<pre><code>他给她买来了一个戒指。
He gives her a ring that he bought.
</code></pre>

<p>This sentence emphasizes <strong>the event of buying her a ring</strong>. To be concise, you may say "他给她买了个戒指。"</p>

<pre><code>他给她买来了'的'一个戒指。
</code></pre>

<p>This sentence sounds weird, I think "他给她买的戒指" is better. This sentence emphasizes <strong>the person who bought the ring</strong>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-03T03:04:02.680Z
2015-01-03T03:04:02.680Z
Kiddy
<p>他给了她一个他买的戒指 (he gives her a ring that he bought) seems grammatical，but may sound strange， maybe one could also say 他作为礼物买了一个戒指给她 （he bought a ring for her as a present）</p>

<p>for the following cf。外国人实用汉语语法：</p>

<p>in the attributive， verb＋的， 的 generally can not be omitted，</p>

<p>examples：讨论的问题，旅行的人都来了，请的客人都到了</p>

<p>exceptions exist with 的 optional ；我看见过游行队伍 （some dissyllables modifying dissyllables）</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T19:39:25.487Z
above answer ignores the aspect marker 了，verbs followed by aspect particles 了，过，着 can act as attributives，thus 他给了她一个他买了的戒指 seems not
to violate the rules，although the 了 after 买 seems redundant，and sounds unfamiliar，but there are plenty of examples on the web of verb＋了＋的， even 买了的：买了的童鞋分享一下、這（这）首船其實（实）是退役後（后）被日本人買（买）了的 ，后悔买了的书
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-02T21:12:53.213Z
2015-01-03T00:42:42.697Z
2015-01-03T00:42:42.697Z
user6065
<p>The sentence "He gives her a ring that he bought" can be translated as: 他给她他买来的一个戒指。
This translation is grammatical. </p>

<p>他给她买来了'的'一个戒指 is ungrammatical with the following mistakes:</p>

<ol>
<li>"he" cannot be omitted in the translation. </li>
<li>"了" doesn't indicate past tense. It emphasizes "action completion". But the emphasis of "that he bought" is actually on who bought it. So "了" should not be there. </li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T21:35:57.000Z
他给她一个他买（来了）的戒指 and 他给她他买（来了）的一个戒指 seem both possible just as 一本很好的书 and 很好的一本书 are both possible， with some difference in emphasis，web search seems to confirm that 一个他买的 is more common than 他买的一个
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-04T15:00:43.550Z
2015-01-04T15:12:25.213Z
2015-01-04T15:12:25.213Z
cnwang09
<pre><code>他给她买来了一个戒指。
He gives her a ring that he bought.
</code></pre>

<p>I assume that this sentence should need 的 before "a ring that he bought" to be modifying, as below.</p>

<pre><code>他给她买来了'的'一个戒指。
</code></pre>

<p>So I think 的 is somewhat omitted.</p>

<p>I'd like to know what rule can be generalized from this case.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance, and also Happy new year!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-02T20:55:41.477Z
What do you want to express with the second "sentence"? Do you want to say "The ring he bought for her..." or "He bought a ring for her". Actually the first sentence means "He bought a ring for her", not "He gives her a ring that he bought".
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-02T22:14:44.583Z
The first quote does not equal to the second one omitting 的. The first quote is a Subject-Predicate-Object sentence and the second quote is a Modifier-Noun phrase. 的 in this sentence makes the Subject-Predicate phrase function like an adjective, somewhat similar to '~y' in English.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-03T03:28:33.033Z
Maybe you should work on getting the first sentence and its translation right before asking the one below.
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-03T07:10:39.943Z
I thought 给 in the first sentence to be the verb word 'give' in English. I appreciate all your help!
Dean Seo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-09T20:55:07.547Z
The second sentence sounds weird; do you mean `他給她買來的一個戒指`? In that case, the first sentence is simply translated as "He bought her a ring," whereas the second one would be "a ring he bought for her," where `的` indicates that `一個戒指` has the property of `他給她買來`. (You may be worried about losing the perfective aspect, but in Chinese a lot of things could be implied. In this case the perfective aspect is the most normal interpretation; other aspects, e.g. prospective, could be marked explicitly, viz. `他將給她買的一個戒指`).
photon.engine
<grammar><particles>
When to omit the modifying 的？
# When to omit the modifying 的？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-01-02)

```
他给她买来了一个戒指。
He gives her a ring that he bought.

