Lesson 1: Comparative sentences: the 比 sentence

Explanation

Structure

1. 1
   A 比 B+形容词

   Don't use 很, 真, 非常… before the adjective (don't say *飞机比汽车很快, *西瓜比苹果很大).

   • 飞机比汽车快。

     Fēijī bǐ qìchē kuài.

     Planes are faster than cars.

   • 西瓜比苹果大。

     Xīguā bǐ píngguǒ dà.

     Watermelons are bigger than apples.

   • 大象比熊猫重。

     Dàxiàng bǐ xióngmāo zhòng.

     Elephants are heavier than pandas.

2. 2
   A 比 B+形容词+一点儿 / 一些 | 多 / 得多 / 多了

   一点儿, 一些: a small difference; 多, 得多, 多了: a big difference.

   • 上海冬天是不是比北京暖和一点儿？

     Shànghǎi dōngtiān shì bu shì bǐ Běijīng nuǎnhuo yìdiǎnr?

     Is Shanghai a bit warmer than Beijing in winter?

   • 这件比那件贵多了。

     Zhè jiàn bǐ nà jiàn guì duō le.

     This one is much more expensive than that one.

   • 她跑得比我快得多。

     Tā pǎo de bǐ wǒ kuài de duō.

     She runs much faster than I do.

   • 这件比那件贵得多。

     Zhè jiàn bǐ nà jiàn guì de duō.

     This one is much more expensive than that one.

   • 这个教室比那个大得多。

     Zhège jiàoshì bǐ nàge dà de duō.

     This classroom is much bigger than that one.

3. 3
   A 比 B+动词+宾语 / A+动词+得+比 B+形容词

   A verb with a complement of state: 比 can go before the verb or before the complement.

   • 她比我喜欢音乐。

     Tā bǐ wǒ xǐhuan yīnyuè.

     She likes music more than I do.

   • 我比她喜欢学习。

     Wǒ bǐ tā xǐhuan xuéxí.

     I like studying more than she does.

   • 他比我考得好。

     Tā bǐ wǒ kǎo de hǎo.

     He did better on the exam than I did.

   • 他考得比我好。

     Tā kǎo de bǐ wǒ hǎo.

     He did better on the exam than I did.

   • 我今天比你来得早。

     Wǒ jīntiān bǐ nǐ lái de zǎo.

     I arrived earlier than you today.

   • 我今天来得比你早。

     Wǒ jīntiān lái de bǐ nǐ zǎo.

     I arrived earlier than you today.

4. 4
   A 比 B+C → B 没有 A+C

   The negative of 比 is 没有, not 不比. 不比 is used only to negate or to rebut what someone else said.

   • 飞机比火车快。→ 火车没有飞机快。

     Fēijī bǐ huǒchē kuài. → Huǒchē méiyǒu fēijī kuài.

     Planes are faster than trains. → Trains are not as fast as planes.

   • 西瓜比苹果大。→ 苹果没有西瓜大。

     Xīguā bǐ píngguǒ dà. → Píngguǒ méiyǒu xīguā dà.

     Watermelons are bigger than apples. → Apples are not as big as watermelons.

   • 大象比熊猫重。→ 熊猫没有大象重。

     Dàxiàng bǐ xióngmāo zhòng. → Xióngmāo méiyǒu dàxiàng zhòng.

     Elephants are heavier than pandas. → Pandas are not as heavy as elephants.

   • A：我看你比麦克高。 B：我不比他高。我们俩差不多高。

     A: Wǒ kàn nǐ bǐ Màikè gāo. B: Wǒ bù bǐ tā gāo. Wǒmen liǎ chàbuduō gāo.

     A: I think you're taller than Mike. B: I'm not taller than he is. We're about the same height.

   • A：冬天上海比北京暖和。 B：冬天，上海不比北京暖和。

     A: Dōngtiān Shànghǎi bǐ Běijīng nuǎnhuo. B: Dōngtiān, Shànghǎi bù bǐ Běijīng nuǎnhuo.

     A: Shanghai is warmer than Beijing in winter. B: In winter, Shanghai isn't warmer than Beijing.