Relative clauses and nominalization with 的
A2 「的」字定语从句与名词化 32 / 56
In short
的 (de, neutral tone) can glue a whole clause onto the front of a noun, giving Chinese its relative clauses: 我买的书 (wǒ mǎi de shū, “the book I bought”), 昨天来的人 (zuótiān lái de rén, “the person who came yesterday”). Drop the noun and 的 alone means “the … one”: 红的 (hóng de, “the red one”), 卖菜的 (mài cài de, “the one who sells vegetables”). There is no “who / which / that” - 的 does the whole job, and the describer always comes before the noun.
The rule
Lesson 4 gave you Modifier + 的 + Noun for single words (我的书, 红的花). The same frame stretches to a full clause: whatever describes the noun - however long - is packed in front of 的, and the noun comes last.
Step 1 - Put the describing clause first, then 的, then the noun. English hangs the clause after the noun with “who / which / that”; Chinese reverses this. Read a Chinese relative clause back-to-front from English:
- [我昨天买] 的书 (wǒ zuótiān mǎi de shū) - the book [I bought yesterday]
- [昨天来] 的人 (zuótiān lái de rén) - the person [who came yesterday]
- [会说中文] 的学生 (huì shuō Zhōngwén de xuésheng) - the student [who can speak Chinese]
Step 2 - No relative pronoun, no gap-filler. Chinese does not translate “who / which / that”, and it does not put a pronoun back into the hole the noun left. The frame is identical whether the noun is the subject or the object of the inner clause:
- Noun = subject: 会说中文的人 - the person who speaks Chinese (人 does the speaking).
- Noun = object: 我买的书 - the book that I bought (书 is what 买 acts on; the slot after 买 stays empty). A perfective 了 never stands straight before 的 - 我买了的书 is wrong - but it survives as soon as an object, a duration or a count separates the two: 我们住了三年的房子 (the flat we lived in for three years). A change-of-state 了 is fine on its own (坏了的, the broken one), and 过 always stays: 他用过的碗 (the bowl he has used).
Step 3 - Nominalize: drop the noun. When the noun is obvious, delete it and let the 的-phrase stand alone as a noun meaning “the one(s) that …”:
- 红的 (hóng de) - the red one
- 我的 (wǒ de) - mine
- 我昨天买的 (wǒ zuótiān mǎi de) - the one I bought yesterday
This is also how Chinese coins casual occupation words - verb phrase + 的 = “the person who does it”: 卖菜的 (mài cài de, “greengrocer”), 开车的 (kāichē de, “driver”), 教书的 (jiāo shū de, “teacher”).
Forms & patterns
What the clause before 的 can be (the noun on the right is what it describes):
| Inner clause plays… | Example | Pinyin | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb phrase, noun = subject | 会开车的人 | huì kāichē de rén | a person who can drive |
| Verb + object, noun = object | 我做的菜 | wǒ zuò de cài | the dish I cooked |
| Time / place + verb | 昨天来的客人 | zuótiān lái de kèrén | the guest who came yesterday |
| Small clause (subject + verb) | 他送我的礼物 | tā sòng wǒ de lǐwù | the gift he gave me |
| Stative / adjectival clause | 很贵的东西 | hěn guì de dōngxi | the thing that is very expensive |
Nominalization - drop the head noun, keep 的:
| Full form | 的-nominal | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 红的花 | 红的 | hóng de | the red one |
| 我的书 | 我的 | wǒ de | mine |
| 卖菜的人 | 卖菜的 | mài cài de | the greengrocer |
| 我买的东西 | 我买的 | wǒ mǎi de | the one(s) I bought |
| 新的手机 | 新的 | xīn de | the new one |
Examples
- 我买的书很有意思。 (Wǒ mǎi de shū hěn yǒu yìsi.) - The book I bought is very interesting.
- 昨天来的人是我朋友。 (Zuótiān lái de rén shì wǒ péngyou.) - The person who came yesterday is my friend.
- 会说中文的学生不多。 (Huì shuō Zhōngwén de xuésheng bù duō.) - There aren’t many students who can speak Chinese.
- 红的太贵，我买蓝的。 (Hóng de tài guì, wǒ mǎi lán de.) - The red one is too expensive, so I’ll buy the blue one.
- 穿红衣服的女孩是我妹妹。 (Chuān hóng yīfu de nǚhái shì wǒ mèimei.) - The girl wearing red is my little sister.
- 教中文的老师很有名。 (Jiāo Zhōngwén de lǎoshī hěn yǒumíng.) - The teacher who teaches Chinese is very famous.
- 你说的都对。 (Nǐ shuō de dōu duì.) - Everything you said is right.
- 卖菜的是我邻居。 (Mài cài de shì wǒ línjū.) - The greengrocer is my neighbor.
- 他写的信很长。 (Tā xiě de xìn hěn cháng.) - The letter he wrote is very long.
Common mistakes
- 昨天来人很多。 -> 昨天来的人很多。 (Zuótiān lái de rén hěn duō.) - without 的, 昨天来 reads as a full clause (“came yesterday”); 的 is the glue that turns it into a describer of 人.
- 我买它的书 -> 我买的书 (wǒ mǎi de shū) - do not put a resumptive pronoun back in the gap; the slot after 买 stays empty because 书 already fills that role.
- 会说中文人 -> 会说中文的人 (huì shuō Zhōngwén de rén) - a multi-word / clausal modifier always keeps 的; you can only drop it for a single tight adjective (好人, 新书).
- 我要红。 -> 我要红的。 (Wǒ yào hóng de.) - “the red one” needs 的 to become a noun; bare 红 is only the adjective “red”.
- 他是卖菜。 -> 他是卖菜的。 (Tā shì mài cài de.) - an occupation needs 的; without it 卖菜 (“sell vegetables”) is a verb phrase and cannot be the predicate noun.
Tips
- Chinese is modifier-first: no matter how long the describing clause is, it all crams in front of 的, and the noun lands at the end. If English says “the noun that …”, flip it to “the [that …] noun” before you translate.
- Translating “who / which / that” or slotting a pronoun into the gap is the classic mistake - there is no relative pronoun and no gap-filler. Delete both.
- 的 + nothing = “the … one”. This is everyday shorthand for colors, sizes, and jobs: 大的 (dà de, “the big one”), 便宜的 (piányi de, “the cheap one”), 开车的 (kāichē de, “the driver”).
- A relative clause can sit before or after 这 / 那 + measure word: 我买的那本书 and 那本我买的书 both mean “that book I bought”. Clause-first is the safe, neutral order.