This study investigates the structural differences between the so-called
de
-modification, [Adj
de
N], and the so-called
de
-less modification, [Adj N], in Mandarin Chinese. I argue that the Adj’s followed by
de
are phrasal and have freer syntactic distribution. I further argue that the
de
-less modification should be analyzed as a morphosyntactic word (MWd) under the N head in the sense of Embick — Noyer (2001). This proposal accounts for the ordering fact that Adj’s with
de
cannot intervene between a
de
-less Adj and N or between two
de
-less Adj’s
