Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān de huìyì hěn zhòngyào.

a possessor to a noun:
- 我的书 → my book
or a modifier (adjective / phrase) to a noun:
- 很重要的会议 → a very important meeting
- 昨天开的会议 → the meeting held yesterday

Here, 今天 is modifying 会议, so we use 的.

Could we say 今天会议很重要 without 的? Is that wrong?

Native speakers do sometimes say 今天会议很重要 in speech, but:

今天的会议很重要 is the standard and safest form, especially in writing.
今天会议很重要 can sound a bit more casual, and in some contexts a bit “clipped” or less natural.

As a learner, treat 今天 + 的 + noun as the normal pattern:

今天的会议
今天的考试
今天的新闻

So: use 今天的会议很重要 as your default.

Why is there no “to be” verb (like 是 shì) before 很重要? Why isn’t it 今天的会议是很重要?

In Chinese, when an adjective describes the subject, you usually do not use 是:

今天的会议很重要。
Literally: “Today’s meeting very important.”

The pattern is:

[Subject] + 很 + [adjective]

Examples:

他很忙。→ He is busy.
这本书很有意思。→ This book is interesting.

今天的会议是很重要 is not wrong, but it’s used for emphasis or contrast, for example:

其他的都一般，今天的会议是很重要。
The others are ordinary; today’s meeting IS very important.

As a default description, say 今天的会议很重要, without 是.

Does 很 (hěn) always mean “very”? Is the sentence saying “Today’s meeting is very important”?

Grammatically, 很 means “very”, but in many everyday sentences it often acts like a neutral link between the subject and an adjective.

他很高。
Literally “He very tall.”
Usually understood simply as “He’s tall”, not necessarily “very tall”.

In 今天的会议很重要:

It can mean “Today’s meeting is very important,” but in many contexts it is just the normal way to say “Today’s meeting is important.”

If you want to emphasize “really, really important”, you might choose a stronger word:

今天的会议非常重要。→ extremely important
今天的会议特别重要。→ especially important

Can I drop 很 and just say 今天的会议重要?

In modern spoken Mandarin, you almost always put something (like 很) before a simple adjective when it’s used as the main predicate.

今天的会议很重要。 ✅ Natural
今天的会议重要。
- Possible in written or formal style, or in certain fixed patterns
- In everyday speech, it often sounds abrupt or unnatural.

So for normal conversation, keep 很:

今天的会议很重要。

What part of speech is 重要 (zhòngyào)? Is it an adjective or a verb?

In traditional English terms, 重要 is an adjective meaning “important”.

But in Chinese grammar, many adjectives can act like verbs in the sense that they directly form a predicate without 是:

今天的会议很重要。→ literally “Today’s meeting very-important.”
天气很冷。→ “The weather (is) cold.”

So:

You can think of 重要 as an adjective,
but remember that Chinese lets adjectives work more “verb-like” than English does.

How is 会议 (huìyì) different from 开会 (kāi huì)?

会议 (huìyì) = a meeting / conference (a noun)
- 今天的会议很重要。→ Today’s meeting is important.
- 我们有一个会议。→ We have a meeting.
开会 (kāi huì) = to have/hold a meeting (a verb phrase)
- 我们下午三点开会。→ We have a meeting at 3 p.m.
- 老板在开会。→ The boss is in a meeting.

So:

Use 会议 when you talk about the meeting itself as a thing.
Use 开会 when you talk about the action of meeting.

Where can 今天 go in the sentence? Is 今天的会议很重要 the only correct word order?

Several positions are possible, with slightly different focus:

今天的会议很重要。
- Most common.
- Focus: the meeting today is important.
今天，会议很重要。
- “Today, the meeting is important.”
- Slightly more like setting a time frame (“as for today…”).
会议今天很重要。
- Less common, and can sound a bit odd.
- Feels like focusing on today as the time when it’s important, vs. other days.

For a learner:

Use 今天的会议很重要 as your standard, natural word order.

How would I say “Today we have a very important meeting” using this vocabulary?

A natural sentence:

今天我们有一个很重要的会议。
- 今天 → today
- 我们 → we
- 有 → have
- 一个 → one / a (measure word + number)
- 很重要的会议 → a very important meeting

Here:

很重要的会议 is an adjective phrase (很重要) modifying 会议, linked by 的.
The original sentence 今天的会议很重要 emphasizes “the meeting (we have) today is important”,
while 今天我们有一个很重要的会议 emphasizes “today we (will) have such an important meeting.”

What’s the correct measure word for 会议 if I want to say “one meeting, two meetings”?

The usual measure word is 个 (gè):

一个会议 → one meeting
两个会议 → two meetings

So you could say:

今天有一个重要的会议。→ There is an important meeting today.
我这周有三个会议。→ I have three meetings this week.

How are the tones pronounced in this sentence? Any tone-sandhi I should know about?

Characters with pinyin and tones:

今天 → jīn (1st) tiān (1st)
的 → de (neutral tone)
会议 → huì (4th) yì (4th)
很 → hěn (3rd)
重要 → zhòng (4th) yào (4th)

Main points:

很 (hěn) is an isolated 3rd tone, so it’s a low dipping tone, but in fluent speech it’s often pronounced as a “half” 3rd tone (low, not fully dipping).
There is no 3rd–3rd sequence here, so you don’t need the classic 3rd-tone sandhi (where the first 3rd tone becomes a 2nd tone).

So you can pronounce it as: > jīn tiān de huì yì hěn zhòng yào

I see 的 (de) here. How is it different from 得 (de) and 地 (de)?

All three are pronounced de, but they have different roles:

的
- Links modifiers to nouns.
- 今天的会议 → today’s meeting
- 很重要的会议 → a very important meeting
- 我的书 → my book
得
- Follows a verb or adjective to introduce a complement (degree, result, etc.).
- 说得很好 → speak very well
- 跑得很快 → run very fast
地
- Used after an adverbial modifier before a verb (more common in writing).
- 认真地学习 → study seriously
- 高兴地说 → say happily

In 今天的会议很重要, only 的 is appropriate because it links 今天 to the noun 会议.