- 正大光明 tsung‘ dá‘ kwong ming, upright and wise.
- 寬弘大量 k’wén óng dú‘ liáng‘, generous.
- 井井有條 ’tsing ’tsing ’yeu diau, very regular.
- 希奇古怪 h’i gi ’kú kwá‘, extraordinary.
- 長長遠遠 dzáng dzáng ’yön ’yön long in time.
- 高高低低 kau kau tí tí, irregular in height.
- 忙忙碌碌 mong mong lóh lóh, busy.
- 胆胆大大 ’tan ’tan dú‘ dú‘, boldy.
Obs. The monosyllabic adjectives are not repeated. These double forms when repeated, are also correctly translated as adverbs in almost all cases. It will be seen in subsequent sections, that repetition is used most extensively among verbs and adverbs.
173. The place of the adjective is before its noun if they go into combination, but with the substantive verb as copula or an equivalent, it may become a supplementary member of the sentence.
- 好人 ’hau niun, good man.
- 人是好個 niun ’zz ’hau kú‘, the man is good.
- 白糖 páh dong, white sugar.
- 清水 t’sing ’sz, clear water.
- 快馬 k’wá‘ ’mó, swift horse.
- 冷飯 ’láng van‘, cold rice.
- 舊書 kieu‘ sû, old books.
- 馬倒勿快 ’mó ’tau veh k’wa‘, yet the horse goes slowly.
- 水淸是清個 ’sz t’sing ’zz t’sing ku‘, the water is clear.
174. Substantives become adjectives to other substantives, if placed before them in combination.
| 洋刀 yáng tau, foreign knife. | 石路 zah lú‘, stone road. |
| 牛奶 nieu ’ná, buffalo milk. | 海船 ’hé zén, sea junk. |
Obs. Compounds of this kind have come under notice before, [Art. 106]. Thus it appears that cases occur which prevent the accurate defining of the parts of speech. For the words standing first in these examples, while they may well be claimed as adjectives, according to the grammar of the classical languages, are unquestionably substantives when alone. As roots they are substantives. It is by position that they are changed into adjectives. For corresponding examples in English, see [Art. 119].
175. Verbs with the particle 個 or 拉個, become adjectives to the following noun.
- 種拉个稻 tsóng‘ ’lá kú‘ ’dau, the sown rice.
- 死个人多 ’sí kú‘ niun tú, those that die are many.
- 愛拉个囝 é‘ ’lá kú‘ ’siau nön, a dear child.
- 活个物事 weh kú‘ meh zz‘ living thing.
Obs. i. In examples like the second of these, the sense is also complete without the noun as ’sí kú‘ tú. We have in English a darkened room, a beloved child. Participles are here construed as adjectives, a usage similar to the Chinese.