Chinese grammar - Attributive Adjectives that require 的 (de)

Attributive Adjectives that require 的 (de)

In Chinese, most adjectives that are just one character and are not being emphasized can simply be attached to the noun (as we saw in the previous topic).

But when the adjective is multiple characters or is being emphasized, then 的 (de) is inserted between the adjective and noun.

Note, however, that there are some single-character adjectives that sometimes require 的 to maintain fluency.

- These include 新 (xīn), 好 (hǎo) and 坏 (huài).

Note also that 的 has several other uses in Chinese. Broadly it serves to attribute, modify or unify, creating clear relationships between elements in a sentence.

Examples:
	红色的苹果 hóngsè de píngguǒ red apple 红色 is two characters so 的 is required
	漂亮的花 piàoliang de huā beautiful flower 漂亮 is two characters so 的 is required
	年轻的老师 niánqīng de lǎoshī young teacher 年轻 is two characters so 的 is required
	蓝色的车 lánsè de chē blue car
	快乐的孩子 kuàilè de háizi happy child 快乐 (kuàilè) means 'happy'
	聪明的学生 cōngmíng de xuéshēng smart student 聪明 (cōngmíng) means 'smart'
	白色的狗 báisè de gǒu white dog
	坏的天气 huài de tiānqì bad weather 坏 (huài) can be used with or without 的 adding 的 can emphasize the adjective, but it is also correct to say 坏天气 without 的坏 (huài) means 'bad' or 'broken' 天气 (tiānqì) means 'weather'
	新的书 xīn de shū new book 新 (xīn) can be used with or without 的 adding 的 can emphasize the adjective, but it is also correct to say 新书 without 的
	坏的机器 huài de jīqì broken machine 坏 (huài) sometimes requires 的 despite being just one character 机器 (jīqì) means 'machine'
	好的天气 hǎo de tiānqì good weather 好 (hǎo) can be used with or without 的 adding 的 can emphasize the adjective, but it is also correct to say "好天气" without 的
	那是一个好的问题。 nà shì yí gè hǎo de wèntí. That is a good question. 好 (hǎo) can be used with or without 的 adding 的 can emphasize the adjective, but it is also correct to say "好问题" without 的
	这是一个大房子。 zhè shì yí gè dà fángzi. This is a big house. 大 is one character so does not require 的
	我有一只小猫。 wǒ yǒu yì zhī xiǎo māo. I have a small cat. 小 is one character so does not require 的
	大的车很快。 dà de chē hěn kuài. The big car is fast. While not usually requiring 的, it is added to 大 (dà) for emphasis
	我们有好的座位。 wǒmen yǒu hǎo de zuòwèi. We have good seats. 座位 (zuòwèi) means 'seat'
	他们有很好的座位。 tāmen yǒu hěn hǎo de zuòwèi. They have very good seats.