Here’s where things get pretty different from English. A lot of words that act like adjectives in Mandarin are actually verbs meaning “to be (adjective).”
But at the same time, they can be used as an attribute to modify nouns. Let’s have a look.”
You can place the adjective directly in front of the noun, like so:
Or you can use the connector 的:
These adjectival phrases can get very complex. If you have any experience with German, the same general principle for constructing adjectival phrases is at work here.
Instead of a clause using “that” or “which” as in English, the entire adjectival phrase is connected to the noun with 的 like so:
| 没有鞋子的小孩子 |
| The child who doesn’t have shoes (the not-having-shoes child) |
| 我们昨天去的那家餐厅 |
| The restaurant we went to yesterday. |
You often see single adjectives with the adverb 很, which is usually translated as “very” but can also simply link a noun with an adjective. Other adverbs include 好 “very”, 真 “truly”, and 非常 “exceptionally”.
| 这个房子很大 |
| This house is very big. |
| 这只猫好可爱. |
| This cat is really cute. |
| 你的房间非常小 |
| Your room is incredibly small. |
