ABSTRACT

Similar to English adjectives, Mandarin descriptive adjectives describe states of being, such as ད hFo ‘good,’ or ᮄ xCn ‘new.’ Some textbooks therefore refer to them as stative verbs. A Mandarin sentence with a descriptive adjective, however, does not use the verb of being, ᰃ shì ‘be.’ E.g. 1a literally reads ‘movie very interesting.’