Differences between "Verb + Adj", "Adj + Verb", "Verb + 得 + Adj" and "Adj + 地 + Verb"?

Question

I am having some difficulties understanding the differences in meaning between the following structures (the examples are from Line dictionary):

1. Verb + Adj

   e.g:

   走快了她会累。

   Zŏu kuài le tā huì lĕi.

   Walking quickly tires her.

2. Adj + Verb

   e.g:

   我们快走。

   Wŏmen kuài zŏu.

   Let's go!

3. Verb + 得 + Adj

   e.g:

   你的表走得快，还是走得慢?

   Nĭ de biăo zŏudékuài，háishì zŏudémàn?

   Does your watch gain or lose?

4. Adj + 地 + Verb

   e.g:

   一个打杂的很快地走过来了。

   Yīgè dăzá de hĕnkuài dì zŏu guòlái le.

   Very soon a cleaner marched over.

I know this topic has been asked partially (except structures 1. and 2.) in:

Difference in MEANING (NOT structure) between 得 vs 地

what is difference using of "地" and "得"

的-地-得, when do you use which?

Answer 1

I will suggest my ideas (probably there are some mistakes, so please point them out). For each case I believe there can be several possibilities.

1. Verb + Adj :

   • Adj is an adverb defining or restricting the meaning of the Verb. For example,

     一个人会走快很多，但两个人好像更有趣。

     Yīgèrén huì zǒu kuài hěnduō, dàn liǎng gè rén hǎoxiàng gèng yǒuqù.

     One person walks a lot faster, but two people seem to be more interesting.

     Here, 快很多 is an adverb that specifies a relevant characteristic of the verb to walk. The important idea is not to walk but to walk a lot faster.

   • The ... + Verb is the subject of the adjectival verb Adj. For example:

     我们出去好。

     Wǒmen chūqù hǎo.

     It would be good if we go out.

     Here, 我们出去 (we go out) is the subject of the adjectival verb 好 (is good).

   • The Adj is the direct object of the Verb. For example:

     我觉得很惭愧。

     Wǒ juédé hěn cánkuì.

     I feel very embarassed.

     Here, 很惭愧 (very embarassed) is the direct object of the verb 觉得 (to feel).

2. Adj + Verb:

   • If the Adj is an adverb of time, it signals the time of the action. Such is the case of 快 which can also mean soon. For example:

     他快回来了。

     Tā kuài huíláile.

     He'll be back soon.

   • The Adj is actually a verb. For example:

     我每天都努力学习.

     Wǒ měitiān dū nǔlì xuéxí.

     I study hard every day.

     努力 is a verb meaning to make a great effort. So here we have Verb + Verb and 学习 is the direct object of the verb 努力: to make a great effort studying.

   • The Adj is placed in the topic position but the underlying structure is Verb + Adj. For example:

     这道题很难解。

     Zhè dào tí hěn nán jiě.

     This problem is difficult to solve.

     Here, 这道题很难 is the object + verb placed in the topic position. We can rearrange the sentence to its "natural" order:

     解这道题很难。

     Jiě zhè dào tí hěn nán.

     It is difficult to solve this problem.

     We see that actually 解这道题 (to solve this problem) is the subject of the adjectival verb 很难 (very difficult).

3. Verb + 得 + Adj: The adjective describes (instead of restricting) the manner or the result of the state of an action. For example:

   他走得很慢。

   Tā zǒu dé hěn màn.

   He walks (in a manner) very slowly.

   他教得累了。

   Tā jiào de lèile.

   He taught so much (to the result) that he is tired.

4. Adj + 地 + Verb: The Adj + 地 is an adverb that defines or restricts the manner in which the action is carried in a particular situation. Because of this, it can be used for commands. For example:

   你快快地跑。

   Nǐ kuài kuài dì pǎo.

   Run quickly!

Answer 2

The thing about descriptive phrases is, you can almost always leave them out. They are useful but unnecessary for minimal communication. If you have a long, complicated sentence, try to remove all descriptive phrases, then it will be much easier to understand.

1. 走快了她会累。-> 走了她会累。
   (If she) walks fast she gets tired. -> (If she) walks she gets tired.

You can gloss this as:

Walking fast makes her tired -> Walking makes her tired.

'Walking' is a gerund, a noun. 走 is then the Chinese equivalent of 'Walking' here.

2. 我们快走。-> 我们走。

We're leaving soon. -> We're leaving.
'leaving' is a gerundive, an adjective, but you can't leave it out too or you will be left with: We're.
(Nice to know you exist, but not much information)

3. 你的表走得快，还是走得慢? -> 你的表走得，还是走得? -> 你的表走，还是走?

(reductio ad absurdum, no information. You need the 得快、得慢 = how)

Does your watch go fast or go slow? -> Does your watch go or go? (fast and slow are the 'how' in 'Your watch goes how'?)

4. 一个打杂的很快地走过来了。-> 一个打杂的走过来了。
   A worker quickly came over. -> A worker came over.

(All these '->', I think I'm back in PHP!)