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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==Structure==
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== Structure ==
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
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Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives.  See below for more info.
 
Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives.  See below for more info.
  
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==Examples==
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== Examples ==
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
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|+不太 sentences
 
|+不太 sentences
 
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|-
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! Subject !! <em>不 太</em> !! Adj / V !!
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! Subject !! <em>不 太</em> !! Adj !!
 
|-
 
|-
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| 你 || <em>不 太</em> || 高兴 ||。
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| 他 || <em>不 太</em> || 高兴 ||。
 
|-
 
|-
 
| 她 || <em>不 太</em> || 漂亮 ||。
 
| 她 || <em>不 太</em> || 漂亮 ||。
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</div>
 
</div>
  
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'''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.
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==Structure with Modal Verbs==
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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.
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<div class="jiegou">
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Subject + 不 + 太 + Verb
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</div>
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== Examples==
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<div class="liju">
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{| class="wikitable"
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|+不太 sentences
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|-
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! Subject !! <em>不 太</em> !! V !!
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|-
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| 我 || <em>不 太</em> || 喜欢 ||。
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|-
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| 他 || <em>不 太</em> || 想 || 去 。
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|}
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</div>
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:Adverbs]]
 
[[Category:Adverbs]]
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{{Basic Grammar|太|A2|不太 + Adj|他 <em>不太</em> 高 。你 <em>不太</em> 喜欢 ， 是 吗 ？|grammar point|ASGUNMHU}}
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{{Basic Grammar|太|A2|不太 + Adj|他 <em>不太</em> 高兴 。我 <em>不太</em> 喜欢。|grammar point|ASGUNMHU}}
 
{{Similar|Expressing "excessively" with tai}}
 
{{Similar|Expressing "excessively" with tai}}
 
{{Used for|Adding more explanation}}
 
{{Used for|Adding more explanation}}
 
{{POS|Adverbs with Adjectives}}
 
{{POS|Adverbs with Adjectives}}

Revision as of 06:52, 14 August 2012

Chinese-grammar-wiki-bu.jpg

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

不太 sentences
Subject 不 太 Adj
他 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 。

Structure with Modal Verbs

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.

Subject + 不 + 太 + Verb

Examples

不太 sentences
Subject 不 太 V
我 不 太 喜欢 。
他 不 太 想 去 。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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