Difference between revisions of "Expressing possession with "de""

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In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的. This particle work's in a similar way to 's (apostrophe s) in English, but is used much more widely.
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In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de). This particle works in a similar way to 's (apostrophe s) in English, but is used much more widely.
  
 
== Structure ==
 
== Structure ==
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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.
 
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.
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* 我 <em>的</em> 啤酒。 <span class="expl">("my beer")</span>
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* 我 <em>的</em> 啤酒。 <span class="trans">my beer</span>
* 你 <em>的</em> 葡萄酒。 <span class="expl">("your wine")</span>
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* 你 <em>的</em> 葡萄酒。 <span class="trans">your wine</span>
* 他 <em>的</em> 书。 <span class="expl">("his book")</span>
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* 他 <em>的</em> 书。 <span class="trans">his book</span>
* 他们 <em>的</em> 东西。 <span class="expl">("their stuff")</span>
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* 他们 <em>的</em> 东西。 <span class="trans">their stuff</span>
* 小李 <em>的</em> 手机。 <span class="expl">("Xiao Li's cell phone")</span>
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* 小李 <em>的</em> 手机。 <span class="trans">Xiao Li's cell phone</span>
  
 
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==See also==
 
==See also==
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*[[Expressing close possession]]
 
*[[Expressing close possession]]
 
*[[Modifying nouns with adjective + de]]
 
*[[Modifying nouns with adjective + de]]

Revision as of 03:34, 17 January 2013

In Chinese, possession is marked with the particle 的 (de). This particle works in a similar way to 's (apostrophe s) in English, but is used much more widely.

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

  • 啤酒。 my beer
  • 葡萄酒。 your wine
  • 书。 his book
  • 他们 东西。 their stuff
  • 小李 手机。 Xiao Li's cell phone

See also

Sources and further reading

Books