What is noteworthy about the parts of speech in Chinese

Input Date:07/12/2006 Read: [Print] [Close]

 
1. A comparison between nouns, verbs and adjectives
 
　　Nouns, verbs and adjectives make up the greater part of Chinese vocabulary. So, it is important for you to differentiate one class from others and use them correctly according to the grammatical rules of Chinese. The following table shows the major distinctions of these three classes (with minor exceptions):
 
Test way Noun (书) Verb (写) Adj (快)
Can it be headed by a numeral-qualifier? Yes
(一本书) No No
Can it be modified by a “不”? No Yes
(不写) Yes
(不快)
Can it be modified by a “很”? No No* Yes
(很快)
Can it be followed by an object? No Yes
(写书) No
Can it modify an action? No No Yes
(快写)
 
* Except for those that express mental activity, e.g. 很想；很愿意. 
 
2. Double classification of words
 
There are some words that have the grammatical functions of more than one class. We call them words of double classification, e.g. 
 

代表 as a noun 常驻代表(a permanent representative) 
as a verb 代表全体同学讲话(speak in the name of all the students) 
报告 as a noun 年度报告(an annual report) 
as a verb 报告出席会议的人数(announce the attendance at a meeting) 
丰富 as an adjective 丰富的自然资源(rich natural resources)
as a verb 读书可以丰富我们的知识。(Reading can enrich our knowledge.)
繁荣 as an adjective 市场很繁荣。(The market is flourishing. )
as a verb 繁荣市场(Stimulate the market)
秘密 as a noun 一个秘密(a secret )
as an adjective 秘密会议(secret meeting)
困难 as a noun 许多困难(many difficulties)
as an adjective 困难的工作(difficult work) 
 
 
3. Homonyms
 
　　The words of double classification should be those that are related to each other in meaning but different in functions. If a character or a group of characters has two different meanings in use which are not related to each other, it should be regarded as homonyms, e.g. 
 
会 开会(hold a meeting)--- noun   会写(be able to write)--- verb
信 一封信(a letter)--- noun              不信(do not believe)--- verb
花 一朵花(a flower)--- noun            花钱(spend money)--- verb
打 打他(hit him)--- verb                    打那以后(since then)--- preposition
 
 

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