{{Grammar Box}} In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de), placed after the "owner" noun or noun phrase. This particle works in a similar way to apostrophe-"s" in English, but is used much more broadly in Chinese. This article highlights one of its simplest and most common usages. == Structure ==
Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2
This means "'''Noun 1's Noun 2'''" (where Noun 2 belongs to Noun 1). The structure is super simple. It will take a bit of time before you realize how truly universal this pattern is. It doesn't matter whether the "Noun 1" is a person, place, or thing, or even if it's a pronoun (like "he," "she," or "it"). The structure stays consistent. == Examples ==
* 我 的 老师 wǒ de lǎoshīmy teacher * 你 的 手机 nǐ de shǒujī your cell phone * 我们 的 钱 wǒmen de qiánour money * 他们 的 东西 tāmen de dōngxitheir stuff * 爸爸 的 车 bàba de chē dad's car * 你们 的 菜 nǐmen de càiyour food * 北京 的 空气 Běijīng de kōngqì Beijing's air * 公司 的 老板gōngsī de lǎobǎnthe company's boss * 上海 的 天气 Shànghǎi de tiānqì Shanghai's weather * 老师 的 朋友 lǎoshī de péngyouteacher's friend
==See also== *[[Expressing close possession]] *[[Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"]] *[[Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"]] == Sources and further reading == * [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (p. 45) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy] * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (p. 87) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy] * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 101-2) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy] * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)]] (pp. 64-5) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561911297 →buy] [[Category:A1 grammar points]] {{Used for|Expressing possession}} {{Basic Grammar|的|A1|Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2|我 的 老师|grammar point|ASGUHQD2}} {{Similar|Expressing close possession without "de"}} {{Similar|Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"}} {{Similar|Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"}} {{POS|Particles}} {{Translation|My}} {{Translation|His}} {{Translation|Her}} {{Translation|Their}} {{Translation|Our}}