Stacked modifiers: 我那两件白色长衬衫
【四36】定语 / sentence components
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
In Chinese every modifier goes before the noun, and when there are several they come in a fixed order, from the outermost to the one nearest the noun:
(1) owner or place (我, 桌子上, 二楼左边) → (2) 这 / 那 + number + measure word (那两件) → (3) a long description, a clause or a phrase with 的 (刚买的, 五千年前的, 很小的) → (4) a short adjective or a type noun, often without 的 (白色, 旧, 长) → (5) the noun. Example: 中间 · 那件 · 五千年前的 · 绿色 · 玉器.
The closer a word is to the noun, the more it says what kind of thing it is, and the more likely it drops its 的 (绿色玉器, 旧杯子). A clause with 的 may also come before 这 / 那 (你刚拍的那两张照片), which is very common; what never moves is the type word next to the noun. Beyond three modifiers, speakers usually split the idea into two sentences.
Examples
我那两个好朋友今天都来了。
Wǒ nà liǎng ge hǎo péngyou jīntiān dōu lái le.Both of my good friends came today.
请把那两张刚拍的照片发给我。
Qǐng bǎ nà liǎng zhāng gāng pāi de zhàopiàn fā gěi wǒ.Please send me those two photos you just took.
我最喜欢桌子上那本很旧的书。
Wǒ zuì xǐhuan zhuōzi shang nà běn hěn jiù de shū.I like that very old book on the table best.
我哥哥那辆新买的黑色小汽车很便宜。
Wǒ gēge nà liàng xīn mǎi de hēisè xiǎo qìchē hěn piányi.My brother's new black little car was cheap.
门口那位戴着帽子的白头发老人是我们的王老师。
Ménkǒu nà wèi dàizhe màozi de bái tóufa lǎorén shì wǒmen de Wáng lǎoshī.The white-haired old man in the hat by the door is our guide, Mr Wang.
我们公司那位刚搬来杭州的西班牙工程师叫马可。
Wǒmen gōngsī nà wèi gāng bān lái Hángzhōu de Xībānyá gōngchéngshī jiào Mǎkě.The Spanish engineer at our company who has just moved to Hangzhou is called Marco.
Common mistakes
✗ 白色两件我的长衬衫 → ✓ 我的两件白色长衬衫 (owner first, then 这 / 那 + number + measure word, then the description, with the type word right against the noun).
✗ 我买的昨天书 → ✓ 我昨天买的书 (the time word goes before the verb, inside the clause).
✗ 那两件的玉器 → ✓ 那两件玉器 (no 的 right after a measure word).