Modifying nouns with adjective + "de"
-
Level
-
Similar to
-
Used for
-
Keywords
One of the best ways to use the common character 的 (de) is to spice up your nouns with adjectives. By using 的 (de), we can connect descriptive adjectives to otherwise boring nouns.
Contents
With a noun
Structure
A very common way to modify nouns is to attach an adjective to them using 的 (de).
Adj. + 的 + Noun
This structure comes up extremely frequently and is an easy way to attribute features to nouns. Note that if the adjective has two characters (e.g. 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 高兴 (gāoxìng)), the 的 (de) is generally required.
Examples
- 漂亮 的 女孩儿 Beautiful girl.
- 辣 的 菜 Spicy food.
- 可爱 的 宝宝 A cute baby.
- 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 I like fresh fruit juice.
- 他 常常 买 便宜 的 东西。 He often buys cheap stuff.
Without a noun
Structure
In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun altogether, and just use the adjective + 的 (de). This is another example of the uses of "shi... de", where the 是 (shì) is present because it is connecting to a noun, and the 的 (de) is taking the place of the noun. For this usage to work, there already has to be context, so that the listener can understand what the phrase is actually referring to. Without context, there would be no way to know what the 的 (de) meant. Often, this construction can mean "one," as in "the blue one", or as something like "mine" or "Sarah's" if the noun that precedes it possesses the noun that is being dropped. Be careful though, if there is only going to be an adjective (without a 的 (de) and an implied noun) you can't use 是 (shì). In that case, you would have to use 很 (hěn).
Examples
- A: 奶奶 喜欢 吃 什么 东西 ？What food does grandma like to eat?
- B: 甜 的 。 Sweet food.
- A:你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩？ What kind of girls do you like?
- B: 年轻 漂亮 的 。 Young and pretty ones.
- A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ？ Which country's beer do you like to drink?
- B: 德国 的 。 Germany's.
- A: 你想 找 什么样 的 男朋友？ What kind of boyfriend do you want to find?
- B: 有钱 的 。 A rich one.
- A: 你 喜欢 教 什么样 的 学生？ What kind of students do you like to teach?
- B: 认真 的 。 Dedicated ones.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 70-1) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (p. 37) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 191, 233) →buy
- Yufa! (pp. 37) →buy
