的 as a possesive, is it only used when referring to items?

[brandonwee]

is 的 only used when you want to say something stuff like this?

My pen = 我的笔

but when referring to people, let's say mom and dad, is it still proper to use 的?

My dad = 我父亲 and not 我的父亲?

[drencrom]

AFAIK it's dropped when talking about relatives as it's blazingly obvious and doesn't need to be included.

[Sukhoi]

Its ok

我的父亲or 我父亲 both of them are right.

[skylee]

is it still proper

Take a look -> https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E6%88%91%E7%9A%84%E7%88%B6%E4%BA%B2%E6%AF%8D%E4%BA%B2

[Lupeianii]

They are the same. 我的父亲 seems more formally than 我父亲

我父亲 always used in verbal chatting.

[zhanghanting]

Here are clear explanations regarding when the possessive use of 的 is appropriate.

Sometimes is 的 needed:

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_possession

Sometimes 的 is not needed:

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_close_possession

In addition to "people," you may also opt out of using 的 in cases dealing with organizational/institutional relationships. For example:

我们学校 ("our school") sounds more natural without a 的.

[liuzhou]

My parents are an "item". Have been for over 60 years!

[Hofmann]

Not because it's obvious, but because 我 also means "my."

[Quamarine]

Of course not. It can be used as adverb and much more, due to the fact that more Chinese people tend to ignore the differences among 的 地 得 and use only 的 to replace them all ( Still, some ( including me ) will notice it and consider it wrong. I insist using it correct )

And many phrases contains 的 like 好的 ，没事的

It is much more like " akh " and " oh "

[liuzhou]

I insist using it correct

[LearneЯ]

@Hofmann

That might be true, but this form is not restricted to 我. Moreover, this form is not even reserved solely for pronouns either, it can be used with nouns as well:

他叔叔会来接我们的 （example with 他)

爷爷手表坏了 (example with a random person)

电视屏幕为什么不亮了？ （instead of 电视的屏幕）

But as a non-native speaker, it all depends on how the sentence "feels" to me. For instance, 电视屏幕为什么不亮了？ sound quite all right to me but I would add 的 in 旧电视的屏幕为什么不亮了？ as it would sound awkward to me without 的. I am, of course, still far from being fully fluent, so take it with a grain of salt.

[sherill]

“de” does not only refer to items but also to people.

“de” is usually omitted in close relation between people like我爸爸，我妈妈，我朋友，他弟弟.

But if there is not only one modifier in front of the last noun, you need to say “de” is necessary.

Eg: 我爸爸的朋友, 他女朋友的妈妈

[MandarinCslpod]

Not exactly. “的” also can be used to introduce abstract concepts. For example 儿子的出生， 新书的发行， 她的无厘头……