<p>The way that Chinese expresses &quot;definite or indefinite&quot; is called &quot;特指&quot; and &quot;泛指&quot;. There are a couple of ways to indicate your &quot;所指&quot; （the signified object）。For example,</p>
<p>这屋里有一个坏人。There is a bad guy in the room.</p>
<p>这个人是坏人。This person is a bad guy.</p>
<p>这屋里谁是坏人？Who is the bad guy in the room?</p>
<p>这个人是坏人吗？Is the person a bad guy?</p>
<p>&quot;特指&quot; and &quot;泛指&quot; can use &quot;这个&quot; or &quot;一个&quot; to determine the meaning of &quot;definite&quot; (the) or &quot;indefinite&quot; (a), but it is not a strict grammar rule. Generally, Chinese grammar rules are very loose, flexible, or &quot;inaccurate&quot;. It also heavily relies on the &quot;context&quot; of the dialogue.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-23T18:57:15.897Z
2023-10-23T18:57:15.897Z
PdotWang
<p>without a determiner, it sounds you're making statement about some general class/set of things/men or concept, without conditions.</p>
<p>“famous sayings” are often like this. for example:</p>
<p>人类总是犯同样的错误。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-26T07:33:52.317Z
2023-01-26T07:33:52.317Z
Farter Yang
<p>This question might sound weird.</p>
<p>Are determiners mandatory in Chinese?</p>
<p>I have in mind words such as demonstratives 这, quantifying words 一些, 许多, etc.</p>
<p>This paper (Chen 2004) states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Finally, we turn to the last question: is it justified to assert that
definiteness as a grammatical category, in the narrow sense of the
term, exists in Chinese? English presents an exemplary case for the
existence of definiteness as a grammatical category, as the language
displays a paradigmatic contrast between two simple, fully
grammaticalized articles, one definite and the other indefinite. (...)
Chinese, however, represents a case that does not accord very well
with what has been established for these languages in the current
literature. To begin with, there is no simple, fully grammaticalized
marker of definiteness in Chinese, like the definite article in
English. (...) Furthermore, it is not obligatory to mark a nominal
expression as either definite or indefinite in Chinese, as is the case
in English.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In contrast, this paper (Orvig et al. 2013) concerning French determiners states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In French – except for certain non-referential uses (see Table 2
below) – determiners (Leeman, 2004) are mandatory to actualize a noun
and convey the marks of gender and number.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So I am looking for a scientific reference which states something echoing the statement in the paper on French, something like &quot;Determiners are not mandatory to actualize a noun and convery the marks of gender and number.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<p>Chen, P. (2004). Identifiability and definiteness in Chinese. <em>Linguistics</em>, 42, 1129-1184.</p>
<p>Orvig, A. S., Marcos, H., Caët, S., Corlateanu, C., Da Silva, C., Hassan, R., ... &amp; Morgenstern, A. (2013). Definite and indefinite determiners in French-speaking toddlers: Distributional features and pragmatic-discursive factors. <em>Journal of pragmatics</em>, 56, 88-112.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-19T14:05:01.977Z
Please provide some example sentences/phrases that you have questions with. Also, I don't think this is a place to ask for "reference" but "answers".
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-24T02:32:36.243Z
For starters, there are no gender and number in Chinese. So it appears that "determiners" are not necessary. However, as r13 said, some examples would be nice.
fat penguin
<grammar>
Are determiners mandatory in Chinese?
# Are determiners mandatory in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-01-18)

This question might sound weird.

Are determiners mandatory in Chinese?

I have in mind words such as demonstratives 这, quantifying words 一些, 许多, etc.

This paper (Chen 2004) states:

> Finally, we turn to the last question: is it justified to assert that
> definiteness as a grammatical category, in the narrow sense of the
> term, exists in Chinese? English presents an exemplary case for the
> existence of definiteness as a grammatical category, as the language
> displays a paradigmatic contrast between two simple, fully
> grammaticalized articles, one definite and the other indefinite. (...)
> Chinese, however, represents a case that does not accord very well
> with what has been established for these languages in the current
> literature. To begin with, there is no simple, fully grammaticalized
> marker of definiteness in Chinese, like the definite article in
> English. (...) Furthermore, it is not obligatory to mark a nominal
> expression as either definite or indefinite in Chinese, as is the case
> in English.

In contrast, this paper (Orvig et al. 2013) concerning French determiners states:

> In French – except for certain non-referential uses (see Table 2
> below) – determiners (Leeman, 2004) are mandatory to actualize a noun
> and convey the marks of gender and number.

So I am looking for a scientific reference which states something echoing the statement in the paper on French, something like "Determiners are not mandatory to actualize a noun and convery the marks of gender and number."

**References:**

Chen, P. (2004). Identifiability and definiteness in Chinese. *Linguistics*, 42, 1129-1184.

Orvig, A. S., Marcos, H., Caët, S., Corlateanu, C., Da Silva, C., Hassan, R., ... & Morgenstern, A. (2013). Definite and indefinite determiners in French-speaking toddlers: Distributional features and pragmatic-discursive factors. *Journal of pragmatics*, 56, 88-112.

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Please provide some example sentences/phrases that you have questions with. Also, I don't think this is a place to ask for "reference" but "answers".  
> **username_2**: For starters, there are no gender and number in Chinese. So it appears that "determiners" are not necessary. However, as username_1 said, some examples would be nice.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-10-23. Score: 1

The way that Chinese expresses "definite or indefinite" is called "特指" and "泛指". There are a couple of ways to indicate your "所指" （the signified object）。For example,

这屋里有一个坏人。There is a bad guy in the room.

这个人是坏人。This person is a bad guy.

这屋里谁是坏人？Who is the bad guy in the room?

这个人是坏人吗？Is the person a bad guy?

"特指" and "泛指" can use "这个" or "一个" to determine the meaning of "definite" (the) or "indefinite" (a), but it is not a strict grammar rule. Generally, Chinese grammar rules are very loose, flexible, or "inaccurate". It also heavily relies on the "context" of the dialogue.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-01-26. Score: 0

without a determiner, it sounds you're making statement about some general class/set of things/men or concept, without conditions.

“famous sayings” are often like this. for example:

人类总是犯同样的错误。


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