When is a degree required? or: hai6 vs hou2 vs gei I am trying to learn Cantonese. 

I want to be able to say (speak, not write) after a meal:


  I am full.


Which I could translate directory to:


  Ngo5 hai6 baau2


But, my local (student in HK) friend says this is incorrect and that the following is preferred:


  Ngo5 hou2 baau2


Which I would read as


  I very full


Sentences like this come up quite often, where sometimes I need to say the verb hai6, or sometimes a "degree" such as hou2 and additionally gei(unsure of tone or meaning) has been suggested.

What is the correct structure of a sentence where you want to tell somebody your current state of being?
ngo5 hai6 baau2


--> 我係飽 is "unnatural", hmmm, non-native way to express.


  ngo5 hou2 baau2


--> 我好飽

native way to say it :)

just like the english "being", in other language, the verb changes:

i'm 70 years old 

(being is used to describe age), which is translated to:

j'ai 70 ans

(avoir [to have], is used, not être [to be]; then, in cantonese, it should be:

我七十歲

technically, the verb is omitted


  gei(unsure of tone or meaning) 


it is 嘅(u+5605), roughly "my, his, her, their"; ask you friend how to pronounce it ;-)

last, i would suggest learning cantonese from dramas, videos, and news, forget grammar books.

have fun :)