zhongwen-obsidian/多duō.md
2024-05-26 19:01:11 +01:00

1.2 KiB

#adjective #多 #少

The adjective 多duō ("many, much"), like all adjectives, can be used attributively or predicatively. I.e. it can stand before a noun as it's modifier, or it may constitute a predicate all by itself - for example:

他的书很多,也很新。 tā de shū hěn duō, yě hěn xīn His books are many, and new too.

多 can never appear on it's own while being used attributively though, unlike other adjectives. It always requires the presence of another adverb such as 很hěn before it:

  1. 多朋友 duō péngyou many friends (Wrong)
  2. 新朋友 xīn péngyou new friends
  3. 很多朋友 hěn duō péngyou many friends

Remember, when using a monosyllabic adjective like 多, 的de#Single-Syllable Adjectives. We wouldn't expect this to apply because we combine it with 很 to make 很多 (which is no longer monosyllabic), but it's actually a special case and 的 can be omitted - as above. 少 actually shares this behaviour, but often 很少 is not used and a negative of 很多 is used instead, for example "没有很多书".