……的他／她（定语修饰人称代词）
he/she, who (once) …; the once-… he/she (a description placed before a pronoun)
Structure
（曾经／一向／从前）…的 ＋ 他／她／我 ， （如今／却）…
What it means
Puts a description in front of a pronoun (他, 她, 我): 'he, who has always…'. Written Chinese uses it to remind the reader who the person is just as something changes.
How it is built
(曾经／一向／从前)…的 + 他／她／我，(如今／却)…: 已经八十岁的他，每天还坚持走一万步 (At eighty, he still walks ten thousand steps a day).
When to use it
Features and news stories. The description usually contrasts with what follows, often with 却, 如今 or 也. The person must already be known; to introduce someone new use a name or 一位…的老人. In conversation it sounds bookish: say 他以前…，现在….
Watch out
Keep the 的: ✗一向乐观她 ✓一向乐观的她. Don't use it for someone the reader hasn't met yet.
Examples
开了三十年公交车的他，如今却在家门口迷了路。
He had driven a bus for thirty years, yet now he got lost on his own doorstep.
一向不爱说话的她，那天在会上第一个站了起来。
She hardly ever spoke up, but that day she was the first on her feet at the meeting.
已经八十岁的他，每天还坚持走一万步。
At eighty, he still makes a point of walking ten thousand steps a day.
Learn this in Lesson 161 · HSK 7–9: 忘了回家的路 (Forgetting the way home)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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