<p>You cannot omit the possessive 的 in 你的菜, 你的字, 你的中文, if your comments are about 'your cooking', 'your writing' or 'your Chinese'</p>

<p>However, you can remove (not omit) '的' to change the topic from '你的~ (your~)' to '你 (you)'</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[你的菜 (topic)] [做得很好(comment)] - "your cooking is cooked very well" </p>
  
  <p>[你的字 (topic)] [写得很漂亮 (comment)] " your writing is written very beautifully"</p>
  
  <p>[你的中文 (topic)] [说得很好 (comment)] "Your Chinese is spoken very well"</p>
  
  <p><em>'你的菜', '你的字' and '你的中文' are the topics</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[你 (topic)] [菜做得很好 (comment)] - "you cook very well"</p>
  
  <p>[你 (topic)] [字写得很漂亮 (comment)] - "you write very beautifully"</p>
  
  <p>[你 (topic)] [中文说得很好 (comment)] - "you speak Chinese very well"</p>
  
  <p><em>'你' is the topics</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>~ </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>'你做得很好', '你写得很漂亮' and '你说得很好' are basic [subject + verb]  phrases</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-05T15:09:42.207Z
Thanks but in English, I feel they are the same...
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-07T15:12:43.493Z
OK, than do continue feeling they are the same, but understand that the grammar is not.
Enrico Brasil
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-04T00:42:27.487Z
2018-06-04T06:05:01.170Z
2018-06-04T06:05:01.170Z
Tang Ho
<p>There's a nuance.</p>

<p>你菜做得很好 means <strong><em>generally your cooking is good</em></strong>.</p>

<p>Well, 你的菜做得很好,  depending on contexts, could mean either <strong><em>generally your cooking is good</em></strong> or <strong><em>the speaker refers to those dishes cooked by you are good</em></strong>. </p>

<p>But in practice, there really isn't any difference and you can use them interchangeably. </p>

<p>This reminds me a similar omission in English: <em>I go see your dog</em> vs <em>I go to see your dog</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-04T01:10:52.140Z
2018-06-04T01:24:27.043Z
2018-06-04T01:24:27.043Z
dan
<p>In the example sentence (according to <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Degree_complement" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Chinese grammar wiki</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>你的菜做得很好。</p>
<p>你的字写得很漂亮。</p>
<p>你的中文说得很好。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In these cases, all use 的 before a noun, once it moves before the verb. The original sentence does not use 的 to modify the noun (e.g. 你做菜做得很好。).</p>
<p>But I feel I have also seen such sentences without 的 modification, for example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>你菜做得很好。</p>
<p>你字写得很漂亮。</p>
<p>你中文说得很好。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or the sentence that made me determined to open this question:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>凭着他的才能和经验，他在云南<strong>事情</strong>办得很顺利。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Maybe syllables are also taken in consideration here. 你中文说得很好 sounds more natural than the others, as those nouns are just one character.</p>
<p>So is it acceptable or not to omit 的 here? Or is it grammatically wrong but used commonly?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-04T00:43:48.167Z
Agree with @TangHo's answer. Generally speaking, 你菜做得很好 is a comment about 你 (subject), while 你的菜做得很好 is a comment about 你的菜 (subject).
dROOOze
<grammar>
Is it acceptable to omit 的 before a noun in degree complement, when the verb follows the noun?
# Is it acceptable to omit 的 before a noun in degree complement, when the verb follows the noun?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-04)

In the example sentence (according to [Chinese grammar wiki](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Degree_complement)):

> 你的菜做得很好。
>
> 你的字写得很漂亮。
>
> 你的中文说得很好。

In these cases, all use 的 before a noun, once it moves before the verb. The original sentence does not use 的 to modify the noun (e.g. 你做菜做得很好。).

But I feel I have also seen such sentences without 的 modification, for example:

> 你菜做得很好。
>
> 你字写得很漂亮。
>
> 你中文说得很好。

Or the sentence that made me determined to open this question:

> 凭着他的才能和经验，他在云南**事情**办得很顺利。

Maybe syllables are also taken in consideration here. 你中文说得很好 sounds more natural than the others, as those nouns are just one character.

So is it acceptable or not to omit 的 here? Or is it grammatically wrong but used commonly?

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Agree with @username_2's answer. Generally speaking, 你菜做得很好 is a comment about 你 (subject), while 你的菜做得很好 is a comment about 你的菜 (subject).  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-06-04. Score: 6

You cannot omit the possessive 的 in 你的菜, 你的字, 你的中文, if your comments are about 'your cooking', 'your writing' or 'your Chinese'

However, you can remove (not omit) '的' to change the topic from '你的~ (your~)' to '你 (you)'

> [你的菜 (topic)] [做得很好(comment)] - "your cooking is cooked very well"
>
> [你的字 (topic)] [写得很漂亮 (comment)] " your writing is written very beautifully"
>
> [你的中文 (topic)] [说得很好 (comment)] "Your Chinese is spoken very well"
>
> *'你的菜', '你的字' and '你的中文' are the topics*

~

> [你 (topic)] [菜做得很好 (comment)] - "you cook very well"
>
> [你 (topic)] [字写得很漂亮 (comment)] - "you write very beautifully"
>
> [你 (topic)] [中文说得很好 (comment)] - "you speak Chinese very well"
>
> *'你' is the topics*

~

> '你做得很好', '你写得很漂亮' and '你说得很好' are basic [subject + verb] phrases

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks but in English, I feel they are the same...  
> **username_3**: OK, than do continue feeling they are the same, but understand that the grammar is not.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-06-04. Score: 2

There's a nuance.

你菜做得很好 means ***generally your cooking is good***.

Well, 你的菜做得很好, depending on contexts, could mean either ***generally your cooking is good*** or ***the speaker refers to those dishes cooked by you are good***.

But in practice, there really isn't any difference and you can use them interchangeably.

This reminds me a similar omission in English: *I go see your dog* vs *I go to see your dog*.


---

