Difference between revisions of "Modifying nouns with adjective + "de""

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*A: 你 要 哪 个 气球 ? B:我 要 那 个 <em>红色 的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">A: Nǐ yào nǎ gè qìqiú?  Wǒ yào nà gè <em>hóngsè de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">A: Which balloon do you want? B: I want that red one.</span>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 你 要 哪 个 气球 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yào nǎ gè qìqiú?</span><span class="trans">Which balloon do you want?</span></li>
*A: 你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩子 ? B: <em>漂亮的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">A: Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚháizi?  B: <em>Piàoliàng de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">A: What kind of girls do you like? B: Pretty ones.</span>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span>我 要 那 个 <em>红色 的</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yào nà gè <em>hóngsè de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">I want that red one.</span></li>
*A: 你 想 吃 什么 饼干 ? B: <em>甜的</em>。 <span class="pinyin">A: Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme bǐnggān?  B: <em>Tián de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">A: What cookie do you want to eat? B: A sweet one.</span>
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*A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ? B: <em>德国 的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">A: Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ?  B: <em>Déguó de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">A: Which country's beer do you like to drink? B: Germany's.</span>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span>你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩子? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚháizi?</span><span class="trans">What kind of girls do you like?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>漂亮的</em> 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Piàoliàng de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Pretty ones.</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 你 想 吃 什么 饼干 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme bǐnggān?</span><span class="trans">What cookie do you want to eat?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>甜的</em>。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Tián de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">A sweet one.</span></li>
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</ul>
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<li><span class="speaker">A:</span> 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ?</span> <span class="trans">Which country's beer do you like to drink?</span></li>
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<li><span class="speaker">B:</span> <em>德国 的</em> 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Déguó de</em>.</span> <span class="trans">Germany's.</span></li>
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Revision as of 03:38, 8 July 2015

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.

With a noun

Structure

A very common way to modify nouns is to attach an adjective to them using 的 (de).

Adjective + 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

  • 红 色 的 气球 hóngsè de qìqiúA red balloon.
  • 漂亮 的 女孩儿 piàoliang de nǚhái érBeautiful girl.
  • 好看 的 衣服 hǎokàn de yīfúBeautiful clothes.
  • 好喝 的 啤酒 hǎohē de píjiǔGreat-tasting beer.
  • 可爱 的 宝宝 kě'ài de bǎobǎoA cute baby.
  • 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xīnxiān de guǒzhī. I like fresh fruit juice.
  • 我 有 一 个 很 好 的 老师 。 Wǒ yǒu yī gè hěn hǎo de lǎoshī. I have a very good teacher.
  • 爸爸 给 了 我 一 个 很 旧 的 手机 。 Bàba gěi le wǒ yī gè hěn jiù de shǒujī. My dad gave me a very old phone.
  • 我 家 有 一 只 白 色 的 小狗 。 Wǒ jiā yǒu yī zhǐ báisè de xiǎogǒu. My family has a white puppy.

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: 你 要 哪 个 气球 ?Nǐ yào nǎ gè qìqiú?Which balloon do you want?
  • B:我 要 那 个 红色 的Wǒ yào nà gè hóngsè de. I want that red one.
  • A:你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩子? Nǐ xǐhuan nǎ zhǒng nǚháizi?What kind of girls do you like?
  • B: 漂亮的Piàoliàng de. Pretty ones.
  • A: 你 想 吃 什么 饼干 ? Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme bǐnggān?What cookie do you want to eat?
  • B: 甜的Tián de. A sweet one.
  • A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒 ? Nǐ xǐhuan hē nǎ gè guójiā de píjiǔ? Which country's beer do you like to drink?
  • B: 德国 的Déguó de. Germany's.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books