Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ juéde zhè wèi xiàozhǎng hěn guānxīn xuéshēng de shēnghuó hé jiànkāng. - I think this principal cares a lot about the students’ lives and health.

位 (wèi) is a polite measure word for people. It’s commonly used for people you want to show respect to, such as teachers, principals, doctors, guests, older people, etc.

这位校长 ≈ “this (respected) principal”
这个校长 is grammatically fine, but sounds more casual and a bit less respectful.

Using 位 here matches the respectful attitude toward a school principal.

What is the structure of 这位校长? Why is 这 before 位?

In Chinese, the pattern is:

[demonstrative] + [measure word] + [noun]

So:

这 = “this” (demonstrative)
位 = measure word for people (polite)
校长 = “principal”

Together: 这位校长 = “this principal”.
You normally cannot say 这校长 (no measure word) in standard written Chinese; you need 位, 个, etc.

Why is there a 很 before 关心? Does 很 always mean “very”?

Here 很 (hěn) is an adverb that means “very / quite / really”.

Because 关心 is a verb (“to care about”), 很关心 literally means “care about very much”. So in this sentence, 很 keeps its degree meaning:

关心学生的生活和健康 = “care about the students’ lives and health”
很关心学生的生活和健康 = “really care / care a lot about the students’ lives and health”

With adjectives used as predicates, 很 is often “weak” and can sometimes just be a linking word. But with a verb like 关心, it usually does mean “very / really” in a more literal way.

Could we drop 很 and just say 这位校长关心学生的生活和健康?

Yes.

这位校长关心学生的生活和健康 is perfectly correct and means “This principal cares about the students’ lives and health.”
这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康 adds more emphasis: “This principal really cares / cares a lot about the students’ lives and health.”

So 很 here is optional and adds intensity.

Why don’t we use 是? Why isn’t it 这位校长是很关心学生的生活和健康的?

The neutral statement in Chinese, when you describe what someone does or what they are like, usually does not need 是:

这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康。 (normal, neutral)

A sentence like:

这位校长是很关心学生的生活和健康的。

is possible, but it adds emphasis or contrast, roughly like: “This principal really is someone who cares about the students’ lives and health (as opposed to what you might think).”

So in most contexts, the simple version without 是...的 is preferred.

Why is there no plural marker 们 after 学生?

In Chinese, nouns usually do not change form for plural. Whether it means “student” or “students” is determined by context.

学生 can mean “student” or “students”.
学生们 is also possible, but it tends to emphasize “the individual students” as a group, and is often used when referring to a specific set of people you can picture.

In this sentence, 学生 clearly refers to students in general (all the students in the school), so 学生 without 们 is natural and typical.

How does 学生的生活和健康 work grammatically? What exactly does 的 connect?

The pattern is:

学生 + 的 + 生活和健康

Here 的 marks a possessive or attributive relationship:

学生的生活 = “students’ lives (daily life)”
学生的健康 = “students’ health”

Because 生活和健康 are joined by 和, they share the same 学生的 in front:

学生的生活和健康 = “the students’ lives and health”

So 的 belongs to 学生的, and that whole phrase modifies both 生活 and 健康.

Why is there only one 的? Can we say 学生的生活和学生的健康?

You can say 学生的生活和学生的健康, but it is more repetitive and less natural in everyday speech.

Chinese often puts 的 only once in front of a series of nouns:

学生的生活和健康
中国的历史和文化 (China’s history and culture)

So 学生的生活和健康 is the normal, concise version.

What is the difference between 生活 and 生命, both often translated as “life”?

生活 (shēnghuó): daily life, way of living, living conditions, lifestyle.
- 学生的生活 = the students’ daily life (study, food, family, activities, etc.)
生命 (shēngmìng): life in the sense of biological existence, being alive (vs. death).
- 保护生命 = protect life (as in not dying)

In this sentence, we are talking about how the students live and whether they are healthy, so 生活和健康 is appropriate, not 生命.

What does 关心 mean exactly, and how is it used?

关心 (guānxīn) is a verb meaning “to care about, be concerned about, pay attention to (someone’s situation)”. It often takes a direct object:

关心学生 = care about the students
关心学生的生活和健康 = care about the students’ lives and health

It can also be used as a noun in some patterns, but here it is clearly a verb.

How is 关心 different from 在乎, 关怀, or 爱护?

关心: to care about, pay attention to (someone’s situation, welfare). Neutral, common, and widely used.
在乎: to mind, to care about (often emotional or personal concern: “Do you care if…?” “I don’t care”).
- 你在乎别人的看法吗？ = Do you care about others’ opinions?
关怀: to show care/solicitude, often more formal/literary, or suggests warm, considerate care.
爱护: to cherish and protect, to take good care of (people, animals, or things).

For a principal caring about students’ well-being, 关心 is the most natural and neutral choice.

Can we change the structure to 对学生的生活和健康很关心? What’s the difference?

Yes:

这位校长对学生的生活和健康很关心。

This is also correct and common. The pattern is:

对 + [object] + 很关心

Meaning is similar: “This principal really cares about the students’ lives and health.”

Difference in feel:

很关心学生的生活和健康: the verb 关心 directly takes the object.
对学生的生活和健康很关心: emphasizes the “direction” of the concern using 对, like “with regard to / toward the students’ lives and health, (he) is very concerned.”

Both are natural.

What is the role of 和 in 生活和健康? Can 和 join anything, like English “and”?

Here 和 (hé) simply means “and” and joins two nouns:

生活和健康 = “life (daily living) and health”

和 is mainly used to join nouns/noun phrases and sometimes verbs. It cannot be used as freely as English “and” to join full clauses in all cases. For whole sentences, Chinese often uses other structures (like 而且, 然后, or just putting the clauses together without a conjunction).

What is the overall structure of 我觉得这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康?

There is a main verb 觉得 and its content clause:

我觉得 = “I think / I feel”
这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康 = “this principal really cares about the students’ lives and health”

So the structure is:

[Subject: 我] + [Verb: 觉得] + [Clause as object: 这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康]

Is there a difference between 我觉得 and 我认为 here?

Both can mean “I think”, but:

觉得: more colloquial and emotional, often based on personal feeling or impression. Very common in speech.
认为: more formal and logical, often used in writing, discussions, or when giving a reasoned opinion.

In everyday speech, 我觉得这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康 is the natural choice.
我认为这位校长很关心学生的生活和健康 sounds a bit more formal or written.

How should I pronounce 觉得? Why is it juéde and not juédé?

觉 in 觉得 is pronounced jué (second character in pinyin is jué with second tone).
得 here is a neutral-tone particle, written in dictionaries as de (no tone mark).

So:

觉得 = juéde (2nd tone + neutral tone)

You do not pronounce the second syllable as a full tone (not juédé). The neutral tone is short and light.