"This address is wrong."
Translation:这个地址是错的。
12 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Is there any natural-sounding way of saying this without the 的?
这个地址是错?
这个地址错?
这个地址艮错?
1623
Can someone help explain the grammar of 是错的 ? Google says 错的 is an adjective that means "incorrect." I'm used to seeing a 很 or 不 before adjectives, but this phrase has neither. Why is that?
Well, in chinese the meaning of the word depends on its place in the sentence
错的地址 -- wrong adress 地址是错的 -- the adress is a wrong one
So, if 错的 is in front of other noun it is the adjective ''wrong''. But if it's on itself it is the noun ''wrong one''. Therefore the best way (the closest one grammaricly) to translate the sentence 这个地址是错的 is ''This adress is a wrong one''
- 1068
很 is a dummy adverb but it still carries a meaning of "very" in some sense and can only be used on comparable adjectives. You can debate this, but in this case the address is either wrong or it's not, so you can't say what degree it's wrong and so can't use 很. You have to use the 是错的 construction.
Another word like this is 免费 (free of charge). Something is either free of charge or you have to pay for it, so you have to use 是免费的, not 很免费.
It can be left out, but it's more likely to be left out where "是...的" would surround a phrase, rather than a simple adjective, for example in "我（是）在报纸看到的" ("Wǒ (shì) zài bàozhǐ kàn dào de"), "I saw/read it in the newspaper".
