Notes:

The Mandarin Chinese equivalent of the possessive pronoun is made by taking a pronoun and attaching the particle 的 de to it.

的 de has no meaning by itself, but instead creates a relationship between two words. Generally speaking, 的 de makes the word that comes before it define the word that comes after it in some way.

When used to create possessive adjectives (and pronouns), 的 de indicates that the pronoun (我，你，她 etc.) will alter the identity of another word, specifically by claiming some kind of possession over it.

When talking about possession, we can think of 的 de as being similar to the apostrophe + s in English - Matt's book, Sarah's pen.

Notes:

Of course, strictly speaking Your teacher is who? is not correct English; however, such a construction is perfectly OK in Mandarin Chinese. If you remember from lesson 7, where we looked at 哪 nǎ which, the interrogative pronoun occupies the same place in a sentence that the answer does.

Notes:

In cases where adjectives are single syllables there is no need to add the particle 的 de between the adjective and the noun it is modifying, 好朋友 hǎo péngyou good friend.

Likewise, when a noun is used to modify another noun, 中国朋友 Zhōngguó péngyou Chinese friend, 外国朋友 wàiguó péngyǒu foreign friend, there is no need to add the particle 的 de.

Notes:

的 de can likewise be added after names to indicate possession. As with possessive pronouns, it follows the pattern: (possessor) 的 de (possessed).
 

Notes:

请进! Qǐnɡ jìn! and 请坐! Qǐng zuò! are often the first things you hear when visiting a person's home, office, restaurant, etc. 进 jìn means enter and 坐 zuò means sit. 请 Qǐnɡ, meaning please, is added before the verbs to convey a feeling of hospitality and warmth.

The verb 坐 zuò sit is used for myriad purposes that its English counterpart is not, and we will be looking at it again more closely. Likewise, 请 Qǐnɡ has connotations and uses that the English equivalent please does not have - 请 Qǐnɡ can be used when inviting someone out, or when offering to treat the other person to a meal, as well as when instructing a superior on procedure.