⋯⋯的 + 名词
…… de + míng cí
Modifying nouns with phrase + "de"
Any phrase — even a whole clause — can describe a noun if you put 的 between them. The description always comes first.
Phrase + 的 + Noun
How it works
去北京的火车 is "the train that goes to Beijing"; 今天来的人 is "the people who came today". English builds relative clauses after the noun; Chinese stacks them in front.
This is the single most important structural difference between the two languages at this level, and long modifiers feel backwards until you get used to reading right to left: 我昨天买的那本书 — that book I bought yesterday.
Examples
qù běi jīng de huǒ chē
去北京的火车
the train to Beijing
jīn tiān lái de rén hěn duō
今天来的人很多。
A lot of people came today.
zhè shì wǒ zuó tiān mǎi de shū
这是我昨天买的书。
This is the book I bought yesterday.
Common mistakes
- Never put the modifying clause after the noun the way English does.