This is the lesson attached to the Chinese learning game Tang Poems 2. There are 3 games in the series, totalling 150 essential Chinese characters included in the HSK 3.0 level 1! Play the FREE version of the game or join us and get the full version.
Those selected words from the HSK 3.0 level 1 word list are featured in the game. Learn more on the HSK exams here.
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb (e.g., to be, to seem, to look).
In order to connect a noun to its adjective in Chinese, use , NOT .
subject 很 adjective
Example 这只猫很可爱 zhè zhǐ māo hěn kě'ài this cat is cute
Chinese sentences tend to follow a scholarly style based on a topic-comment structure where topic means the subject matter you want to talk about, and comment the information you give about the subject matter.
Example Tā de tóufǎ (topic) hen chǎng (comment) she has long hair
This may help you understand why predicate adjectives do not take as a verb.
With the topic-comment structure in mind, it is also easier to understand why subjects and conjunctions are also often omitted in Chinese whenever they are not needed for the sentence to be understood.
Some adjectives are not preceded by but are followed by such as hungry, thirsty, sick. These adjectives often describe a change of state, explaining the different grammar.
Example 我病了 wǒ bìng le I am sick
Adjectives can be followed by degree complements such as , or , which means extremely. When using a degree complement, is dropped.
subject adjective degree
Example 我累死了 wǒ lèi sǐ le I am extremely tired
Note that a neutral indicates the predicate, but with a third tone adds emphasis to the adjective (meaning very).
Example 天气很冷 tiānqì hěn lěng the weather is very cold
Adjectives can form affirmative-negative questions (or yes-or-no questions) by placing the adjective and the negated adjective next to each other.
Example 她高不高? Tā gāo bù gāo? Is she tall?
Note the absence of in a yes or no question involving a predicate adjective.
With two-character adjectives, you usually put after the first character, then put the entire adjective. You can repeat the whole two-character adjective twice, but it's more common to avoid the repetition.
Example 她漂不漂亮啊? Tā piào bù piàoliang a? Is she beautiful?
