Degree modifiers: 很，非常，特别，etc.

In English, we use words like very, really and extremely to make adjectives stronger. In this post, we are going to talk about the adjective intensifiers in Chinese. We use these degree modifiers with adjectives to indicate the degree to which they apply. Most of them precede the adjectival verb but some of them do not. 

Intensifiers		Meaning	Examples
不	bù	not	他不高兴。	He’s not happy.
不太	bú tài	not so…	他不太高兴。	He’s not very happy.
有些	yǒuxiē	somewhat,	他有些高兴。	He’s somewhat happy.
有点儿	yǒudiǎnr	sort of	他有点儿高兴。	He’s sort of happy.
比较	bǐjiào	rather	他比较高兴。	He’s rather happy.
相当	xiāngdāng	quite	他相当高兴。	He’s quest happy.
挺…的	tǐng…de	very, rather	他挺高兴的。	He’s rather happy.
很	hěn	very	他很高兴。	He’s happy.
好	hǎo	very	他好高兴。	He’s very happy.
倍儿	bèier	very	他倍儿高兴。	He’s really happy.
真	zhēn	really	他真高兴。	He’s really happy.
特别	tèbié	exceptionally	他特别高兴。	He’s especially happy.
尤其	yóuqí	particularly	他尤其高兴。	He’s particularly happy.
非常	fēicháng	extremely	他非常高兴。	He’s extremely happy.
极其	jíqí	extremely	他极其高兴。	He’s extremely happy.
十分	shífēn	completely, entirely	他十分高兴。	He’s utterly happy.
太…了	tài	too	他太高兴了。	He’s too happy.
多么…啊！	duōme	(used in exclamations) to what an extent	他多么高兴啊！	How happy he is!
更	gèng	more	他更高兴了。	He becomes happier.
最	zuì	most	他最高兴。	He’s the happiest.
…极了	…jíle	very	他高兴极了。	He’s extremely happy.
…死了	…sǐle	terribly, awfully (lit. to death)	他高兴死了。	He’s terribly happy.
…得很	…dé hěn	extremely	他高兴得很。	He’s extremely happy.
…得了不了	…déliǎo bùliǎo	extremely	他高兴的不得了。	He’s extremely happy.
越来越…	yuè lái yuè…	more and more	他越来越高兴。	He’s happier and happier.
越…越…	yuè…yuè…	The more…the more…	他越说越高兴。	The more he speaks, the happier he is.

Please choose the best degree modifier according to the English translation:

1) 她 ______ 累。 She’s especially exhausted.

     A. 很       B. 特别     C. 尤其     D. 有点儿

2)  他看起来 ______ 糟糕。He looks quite miserable.

     A. 相当    B. 非常    C.  极其    D. 有些

3)  我 ______ 满意。I’m entirely satisfied.

     A. 好       B. 特别     C. 十分     D. 极其
4）苹果手机 6 plus ___________ 大。iPhone 6 is bigger.

              A. 更       B. 特别     C. 尤其     D. 有点儿

Please complete the sentences by using the given words:

     1) 这个菜___________________ (辣，spicy)，我脸都红了。
         This dish___________________ (spicy). My face turned red.

 

     2）这个臭豆腐______________________ （恶心，gross），我都要吐了。
         This stinky tofu ___________________ (gross). I almost throw up.

     3）这些男孩子很喜欢榴莲，他们说：“榴莲___________________ （美味，delicious）。” 
           可是，我觉得榴莲___________________ （臭，smelly），我一点儿都受不了。
          These boys like to eat durian, and they said durian ___________________(delicious). 
          However, I found it ___________________(smelly) and I can not bear it at all.

4) 春天来了，天气___________________（暖和）。
    Spring is coming. It's getting ___________________ (warm)

5) 妹妹_________________（小），不能自己穿衣服。
    The younger sister is _________________ (young). She can not dress herself.

6) 他一天没有吃东西，要_________________ （饿）。
     He did not eat anything for the whole day. He is almost _________________ (hungry).

