▎Relatve Clause A 的 B, Clause as Modifier of Noun

 

Function Clauses in Chinese can also be used to modify nouns.

1 你說的水果是西瓜。

Nǐ shuō de shuǐguǒ shì xīguā.

The fruit you’re talking about is watermelon.

2 他喝的茶是烏龍茶。

Tā hē de chá shì Wūlóng chá.

The tea he drank was Oolong tea.

3 這些是我拍的照片。

Zhèxiē shì wǒ pāi de zhàopiàn.

These are photos that I took.

4 穿黃衣服的這個人是老闆。

Chuān huáng yīfú de zhè ge rén shì lǎobǎn.

The person in a yellow shirt is the (shop) owner.

5 現在去那裡玩的人比較少。

Xiànzài qù nàlǐ wán de rén bǐjiào shǎo.

Now, fewer people are visiting that place.

6 買這種手機的人很多。

Mǎi zhè zhǒng shǒujī de rén hěn duō.

A lot of people buy this kind of cellphone.

 

Structures Clauses (A), like all modifiers in Chinese, always precede the nouns (B) they modify. The modification marker 的de comes directly in front of the noun modified. A relative clause itself can be either affirmative, or negative, see below.

Negation：

1 不能上網的手機很不方便。

Bù néng shàngwǎng de shǒujī hěn bù fāngbiàn.

Cellphones that cannot go online aren’t that useful.

2 不去逛夜市的人可以去茶館喝茶。

Bú qù guàng yèshì de rén kěyǐ qù cháguǎn hē chá.

Those who do not want to go to the night market can go drink tea at the tea house.

3 不來上課的同學不能去看籃球比賽。

Bù lái shàngkè de tóngxué bù néng qù kàn lánqiú bǐsài.

Students who did not come to class can’t go to watch basketall game.

 

Usage Modifiers of nouns in Chinese include clauses, nouns, adjectives, and verbs. These are all placed in front of the nouns they modify.