In Chinese grammar, the verb to be is not used in Chinese the same way as it is in English. In Chinese, 是 is for connecting nouns, and is generally not used with adjectives.
Tag: Chinese Grammar
Chinese grammar:Basic sentence order
In most basic form of Chinese grammar, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order. Don't expect these similarities to hold true too far past the very basic sentence order outlined below, though!
Chinese grammar:Verbing briefly 一下yixia
Use 一下 (yīxià) to express a brief action in Chinese grammar. Often, adding 一下 just makes the Chinese feel more natural. This is not something you can get a feel for quickly. You'll want to observe how native speakers use 一下 over a long period of time to really get used to how it is used.
Chinese grammar: Standard negation with “bu”不
Use 不 (bù) to negate verbs in the present or future in Chinese gammar. Negating Verbs
Structure
The standard way to negate verbs in Chinese is with 不. To negate a verb, simply place 不 before i
Chinese grammar:Negative commands with “bu yao”不要
In Chinese grammar, you can use 不要 (bùyào) to mean "don't". This is similar to the other negative command "别".
Chinese grammar: Expressing “a little too” with “you dian”
At times you may want to politely say something is "a little too" something. In that case, use "有点"(yǒu diǎn) or "有一点"(yǒu yì diǎnr).
Chinese grammar: Expressing distance with 离 “li”
One of the ways to express distance is to use "离"(lí). Structure: So this pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (not) close or (not) far from another place.
Chinese grammar: Intensifying with 多”duo”
One of the ways to make an exclamation and intensify something is to use "多"(duō).It's really exciting!
Chinese grammar: Moderating positive adjectives with 还 “hai”
Whenever you want to imply that something is "meh", you can use "还"(hái).
Chinese grammar: Negation of past actions mei/meiyou没和没有
Use 没有 (méiyǒu) to negate past actions (to say that someone didn't do something, or something didn't happen).