Please describe the pictures below write:

1)

春节 noun. spring festival 
热闹 adj. bustling with noise and excitement


2)

    

Chinese Adjectives

Chinese adjectives (形容词, xíngróngcí) differ from those in English because they can be used as verbs. For example, "天黑了 tiān hēi le" means "The sky has become dark". Language experts sometimes prefer to use the terms static or stative verb to describe them.

• After nouns


• Noun + 很 + Adjective

• The noun in this structure is the subject of the sentence. Sometimes the 很 (hěn) in this structure is translated as "very", but often it is just a way to link a noun to an adjective.Unlike English, subjects and predicate adjectives in a Chinese sentence are not linked by copula but by degree adverbs, such as 很 hěn "very," 好 hǎo "highly," 真 zhēn "really," and 非常 fēicháng "extraordinarily, extremely." For example, the following sentences express increasing degrees of "beauty":

• 她tā 很hěn 漂亮piàoliang。
• She is beautiful. （很 often functions as a dummy linking adverb and does not carry the meaning of "very". In this case, 她很漂亮 is often understood and translated as "She is beautiful".）

• 她tā 好hǎo 漂亮piàoliang。
• She is very beautiful.

• 她tā 真zhēn 漂亮piàoliang。
• She is really beautiful.

• 她tā 非常fēicháng 漂亮piàoliang。
• She is extraordinarily beautiful.

• Subject + Positive adjective + 极了
• A complementary adverb (e.g. 极了 jí le) can also specify the degree of an adjective:

• 她tā 漂亮piàoliang 极jí 了le　（她漂亮極了）。
• She is exceedingly beautiful.

• Subject + Negative adjective + 死了
• Besides, in colloquial Chinese the pattern "AA死了" (sǐ le, literally "to death") or "AA死BB了" is sometimes used in exaggeration to highlight the extent of influence, where AA is an adjective and BB is the thing being affected. Examples include

• "饿死了" (饿 è = hungry) - meaning "[I feel] so hungry [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"
• "热死了" (热 rè = hot) - meaning "It's so hot [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"
• "热死我了" - meaning "I feel so hot [to the extent that I cannot bear any more]"

• Noun + 是 + Adj + 的
• The linking verb 是 shì (to be) is used with adjectives in the pattern—Noun + 是 + Adj + 的—to state or emphasize a fact or a perceived fact. For example:

Yugang LI

他tā 是shì 男nán 的de。

He is male.

那nà 辆liàng 车chē 是shì 新xīn 的de　（那輛車是新的）。

That car is new.

那nà 只zhī 猫māo 是shì 黑hēi 的de（那隻貓是黑的）。

That cat is black.

• Before nouns
• When a noun is modified using an adjective, the associative particle 的 de is inserted between the adjective and the noun. For example, 高兴的孩子 gāo xìng de hái zi"happy child". 

• 奇怪qíguài 的de 人rén — "strange person"
• 可爱kěài 的de 熊猫xióngmāo （可愛的熊貓）— "cute panda"

Please correct the following sentences:
1)   他是高。He's tall.
2）今天极冷了。Today is extremely cold.
3）她可爱非常。She's very cute.
4）他是一个聪明学生。He is a smart student.
5）那件衬衫是红色。That shirt is red.
6)   那个蓝色帽子漂亮。That blue cap is beautiful.
7)   这个笔记本电脑重。This computer is heavy.

Please describe the pictures below:
1)

2)

Please watch this video. Zony and Yony taught Ellen two sentences in Chinese at 1:30. Do you know what they said, what they mean, and what their functions are? (To view the subtitles, click on CC at the bottom right of the video area. )





Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_adjectives
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page

Although: 虽然 and 尽管

虽然...但是... (suīrán ... dànshì ... ) : "although"  bringing up a certain point, then to show that there is a contrary reaction.

This combination expresses that while the former part of the sentence is true, the is an adverse reaction in the latter part: 虽然 + Subject + 但是 + Contrary Reaction. Simply put, the pattern means Although...but.... in English, and is generally used in the same manner. Be aware that "可是" can be used interchangeably with "但是".

• 虽然他是中国人，但是他没有去过北京。Even though he's Chinese, he has never been to Beijing. 
• 虽然她两天没有睡觉了，可是她一点儿都不困。Even though she hasn't slept for two days, she isn't feeling sleepy at all.

