The Mandarin Chinese structural particle 的 transcribed de is used as a “dependent” word, meaning that it has to be used together with other words to assist them in conveying their meaning.
When we say, 漂亮的灯笼 transcribed piàoliang de dēnglongmeaning beautiful lantern, 漂亮 transcribed piàoliangmeaning beautiful is an adjective here because it describes the appearance of the lantern. 漂亮 is called “attributive,” and it precedes the item it modifies, which is 灯笼 transcribed dēnglongmeaning lantern. In this phrase, 的 transcribed de is a structural particle that links the attributive (“beautiful”) to the item being attributed (“lantern”).
Why do we bother with little words like 的 transcribed de? Well, often little words make a big difference, because when you make a mistake with the use of little words, you may give people the impression that you are still a beginner in the language, or you may be misunderstood. As we discuss the topic, we will see small words such as 的 transcribed de do matter.
Interestingly enough, there are times that we must use 的 transcribed de, but there are other times where we must not use it. Often, using 的 transcribed de is optional. Intrigued? Let’s read on! This post will tell you how 的 transcribed de should be used.
What is the function of 的 (de)?
的 transcribed de defines the relationship between the items that come before and after it in the sentence. The type of relationship between these items falls into two categories: possession and modification. That is, there are two kinds of 的 transcribed de: possessive 的 transcribed de and modifying 的 transcribed de. 的 transcribed de follows this general pattern:
Possessive 的 transcribed de
Possessive 的 transcribed de is used to mark possession or ownership and works almost exactly like ’s (apostrophe + s) in English. The pattern is:
的 transcribed de, in this case, indicates a relationship of possessor/possession. For example,
玛丽的先生Transcription: Mǎlì de xiānshengTranslation: Mary’s husband他的车Transcription: tā de chēTranslation: his carIn the first example above, 的 is placed between 玛丽 transcribed Mǎlìmeaning Mary and 先生 transcribed xiānshengmeaning husband to indicate possession.
In Mandarin, 的 transcribed de is also used to connect two nouns but not in the strict sense of possession. For example:
中国的长城Transcription: Zhōngguó de ChángchéngTranslation: the Great Wall of China晚上的天安门广场Transcription: wǎnshang de Tiān'ānmén guǎngchǎngTranslation: Tian’anmen square in the evening十点半的飞机Transcription: shídiǎnbàn de fēijīTranslation: the flight at ten thirtyIn the first sentence above, “the Great Wall” and “China” are two nouns linked by 的 transcribed de, but they are not strictly in a possession relationship.
Modifying 的 transcribed de
的 transcribed de can also modify words not only through possession, but also through assigning qualities, as we saw at the beginning of the post. The pattern is:
For example, in the phrase 漂亮的衣服 transcribed piàoliang de yīfumeaning beautiful clothes, 的 transcribed de assigns the quality of 漂亮 transcribed piàoliangmeaning beautiful to 衣服 transcribed yīfumeaning clothes by appearing between the two words. Easy, right? However, what’s tricky is when to use it and when not to use it. In general, 的 transcribed de is optional, but there are cases in which you must use it or you must not use it. Let’s explore!
When must 的 (de) be present in Mandarin Chinese?
There are some cases where 的 transcribed de should be present. For example:
In this case, 的 transcribed de can be possessive or modifying, as shown above.
In possessive cases, when the possessor is more than one Chinese character (such as 小王妈妈 transcribed Xiǎo Wáng māmameaning Xiao Wang’s mother’s) and the item being possessed does not refer to a relative or friend (such as 狗 transcribed gǒumeaning dog), then 的 transcribed de should be used, as shown in the first sentence. Notice that the phrase 小王妈妈 could have 的 transcribed de too, but because the modified item (妈妈 meaning mother) is a relative, 的 transcribed de can be omitted (see below).
In modifying cases, both modifier and the item being modified tend to be more than one character, as shown in the second sentence above.
List of situations where 的 transcribed de should be present:
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
In expressing possessive relation when the item being modified is a pet | 小王的鹦鹉 。 Transcription: Xiǎo Wáng de yīngwǔ. Translation: Xiao Wang’s little king parrot. |
The modifier (adjective) is more than one character | 勇敢的年轻人 Transcription: yǒnggǎn de niánqīngrén Translation: brave young man |
The item being modified by 的 transcribed de is omitted | 他要的是那本书。 Transcription: Tā yào de shì nà běn shū. Translation: He wanted that book. Note: the omitted item is 他要的书 (shū, “book”). |
When should 的 (de) be omitted in Mandarin Chinese?
