modals, comparative and superlative

[SeekerOfPeace]

How do you use modals, comparatives and superlatives in Chinese?

Modals:

Is it the same thing as in English? Do we use the modal verb before the main verb?

Must

"You must do your homework."

你必须做你的作业

Could

"You could do your homework."

你能做你的作业

"You can do your homework."

你可以做你的作业

Also what is the difference between 能 and 可以? I'm guessing we use 可以 to give permission and 能 to express the capacity of someone to do something.

Am I right?

Should

"You should do your homework."

你应该做你的作业

Comparatives and Superlatives:

How is it exactly that we use comparatives and superlatives in Chinese?

[SeekerOfPeace]

Ok, according to my book:

j较 and 比较 are both used for "comparative"

最 is used as a superlative.

Would the following sentences be correct:

这个菜较好.

"This food is better."

这个菜最好

"This food is the best."

How would I say, this dish is better than this one? One can I compare two things?

[gato]

Which book are you using? A good book should teach you basics like these.

[SeekerOfPeace]

Routledge Comprehensive Chinese Grammar

Only it's not really all that "comprehensive".

But are my assumptions correct?

[gato]

You are more or less right.

较 and 比较 are both used for comparisons, but 较 is used only as a more formal written form. Thus 这个菜较好 should be 这个菜比较好.

Note also that 比较 is only used when the sentence only has one of the items being compared.

If your sentence has both of the items being compared, you would use "比", in the form of "A比B[adjective]".

For example: Shaq比Jordan胖。

[SeekerOfPeace]

Ok that's great.

Very useful.

[shikang]

How would I say that I dont need to work (not be required to)?

我今天不要打工

我今天不用打工

The first one seems too much like didn't want to, and in the second one we have not went over the use of 不用 very well. Would it be better to say 去打工？

edit: or use this 必须?

[Jeffu]

"我今天不用打工" is the answer to "I don't need to work today".

You're right the first one is more like "don't want to work". But "我今天不要打工" sounds akward to me. I better say "我今天不想工作／打工".　

When regarding to "我今天不去打工", it will be the behavior of "我今天不想打工" (the reason I said "will be" is that it isn't carried out yet). "我今天不想打工" is your will, your purpose, your intention, and "我今天不去打工" expresses that your going to implement this intention.

[trien27]

今天我不用打工 = "No use [for] me to work today."

今天我不要打工 = "I don't need to work today."