尽管 (jǐnguǎn): "even though", a little stronger than 虽然

It is used in the structure: 尽管 A，还是/仍然 B

• 尽管她感冒了，她仍然坚持工作。Even though she caught a cold, she still keep on working. 
• 尽管这个工作报酬很低，我还是很喜欢。Even though this job is badly paid, I still like it. 

Please filling the blanks by using 虽然 or 尽管

1. _______他工作很忙，他仍然每个星期坚持学习中文。

2. _______这个笔记本电脑很贵，但是它的性能很好。

3. _______她在中国出生长大，可是她不会写汉字。

4. _______youtube被中国屏蔽了，通过vpn你还是可以上的。

5. _______大卫的篮球打得很好，可是他没有被教练选入国家队。

6. _______雨很大，爬长城的人仍然很多。

7. _______她们是亲姐妹，可是她们长得却不太像。

Contrasting: 可是，但是，不过，倒，and 却

可是 (kěshì) / 但是 (dànshì)："but" conjunction 

There are two main words for "but" in Chinese: 可是 (kěshì) and 但是 (dànshì). These are largely the same. The small difference is that 可是 (kěshì) is a bit more formal and more common in northern China, whereas 但是 (dànshì) is more informal and a bit stronger in tone. You really don't need to worry about "which one is the right one to use" though. They can be used interchangeably: Statement, 可是 / 但是 + [contrary statement]

• 中文很难，可是学中文很有意思。Chinese is hard, but learning Chinese is interesting. 

• 我很喜欢这个智能手机，但是它太贵了。I like this smart phone, but it is too expensive. 

• 虽然这个台式机不贵，但是我还是不想买。Although this desktop is inexpensive, I still don't want to buy it.

不过(búguò)： a softer "but"
Instead of just using 可是 or 但是, you can also use the softer and more informal 不过 (búguò). The meaning is closer to "however" or "nevertheless" in English. "不过" is a conjunction that comes between two distinct clauses: Clause 1, 不过 + Clause 2

• 喝酒可以，不过不能太多。It's okay to drink some wine, but drinking too much is not acceptable. 

• 扎克伯格的词汇量很大，不过他的声调不太好。Mr. Zuckerberg has a very large vocabulary, but his tone isn't very good. 

却 (què): "however" adverb 

It is an adverb, usually used to indicate something was contrary to expectations, and it is generally followed by a negative comment: clause 1, Subject + 却 + negative comment. If there is a subject in the second clause, however, 却 definitely need to come after it.

• 我邀请他了，可他却没有来。I have invited him. However, he did not show up.
• 他虽然只有三岁，但他会背的诗却比很多大人会的都多。Even though he's only three, the poems he knows are more than those some adults know. 

• 这家饭店的装修很棒，可是菜的味道却很难吃。The interior decoration of the restaurant looks great. However, the taste of its food isn't good.

倒 (dào) ：expressing contrariness 

倒 can be used to express something is contrary to expectations, acting as a turning point in the sentence. It is generally followed by a positive comment: A + negative comment, B + 倒 + positive comment

• 她的男朋友长得不太好看，但人倒是很好。Her boyfriend doesn't look handsome, but his personality is very good. 

 

• 这个笔记本电脑的外观不怎么好看，可性能倒是不错。The look of this laptop isn't that good, but its performance is satisfactory. 

Please filling the blacks by using 可是，但是，不过，倒，or 却.

1)  他要减肥，_______他睡觉前还想吃冰淇淋。

2）这个笔记本很新，价格_______也不贵，我很想买一台。

3）这种糖好吃是好吃，_______您最好不要吃太多。

4）他减肥减了两个多月了，________体重____一点儿也没有减下来。

5）虽然中国发展很快，________污染越来越严重。

6）这个打印机我上个月刚买的，可它______现在坏了。

7）她很开朗，总是有很多话要说，可她今天_____一句话都没说。

8）他很困，______却睡不着。

9）这件衬衫很好看，_______颜色有点儿深，最好搭配一件浅颜色的外套。

10）Grace："我肚子不饿，______我喜欢吃！"

Reference:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page