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plExplanations
Shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺 are common degree adverbs used to show the extent or intensity of an adjective or a verb. Verbs that can be modified by degree adverbs are modal verbs (néng 能 ‘can’, huì 会 ‘can’, kěyǐ 可以 ‘can’) or psychological verbs expressing feelings, an ability, or mental states (xǐhuān 喜欢 ‘to like’, ʼxiǎng 想 ’to want’, ài 爱 ‘to love’, xīwàng 希望 ‘to hope’). They share the basic function of expressing a stronger degree or emotion, but differ in intensity, register, and contextual appropriateness.
Structure
Basic structure
Shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别 usually appear before adjectives or verbs they modify. Tǐng 挺 also precedes adjectives or verbs but mostly requires the structural particle de 的 at the end of the sentence.
Note: In more colloquial context, it is possible to omit the structural particle 的
Tèbié 特别 can also be used as an adjective describing a quality or feature of something.
Negation
Shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺 are not typically negated by a preceding 不 in everyday speech. In negative sentences, speakers usually use bú tài 不太 + adjective or verbs expressing feelings instead.
However, the negative adverb bù 不 can appear after shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺. In this case, the negation applies to the following adjective or verb, and the degree adverb still shows high intensity.
The structure ‘shífēn / tèbié / tǐng + bù 不 + adjective or mental-state verb’ expresses a strong negative attitude, roughly similar to ‘really not’ or ‘especially do not’. This pattern is especially common when the adjective or verb itself has a generally positive meaning.
Note: In spoken Chinese, the structure ‘bú (shì) tǐng 不(是)挺 + adjective / verb + de (ma) 的 (吗)？’ is often used rhetorically to express the opposite meaning — that something is true.
Questions
For the adverbs shífēn 十分 and tèbié 特别, yes-no questions are formed by placing the question particle ma 吗 at the end of the sentence. Degree adverbs are not used in A-not-A questions.
Note: shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺 cannot be used alone as short answer to a question.
With adverbs
Scope adverbs such as yě 也 ‘also’ and dōu 都 ‘both; all’ usually appear before the degree adverb.
Note: The same rule applies to temporal adverbs such as yǐjīng 已经 ‘already’, yīzhí 一直 ‘continuously’, yǒushíhòu 有时候 ‘sometimes’, gang 刚 ‘just’, and gānggāng 刚刚 ‘just now’. The degree adverb usually comes after the temporal adverb.
With modal verbs
When shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, or tǐng 挺 are used together with a modal verb, the degree adverb usually appears before the modal verb.
Functions
1. Expressing high degree
The main function of shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺 is to act as an intensifier that expresses a high degree of the adjective or the mental-state verb they modify. These three adverbs share a similar meaning but differ slightly in degree, register, and contextual appropriateness.
Shífēn 十分: is more formal, used in both spoken and written Chinese; it expresses a high and often objective degree.
Tèbié 特别: is more frequent in spoken Chinese; it expresses a high degree, often carrying subjectivity or emphasis.
Tǐng 挺: is colloquial and more informal; expresses a medium degree, usually neutral-to-positive in tone.
2. Expressing an emotion or attitude
These adverbs can reflect the speaker’s evaluation of or emotion toward a person, an object, or an activity. Besides adjectives, shífēn 十分, tèbié 特别, and tǐng 挺 often co-occur with verbs expressing mental state (e.g., xǐhuan 喜欢 ‘to like’, dānxīn 担心 ‘to worry’, guānxīn 关心 ‘to be concerned about’, mǎnyì 满意 ‘to be satisfied with’). They are not used with verbs that indicate physical actions.