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多项定语:我的一个老同学

several words before one noun: whose → which and how many → what kind (我的 · 一个 · 老 · 同学)

Structure
领属 + 这/那 + 数量 + 描写 + 的 + 名词

What it means

When several words describe one noun, they line up in a fixed order: whose → this/that + number + measure word → what kind → the noun.

How it is built

Owner + 这/那 + number + measure word + description + noun: 我的一个老同学 (an old classmate of mine). 李月的那两个成都朋友 (those two friends of Li Yue’s from Chengdu).

When to use it

Short words like 老, 新, 白 sit right next to the noun without 的; longer descriptions take 的 and go before them: 一件很漂亮的白衬衫 (a very pretty white shirt).

Watch out

Don’t copy English “an old classmate of mine”: ✗ 一个我的老同学 ✓ 我的一个老同学. Whose always comes first.

Examples

我的一个老同学就住在宜昌。
An old classmate of mine lives in Yichang.
李月的那两个成都朋友也想去三峡。
Those two friends of Li Yue’s from Chengdu want to go to the Three Gorges too.
导游是一位五十来岁的重庆人。
The guide is a man from Chongqing of about fifty.
李月今天穿了一件很漂亮的白衬衫。
Li Yue is wearing a very pretty white shirt today.
Learn this in HSK 4 · Lesson 13: 长江 (The Yangtze)
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