Stative verbs describe situations that do not involve action. Examples of stative verbs include 喜欢/喜歡 xǐhuan ‘like,’ 爱/愛 ài ‘love,’ 像 xiàng ‘resemble,’ 想 xiǎng ‘want,’ 要 yào ‘want,’ 需要 xūyào ‘need,’ 怕 pà ‘fear,’ 尊敬 zūnjìng ‘respect,’ 感谢/感謝 gǎnxiè ‘appreciate,’ 懂 dǒng ‘understand,’ 信 xìn ‘believe,’ and 想念 xiǎngniàn ‘miss.’ Certain stative verbs have special meanings and properties and will be discussed separately below. They include the equational verbs 是 shì ‘be’ and 姓 xìng ‘be family named,’ the verb 有 yǒu ‘have,’ ‘exist,’ and the location verb 在 zài ‘be located at.’
Stative verbs are similar to adjectival verbs in their form of negation, their occurrence with intensifiers, and their use in comparison structures.
Most stative verbs may only be negated by 不 bù. The stative verb 有 yǒu ‘have’ may only be negated by 没/沒 méi.
| 不 bù negates most stative verbs | 没/沒 méi only negates 有 yǒu |
| 他不像他爸爸。 | |
| Tā bù xiàng tā bàba. | |
| He doesn’t resemble his dad. | |
| 他不怕狗。 | |
| Tā bù pà gǒu. | |
| He is not afraid of dogs. | |
| 我不要钱。 | |
| 我不要錢。 | |
| Wǒ bù yào qián. | |
| I don’t want money. | |
| 他没有车。 | |
| 他沒有車。 | |
| Tā méi yǒu chē. | |
| He doesn’ t have a car. |
► 27
Stative verbs, like adjectival verbs, can be preceded and modified by intensifiers. The intensifiers are emphasized in each of the following sentences.
我们很尊敬他。
我們很尊敬他。
Wǒmen hěn zūnjìng tā.
We all respect him a lot.
我很想念你。
Wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn nǐ.
I miss you a lot.
我真怕这种人。
我真怕這種人。
Wǒ zhēn pà zhè zhǒng rén.
I’ m really afraid of this kind of person.
他特别需要你的支持。
Tā tèbié xūyào nǐ de zhīchí.
He especially needs your support.
For a complete list of intensifiers, see section 10.3.
The verb suffixes 了 le and 过/過 guo cannot be used to indicate the completion or past time of a stative verb. To indicate that a state existed in the past, use a time expression or adverb that refers to the past.
我小的时候怕狗。
我小的時候怕狗。
Wǒ xiǎo de shíhou pà gǒu.
When I was small I was afraid of dogs.
我以前很喜欢吃口香糖。
我以前很喜歡吃口香糖。
Wǒ yǐqián hěn xǐhuan chī kǒuxiāngtáng.
I used to like to chew gum. (lit. ‘Before, I liked to chew gum.’)
When a stative verb is followed by 了 le, it indicates change of state.
我懂了！
Wǒ dǒng le!
I understand (now)!
Some verbs can function as a stative verb and as an action verb.
| 有 yǒu as a stative verb | 有 yǒu as an action verb |
| 她很有钱。 | 她有了一笔钱。 |
| 她很有錢。 | 她有了一筆錢。 |
| Tāhěn yǒu qián. | Tā yǒu le yí bĭ qián. |
| She has a lot of money. | She has acquired a sum of money. |
| She is rich. |
► Glossary of grammatical terms
是 shì ‘be’ joins two noun phrases and indicates an equational relationship between them.
她是大学生。
她是大學生。
Tā shì dàxuésheng.
She is a college student.
王老师是英国人。
王老師是英國人。
Wáng lǎoshī shì Yīngguó rén.
Professor Wang is British.
The negation of 是 shì is 不是 bù shì.
她不是大学生。
她不是大學生。
Tā bù shì dàxuésheng.
She is not a college student.
王老师不是英国人。
王老師不是英國人。
Wáng lǎoshī bù shì Yīngguó rén.
Professor Wang is not British.
是 shì is used less often than the English verb ‘be.’ In particular, in Mandarin, 是 shì is ordinarily not used with adjectival verbs or stative verbs. In most circumstances,
| Say this | Not this |
| 我的弟弟很高。 | *我的弟弟是很高。 |
| Wǒ de dìdi hěn gāo. | Wǒ de dìdi shì hěn gāo. |
| My younger brother is very tall. | |
| 他很聪明。 | *他是很聪明。 |
| 他很聰明。 | 他是很聰明。 |
| Tā hěn cōngming. | Tā shì hěn cōngming. |
| He is very intelligent. |
是 shì is only used with adjectival verbs or stative verbs for special emphasis, especially contrastive emphasis.
你是很高！
Nǐ shì hěn gāo!
You really are tall!
那本書是很貴。
Nà běn shū shì hěn guì.
That book is expensive (despite what you claim).
他是很聪明。
他是很聰明。
Tā shì hěn cōngming.
He really is intelligent (despite what you may think).
是 shì can be used for contrastive emphasis with action verbs.
我是明天走，不是今天走。
Wǒ shì míngtiān zǒu, bù shi jīntiān zǒu.
I am leaving tomorrow. I am not leaving today.
是 shì is not used to indicate location or existence.
When the object of 是 shì includes a number (for example, when it refers to money, age, time, etc.) 是 shì can be omitted in affirmative form.
那本书(是)五块钱。
那本書(是)五塊錢。
Nà běn shū (shì) wǔ kuài qián.
That book is $5.00.
我妹妹(是)十八岁。
我妹妹(是)十八歲。
Wǒ mèimei (shì) shíbā suì.
My younger sister is 18 years old.
