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More grammatical conundrums...


SeekerOfPeace

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About adjectives and “的”

Would I be right to say the following?

*By the way, do adjectives uses predicatively (after the noun they modify) all require to be used with a degree adverb?

A. If an adjective in Chinese has only one syllable (monosyllabic), a 的 is not required after it.

For example:

新书

大犬

As book is one syllable in Chinese (shū), “的” is not used.

B. Adjectives with more than one syllable requires the particle 的.

Example:

蔚蓝的天空。

Blue (wéilán) is disyllabic, which is why it’s followed by 的.

C. If a monosyllabic adjective is itself modified by an adverb (degree adverb) it also requires the use of 的.

很大的犬

*Could I say that the reason why 很大 is followed by 的 is because it becomes a disyllabic expression?

D. When a disyllabic adjective modifies a disyllabic noun, we don’t have to use 的.

公共场所

This is because public is two syllables (公共) as well as place (场所).

E. Predicative adjective do not use “的”.

这个孩子很高。

那儿生活意得很

F. We can sometimes use “的” with predicative adjectives. According to my book:

“However, this is not always the case. In the three examples above, the adjective

is evaluative, conveying a comment or judgment, but it is also possible for the

adjective to be descriptive rather than evaluative. When this is so, 的 is likely

to be present”

I’m not quite as to the meaning of that excerpt.

Does it mean that if the adjective used predicatively is descriptive in nature, then 的 is then used?

What I don’t understand is that my book provides me with two examples:

那儿生活意得好。

“Life there is extremely enjoyable.”

And

那儿个老老实实的。

“That man is an extremely honest person.”

Aren’t they both descriptive in nature?!

In the first sentence the speaker judges life to be extremely enjoyable.

In the second sentence he judges the man to be extremely honest.

How is the first sentence considered evaluative and the second sentence descriptive?

Could anyone provide some clear explanations on this?

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那儿生活意得好。

“Life there is extremely enjoyable.”

And

那儿个老老实实的。

“That man is an extremely honest person.”

I think the Chinese should be:

那儿生活意得

And:

那儿个老老实实的。

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