Adjectives as predicates: 很, 非常, 真, 最
【一09】【一30】程度副词 / 形容词谓语句
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
In Chinese, adjectives work like verbs: they don't need 是. “It's cold today” = 今天很冷.
Why 很? A bare adjective (今天冷) sounds like a comparison (“today is cold: unlike yesterday”). 很 (hěn) makes the sentence neutral; it's often weak and doesn't really mean “very”.
To really intensify:
• 非常 (fēicháng) = extremely: 我非常喜欢这本书.
• 真 (zhēn) = really (exclamatory): 你的房间真干净！
• 最 (zuì) = the most: 我最喜欢打球. 这个学生最认真.
Negative: 不 + adjective, no 很: 今天不冷.
Examples
那个本子很好看。
Nàge běnzi hěn hǎokàn.That notebook is pretty.
我非常喜欢这本书。
Wǒ fēicháng xǐhuan zhè běn shū.I really love this book.
你的房间真干净！
Nǐ de fángjiān zhēn gānjìng!Your room is so clean!
我最喜欢打球。
Wǒ zuì xǐhuan dǎ qiú.I like playing ball games best.
这个菜很好吃。
Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.This dish is delicious.
Common mistakes
✗ 今天是冷 → ✓ 今天很冷.
✗ 我是很高兴 → ✓ 我很高兴.
✗ 今天不很冷 for “it isn't cold” → ✓ 今天不冷.