3 · The particle de and modification
Relative clauses with de
the Chinese relative clause
A whole clause can describe a noun: it stands before the noun, ends in de, and needs no who, which or that.
English puts a describing clause after its noun and opens it with “who”, “which” or “that”: “the book that I bought yesterday”. Chinese puts the whole clause in front of the noun and closes it with 的: 我昨天买的书. There is no relative pronoun. 的 does the job of “that”, only at the other end of the clause.
The noun can play any part in the clause, and the place it would have had is simply left empty. As the subject: 住在楼上的人, the people who live upstairs. As the object: 你说的话, what you said. As the place: 我工作的公司, the company I work for. As the time: 我们认识的那天, the day we met. No “where”, no “when”, no “in which”.
A pointing word with its measure word can stand at either end: 那个昨天来的人 or 昨天来的那个人, the person who came yesterday. The second is more common in speech. Inside the clause, 了 is normally left out: “the book I bought” is 我买的书, even though the buying is over.
For reading, the rule of thumb is to look for the last 的 before a noun. The noun after it is what the phrase is about; everything before it is description. A sentence that seems to start with a verb — 昨天来的人是我同学 — is really about a person: the one who came yesterday is my classmate.
The form
| the book I bought | 我买的书 |
| the people who live upstairs | 住在楼上的人 |
| the company where I work | 我工作的公司 |
| the person who came yesterday | 昨天来的那个人 |
| the book I haven't finished | 我没看完的书 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The clause comes before the noun and ends in 的.
这是我昨天买的书。This is the book I bought yesterday.
There is no word for who, which or where; the noun's place in the clause stays empty.
我喜欢我住的城市。I like the city where I live.
A pointing word with its measure word usually goes between 的 and the noun.
坐在窗边的那个人是谁？Who is the person sitting by the window?
了 is normally left out inside the clause.
他上个月写的文章很受欢迎。The article he wrote last month was very popular.
A closer look
Long noun phrases
Descriptions stack up in front of the noun in a fairly fixed order: first the clause with its 的, then the pointing word and measure word, then any adjective, then the noun. 我上个月买的那本很贵的词典 is “that very expensive dictionary I bought last month”. Read it from the back: the last noun is the thing, and each 的 before it closes one description.
Speech avoids very long clauses before a noun; a speaker will often say the noun first and add a second sentence instead. Written Chinese, especially in newspapers and reports, piles up much longer descriptions, and there the habit of looking for the last 的 becomes essential.
How to spot it
- …的
- 的那个…
- 的人
- 的地方
Example sentences
穿红衣服的那个女孩儿是我妹妹。The girl in red is my younger sister.
我找不到你给我的地址了。I can't find the address you gave me.
我们去上次吃饭的那家饭馆吧。Let's go to the restaurant where we ate last time.
会说汉语的人越来越多。More and more people can speak Chinese.
这是我第一次见他的地方。This is where I first met him.
你昨天推荐的那本小说我已经买了。I've already bought the novel you recommended yesterday.
8 more example sentences
住在我楼上的邻居很友好。The neighbours who live above me are very friendly.
我想看你拍的照片。I'd like to see the photos you took.
我们需要一个会开车的人。We need someone who can drive.
他做的菜特别好吃。The food he cooks is especially good.
我还记得我们认识的那天。I still remember the day we met.
老师昨天讲的语法我没听懂。I didn't understand the grammar the teacher explained yesterday.
这是一个大家都知道的问题。This is a problem everybody knows about.
去机场的车几点开？What time does the bus to the airport leave?
Worth knowing (1)
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Where the pointing word goes
那位戴眼镜的先生 and 戴眼镜的那位先生 both mean “the gentleman with the glasses”. With the pointing word in front, the speaker points first and describes afterwards; with it after 的, the description picks the person out from others, which is why that order is more common.
那位戴眼镜的先生是我们经理。The gentleman with the glasses is our manager.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “the book” first and then explains which one. Chinese cannot add the explanation afterwards: everything that describes the noun must be said before it, and 的 marks the point where the description ends and the noun begins.
Clause, de, noun: the description always comes first, and de stands where English says that.
Your turn
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