<p>他演讲得很精彩 sounds unnatural because we mainly use 演讲 as a noun
for 'speech'. It is also possible to use it as a verb for 'to make a speech' in some context, e.g. 明天要上台演讲 (have to go on stage to make a speech tomorrow)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Use 演讲 as a noun and say &quot;他的演讲很精彩&quot; is the most natural way to phrase it.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If you must use 演讲 as a verb, it is more natural to say 他演讲讲得很精彩 or simply &quot;(這次演讲 - implied topic)他讲得很精彩&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p>In most cases, the verb 演讲 can be reduced to just 讲</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>明天要上台演讲黑暗物質的理論 --&gt; 明天要上台讲黑暗物質的理論 (when you speak on a stage, it is giving a lecture/ speech)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T04:12:35.617Z
2021-05-19T20:16:05.897Z
2021-05-19T20:16:05.897Z
Tang Ho
<p>Yes, it is correct. 演讲 can function as either a verb or a noun.</p>
<p>他演讲得很精彩</p>
<p>He speaks brilliantly.</p>
<p>演讲（verb) to speak in public/ orate/ give a speech</p>
<p>精彩 (adverb) brilliantly, wonderfully</p>
<p>他的演讲很精彩</p>
<p>His speech is brilliant.</p>
<p>演讲（noun) speech/ oration</p>
<p>精彩 (adjective) brilliant, wonderful</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T04:06:12.707Z
2021-05-19T04:06:12.707Z
monalisa
<ol>
<li><p>In terms of grammar, it is correct. <code>演講</code> can be either a verb ('to lecture') or a noun ('lecture'); here it is a verb. It means 'He lectures wonderfully'.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Personally I would phrase it like <code>他的演講很精彩</code> ('His lecture was wonderful'). Although nominalisation is a feature of westernised Chinese (歐化中文), it is okay when used sparingly and properly. That is to say this is a matter of style, not of grammar.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T04:01:49.900Z
2021-05-19T04:18:33.217Z
2021-05-19T04:18:33.217Z
L Parker
<p>Based on the corresponding <em>English</em> grammar, this sentence is correct.</p>
<p>&quot;演讲&quot; is a verb. We judge it by the word &quot;得&quot;, which is usually just after the verb.</p>
<hr />
<p>However, I would like to say &quot;他讲得很精彩&quot; and &quot;他的演讲很精彩&quot; instead of &quot;他演讲得很精彩&quot;.</p>
<p>演讲 means that lots of people seriously listen professional talk about something in a hall.</p>
<p>We view this a bit formal scenario as a noun in Chinese.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If our emphasis is 精彩, a formal word to illustrate this talk is
redundant, 讲 is completely okay.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If our point is indeed the presentation itself, as I said, 演讲 should act as a noun.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T14:31:17.843Z
2021-05-19T14:31:17.843Z
Royun
<p>演 and 讲 both are verbs if used separately, but together, 演讲 (an event), is a noun. The example sentence essentially has no verb, thus, while understandable, it is not Grammarly correct, nor sounded good.</p>
<p>The correct way should be 他的演讲說得很精彩, in which 說 is the verb. Or 他讲得很精彩, here, 讲 is the verb.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:03:51.027Z
演讲 in 明天要上台演讲 is a verb; 演讲 in 明天要上台發表演讲  is a noun
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:42:52.603Z
@Tang Ho IMO, in the example, 演 (perform) is the verb, 讲 (speech) is the noun. The English equivalent is "..... to perform a speech tomorrow".
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T22:57:41.413Z
'to perform a speech' is a verb phrase, just like 攻城 (to siege a castle/city) is a verb phrase despite 城 being a noun. '明天要上台演讲'  means 'have to go on stage to perform a speech' in which 演讲 (perform a speech) is a verb
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T23:03:34.753Z
演奏, 演唱, 演讲 are the same kind of verbs (表演奏樂; 表演唱歌; 表演讲說)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T23:10:20.453Z
@Tang Ho 奏, 唱, 讲, all are verbs of individual acts without 演. 奏楽, 唱歌, 讲課.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T23:14:03.803Z
both 演 and 奏  are verbs, 演奏 is a serial verb
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T23:16:30.520Z
Could be. If there is a so-called "serial verb" which I am not aware of. Could be "動詞片語" though.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T23:17:00.430Z
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/124456/discussion-between-tang-ho-and-r13).
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T09:53:07.843Z
In "他演讲"(an extremely simple sentence), There is not any 宾语. It is just a 主谓句. In Mandarin, there are few 单音词 - the words made up with only one Chinese character. It is more common in ancient Chinese. So "讲" is not a word(when we view it as a noun) because it is not in line with the expression habits of modern Chinese.
宾语 must be nouns or pronouns. If "讲" is not a noun, it cannot be the 宾语. When I searched the dictionary, I even cannot find the noun 讲. So, I agree with @TangHo.
T-Pioneer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-19T21:19:45.457Z
2021-05-19T21:19:45.457Z
r13
<p>I want to ask, “他演讲得很精彩”, is this sentence correct or not?
Is “演讲”  a verb or a noun?</p>

<grammar><vocabulary>
“他演讲得很精彩”, is this sentence grammatically correct?
# “他演讲得很精彩”, is this sentence grammatically correct?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-19)

I want to ask, “他演讲得很精彩”, is this sentence correct or not?
Is “演讲” a verb or a noun?