现在(是)八点钟。
現在(是)八點鐘。
Xiànzài (shì) bādiǎn zhōng.
It is now 8 o’ clock.
However, when the object is negated, 是 shì cannot be omitted.
| Say this | Not this |
| 那本书不是五块钱。 | *那本书不五块钱。 |
| 那本書不是五塊錢。 | 那本書不五塊錢。 |
| Nà běn shū bù shì wǔ kuài qián. | Nà běn shū bù wǔ kuài qián. |
| That book is not $5.00. | |
| 我妹妹不是十八岁。 | *我妹妹不十八岁。 |
| 我妹妹不是十八歲。 | 我妹妹不十八歲。 |
| Wǒ mèimei bù shì shíbā suì. | Wǒ mèimei bù shíbā suì. |
| My younger sister is not 18 years old. | |
| 现在不是八点钟。 | *现在不八点钟。 |
| 現在不是八點鐘。 | 現在不八點鐘。 |
| Xiànzài bù shì bādiǎn zhōng. | Xiànzài bù bādiǎn zhōng. |
| It is not 8 o’clock now. |
是 shì is used to focus on some detail of a situation; for example, the time, place, or participants in a situation, or the material that something is made from.
他是昨天来的。
他是昨天來的。
Tā shì zuótiān lái de.
It was yesterday that he came. (He came yesterday.)
我是在大学学中文。
我是在大學學中文。
Wǒ shì zài dàxué xué Zhōngwén.
It is at the university where I study Chinese. (I study Chinese at university.)
我的耳环是(用)金子作的。
我的耳環是(用)金子作的。
Wǒ de ěrhuán shì (yòng) jīnzi zuò de.
My earrings are made of gold.
To tell someone your family name or to indicate the family name of another person, use 姓 xìng.
我姓罗。
我姓羅。
Wǒ xìng Luó.
My family name is Luo.
她姓马。
她姓馬。
Tā xìng Mǎ.
Her family name is Ma.
The negation of 姓 xìng is 不姓 bù xìng.
我不姓李。我姓罗。
我不姓李。我姓羅。
Wǒ bù xìng Lǐ. Wǒ xìng Luó.
My family name isn’t Li. My family name is Luo.
To ask someone’ s family name, say:
你姓什么？
你姓甚麼？
Nǐ xìng shénme?
What is your family name?
The very polite way to ask someone’ s family name is:
你贵姓？
你貴姓？
Nǐ guì xìng?
(What is) your honorable family name?
► 22
有 yǒu has two meanings: ‘have’ and ‘exist.’
有 yǒu means ‘have’ when the subject is something that can have possessions. This includes people, animals, or any other noun that can be described as ‘having’ things:
我有一个弟弟。
我有一個弟弟。
Wǒ yǒu yī gè dìdi.
I have a younger brother.
那个书店有很多旧书。
那個書店有很多舊書。
Nàge shūdiàn yǒu hěn duō jiù shū.
That bookstore has many old books.
中国有很多名胜古迹。
中國有很多名勝古跡。
Zhōngguó yǒu hěn duō míng shèng gǔ jì.
China has many scenic spots and historical sites.
► 29.2.1
有 yǒu indicates existence when the subject is a location. The most common English translation of this meaning is ‘there is’ or ‘there are.’
房子后头有一个小湖。
房子後頭有一個小湖。
Fángzi hòutou yǒu yī gè xiǎo hú.
Behind the house there is a small lake.
那儿有很多人排队。
那兒有很多人排隊。
Nàr yǒu hěn duō rén pái duì.
There are a lot of people there waiting in line.
► 47.1
The meanings of possession and existence are closely related, and often a Chinese sentence with 有 yǒu can be interpreted as conveying either possession or existence. The difference in interpretation typically depends upon whether the subject is understood to be a possessor or a location.
美国大学有很多留学生。
美國大學有很多留學生。
Měiguó dàxué yǒu hěn duō liúxuéshēng.
American universities have many exchange students.
There are many exchange students in American universities.
这个图书馆有很多中文书。
這個圖書館有很多中文書。
Zhège túshūguǎn yǒu hěn duō Zhōngwén shū.
This library has a lot of Chinese books.
There are a lot of Chinese books in this library.
The negation of 有 yǒu is always 没有/沒有 méi yǒu.
我没有弟弟。
我沒有弟弟。
Wǒ méi yǒu dìdi.
I do not have a younger brother.
房子后头没有湖。
房子後頭沒有湖。
Fángzi hòutou méi yǒu hú.
There is no lake behind the house.
这个图书馆没有很多中文书。
這個圖書館沒有很多中文書。
Zhège túshūguǎn méi yǒu hěn duō Zhōngwén shū.
This library does not have a lot of Chinese books.
There aren’t a lot of Chinese books in this library.
► 27.1.2
To indicate location, use 在 zài.
他在家。
Tā zài jiā.
He is at home.
图书馆在公园的北边。
圖書館在公園的北邊。
Túshūguǎn zài gōngyuán de běibiān.
The library is north of the park.
Notice that English uses the verb ‘be’ and the preposition ‘at’ to express this meaning.
The negation for 在 zài is 不在 bù zài.
他不在家。
Tā bù zài jiā.
He is not at home.
图书馆不在公园的北边。
圖書館不在公園的北邊。
Túshūguǎn bù zài gōngyuán de běibiān.
The library is not to the north of the park.
在 zài also functions as a preposition. As a preposition, it indicates the location where an action occurs. Depending upon the sentence, it may be translated into English as ‘at,’ ‘in,’ or ‘on.’
他在家吃饭。
他在家吃飯。
Tā zài jiā chī fàn.
He eats at home.
孩子在公园里玩。
孩子在公園裏玩。
Háizi zài gōngyuán lǐ wán.
The children play in the park.