While there are cases where 的 transcribed de should be present, there are also cases where 的 transcribed de should not be present. This type of 的 transcribed de tends to occur with the modifying 的 transcribed de, not the possessive 的 transcribed de. For example:
In the example, 直 transcribed zhímeaning straight, direct is an adjective, modifying 性子 transcribed xìngzimeaning temper. 的 transcribed de is missing between 直 transcribed zhí and 性子 transcribed xìngzi, and we don’t say X 直的性子.
You may be wondering, why? When the modifier is an adjective (e.g., “red”) and with only one Chinese character, 的 transcribed de must not be present. For example,
One of the possible reasons is that phrases like 直性子, 红灯, 绿灯 are some sort of idiomatic usage, therefore they don’t allow anything to come in between. More such examples are: 美食 transcribed měishímeaning good food and 高山 transcribed gāoshānmeaning high mountain.
Another case where 的 transcribed de must not be present is when the modifier is a place or language name. For example,
List of the situations where 的 transcribed de should be omitted:
Situation
| Example |
|---|---|
A one-Chinese-character adjective | 大马 Transcription: dà mǎ Translation: big horse 旧报纸 Transcription: jiù bàozhǐ Translation: old newspaper |
A noun denoting the quality of a person or a thing | 金戒指 Transcription: jīn jièzhǐ Translation: gold ring 塑料杯 Transcription: sùliào bēi Translation: plastic cup |
A single-character pronoun, used before nouns that refer to names of collectives | 我国 Transcription: wǒ guó Translation: my country 他家 Transcription: tā jiā Translation: his family |
A verb indicating the quality of a person or thing | 劳动人们 Transcription: láodòng rénmen Translation: working people 庆祝会 Transcription: qìngzhù huì Translation: celebrating ceremony |
When is 的 (de) optional in Mandarin Chinese?
When 的 transcribed de is not used in the above mentioned contexts (i.e. “present” or “not present”), it is probably optional. In Mandarin, 的 transcribed de is optional much of the time. For example,
The optional 的 transcribed de tends to occur in cases where the item being modified refers to relatives or friends. For example, 我(的)妈妈 in the above example is an instance of being used with a relative, so 的 transcribed de is optional. However, we saw above that it is obligatory with pets, for example: 我的猫 transcribed wǒ de māomeaning my cat, where 的 transcribed de should be present rather than optional.
List of the situations where 的 transcribed de may be optional:
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
The item being modified refers to relatives or friends | 他(的)爸爸 Transcription: tā (de) bàba Translation: his father 我(的)朋友 Transcription: wǒ (de) péngyou Translation: my friend |
Two-character pronouns, used before nouns that refer to names of collectives | 你们(的)老师 Transcription: nǐmen (de) lǎoshī Translation: your teacher 我们(的)学校 Transcription: wǒmen (de) xuéxiào Translation: our school |
Two-character adjectives as the modifier | 红色(的)灯笼 Transcription: hóngsè (de) dēnglong Translation: red lantern 快乐(的)孩子 Transcription: kuàilè (de) háizi Translation: happy kids |
Numeral + noun + measure words to indicate a great quantity | 一屋子(的)书 Transcription: yī wūzi (de) shū Translation: a house full of books 一床(的)衣服 Transcription: yī chuáng (de) yīfú Translation: a bed full of clothes |
To sum up
The structural particle 的 transcribed de falls into two categories: possessive 的 transcribed de and modifying 的 transcribed de. While there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the use of 的 transcribed de, there are some general tendencies we can follow. The general pattern of 的 transcribed de is:
Possessive 的 transcribed de follows this pattern:
Modifying 的 transcribed de follows this pattern:
的 transcribed de has three usages: must be present, must not be present, and is optional. The last one is most frequently used. How to use 的 transcribed de is mostly determined by how many characters the modifier and the item being modified have; here are the basic principles you can follow:
If the modifier has one character, then 的 transcribed de is usually dropped.
Otherwise, you would normally keep the 的 transcribed deor make 的 transcribed deoptional, when the modifier has two or more characters.
Right, now it is time for you to dive into the exercises we have prepared for you. These exercises to practice using 的 transcribed de in Mandarin Chinese will be useful for you to digest what you have read above.
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:quality(75))
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