Difference between revisions of "Expressing "not very" with "bu tai""
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You may be familiar with using [[Expressing "excessively" with tai|太 (tài) to express "too"]] in the sense of "too expensive." There's a similar pattern in the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le). | You may be familiar with using [[Expressing "excessively" with tai|太 (tài) to express "too"]] in the sense of "too expensive." There's a similar pattern in the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le). | ||
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[[Category:A2 grammar points]] | [[Category:A2 grammar points]] | ||
[[Category:Adverbs]] | [[Category:Adverbs]] | ||
| + | {{Basic Grammar|不太|A2|不太 + Adj|他 <em>不太</em> 高 。你 <em>不太</em> 喜欢 ， 是 吗 ？|grammar point|ASGUNMHU}} | ||
| + | {{Similar|Expressing "excessively" with tai}} | ||
Revision as of 03:29, 13 June 2012
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Keywords
You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express "too" in the sense of "too expensive." There's a similar pattern in the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le).
Structure
Subject + 不 + 太 + Adjective
Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives. See below for more info.
Examples
| Subject | 不 太 | Adj / V | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你 | 不 太 | 高兴 | 。 |
| 她 | 不 太 | 漂亮 | 。 |
| 老师 | 不 太 | 友好 | 。 |
| 我 | 不 太 | 喜欢 | 。 |
| 他 | 不 太 | 想 | 去 。 |
Note: This pattern can be used with modal verbs (e.g. 会, 能) as well as psychological verbs (e.g. 喜欢, 崇拜), as in the last two examples.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 200) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 180-1) →buy
