Exclamations: 太…了, 真…, 非常, 特别
句类 / sentence types (感叹句)
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
To react emotionally, intensify the adjective:
太 + Adj + 了: "too" (criticism) or "so…!" (enthusiasm) depending on context: 太贵了!(way too expensive!), 太好吃了!(so delicious!).
真 + Adj: "really", a spontaneous exclamation: 这个菜真辣!
非常 / 特别 + Adj: "very, extremely", more descriptive and neutral.
In the negative, 不太 softens: 不太好 = not great.
Examples
这个鱼太好吃了!
Zhège yú tài hǎochī le!This fish is so good!
今天的菜真辣!
Jīntiān de cài zhēn là!Today's food is really spicy!
这家饭馆特别有名。
Zhè jiā fànguǎn tèbié yǒumíng.This restaurant is especially famous.
我不太饿,吃一点儿就行。
Wǒ bú tài è, chī yìdiǎnr jiù xíng.I'm not very hungry, just a little is fine.
Common mistakes
Don't forget 了: ✗ 太贵! → ✓ 太贵了!
真 doesn't sit well in front of 的 + noun: ✗ 他是真好的人 → ✓ 他人真好 / 他是一个非常好的人.