<p>Between an adjective and a noun, you can add a 的 if you like.</p>

<p>美麗的姑娘 beautiful girl<br>
好玩的游戲 entertaining game<br>
複雜的語法 complicated grammar</p>

<p>Adding the 的 is the norm if the adjective has two characters. But it's possible to leave it out:</p>

<p>黑暗森林 dark forest<br>
意外事故 unexpected accident<br>
美好時光 happy time</p>

<p>Why did the poet use 的 here? Some possibilities:<br>
- 以太 is an unusual word, putting a 的 before it makes the sentence easier to understand.<br>
- The poet may have liked the flow of the sentence better with 的.<br>
- Using 的 here is more normal than not using it.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-15T16:39:57.517Z
What if he didn't use it? The sentence would have been wrong or something else?
UsernameNotValid999
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-15T17:38:58.533Z
@UsernameNotValid999 The sentence would still be OK without it, but might be a bit harder to understand, because the word boundary is not as obvious.
KWeiss
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-15T17:47:55.883Z
Got it, thank you so much for your answer
UsernameNotValid999
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-15T07:05:16.223Z
2019-05-15T07:05:16.223Z
KWeiss
<p>see any grammar on when to use or not to use (and when optional) structural particle （结构助词）的，
bkrs：有形 有形状的、感官能感觉到的，examples，iciba：有形财产、有形动产、有形固定财产、有形货物、有形贸易、有形商品、有形损耗、有形损耗、有形的翅膀，Linguee：有形的数据、有形的 公 共 产品 public goods、 有形的 破 坏 、有形的进展、有形的联 系、有 形 的基础，may conclude 的 not used mostly in commercial or financial standing expressions, but used in others like 以太</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-14T21:50:31.050Z
2019-05-15T03:54:31.800Z
2019-05-15T03:54:31.800Z
user6065
<p><strong>在有形的以太</strong></p>

<p>It should mean "<em>here in tangible ether</em>" but I don't understand the function of <strong>的</strong>. </p>

<p>Can't I say the exact same thing writing it like that: <strong>在有形以太</strong> 
?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-14T20:35:50.897Z
Might be helpful if you could provide the full sentence, if not the paragraph, on where this phase exists.
Alex
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-14T21:38:06.350Z
It's a sort of poem I red in a book: 还活着 / 在有形的以太 / 独自但真实
UsernameNotValid999
<translation><sentence-structure>
What is the function of 的 in the sentence below?
# What is the function of 的 in the sentence below?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-14)

**在有形的以太**

It should mean "*here in tangible ether*" but I don't understand the function of **的**.

Can't I say the exact same thing writing it like that: **在有形以太**
?

**Tags:** translation, sentence-structure

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Might be helpful if you could provide the full sentence, if not the paragraph, on where this phase exists.  
> **username_0**: It's a sort of poem I red in a book: 还活着 / 在有形的以太 / 独自但真实  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-05-15. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Between an adjective and a noun, you can add a 的 if you like.

美麗的姑娘 beautiful girl  
好玩的游戲 entertaining game  
複雜的語法 complicated grammar

Adding the 的 is the norm if the adjective has two characters. But it's possible to leave it out:

黑暗森林 dark forest  
意外事故 unexpected accident  
美好時光 happy time

Why did the poet use 的 here? Some possibilities:  
- 以太 is an unusual word, putting a 的 before it makes the sentence easier to understand.  
- The poet may have liked the flow of the sentence better with 的.  
- Using 的 here is more normal than not using it.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: What if he didn't use it? The sentence would have been wrong or something else?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 The sentence would still be OK without it, but might be a bit harder to understand, because the word boundary is not as obvious.  
> **username_0**: Got it, thank you so much for your answer  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-05-14. Score: 0

see any grammar on when to use or not to use (and when optional) structural particle （结构助词）的，
bkrs：有形 有形状的、感官能感觉到的，examples，iciba：有形财产、有形动产、有形固定财产、有形货物、有形贸易、有形商品、有形损耗、有形损耗、有形的翅膀，Linguee：有形的数据、有形的 公 共 产品 public goods、 有形的 破 坏 、有形的进展、有形的联 系、有 形 的基础，may conclude 的 not used mostly in commercial or financial standing expressions, but used in others like 以太


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