When can we omit the particle "的"?
There are always many "的" in a Chinese sentence, I know that sometimes we can omit some of them. However, I am really confused about the rules. When should I use "我的妈妈" and when should I use "我妈妈"？And are there any differences between the two expressions?
asked 8 years, 2 months ago
2 Answers
The above answer is good, however, I'd like to point out that in some cases the 的 cannot be omitted even in expressing personal relationship:
The meaning of these expressions will change when 的 is omitted：
- 小王的叔叔 Wang’s Uncle
- 小王叔叔 Uncle Wang
- 中国的朋友 A friend of China
- 中国朋友 A Chinese friend
Be careful about it.
answered 8 years, 2 months ago
Hi
"的" is often omitted when a pronoun is subordinated to a noun expressing personal relationship or after a noun in certain patterns.E.g.
- 我（的）妈妈 My mother
- 林家 the Lin’s home
But when you are saying "她是我的妈妈", it seems to emphasize "She is my mother not your mother", while "她是我妈妈" simply means "she is my mother". There's slight difference between the two.
Moreover, if more than one "的" appears in a sentence, the first 的 after the pronoun is usually omitted. E.g.
- 我（的）朋友的生日 My friend’s birthday
It also depends on which part you'd like to emphasize. In this expression, the relationship between 朋友 and 生日 is more emphasized than that between 我 and 朋友.
answered 8 years, 2 months ago