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 hao de che good cars 很忙的大夫 hen mang de daifu a very busy doctor 我的爸 爸 wo de baba my father 她妈妈的书 ta mama de shu 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 ta baba her father 我们( )哥哥 women gege our older brother 你( )朋友 ni pengyou your friends BB. Where monosyllabic adjectives modify nouns or noun phrases: 好( )哥哥 hao gege good older brother 好( )车 hao che 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。 Ta shi daifu. He is a doctor. To negate 是 use 不: 她不是我妈妈。 Ta bu shi wo mama. 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? Zhe shi nide che ma?