The book I'm reading says there is a slight difference of meaning between these two sentences. I can't really grasp the difference. Do you agree with my book?
- 你没有他的勤奋。
- 你没有他勤奋。
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Are you able to cite the book and quote their explanation? It would improve the question.– Becky 李蓓 ♦Commented Jul 29, 2022 at 23:44
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Didn't quote the book, because I didn't want to put words in peoples' mouths. I wanted to see what their gut reaction was.– PedroskiCommented Jul 30, 2022 at 7:22
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2 Answers
你没有他的勤奋。// you don't have his trait of being diligent.
你没有他勤奋。// You are not so diligent as he is.
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@Pedroski You should put words in a context. Sometimes, the sentence structure would change if we omit 的. The sentence you questioned on is the very example.– danCommented Jul 30, 2022 at 9:21
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Most adjectives in chinese can be used as nouns. The differences are the context that being emphasized. To me, using adjectives as nouns highlights the adjective.– Meng CaoCommented Aug 4, 2022 at 19:45
If you look at these two sentences separately out of context, the former refers to the qualities of A without B's diligent spirit and attitude. The latter refers to A's diligence being lower than B's (the underlying implication is that the former is more like A is not diligent and B is diligent, and the latter is more like A than B is not diligent enough). ）
