In English, when you refer to "this table" or "that girl" you only need
two words: "this" or "that" plus the noun you're referring to. In
Chinese, though, you also need a [measure word](measure_word "wikilink")
in the middle between the two. In the very beginning you can get away
with using [个 (gè)](Measure_word_%22ge%22 "wikilink") for everything,
but pretty soon you're going to have to start using other measure words
in these simple phrases.

Structure
---------

If you use 这 (zhè) or 那 (nà) before a noun, you also need to include a
[measure word](measure_word "wikilink") before the noun.

<div class="jiegou">
这 / 那 + Measure Word + Noun

</div>
Examples
--------

Note: In this usage, the tone of 个 (gè) tends to soften, so it's
represented below as a neutral tone.

<div class="liju">
-   <em>那</em> <strong>个</strong> 人 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>nà</em><strong>ge</strong> rén</span><span class="trans">that
    person</span>
-   <em>这</em> <strong>本</strong> 书 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>zhè</em> <strong>běn</strong> shū</span><span class="trans">this
    book</span>
-   <em>那</em> <strong>件</strong> 事 <span class="pinyin"> <em>nà</em>
    <strong>jiàn</strong> shì</span><span class="trans">that matter (in
    the sense of business, affair, or thing)</span>
-   <em>这</em> <strong>瓶</strong> 啤酒 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>zhè</em> <strong>píng</strong>
    píjiǔ</span><span class="trans">this bottle of beer</span>
-   <em>那</em> <strong>个</strong> 房间 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>nà</em><strong>ge</strong>
    fángjiān</span><span class="trans">that room</span>
-   <em>那</em> <strong>台</strong> 电脑 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>nà</em> <strong>tái</strong>
    diànnǎo</span><span class="trans">that new computer</span>
-   <em>这</em> <strong>只</strong> 猫 <span class="pinyin">
    <em>zhè</em> <strong>zhī</strong> māo</span><span class="trans">that
    cat</span>
-   <em>那</em> <strong>条</strong> 河 <span class="pinyin"> <em>nà</em>
    <strong>tiáo</strong> hé </span><span class="trans">that
    river</span>
-   <em>这</em> <strong>件</strong> 衣服
    <span class="pinyin"><em>zhè</em> <strong>jiàn</strong> yīfu
    </span><span class="trans">this piece of clothing</span>

</div>
Although we didn't get into it here, the same pattern holds true when
you use 哪 (nǎ) to ask "which?"

See also
--------

-   ["Some" Using "yixie"]("Some"_Using_"yixie" "wikilink")
-   [Measure words in quantity
    questions](Measure_words_in_quantity_questions "wikilink")
-   [Measure Words for Verbs](Measure_Words_for_Verbs "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Basic Patterns of Chinese
    Grammar](Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar "wikilink") (p. 33)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")
[Category:Measure words](Category:Measure_words "wikilink")