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HSK 3 Grammar: Multiple Attributives (多项定语)
Multiple attributives are two or more modifiers of one head noun. In the patterns taught here, they precede the noun. Their order reflects meaning and scope: the common sequence is a useful guide, with flexibility for quantity, relative clauses, emphasis and tightly connected word combinations.
我借了图书馆里的两本很有意思的中文书。
Correct order: location source + number and measure word + degree-modified adjective + classifying noun + head noun.
× 我借了图书馆里的两本中文很有意思的书。
For the intended “interesting Chinese-language books”, keep 中文书 together and place 很有意思的 before it. 中文很有意思的书 can suggest a different clause scope, describing the Chinese language or wording in the books. It does not transparently express the intended combination of a language category and an evaluation of the books.
Corrected example: 我借了图书馆里的两本很有意思的中文书。
Read the full explanation and examples
What Are Multiple Attributives and Where Do They Sit?
In the HSK 3 grammar outline, multiple attributives (多项定语) fall under sentence components (句子成分) and attributives (定语). An attributive is any word or phrase that modifies, restricts, or describes a noun. While English places short adjectives before a noun and longer prepositional or relative clauses after it, Mandarin places every modifier directly before the head noun (中心语). Whether the expanded noun phrase acts as the subject, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition, the entire chain of modifiers precedes the noun it describes.
When two or more modifiers describe the same noun, they cannot be arranged at random. Chinese organizes multiple attributives according to semantic closeness: modifiers that identify who owns the item, where it is, or how many there are sit on the outside (further left), while modifiers that express inherent qualities, colors, materials, or fixed categories sit right next to the head noun (further right).
The Standard Word Order of Multiple Attributives
The following sequence is a common starting point. You do not need every slot in one phrase. Relative clauses and quantity phrases can change position, and focus or contrast can affect the order. Parse the meaning of each phrase rather than treating the diagram as an exceptionless rule.
- 1. Possessor, time, or source/location: Pronouns, nouns, or place phrases showing ownership or origin (for example, my, the school's, inside the library).
- 2. Demonstrative and/or number + measure word: Pointing words and quantities that count or single out the noun (for example, this one, those two).
- 3. Verb phrase or relative clause + 的: Actions or states that describe what happened to the noun (for example, bought yesterday, newly arrived).
- 4. Descriptive adjective (+ 的): Subjective evaluations, sizes, or shapes (for example, very interesting, pretty, young).
- 5. Classifying noun or monosyllabic attribute without 的: Words denoting language, academic subject, material, color, or temperature that form a tight unit with the head noun (for example, Chinese-language, math, red, hot).
我借了图书馆里的两本很有意思的中文书。
Correct order: location source + number and measure word + degree-modified adjective + classifying noun + head noun.
她每天早上都喝一杯公司楼下卖的热咖啡。
Correct order: number and measure word + verb phrase with location + monosyllabic temperature adjective + head noun.
Useful Contrast: Where Does the Quantity Phrase Go?
The order between a demonstrative or quantity phrase (such as two copies or that one) and a verb phrase or descriptive modifier is flexible, and shifting them changes the nuance of how you identify the noun.
When the number and measure word come before the verb phrase or adjective (as in the library book and coffee examples above), you are usually introducing indefinite items or counting how many items of that description exist. In contrast, when a verb phrase comes before a demonstrative phrase (like that one or those few), the verb phrase first narrows down a known context, and the demonstrative singles out a specific, definite person or item.
这是妈妈昨天买的那件漂亮红毛衣。
妈妈 is the subject inside the relative clause 妈妈昨天买的, not automatically the sweater’s owner. That whole clause modifies 毛衣; 那件 selects the item, while 漂亮 and 红 describe it.
我们学校新来的那位年轻的数学老师非常认真。
Correct order: institutional affiliation + verb phrase + demonstrative and measure word + descriptive adjective + subject classification + head noun.
Using 的 and Avoiding Common Ordering Errors
Use 的 according to the relation being expressed. Ordinary counting phrases such as 两本书 do not insert 的 after the classifier. A measurement describing an item can instead use 的, as in 三公斤的西瓜. Relative clauses normally need 的 before the head noun. Tight units such as 中文书, 数学老师 or 热咖啡 commonly omit it; adjective length alone does not decide, and short adjectives can also appear with 的, as in 新的书.
Keep a tight category label such as 中文书 together when that is the intended meaning. Moving 中文 into 中文很有意思的书 can instead make it the subject of the modifying clause, changing what is being described. Likewise, a descriptive adjective before 妈妈 may describe Mom rather than the sweater. The key is modifier scope, not merely the number of modifiers.
× 我借了图书馆里的两本中文很有意思的书。
For the intended “interesting Chinese-language books”, keep 中文书 together and place 很有意思的 before it. 中文很有意思的书 can suggest a different clause scope, describing the Chinese language or wording in the books. It does not transparently express the intended combination of a language category and an evaluation of the books.
Corrected example: 我借了图书馆里的两本很有意思的中文书。
× 这是漂亮的妈妈那件红毛衣。
For the intended pretty sweater, 漂亮 should modify 毛衣, not 妈妈. The model shows 妈妈昨天买的那件漂亮红毛衣. Its statement that Mom bought it does not itself prove that Mom owns it; use a possessive phrase when ownership is what you mean.
Corrected example: 这是妈妈昨天买的那件漂亮红毛衣。
Frequently asked questions
How many attributives usually appear together in natural Chinese?
There is no fixed maximum. Use only the modifiers the reader needs. If a long noun phrase is hard to follow, divide the information into shorter phrases or sentences. The order and scope of the modifiers matter more than a rule about a particular count.
Why do some modifiers in a multiple-attributive chain not use 的?
Counting phrases such as 那两本书 join directly to the noun phrase. Tight combinations such as 数学老师 also usually omit 的. This does not mean that 的 is banned after every measurement or short adjective: 三公斤的西瓜 and 新的书 express different relationships.
When can a possessor at the start of multiple attributives omit 的?
Close relations often omit 的, as in 我妈妈 or 我们学校, and concise noun possessors may also do so before a demonstrative, as in 妈妈那件红毛衣. A longer possessor may need 的 for clarity. In 妈妈昨天买的, however, 妈妈 is the clause’s subject, not a possessor with an omitted 的.
