4 ‘Topic + comment’ sentences

When it comes describing people and objects, the most common sentence structure is ‘topic + comment’. The subject which is being described is the ‘topic’ and the adjective that appears afterwards is the ‘comment’.

The ‘topic’ can be a person represented by a pronoun, as below:

The ‘topic’ can also be a verbal phrase or an adjective, whereas the ‘comment’ is often an adjective which functions as the predicate.

Apart from describing people’s feelings, state and age, the “topic” + comment’ pattern is also often used to describe days and dates:

Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• When forming a “topic” + comment’ sentence, the verb shì 是 ‘to be’ is not required.

• In an affirmative “topic” + comment’ sentence, when the comment is a single unmodified adjective, the adverb hěn 很 is a link which is often required, however it doesn’t necessarily have to be translated into ‘very’:

  Tā hěn lèi. 他很累。He is tired. / He is very tired.

  Without hěn 很, the sentence would be ungrammatical (note that the symbol of * marks the sentence is ungrammatical): * Tā lèi. 他累。

  However, if the ‘comment’ adjective is already modified by an adverb or if the statement is negative, then there is no need to add hěn 很:

  Tā yǒudiǎnr lèi. 他有点儿累。 lit. he a little bit tired. (He is slightly tired.)

  Tā bú lèi. 他不累。 lit. He no tired. (He is not tired.)