Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

11

Stative verbs

Stative verbs describe situations that do not involve action. Examples of stative verbs include

喜欢/喜歡 xǐhuan ‘like,’ 爱/愛 ài ‘love,’ 像 xiàng ‘resemble,’ 想 xiǎng ‘want,’ 要 yào ‘want,’

需要 xūyào ‘need,’ 怕 pà ‘fear,’ 尊敬 zūnjìng ‘respect,’ 感谢/感謝 gǎnxiè ‘appreciate,’

懂 dǒng ‘understand,’ 信 xìn ‘believe,’ and 想念 xiǎngniàn ‘miss.’ Certain stative verbs

have special meanings and properties and will be discussed separately below. They include

the equational verbs 是 shì ‘be’ and 姓 xìng ‘be family named,’ the verb 有 yǒu ‘have,’ ‘exist,’

and the location verb 在 zài ‘be located at.’

Stative verbs are similar to adjectival verbs in their form of negation, their occurrence with

intensifiers, and their use in comparison structures.

C10.1, 10.3, 33

11.1 Negation of stative verbs

Most stative verbs may only be negated by 不 bù. The stative verb 有 yǒu ‘have’ may only be

negated by 没/沒 méi.

不 bù negates most stative verbs 没/沒 méi only negates 有 yǒu

他不像他爸爸。

Tā bù xiàng tā bàba.

He doesn’t resemble his dad.

他不怕狗。

Tā bù pà gǒu.

He is not afraid of dogs.

我不要钱。

我不要錢。

Wǒ bù yào qián.

I don’t want money.

他没有车。

他沒有車。

Tā méi yǒu chē.

He doesn’t have a car.

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