<p>Simply put, adjectives in Chinese can function as verbs.</p>

<p>More specifically, they can form <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_(grammar)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">predicates</a> without the use of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">copula</a> verb such as 是. For this reason, adjectives in Chinese are sometimes considered to be a class of verbs called "stative verbs".</p>

<p>You can refer to the answers of this previous question for more details: <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/884/166">Stative verbs in Chinese: only for adjectives?</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-30T01:47:18.043Z
Not sure if "Simply put" is applicable in the same sentence as "predicates", "copula verb", and "stative verbs" lol
Ming
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2014-04-30T02:15:27.843Z
@Ming That's fair. :) I suppose I meant "simply" as "most concisely".
Claw
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2014-04-28T16:44:08.553Z
2014-04-30T17:28:53.793Z
2017-04-13T12:48:06.457Z
Claw
<p>Generally speaking, “是” means “is”. <strong>In English you can use "be"+adjective to mean "A subject whose property/attribute is of sth"</strong>：</p>

<p>I'm well/better.</p>

<p>But in Chinese, <strong>“是” is usually means "to define a subject to be sth"</strong>：So when we say "some subject" “是” "sth", this means "Some subject equals sth".</p>

<p>我是学生：I'm a student (meaning I'm working as a student).
So “是” is usually used with a noun.</p>

<p>However, <strong>“是” can be also used to enhance a meaning</strong> (just like your example above)——this means some subject is REALLY sth, maybe according to the context, this is something with your mood.</p>

<p>我是很好！(Of course I'm fine, maybe someone is saying badly about you.)</p>

<p>他是很坏！(He's really very bad, agreeing with sb's saying)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-28T06:09:27.643Z
So "是" is usually used with a noun :)
Ming
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2014-04-28T08:03:40.073Z
@Ming：Yes, however we can use this to emphase something.
xqMogvKW
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2014-04-28T05:18:40.493Z
2014-04-28T08:32:50.450Z
2014-04-28T08:32:50.450Z
xqMogvKW
<p>是 is a contact verb here.<br>
The grammar in example 我很好 is noun + adjective. just like subject + contact verb (ignored in Chinese) + predicative.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-29T12:05:53.907Z
2014-04-29T12:05:53.907Z
Allen St.Clair
<pre><code>The word “我很好” means “I am all right”. “是”is a verb（“动词”）which is
equivalent to "is","am","are" in English. When most Chinese students
including me learn English at very start,they tend to translating
the sentence word by word,e.g.

I    am      fine
wo3  shi4  hen3 hao3
我   是     很   好
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-11T12:29:41.970Z
2015-04-11T12:29:41.970Z
WateSoyan
<p>I''m a Chinese learner for quite a while, I've been wondering why (是) shi4 is dropped in sentences like this："我很好" Isn't there supposed to be a verb in every sentences? like 我（是）很好.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-28T21:11:13.197Z
possible duplicate of [Stative verbs in Chinese: only for adjectives?](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/884/stative-verbs-in-chinese-only-for-adjectives)
NS.X.
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2014-04-28T22:39:44.830Z
@NS.X. I wouldn't necessarily say that this question is a duplicate of that one. While the answer to that question helps to answer this one, these two questions are fundamentally different. This question asks why 是 is not needed; the other question asks what word in the sentence is playing the role of the verb and how does it behave.
Claw
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-28T22:59:58.013Z
@Claw Agreed. Not a real dupe in question but there are major overlap in the supposed answers. I voted for closing for condensation but maybe I shouldn't.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-01T19:57:39.330Z
weird enough, here 很 plays the role of *is* (copula). 很 in this case rarely means `very` seriously.
Ma Ming
<grammar><usage>
Why is (是) shi4 dropped in this sentence："我很好"?
# Why is (是) shi4 dropped in this sentence："我很好"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-28)

I''m a Chinese learner for quite a while, I've been wondering why (是) shi4 is dropped in sentences like this："我很好" Isn't there supposed to be a verb in every sentences? like 我（是）很好.

**Tags:** grammar, usage
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: possible duplicate of [Stative verbs in Chinese: only for adjectives?](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/884/stative-verbs-in-chinese-only-for-adjectives)  
> **username_2**: @NS.X. I wouldn't necessarily say that this question is a duplicate of that one. While the answer to that question helps to answer this one, these two questions are fundamentally different. This question asks why 是 is not needed; the other question asks what word in the sentence is playing the role of the verb and how does it behave.  
> **username_1**: @Claw Agreed. Not a real dupe in question but there are major overlap in the supposed answers. I voted for closing for condensation but maybe I shouldn't.  
> **username_3**: weird enough, here 很 plays the role of *is* (copula). 很 in this case rarely means `very` seriously.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-04-28. Score: 7

Simply put, adjectives in Chinese can function as verbs.

More specifically, they can form [predicates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_(grammar)) without the use of a [copula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)) verb such as 是. For this reason, adjectives in Chinese are sometimes considered to be a class of verbs called "stative verbs".

You can refer to the answers of this previous question for more details: [Stative verbs in Chinese: only for adjectives?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/884/166)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Not sure if "Simply put" is applicable in the same sentence as "predicates", "copula verb", and "stative verbs" lol  
> **username_2**: @Ming That's fair. :) I suppose I meant "simply" as "most concisely".  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2014-04-28. Score: 2

Generally speaking, “是” means “is”. **In English you can use "be"+adjective to mean "A subject whose property/attribute is of sth"**：

I'm well/better.

But in Chinese, **“是” is usually means "to define a subject to be sth"**：So when we say "some subject" “是” "sth", this means "Some subject equals sth".

我是学生：I'm a student (meaning I'm working as a student).
So “是” is usually used with a noun.

However, **“是” can be also used to enhance a meaning** (just like your example above)——this means some subject is REALLY sth, maybe according to the context, this is something with your mood.

我是很好！(Of course I'm fine, maybe someone is saying badly about you.)

他是很坏！(He's really very bad, agreeing with sb's saying)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: So "是" is usually used with a noun :)  
> **username_5**: @Ming：Yes, however we can use this to emphase something.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2014-04-29. Score: 1

是 is a contact verb here.  
The grammar in example 我很好 is noun + adjective. just like subject + contact verb (ignored in Chinese) + predicative.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2015-04-11. Score: 0

The word “我很好” means “I am all right”. “是”is a verb（“动词”）which is
equivalent to "is","am","are" in English. When most Chinese students
including me learn English at very start,they tend to translating
the sentence word by word,e.g.

I    am      fine
wo3  shi4  hen3 hao3
我   是     很   好


---

