坏苹果

[Mike]

你好!

What is the word order for adjectives. Are they usually infront of the noun, like 坏苹果?

How do I make the following statements: -

(i) 'This apple is bad' (maybe - 这个苹果是坏的)

(ii) 'This one is bad' (what about - 这个坏的)

p.s. How do I say Thank you for your help (谢谢你...)

Thanks for your help!

[semantic nuance]

Hi,

Yours are understandable. But I will say:

這個(or顆) 蘋果壞(掉)了.

這個(顆) 壞(掉)了.

Thank you for your help.

You can simply say 謝謝你(的幫忙). Colloquially, 謝謝你的幫忙 sounds not Chinese to me. It's a bit English.

Hope it helps!

[Mike]

谢谢你 semantic nuance 我懂了！

I'm trying to understanbd 的 but I guess it will fall into place one day :-)

[nipponman]

(i) 'This apple is bad' (maybe - 这个苹果是坏的)

(ii) 'This one is bad' (what about - 这个坏的)

I'm trying to understanbd 的 but I guess it will fall into place one day :-)

The是...的 construction you're usin' functions as an explanatory/highlight particle. It puts focus on what is between it and is good for explanations. e.g. Your sentence could be the answer to the question:

你為什麼不吃這個蘋果.

这个苹果是坏的 or 是坏的

Otherwise, 是 is rarely used with adjectives to show state of being. Adjectives in chinese are actually stative verbs by themselves and thus require no 'helping verb'.

[Mike]

好的.

Q1: 你为什么不吃这个苹果？

A1: 这个苹果坏

A2: 这个苹果是坏的

Are both answers the same but in the second the state of the apple is simply being emphasised?

In the following example, I feel I want to add an 'it' for the apple. However is this sentence grammatically correct in Chinese?

因为这个苹果坏, 所以我不吃！

[cutty]

Hello Mike,

You can say either:

这个苹果坏了，所以我不吃。

or

这个苹果不好（了），所以我不吃。

but I don't like:

这个苹果坏，所以我不吃。

[Mike]

Oh, okay. I didn't think to use 了 because I didn't think there was an action or an event that was over. Is it becuase the condition of the apple is changing - the apple is most likely to be getting worse!?

[cutty]

Hello Mike.

I‘m not sure why, but it seems in most cases when you use 坏, it's better to have 了，such as:

这个苹果坏了。

except:

你坏，你很坏。

Though 不好 means similar to 坏，but it seems ok to have:

这个苹果不好。

or

这个苹果不好了。

[semantic nuance]

这个苹果不好。or 这个苹果不好了。

I beg to differ. 這個蘋果不好 sounds ok but it is not used to mean the apple has gone rotten. I've never heard of 這個蘋果不好了. It sounds to me that something bad happened to the apple.

這個蘋果不好 is not used in this situation. It might be used when you are picking apples, for example, you don't find some apple appealing or tasty. You might say: 不要挑這顆, 這顆蘋果不好, 看起來不好吃又好像快壞了.

不好了 is used to mean something bad happening/happened.

Ex: (事情)不好了!! 他們打起架來了!

By the way, 不好 is not equal to 壞. They are different in degree.

Hope it helps!

[cutty]

I'm very sure it's OK to say:

这个苹果不好了。

It's not much different as

这个苹果坏了。