Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"

In addition to linking adjectives to nouns, 的 (de) can also be used to link a phrase to a noun, making the already useful 的 (de) even more useful.

Structure

As well as attaching adjectives to nouns, 的 (de) can be used to attach whole phrases to nouns. In English this is often achieved with "who" or "that", e.g. in "The man who went to Beijing" or "The book that I bought yesterday".

Phrase + 的 + Noun

Here a phrase means Verb + (Object).

Examples

• 去 北京 的 火车The train that goes to Beijing.
• 今天 来 的 人The people that come today.
• 我们昨天吃 的 饭The food that we had yesterday.
• 上个星期参观 的 地方The place we visited last week.
• 上午来我家 的 朋友The friends that came to my house this afternoon.
• 他们上周末去 的 公园The park they went to last weekend.
• 今天来上课 的 老师The teacher that came to the class today.
• 去年在上海买 的 衣服The clothes that were bought last year in Shanghai.
• 你今年夏天访问 的 城市The city that you visited this summer.
• 昨晚 喝 了 很 多 啤酒 的 那 个 人That person that drank a lot of beer last night.

See also

• Modifying nouns with adjective + de
• Expressing possession

Sources and Further Reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 76) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 107-8) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 39) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 141)→buy