USES OF 的 DE (1) To use after pronouns and nouns (tantamount to possession) 我的名字 大夫的车 谁的书 My name the doctor‘s car whose book 我的 他的 谁的 mine his whose 老师的书 图书馆的词典 the teacher‘s book the library’s dictionary (2a) Attributive + DE makes a noun phrase, with the noun been understood, (Practical Chinese I p.200) as:- 小的 小的（宿舍） 小的（车） ‘small ones’ meaning ‘small hostels’ or ‘small cars’ 好的 好的（宿舍） 好的（学生） ‘good ones’ meaning ‘good hostels’ or ‘good students’ 现在的 中国的 ‘present day ones’ ‘Chinese ones’ (2b) Attributives + DE can particularize a noun in order to put more emphasis on the attribute (Pr. Ch. I p.200) (tantamount to ‘something that is--’) (a) 这本书大 ‘This book is large’ whilst (b) 这本书是大的 ‘This book is a large one’. (c) 大宿舍 ‘a large hostel’ whilst (d) 大的宿舍 ‘a hostel that is large’ (e) 大的宿舍好，小的宿舍不好‘Hostels that are large are good, hostels that are small are not’ or (f) 大的宿舍好，小的不好 ‘Large hostels are good, small ones are not’. (g) 我有一本英文的词典 ‘I have a dictionary that is in English, and I am going 我去买一本法文的 to buy one that is in French’ (3) Verbal phrases or clauses + DE modifies the noun that follows it (tantamount to relative clauses) (Practical Chinese I p.363) 今天来的学生 Students who came today 吸烟的孩子 Children who smoke 他看的书 books that he read 我认识的字 characters that I know 她介绍的朋友 A friend that she introduced 她请的客人 Guests that she invited (3b) Such relative clauses can be embedded in a sentence 我学我不认识的汉字 I am learning characters that I do not know 我买老师介绍的书 I buy the book that the teacher recommended 这是他给我的词典 This is the dictionary that he gave me 我看的书都很好 The books that I read were all very good 我们请的客人都喝茶 The guests that we invited all drink tea (3c) ‘(verb) de ren’...... 的人 ‘The people who......’ equivalent to English -er/-ers Readers 看书的人 tea drinker 喝茶的人 smokers 吸烟的人 (3d) DE can attach co-verb clauses/phrases to nouns to particularize them (co-verbs being 給 gei 在 zai and others) 给老师的苹果 Apple for the teacher 给妈妈的电话 Phone call for mother 在我学院的图书馆 the library in my college 在我宿舍的学生 students in my hostel (3e) DE is used to attach all kinds of modifier phrases to a noun to particularize it The 8 o‘clock bus 八点的车 The pictures in the newspaper 报上的书 The students studying abroad at present 现在的留学生 (4) DE is used to tie together binomial modifier to the nouns modified A polite student 客气的学生 A pretty picture 好看的画 A very good book 很好的书 N.B. but not with hen duo ‘many’ which does not use a de Many friends 很多朋友 many students 很多学生 *********************************************************** N.B. When DE is omitted : (1) de is sometimes omitted when personal pronouns modify words denoting people in close relationship My mother 我妈妈 His brother 他哥哥 (2) when a noun is used to modify another noun Student hostel 学生宿舍 Bank manager 银行经理 (3) Especially when the first noun is the name of a country, a language or a place of origin A Chinese 中国人 Chinese language teacher 汉语老师 Foreign languages Institute 外语学院 An English book 英国书 A Chinese map 中国地图 (4) DE is also omitted when the modifier and modified fuse together into one concept 大国 is a ‘large country/superpower’ whilst 大的国 is simply ‘a country that is large. 新人 is a ‘newcomer’ or even ‘bride’ whilst 新的人 is ‘people that are new’