Adjectives

Original teaching practice. Read one pattern, cover its model and try the questions before checking the separate answer section. Examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA) retain the course-reference provenance.

all全quán + Noun (the whole / all of)

One word that gathers the whole group

• The photo from your class trip arrives. Everyone is in it: the whole class全班quán bānall / both都dōuat / in在zàiphotograph照片zhào piānli, ancient measure of…里lǐ。 – the whole class is in the photo. all全quán gathers every member of the group into one word.
• Today you will say the whole ___ about families, classes, companies and years – and you will learn where all全quán stops, because it does not mean "every".

the whole class全班quán bānall都dōube in/at在zàiphoto照片zhàopiàninside里lǐ。

Build the form

• The pattern is all全quán + noun, usually followed by all / both都dōu + verb: the whole class全班quán bān + all / both都dōu + at / in在zàiphotograph照片zhào piānli, ancient measure of…里lǐ. The all / both都dōu marks that the verb covers the whole gathered group.
• More groups: whole family全家quán jiā the whole family, whole nation全国quán guó the whole country, the whole year全年quán nián the whole year, 全校quán xiào the whole school. The noun after all全quán names the container; all全quán fills it.

the whole year全年quán niánwe我们wǒmenall都dōuat在zàido internships实习shíxí。

Read it in real situations

• whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le。 – the whole family came (the family we are talking about).
• 这家zhè jiācompany公司gōng sīthe whole year全年quán niánall / both都dōuto be infectious招人zhāo rén。 – this company hires all year round.
• the whole class全班quán bānall / both都dōuto pass through通过tōng guò(completed / change)了leto take an exam考试kǎo shì。 – the whole class passed the exam. to pass through通过tōng guò to pass; to take an exam考试kǎo shì exam.

the whole class全班quán bānall都dōupass通过tōngguò了leexam考试kǎoshì。

all全quán is not each每měi, and not every

• all全quán + noun gathers one bounded group: whole family全家quán jiā = the whole of this family. each每měi + noun distributes over individuals: 每个měi gèfamily家庭jiā tíngall / both都dōuto love爱àito take a picture拍照pāi zhào – every family loves taking photos (each one, separately). A bounded whole and a universal "every" are different claims.
• The classic mistake: whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto like喜欢xǐ huanthis这个zhè gedining hall餐厅cān tīng。 does not mean "all families like this restaurant" – it says our/the family does. For a universal claim you want all所有suǒ yǒu or 每个měi gè: all所有suǒ yǒufamily家庭jiā tíng…
• Near-correct check: the whole year全年quán nián vs every year每年měi nián. the whole year全年quán niánall / both都dōuat / in在zàito work工作gōng zuò = working the whole year through; every year每年měi niánall / both都dōuto come来lái = comes every year. Pick the one that matches your meaning.

Use it yourself

• Say it about your life: your family, your class, your city. 我家wǒ jiā…, we / us我们wǒ menthe whole class全班quán bān…, whole city全城quán chéng… – one true sentence each, out loud or written down.
• Compare whole family全家quán jiāto come来lái(completed / change)了le and whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le: both can be grammatical. Adding all / both都dōu explicitly emphasises that every family member came; it is common in this pattern, but not compulsory.

New context, same decision

• A shop sign: everyone present全场quán chǎnghalf price半价bàn jià – the whole store at half price (variant of 场场chǎng here is the venue). A weather report: whole city全市quán shì有雨yǒu yǔ – rain across the whole city. Same all全quán, new containers; check each group is one bounded whole.

• Tomorrow, before you reopen this page: say "my whole family came" and "every family" aloud. If the two come out identical, redo the contrast step – that difference is the lesson.

• all全quán + noun gathers one bounded group (whole family全家quán jiā, the whole class全班quán bān, whole nation全国quán guó); all / both都dōu commonly emphasises that every member is included; it is not compulsory. For "every", use each每měi/all所有suǒ yǒu – whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le is about this family, not all families.

Practise this pattern step by step.

Adj + to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le (extremely …)

Melting in July

• You come into the classroom after cycling across town in 38 degrees.
• today今天jīn tiān热死rè sǐ(completed / change)了le！ – "It's boiling today!" to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le exaggerates a feeling to the extreme.

Adjective + to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le

• Adj + to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le = "extremely, to death" in casual speech: 累死lèi sǐ(completed / change)了le, to starve to death饿死è sǐ(completed / change)了le, busy忙mángto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le.
• It ends the clause, and the adjective stands alone: 冷死lěng sǐ(completed / change)了le, not degree / adjective linker很hěncold冷lěngto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le.

