Adjective Predicate Sentences
In Chinese, adjectives can directly serve as predicates — no linking verb 'is/are' needed.
Pattern: Subject + (Degree Adverb) + Adjective
✅ 他很高。(He is tall.)
✅ 天气非常冷。(The weather is extremely cold.)
Important: Without a degree adverb, the sentence implies comparison:
- 他高。= He is tall. (implying: compared to someone else)
- 他很高。= He is tall. (neutral statement)
Never use 是 between subject and adjective:
❌ 他是高。(ungrammatical)
✅ 他很高。
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 这个苹果很甜。 | Zhè gè píng guǒ hěn tián. | This apple is sweet. | Subject + 很 + Adjective — basic adj predicate pattern |
| 今天天气不太好。 | Jīn tiān tiān qì bú tài hǎo. | Today's weather is not very good. | Negated degree: 不太 = not very/not too |
| 你的房间非常干净。 | Nǐ de fáng jiān fēi cháng gān jìng. | Your room is extremely clean. | 非常 as degree adverb; no 是 needed |
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list Adjective Predicate Sentences among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
Adjective Predicate Sentences is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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