Describing a State

Level 1

An adjective phrase can describe a subject without am, is or are in casual Singlish: This soup very hot. Degree words, context and intonation help shape the clause; full be forms also occur.

How It Works

An adjective can be the main description in a casual clause. This soup very hot has a subject and a description even though is is unspoken. Very, quite, a bit and the situation can help make the intended state clear.

This is a native clause pattern, not an instruction to remove be everywhere. Full forms such as This soup is very hot are also usable. The choice depends on the predicate, speaker and context. Preserve the distinction between a state and an action: hot describes the soup, while heat names an action performed on something.

Examples (4)

  1. This soup very hot.

    This soup is very hot.

  2. My shoes a bit wet.

    My shoes are a little wet.

  3. Today the queue quite long.

    The queue is quite long today.

  4. Your room so bright.

    Your room is so bright.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Describing a StateLevel 1

Learn This First

Use a simple statement to distinguish its subject from the describing predicate.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.