**Tags:** grammar, vocabulary


---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-05-19. Score: 3

他演讲得很精彩 sounds unnatural because we mainly use 演讲 as a noun
for 'speech'. It is also possible to use it as a verb for 'to make a speech' in some context, e.g. 明天要上台演讲 (have to go on stage to make a speech tomorrow)

* Use 演讲 as a noun and say "他的演讲很精彩" is the most natural way to phrase it.
* If you must use 演讲 as a verb, it is more natural to say 他演讲讲得很精彩 or simply "(這次演讲 - implied topic)他讲得很精彩"
* In most cases, the verb 演讲 can be reduced to just 讲

Example:

明天要上台演讲黑暗物質的理論 --> 明天要上台讲黑暗物質的理論 (when you speak on a stage, it is giving a lecture/ speech)


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-05-19. Score: 2

Yes, it is correct. 演讲 can function as either a verb or a noun.

他演讲得很精彩

He speaks brilliantly.

演讲（verb) to speak in public/ orate/ give a speech

精彩 (adverb) brilliantly, wonderfully

他的演讲很精彩

His speech is brilliant.

演讲（noun) speech/ oration

精彩 (adjective) brilliant, wonderful


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2021-05-19. Score: 2

1. In terms of grammar, it is correct. `演講` can be either a verb ('to lecture') or a noun ('lecture'); here it is a verb. It means 'He lectures wonderfully'.
2. Personally I would phrase it like `他的演講很精彩` ('His lecture was wonderful'). Although nominalisation is a feature of westernised Chinese (歐化中文), it is okay when used sparingly and properly. That is to say this is a matter of style, not of grammar.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2021-05-19. Score: 1

Based on the corresponding *English* grammar, this sentence is correct.

"演讲" is a verb. We judge it by the word "得", which is usually just after the verb.

---

However, I would like to say "他讲得很精彩" and "他的演讲很精彩" instead of "他演讲得很精彩".

演讲 means that lots of people seriously listen professional talk about something in a hall.

We view this a bit formal scenario as a noun in Chinese.

1. If our emphasis is 精彩, a formal word to illustrate this talk is
   redundant, 讲 is completely okay.
2. If our point is indeed the presentation itself, as I said, 演讲 should act as a noun.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2021-05-19. Score: 1

演 and 讲 both are verbs if used separately, but together, 演讲 (an event), is a noun. The example sentence essentially has no verb, thus, while understandable, it is not Grammarly correct, nor sounded good.

The correct way should be 他的演讲說得很精彩, in which 說 is the verb. Or 他讲得很精彩, here, 讲 is the verb.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 演讲 in 明天要上台演讲 is a verb; 演讲 in 明天要上台發表演讲  is a noun  
> **username_5**: @username_1 IMO, in the example, 演 (perform) is the verb, 讲 (speech) is the noun. The English equivalent is "..... to perform a speech tomorrow".  
> **username_1**: 'to perform a speech' is a verb phrase, just like 攻城 (to siege a castle/city) is a verb phrase despite 城 being a noun. '明天要上台演讲'  means 'have to go on stage to perform a speech' in which 演讲 (perform a speech) is a verb  
> **username_1**: 演奏, 演唱, 演讲 are the same kind of verbs (表演奏樂; 表演唱歌; 表演讲說)  
> **username_5**: @username_1 奏, 唱, 讲, all are verbs of individual acts without 演. 奏楽, 唱歌, 讲課.  
> **username_1**: both 演 and 奏  are verbs, 演奏 is a serial verb  
> **username_5**: Could be. If there is a so-called "serial verb" which I am not aware of. Could be "動詞片語" though.  
> **username_1**: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/124456/discussion-between-tang-ho-and-username_5).  
> **username_6**: In "他演讲"(an extremely simple sentence), There is not any 宾语. It is just a 主谓句. In Mandarin, there are few 单音词 - the words made up with only one Chinese character. It is more common in ancient Chinese. So "讲" is not a word(when we view it as a noun) because it is not in line with the expression habits of modern Chinese. 宾语 must be nouns or pronouns. If "讲" is not a noun, it cannot be the 宾语. When I searched the dictionary, I even cannot find the noun 讲. So, I agree with @TangHo.  

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