<blockquote>
  <p>Modifying nouns with phrase + 的</p>
</blockquote>

<p>A [phrase + 'adjective suffix 的'] is an 'adjective phrase'. It functions as an adjective for the noun. If there is a [clause +'adjective suffix 的'], then it is an 'adjective clause'</p>

<p>的 can also be a 'possessive' but that's another topic.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The main problem was to understand when the sentence / phrase is referred to a regular action or to the action in the past.  Could this be figured out without additional time markers?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>May be this can help: <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22011/how-do-you-specify-past-tense-for-%e6%98%af">How do you specify past tense for 是?</a></p>

<p>So, the answer is, " no, you can't figure out the action is in the past or present without additional time markers, but you don't need to"</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T13:46:27.417Z
2016-12-20T15:10:51.503Z
2017-04-13T12:48:06.457Z
Tang Ho
<p>An explicit time marker is always required.  There is no exception. But sometime it depends on the context, even without a time marker. </p>

<pre><code>到达了北京的火车
The train that reached Beijing

这都是妈妈做的菜
All this food are cooked by mum.
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-23T21:03:10.237Z
"An explicit time marker is always required."  I assume you mean, *if you want to specify the time* (or aspect).  Otherwise, an explicit time marker is not required for the phrase to be grammatical.
Brian Tung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T14:25:57.077Z
2016-12-20T14:25:57.077Z
mootmoot
<p>We were discussing <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Modifying_nouns_with_phrase_%2B_%22de%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> topic in the class yesterday and had a few difficulties understanding it. The main problem was to understand when the sentence / phrase is referred to a regular action or to the action in the past. Could this be figured out without additional time markers?</p>

<p>For example, from these sentences: 
去北京的火车 or 妈妈做的菜 </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T13:12:41.920Z
Similar questions had been asked many times. Here is one of them:   http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22204/why-no-%e7%9a%84-in-this-sentence/22206#22206  To check if your question had been asked in the past, you can type key words in the search Q&A box on the upper right corner of the page.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T13:39:44.730Z
@TangHo Of course I searched for similar questions before posting mine. I didn't see the answer to my question in the link you provided.
UVV
<grammar>
Modifying nouns with phrase + 的
# Modifying nouns with phrase + 的

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-12-20)

We were discussing [this](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Modifying_nouns_with_phrase_%2B_%22de%22) topic in the class yesterday and had a few difficulties understanding it. The main problem was to understand when the sentence / phrase is referred to a regular action or to the action in the past. Could this be figured out without additional time markers?

For example, from these sentences:
去北京的火车 or 妈妈做的菜

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Similar questions had been asked many times. Here is one of them:   http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22204/why-no-%e7%9a%84-in-this-sentence/22206#22206  To check if your question had been asked in the past, you can type key words in the search Q&A box on the upper right corner of the page.  
> **username_0**: @TangHo Of course I searched for similar questions before posting mine. I didn't see the answer to my question in the link you provided.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-12-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

> Modifying nouns with phrase + 的

A [phrase + 'adjective suffix 的'] is an 'adjective phrase'. It functions as an adjective for the noun. If there is a [clause +'adjective suffix 的'], then it is an 'adjective clause'

的 can also be a 'possessive' but that's another topic.

> The main problem was to understand when the sentence / phrase is referred to a regular action or to the action in the past. Could this be figured out without additional time markers?

May be this can help: [How do you specify past tense for 是?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22011/how-do-you-specify-past-tense-for-%e6%98%af)

So, the answer is, " no, you can't figure out the action is in the past or present without additional time markers, but you don't need to"


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### Answer by username_2 on 2016-12-20. Score: 1

An explicit time marker is always required.  There is no exception. But sometime it depends on the context, even without a time marker. 
到达了北京的火车
The train that reached Beijing

这都是妈妈做的菜
All this food are cooked by mum.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: "An explicit time marker is always required."  I assume you mean, *if you want to specify the time* (or aspect).  Otherwise, an explicit time marker is not required for the phrase to be grammatical.  

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