The genitive particle 的 de is used to describe nouns. The description of the noun is placed before 的 de . In this construction the description can take the following forms.
很 好 的 书
a very good book .
However, a monosyllabic adjective such as 好 hăo good or 忙 máng busy is often placed before a noun without 的 de to form an adjective-noun phrase, as in 好书 hăoshū ( a) good book, 好老师 hăo lăoshī ( a) good teacher, 忙人 máng rén ( a) busy person.
小 王 买 的 书 很 好
The book that Xiao Wang has bought is very good .
Subject |
Predicate |
书 (noun) ↑ |
← 好 (stative verb) ↑ |
买 (verb) 的 (genitive particle) |
很 (adverbial intensifier) |
↑ |
|
小王 (proper noun)
The main sentence is 书很好 shū hěn hăo, which means the book is very good, and the description for the book is: that Xiao Wang bought 小王买 Xiăo Wáng măi, which is placed before the particle 的 de .
However, 的 de is not used in the following situations.
Sometimes the nouns after 的 de are left out to avoid repetition, but the omitted noun(s) should be obvious to the listener. For instance,
他的 书 很 多 , 中 文 的 , 英 文 的 , 都 有
tā de shū hěn duō Zhōngwén de , Yīngwén de , dōu yŏu
He has many books; Chinese ones, English ones, he has them all .
It is clear to a listener that the omitted noun in the sentence is 书 shū books.
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Translate the sentences into Chinese. (15, de)
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Frequently asked questions
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1. When can I use the 的 construction?
2. How do I form the 的 construction?
4. Do I always have to use 的 when I use an adjective to describe a noun?
5. When can a possessive 的 be omitted?
8. Four "don’ts" for describing nouns.