```

I assume that this sentence should need 的 before "a ring that he bought" to be modifying, as below.

```
他给她买来了'的'一个戒指。

```

So I think 的 is somewhat omitted.

I'd like to know what rule can be generalized from this case.

Thanks in advance, and also Happy new year!

**Tags:** grammar, particles

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What do you want to express with the second "sentence"? Do you want to say "The ring he bought for her..." or "He bought a ring for her". Actually the first sentence means "He bought a ring for her", not "He gives her a ring that he bought".  
> **username_2**: The first quote does not equal to the second one omitting 的. The first quote is a Subject-Predicate-Object sentence and the second quote is a Modifier-Noun phrase. 的 in this sentence makes the Subject-Predicate phrase function like an adjective, somewhat similar to '~y' in English.  
> **username_3**: Maybe you should work on getting the first sentence and its translation right before asking the one below.  
> **username_0**: I thought 给 in the first sentence to be the verb word 'give' in English. I appreciate all your help!  
> **username_4**: The second sentence sounds weird; do you mean `他給她買來的一個戒指`? In that case, the first sentence is simply translated as "He bought her a ring," whereas the second one would be "a ring he bought for her," where `的` indicates that `一個戒指` has the property of `他給她買來`. (You may be worried about losing the perfective aspect, but in Chinese a lot of things could be implied. In this case the perfective aspect is the most normal interpretation; other aspects, e.g. prospective, could be marked explicitly, viz. `他將給她買的一個戒指`).  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-01-03. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

```
他给她买来了一个戒指。
He gives her a ring that he bought.

```

This sentence emphasizes **the event of buying her a ring**. To be concise, you may say "他给她买了个戒指。"

```
他给她买来了'的'一个戒指。

```

This sentence sounds weird, I think "他给她买的戒指" is better. This sentence emphasizes **the person who bought the ring**.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2015-01-02. Score: 0

他给了她一个他买的戒指 (he gives her a ring that he bought) seems grammatical，but may sound strange， maybe one could also say 他作为礼物买了一个戒指给她 （he bought a ring for her as a present）

for the following cf。外国人实用汉语语法：

in the attributive， verb＋的， 的 generally can not be omitted，

examples：讨论的问题，旅行的人都来了，请的客人都到了

exceptions exist with 的 optional ；我看见过游行队伍 （some dissyllables modifying dissyllables）

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: above answer ignores the aspect marker 了，verbs followed by aspect particles 了，过，着 can act as attributives，thus 他给了她一个他买了的戒指 seems not to violate the rules，although the 了 after 买 seems redundant，and sounds unfamiliar，but there are plenty of examples on the web of verb＋了＋的， even 买了的：买了的童鞋分享一下、這（这）首船其實（实）是退役後（后）被日本人買（买）了的 ，后悔买了的书  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2015-01-04. Score: 0

The sentence "He gives her a ring that he bought" can be translated as: 他给她他买来的一个戒指。
This translation is grammatical.

他给她买来了'的'一个戒指 is ungrammatical with the following mistakes:

1. "he" cannot be omitted in the translation.
2. "了" doesn't indicate past tense. It emphasizes "action completion". But the emphasis of "that he bought" is actually on who bought it. So "了" should not be there.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: 他给她一个他买（来了）的戒指 and 他给她他买（来了）的一个戒指 seem both possible just as 一本很好的书 and 很好的一本书 are both possible， with some difference in emphasis，web search seems to confirm that 一个他买的 is more common than 他买的一个  

---

