orbital on November 26, 2011 | reply

Maybe Echo can confirm this, but as I understand it only the first is correct. So you can say 他有点儿忙, "he's a bit busy") but you would never say 他忙点儿.

That said, some adjectives are also verbs 开心. And you can using 点儿 after some of them when you're giving orders or talking about the degree of change. So you'll hear people say things like 开心点儿, where it means something like "cheer up". But I don't think you can use it with every verb, because there are some where it doesn't make sense.

I personally find the difference between verbs and adjectives so subtle in Chinese (which ones are just adjectives and which ones are also verbs) that for me a lot of usage boils down to just hearing what people say and trying to just internalize which you can use with which. If there's an easier way, hopefully Echo can share it. :)

pefferie on November 28, 2011 | reply

@orbital, what about:

累一点儿忙一点儿都没关系. I think it's correct (got this from baidu).

j.stewartwallace on November 27, 2011 | reply

Hi Orbital and thanks for the response. Maybe I am mistranslating the notes but doesn't it say that you can put 一点儿 after an adjective too????

Echo on November 28, 2011 | reply

Using 有点儿 before an adjective indicates how you feel, especially about something you are not satisfied. For instance, 这件衣服有点儿贵, or 我最近有点儿忙. Using 一点儿 after an adjective is usually to compare things/situations and make your requirements. For instance, 这件衣服有点儿贵，便宜一点儿可以吗？他再开心一点儿就更好了。

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com

j.stewartwallace on November 28, 2011 | reply

谢谢你们！