1. Number: Like Chinese verbs, Chinese nouns do not differentiate between singular and plural. Thus English“ a book”and“ books”is expressed same as 书 in Chinese. 2. Structural particle 的: The structural particle ao indicates that the word or phrase preceding it functions as an attributive which defines or modifies the noun or noun phrase that comes after it. For example: 好的车 hǎo de chē good cars 很忙的大夫 hěn máng de dàifu a very busy doctor 我的爸 爸 wǒ de baba my father 她妈妈的书 tā mama de shū her mom’s books In general, the particle ao comes in as a link marker between the modifier and the noun or the noun phrase modified. But, there are some cases in which o is optional: A. Where personal pronouns modify words denoting people in close relationship to them: 她( )爸爸 Tā( )bàba her father 我们( )哥哥 Wǒmen( )gēge our older brother 你( )朋友 Nǐ( )péngyou your friends BB. Where monosyllabic adjectives modify nouns or noun phrases: 好( )哥哥 hǎo( )gēge good older brother 好( )车 hǎo( )chē good cars There are some other cases, which we’ll discuss in the lessons to come. 3. The classificatory verb 是: The verb 是 acts as a link between the subject and a description of it-usually a way of identifying it. For instance: 他是大夫。 Tā shì dàifu. He is a doctor. To negate 是 use 不: 她不是我妈妈。 Tā bú shì wǒ māma. She is not my mom. To form a simple question, you just add interrogative particle ?U at the end of a statement: 这是你的车吗? Zhè shì nǐ de chē ma? Is this your car?