Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

expressing possession

29.2

Q: 你现在有空吗？ A: 对不起。现在没有空。

你現在有空嗎？ 對不起。現在沒有空。

Nǐ xiànzài yǒu kōng ma? Duìbuqǐ. Xiànzài méi yǒu kōng.

Do you have free time now? Sorry. I don’t have free time now.

C27.1.2

29.2.2 expressing possession

To indicate one’s possession, use the following structure:

possessor + 的 de + possessed object

哥哥的车 老师的书

哥哥的車 老師的書

gēgē de chē lǎoshī de shū

older brother’s car teacher’s book

Mandarin does not have possessive pronouns. A pronoun + 的 de is equivalent in meaning to

a possessive pronoun in English.

我的钥匙 谁的书？

我的鑰匙 誰的書？

wǒ de yàoshi shéi de shū?

my key whose book?

A table of English possessive pronouns and their Mandarin equivalents is presented in

Chapter 5.

C5.2.4, 9.2.1.2

The possessor + 的 de may sometimes occur without the following ‘possessed’ noun. This

is often the case when the noun is clear from the context of the sentence. In the following

sentences, the noun in parentheses may be omitted.

这本书是你的(书)。

這本書是你的(書)。

Zhè běn shū shì nǐ de (shū).

This book is yours.

那个学校是他们的(学校)。

那個學校是他們的(學校)。

Nàge xuéxiào shì tāmen de (xuéxiào).

That school is theirs.

When there is a close relationship between the possessor and the possessed noun, 的 de may

be omitted. 的 de is often omitted if the possessor is a pronoun.

我(的)母亲很忙。

我(的)母親很忙。

Wǒ (de) mǔqin hěn máng.

My mother is very busy.

他是我们(的)老师。

他是我們(的)老師。

Tā shì wǒmen (de) lǎoshī.

He is our teacher.