Modifying nouns with adjective and "de"

One best ways to use the common character 的(de) is to have it spice up your nouns with adjectives.

Structure with the noun

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 or 高兴), the 的 is generally required.

Examples

• 红色 的 气球a red balloon
• 漂亮 的 衣服 beautiful clothes
• 好看 的 书a great book
• 好喝 的 啤酒great-tasting beer
• 可爱 的 宝宝
• 我 喜欢 新鲜 的 果汁。
• 我 有 一 个 很 好 的 老师。
• 爸爸 给 了 我 一 个 很 旧 的 手机。
• 我 家 有 一 只 漂亮 的 小狗。

Structure Without the noun

In some cases, it is possible to drop the noun altogether, and just use the adjective + 的. This is another example of the uses of "shi... de", where the 是 is present because it is connecting to a noun, and the 的 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 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 and an implied noun) you can't use 是. In that case, you would have to use 很.

Examples

• A: 你 要 哪 个 气球？B:我 要 那 个红色 的 。A: Which balloon do you want? B: I want that red one.
• A: 你 喜欢 哪 种 女孩子？B:漂亮的。A: What kind of girls do you like? B: Pretty ones.
• A: 你 想 吃 什么 饼干？B:甜的。A: What cookie do you want to eat? B: A sweet one.
• A: 你 喜欢 喝 哪 个 国家 的 啤酒？B:德国 的。 A: Which country's beer do you like to drink? B: Germany's.
• 你 是 学生？你是 哪 个 学校的? Are you a student? Which school's student?

See also

• Modifying nouns with phrase + de
• Expressing possession

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 70-1) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 37) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 191, 233) →buy

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