I我wǒhungry饿èto death死了sǐ le，quickly快kuàieat吃饭chī fàn吧ba！

Mostly complaints, sometimes joy

• Complaints are typical: this这个zhè geschool assignment作业zuò yè难死nán sǐ(completed / change)了le。 – "This homework is impossibly hard."
• Strong positive feelings work too: to hear听到tīng dàothis这个zhè genews消息xiāo xī，I / me我wǒhappy高兴gāo xìngto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le！ – "I was over the moon when I heard!"

this这个zhè gehomework作业zuò yèhard难nánto death死了sǐ le。

Casual only

• Use it with friends and family; in an essay or a formal email, write very非常fēi chángrope累lèi or very十分shí fēnto be hungry饿è instead.
• No degree / adjective linker很hěn or very非常fēi cháng in front, and nothing between the adjective and to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le: 累死lèi sǐ(completed / change)了le, not degree / adjective linker很hěn累死lèi sǐ(completed / change)了le.

to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le versus extremely极了jí le and (degree marker)得deto cause sb's death要命yào mìng

• 好极了hǎo jí le sounds enthusiastic and fits praise; good好hǎoto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le is rare, because to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le leans to complaints.
• (degree marker)得deto cause sb's death要命yào mìng is equally colloquial: rope累lèi(degree marker)得deto cause sb's death要命yào mìng – "dead tired". With verbs of missing: want / think / miss想xiǎngto die死sǐyou你nǐ(completed / change)了le – "I miss you like crazy."

I我wǒmiss想xiǎngto death死sǐyou你nǐ了le！

Recap

• Adj + to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le = extremely (colloquial, often a complaint): 热死rè sǐ(completed / change)了le, 累死lèi sǐ(completed / change)了le, 难死nán sǐ(completed / change)了le.
• No degree / adjective linker很hěn before it; keep it out of formal writing, where very非常fēi cháng / very十分shí fēn fit.

Practise this pattern step by step.

Practice without the models

Choose a pattern, cover its teaching examples, and attempt its questions. Use the labels to find feedback in the separate key.

all全quán + Noun (the whole / all of)

0101.1 Using the lesson pattern in this demonstrated example: The whole family came: ………… home家jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le。

0101.2 {'en': 'What does all全quán mean before a noun?', 'zh': 'all全quán to put放fàngnoun名词míng cífront前qiánto be / is是shìwhat什么shén meidea意思yì si?'}

• A. {'en': 'the whole / all of', 'zh': 'whole整个zhěng gè / all所有suǒ yǒu'}
• B. {'en': 'only / just', 'zh': 'only只zhǐ / barely仅jǐn'}

0101.3 {'en': 'all全quán often pairs with all / both都dōu (whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le).', 'zh': 'all全quán always常chángand / with和hé all / both都dōu to pair up搭配dā pèi(whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le)。'}

True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

0101.4 {'en': 'Build: “The whole family came.”', 'zh': 'a row排páirow一排yī pái:“whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le。”'}

Arrange all chunks: all / both都dōu / to come来lái(completed / change)了le / whole family全家quán jiā

0101.5 All members of a family arrive at a gathering. What does whole family全家quán jiāall / both都dōuto come来lái(completed / change)了le。 communicate?

• A. whole family全家quán jiā means only one family member.
• B. whole family全家quán jiā includes the entire family being discussed.

0101.6 In the opening situation: whole family全家quán jiā includes the entire family being discussed.

True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

0101.7 Recall the situation: One word that gathers the whole group. Decide what the speaker wanted to communicate. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.

Write or say your own response before reading the key.

Adj + to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le (extremely …)

0102.1 Complain to a friend: “I'm exhausted!” 我累wǒ lèi…………！

0102.2 Which sentence suits a formal report?

• A. this这个zhè gelocal地区dì qū(modifier / structural particle)的dewinter冬天dōng tiān冷死lěng sǐ。
• B. this这个zhè gelocal地区dì qū(modifier / structural particle)的dewinter冬天dōng tiāndegree / adjective linker很hěncold冷lěngto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le。
• C. this这个zhè gelocal地区dì qū(modifier / structural particle)的dewinter冬天dōng tiān冷死lěng sǐ(completed / change)了le。
• D. this这个zhè gelocal地区dì qū(modifier / structural particle)的dewinter冬天dōng tiānvery非常fēi chángcold冷lěng。

0102.3 Build: “This homework is impossibly hard.”

Arrange all chunks: to die死sǐ(completed / change)了le。 / difficult / hard难nán / this这个zhè geschool assignment作业zuò yè

0102.4 want / think / miss想xiǎngto die死sǐyou你nǐ(completed / change)了le means “I miss you terribly.”

True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

0102.5 You come into the classroom after cycling across town in 38 degrees. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.

Write or say your own response before reading the key.

A fresh situation

R1. Interpret and repair. A visitor says weather天气tiān qìdegree / adjective linker很hěnto warm up热rèto die死sǐ(completed / change)了le to complain about the heat. Repair the pattern and name its register.

R2. Use it yourself. Say that the whole class arrived and that you are extremely tired, using different constructions.

Write your responses before opening the key. Compare meaning as well as form; a different valid answer need not copy the model.