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
• 昨晚 喝 了 很 多 啤酒 的 那 个 人The person that drank a lot of beer yesterday night

See also

• Modifying nouns with adjective + de
• Expressing possession

Sources and Further Reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 76) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 39) →buy