In this HSK 3 video lesson we'll learn two structures: 越A越B (yuè A yuè B ▸ the more A the more B) and 不太…… (bú tài...... ▸ not very; not quite). We'll also review all previously learned Adverbs Of Degree & other phrases that indicate “degree”

越A越B (yuè A yuè B ▸ the more A the more B)
不太…… (bú tài...... ▸ not very; not quite)
Review: Adverbs Of Degree & other phrases that indicate “degree”

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GRAMMAR

Grammar 1. 越A越B

yuè A yuè B ▸ the more A the more B

越 (yuè ▸ indicating degree, that the extent changes as the condition changes) is a 程度副词 (chéngdùfùcí ▸ Adverb of Degree)

We've learned the structure 越来越 (yuè lái yuè ▸ more and more; less and less) before.

In today's lesson, we have another structure with 越：

越 A 越 B

In this structure:

A is the condition
B is the result
B changes along with A

Below are example sentences:

Xuě yuè xià yuè dà.
雪越下越大。
(The) snow (-) (the more it) goes-down(, the) bigger (it is).
Nǐ de Zhōngwén yuè shuō yuè hǎo le.
你的中文越说越好了。
Your Chinese (-) (the more it is being) spoken(, the) better (it is).

Yuè wǎng běi, tiānqì yuè lěng.
越往北，天气越冷。
(The more) (it is) towards (the) north, (the) colder (the) weather (is).
Shān yuè gāo, lù yuè nán zǒu.
山越高，路越难走。
(The) taller (the) mountain (is), (the more) difficult-to-walk (it is).

Nǐ yuè zháojí, shìqing yuè zuò bu hǎo.
你越着急，事情越做不好。
(The more) impatient-and-anxious you (are),(the less likely) things have-the-potential-to-be-able-to (be)-done-well.
Yīshēng zhè ge gōngzuò, gàn de shíjiān yuè cháng, zhuàn de qián yuè duō.
医生这个工作，干的时间越长，赚的钱越多。
This “ge” (of) job (of being a) doctor, (the) longer time (one) does (it), (the) more (the) money (they) make.

Grammar 2. 不太……

bú tài...... ▸ not very; not quite

When using 不太, we follow this structure:

不太 + adj. / some v.

否定副词 (fǒudìng fùcí ▸ Negative adv.)	程度副词 (chéngdù fùcí ▸ adv. of Degree)	+ adj. + some v.
bú 不 not	tài 太 too
not very; not quite; 有点

See also 有点 (yǒudiǎn ▸ to reach the evaluation of "a little bit"). L12.2

For example,

(1) 不太 + adj.

bú tài ’ānjìng
不太安静
not very quiet
bú tài duì
不太对
not very correct
bú tài duō
不太多
not very much/many

(2) 不太 + v.

bú tài rènshi
不太认识
not quite know
bú tài xīwàng
不太希望
not quite hope
bú tài kěnéng
不太可能
not quite “being possible”

Below are more example sentences:

(1) 不太 + adj.

Suīrán guò le zhème duō nián, dànshì tā de biànhuà bú tài dà.
虽然过了这么多年，但是他的变化不太大。
Though (it has) gone-pass so many years, but his changes (are) not very big.
Wǒ xiànzài bú tài ’è, hái chī bu xià zhème duō dōngxi.
我现在不太饿，还吃不下这么多东西。
I now (am) not very hungry, (I) still do-not-have-the-potential-to-be-able-to eat this much stuff.

(2) 不太 + v.

Jítā wǒ zhēnde bú tài huì.
吉他我真的不太会。
Guitar (-) I really (do) not quite know-how-to-do.
Wǒ bú tài xiǎng bǎ háizi sòng huí nà suǒ xuéxiào.
我不太想把孩子送回那所学校。
I (do) not quite want to “ba{indicating the handling of}” child send-back-to that “suo” (of) school.

Review. 程度副词和表示程度的短语

Chéngdù Fùcí Hé Qítā Biǎo Chéngdù De Duǎnyǔ ▸ Adverbs Of Degree & Phrases That Indicate “Degree”

PINYIN		Literal Translation	Liberal Translation
tǐng	挺	very	very; pretty
hěn	很	very	very; pretty
fēicháng	非常	unusually	very
tèbié	特别	especially	quite
tài	太	too	overly; too
gèng	更	more
zuì	最	the most
duōme/duō	多么/多	so (!)
yǒu(yì)diǎn(r)	有(一)点(儿)	to reach the evaluation of "a little bit"	“kind of”; “a little bit”
bùzěnme	不怎么	not how	not very; not quiet; not so
yuè (yuèláiyuè / yuè A yuè B)	越 (越来越 / 越A越B)	used(repeatedly) to indicate that the degree changes as the condition changes (more and more; less and less / the more A the more B; the less A the less B)
bútài	不太	not too; not quite	not too; not quite