I can say what a thing or a place is like — 很大, 有点儿小, 太好了！ — and ask “how is it?” and “is it big or not?”: 怎么样？ 大不大？
What's it like? Adjectives without 是
What's it like? Adjectives without 是
What for: say what a thing or a place is like, and ask “how is it?”.
The adjective comes after who or what you're talking about, with no 是 for English “is”: 这个手机很小。(Zhège shǒujī hěn xiǎo.) “This phone is small.” Here 很 hardly means “very”: it just joins the adjective. Without 很 the adjective sounds like a comparison: 这个手机大。(Zhège shǒujī dà.) — “this one is bigger (than that one)”.
To what extent — a word before the adjective: 非常, 真, 有点儿 (when it's unwelcome), 不太 “not very”. 太 comes with 了 at the end: 太大了！(Tài dà le!) — “too big!”; 太好了！(Tài hǎo le!) — “great!”.
The negative is 不 before the adjective, with no 很: 不大 (bú dà) “not big”.
Question: …吗？ or the yes-no form: 大不大？(Dà bu dà?) — with no 吗 and no 很. A two-syllable adjective: 好看不好看？(Hǎokàn bu hǎokàn?) or 好不好看？(Hǎo bu hǎokàn?) — both are correct. In a 吗 question the adjective can keep 很: 她很忙吗？(Tā hěn máng ma?) 怎么样？(Zěnmeyàng?) — “how? what's it like?”; 多 + adjective — “how (big, old…)”: 多大？(Duō dà?)
多 and 少 are adjectives too: 人很多。(Rén hěn duō.) “there are many people”, 书很少。(Shū hěn shǎo.) “there are few books”.
Common mistakes:
• ×这个杯子是小 (Zhège bēizi shì xiǎo.) → 这个杯子很小。(Zhège bēizi hěn xiǎo.) (no 是 before an adjective).
• ×忙不忙吗？(Máng bu máng ma?) → 忙不忙？(Máng bu máng?)
• ×很忙不忙？(Hěn máng bu máng?) → 忙不忙？(Máng bu máng?)
To what extent: degree words
All the degree words go before the adjective; 太 comes with 了 at the end.
| Form | In English |
|---|---|
| 很忙 (hěn máng) | busy |
| 非常忙 (fēicháng máng) | very busy |
| 真忙！(zhēn máng!) | really busy! |
| 太忙了！(tài máng le!) | too busy! |
| 有点儿忙 (yǒudiǎnr máng) | a bit busy (a nuisance) |
| 不太忙 (bú tài máng) | not very busy |
| 不忙 (bù máng) | not busy |
How to ask what something is like
The yes-no form takes no 吗 and no 很.
| Question | In English |
|---|---|
| 忙吗？(máng ma?) | busy? |
| 忙不忙？(máng bu máng?) | busy or not? |
| 怎么样？(zěnmeyàng?) | how? what's it like? |
| 多大？(duō dà?) | how big? how old? |
Lesson notes
What's it like? Adjectives without 是
What for: say what a thing or a place is like, and ask “how is it?”.
The adjective comes after who or what you're talking about, with no 是 for English “is”: 这个手机很小。(Zhège shǒujī hěn xiǎo.) “This phone is small.” Here 很 hardly means “very”: it just joins the adjective. Without 很 the adjective sounds like a comparison: 这个手机大。(Zhège shǒujī dà.) — “this one is bigger (than that one)”.
To what extent — a word before the adjective: 非常, 真, 有点儿 (when it's unwelcome), 不太 “not very”. 太 comes with 了 at the end: 太大了！(Tài dà le!) — “too big!”; 太好了！(Tài hǎo le!) — “great!”.
The negative is 不 before the adjective, with no 很: 不大 (bú dà) “not big”.
Question: …吗？ or the yes-no form: 大不大？(Dà bu dà?) — with no 吗 and no 很. A two-syllable adjective: 好看不好看？(Hǎokàn bu hǎokàn?) or 好不好看？(Hǎo bu hǎokàn?) — both are correct. In a 吗 question the adjective can keep 很: 她很忙吗？(Tā hěn máng ma?) 怎么样？(Zěnmeyàng?) — “how? what's it like?”; 多 + adjective — “how (big, old…)”: 多大？(Duō dà?)
多 and 少 are adjectives too: 人很多。(Rén hěn duō.) “there are many people”, 书很少。(Shū hěn shǎo.) “there are few books”.
Common mistakes:
• ×这个杯子是小 (Zhège bēizi shì xiǎo.) → 这个杯子很小。(Zhège bēizi hěn xiǎo.) (no 是 before an adjective).
• ×忙不忙吗？(Máng bu máng ma?) → 忙不忙？(Máng bu máng?)
• ×很忙不忙？(Hěn máng bu máng?) → 忙不忙？(Máng bu máng?)