very good |
| Hěn | hěn | hěn hǎo | |
| 真 | really | 真好 | be really good |
| zhēn | zhēn hǎo | ||
| 比较/比較 | rather | 比较好/比較好 | be rather good |
| Bǐjiào | bǐjiào hǎo | ||
| 相当/相當 | quite | 相当好/相當好 | be quite good |
| Xiāngdāng | xiāngdāng hǎo | ||
| 特別 | especially | 特別好 | be especially good |
| tèbié | tèbié hǎo | ||
| 非常 | extremely | 非常好 | be extremely good |
| fēicháng | fēicháng hǎo | ||
| 尤其 | especially | 尤其好 | be especially good |
| yóuqí | yóuqí hǎo | ||
| 极其/極其 | extremely | 极其好/極其好 | be extremely good |
| jíqí | jíqí hǎo | ||
| 太 | too | 太好 | be too good |
| tài | tài hǎo | ||
| 更 | more | 更好 | be even better |
| gèng | gèng hǎo | ||
| 最 | most | 最好 | be best |
| zuì | zuì hǎo | ||
The intensifier suffixes 得很 de hěn ‘very,’ 极了/極了 jíle ‘extremely,’ and 得不得了 debù déliǎo ‘extremely’ follow the adjectival verb. They are sometimes referred to as degree complements or complements of degree.
好得很
hǎo de hěn
be very good
好极了
好極了
hǎojíle
be terrific
好得不得了
hǎo de bùdéliǎo
be terrific
Stative verbs and the modal verbs 会/會 huì and 能 néng can also be modified by intensifiers, but they do not take intensifier suffixes.
Adjectival verbs generally occur in two-syllable phrases. In affirmative form, when no special emphasis is intended, one-syllable adjectival verbs are usually preceded by 很 hěn. When negated, 不 bù provides the additional syllable.
| 他很高。 | 他不高。 |
| Tā hěn gāo. | Tā bù gāo. |
| He is tall. | He is not tall. |
| 那本书很贵。 | 那本书不贵。 |
| 那本書很貴。 | 那本書不貴。 |
| Nà běn shū hěn guì. | Nà běn shū bù guì. |
| That book is expensive. | That book is not expensive. |
Adjectival verbs do not have a distinct comparative form. However, in certain contexts they have comparative meaning.
They have comparative meaning when the context implies a comparison:
| Q: | 谁高 ？/誰高？ | A: | 他高。 |
| Shéi gāo? | Tā gāo. | ||
| Who is tall? | He is tall. | ||
| or | or | ||
| Who is taller? | He is taller. |
They have comparative meaning when they occur in comparison structures:
他比你高。
Tā bǐ nǐ gāo.
He is taller than you.
They have comparative meaning when followed by 一点/一點 yīdiǎn a little more.
可以便宜一点吗？
可以便宜一點嗎？
Kěyǐ piányi yīdiǎn ma?
Can it be a little cheaper?
They also have comparative meaning when they occur in structures that indicate change.
► 10.9
To explicitly express comparative meaning, precede the adjectival verb with the intensifier 更 gèng or the expression 还(要)/還(要) hái (yào).
| 他更高。 | 他还(要)高。 |
| 他還(要)高。 | |
| Tā gèng gāo. | Tā hái (yào) gāo. |
| He is (even) taller. | He is (even) taller. |
► 33.5
Adjectival verbs do not have a distinct superlative form. To express the superlative meaning, precede the adjectival verb with the intensifier 最 zuì ‘most.’
| 他最高。 | 那本书最贵。 |
| 那本書最貴。 | |
| Tā zuì gāo. | Nà běn shū zuì guì. |
| He is the tallest. | That book is the most expensive. |
► 33.6
Adjectival verbs are used in comparison structures.
Comparison structures involving 比 bǐ ‘more than’ and 没有/沒有 méi yǒu ‘less than’ typically end with an adjectival verb or a modified adjectival verb.
我比你高。
Wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo.
I am taller than you.
我没有你高。
我沒有你高。
Wǒ méi yǒu nǐ gāo.
I am not as tall as you.
► 33
The adverb 又 yòu can be used to link adjectival verbs as follows. The structure is used to convey the meaning ‘both … and …’
那个男的又高又大。
那個男的又高又大。
Nàge nán de yòu gāo yòu dà.
That guy is both big and tall.
那雙鞋子很好。又便宜又舒服。
Nà shuāng xiézi hěn hǎo. Yòu piányi yòu shūfu.
That pair of shoes is really good. They are both cheap and comfortable.
► 40.9
东西越来越贵。
東西越來越貴。
Dōngxi yuè lái yuè guì.
Things are more and more expensive.
他越说越快。
他越說越快。
Tā yuè shuō yuè kuài.
The more he speaks, the faster he speaks.
► 38.3
Sentence final 了 le may occur at the end of a sentence with an adjectival verb to indicate change.
你高了。
Nǐ gāo le.
You have gotten taller.
When the intensifier 太 tài ‘too’ modifies an adjectival verb, the adjectival verb is typically followed by sentence final 了 le.
东西太贵了。
東西太貴了。
Dōngxi tài guì le.
Things are too expensive.
你太聪明了。
你太聰明了。
Nǐ tài cōngming le.
You’re too smart.
► 38.1