The particle 的 (de) in Chinese grammar

The determiner and the determined

In Chinese, elements such as adjectives, specifications and possessives can appear to the left of other components to specify attributes, modality and characteristics.

These elements are conventionally defined as determiners because they determine the component that proceeds them. The determiners, therefore, specify something from “something else”. The component being specified as having certain characteristics is called the determined.

Between the determiner and the determined you must insert the particle 的 (de). The representation of the particle of determination的 is a characteristic peculiar to the modern Chinese language, rather distant from “western” languages for which it is difficult to understand and fully master its usage.

We’ll therefore try to see it detailed in all aspects. Let’s start by analyzing the phrase: 我的书 (Wǒ de shū), or “my book”:

In this phrase, the determiner is 我(wǒ), “I”, because it specifies something of the determined 书 (shū), “book”: this something specifies to whom the book in question belongs. 我, as a determiner, determines to whom the determined, the book, belongs.

Here are some examples:

学生的学校。
Xuésheng de xuéxiào.
The students’ school.

我的汽车。
Wǒ de qìchē.
My automobile.

他们的教室。
Tāmen de jiàoshì.
Their classroom.

我的朋友的书。
Wǒ de péngyou de shū.
My friend’s book.

For convenience well list personal pronouns followed by 的:
wǒ de我的 “my”
nǐ de你的 “your”
tā de / tā de他的 / 她的 “his”; “hers”
wǒmen de我们的 “our”
nǐmen de你们的 “your”
tāmen de / tāmen de他们的 / 她们的 “their (male)”; “their (female)”

Note that when the determiner signals an intrinsic characteristic of the determined, or where there’s a very close relationship between the determiner and the determined, the particle 的 is omitted.

Here are a few examples:

重庆的大学。
Chóngqìng de dàxué.
Chongqing Univeristy.

重庆大学。
Chóngqìng dàxué.
Chongqing Univeristy.

学生的杂志。
Xuésheng de zázhì.
The students’ magazines.

学生杂志。
Xuésheng zázhì.
Student magazines.

我爸爸，我妈妈。
Wǒ bàba, wǒ māma.
My dad and my mom.

我老师，我朋友。
Wǒ lǎoshī, wǒ péngyou.
My teacher and my friend.

Adjectives as determiners

Even adjectives can appear as determiners. The construction remains the same:

很漂亮的学生。
Hěn piàoliang de xuésheng.
The beautiful student.

很贵的汽车。
Hěn guì de qìchē.
The expensive machine.

好吃的菜。
Hǎo chī de cài.
The appetizing food.

清淡一些的菜。
Qīngdàn yī̠xiē de cài.
A little lighter food.

聪明的老师。
Cōngming de lǎoshī.
The intelligent teacher.

顽皮的小孩子。
Wánpí de xiǎoháizi.
The naughty kids.

The particle 的, even in this case, can be omitted when the predicate adjective used is monosyllabic. Here’s some examples:

好人 。
Hǎo rén.
Good people.

坏人。
Huài rén.
Bad people.

小苹果。
Xiǎo píngguǒ.
The little apple.

大苹果。
Dà píngguǒ.
The big apple.

冷汤。
Lěng tāng.
Cold soup.

热汤。
Rè tāng.
Hot soup.

高楼。
Gāolóu.
Tall building.

长路。
Cháng lù.
Long street.

Verbs as determiners

Verbs too can be used as determiners in the sense that they can specify “something” about the determined. When making a phrase using a verb as a determiner.

The structure is always the same: Determiner + 的 + Determined. Here’s a few examples:

我写的书。
Wǒ xiě de shū.
The book I’m writing.

我吃的苹果。
Wǒ chī de píngguǒ.
The apple I’m eating.

我看的书。
Wǒ kàn de shū.
The book I’m reading.

我说的话。
Wǒ shuō de huà.
The words I say.

我昨天看的书很有意思。
Wǒ zuótiān kàn de shū hěn yǒu yìsi.
The book I read yesterday is interesting.

我去年在中国认识的中国人现在在意大利教中文。
Wǒ qùnián zài Zhōngguó rènshi de Zhōngguórén xiànzài zài Yìdàlì jiāo Zhōngwén.
The Chinese person I met in China last year now teaches Chinese in Italy.

说别吵的老师是我的妈妈的朋友。
Shuō bié chǎo de lǎoshī shì wǒ de māma de péngyou.
The teacher that saying not to make noise is my mother’s friend.

我今年赚的钱不够买一辆汽车。
Wǒ jīnnián zhuàn de qián bụ̀gòu mǎi yī liàng qìchē.
The money I earned this year is not enough to buy a car.

Locators as determiners

Expressions indicating location can also be used to describe a name. When they carry out this function, they precede the name to which they refer. Such expressions, used in this way, become actual determiners and will be immediately followed by 的.

Here are some examples:

房子里的人。
Fángzi lǐ de rén.
People at home.

房子后边的人。
Fángzi hòubian de rén.
The people behind the house.

房子前边的人。
Fángzi qiánbian de rén.
The people in front of the house.

图书馆前边的学校。
Túshūguǎn qiánbian de xuéxiào.
The school across from the library.

在大门前边的人很多。
Zài dàmén qiánbian de rén hěn duō.
There are lots of people at the front door.

在食堂里吃饭的人不多。
Zài shítáng lǐ chīfan de rén bù duō.
There are not many people eating in the cafeteria.

在我的右手边的房间是市长的办公室。
Zài wǒ de yòushǒu biān de fángjiān shì shìzhǎng de bàngōngshì.
The room to my right is the mayor’s office.

位于学校旁边的麦当劳真便宜，我们应该要去。
Wèiyú xuéxiào pángbiān de Màidāngláo zhēn piányi, wǒmen yīnggāi yào qù.
The McDonalds across from the school is really cheap. We should go there.

Note that, in the written Chinese language – but at times also in the spoken language, – you might find the character 之 (zhī) instead of 的. The character 之 is directly derived from classical Chinese but has most much of the meaning it once had, such as the verb “to go” or as a nominalizer.

It has however kept the particle to insert between the determiner and the determined or in the expressions “before”, “after”, in Chinese 之前 (zhī qián) and 之后 (zhī hòu) respectively.

Photo Credits: Lanterns of Chinese food store, Taipei by SJKen