Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

nOun PhrASeS

9.2

specifier + number + classifier + noun

那 三 个 人

那 三 個 人

nà sān gè rén

those three people

哪 三 个 人

哪 三 個 人

nǎ sān gè rén

which three people?

C6, 7, 8

9.2 Modifying a noun with all other modifiers:

modification with 的 de

Noun modifiers may also be nouns, pronouns, verbs, or phrases that include a verb. These kinds

of modifiers are typically followed by the particle 的 de, and the noun phrase has the following

form:

modifier + 的 de + head noun

C 5

note

In english, when a modifier includes a verb, the modifier occurs after the head noun as a relative clause

introduced by a relative pronoun (‘who,’ ‘whom,’ ‘which’) or a complementizer (‘that’). In these examples,

the modifier of the noun is presented in square brackets.

the book [that I bought]

the people [who spoke to you]

In Mandarin, all modifiers precede the head noun. In addition, Mandarin has no words that correspond to

relative pronouns or complementizers. Do not attempt to translate them into Chinese.

9.2.1 examples of noun phrases with different types of modifiers

9.2.1.1 Modifiers that are nouns

Modifier Head noun Noun phrase

孩子 衣服 孩子的衣服

háizi yīfu háizi de yīfu

child clothing children’s clothing

车/車 速度 车的速度

車的速度

chē sùdù chē de sùdù

car speed the speed of a/the car

马老师 学生 马老师的学生

馬老師 學生 馬老師的學生

Mǎ lǎoshī xuésheng Mǎ lǎoshī de xuésheng

Professor Ma student(s) Professor Ma’s student(s)

美国 城市 美国的城市

美國 美國的城市

Měiguó chéngshì Měiguó de chéngshì

America city America’s city (cities)/a city (cities) in America.