wǒ de bàngōngshì zhōuwéi hěn ānjìng, dōngtiān yǒu nuǎnqì, xiàtiān yǒu kōngtiáo.

The area around my office is very quiet; in winter there is heating, and in summer there is air conditioning.

Breakdown of wǒ de bàngōngshì zhōuwéi hěn ānjìng, dōngtiān yǒu nuǎnqì, xiàtiān yǒu kōngtiáo.

• 我wǒ: I
• 很hěn: very
• 的de: possessive particle
• 有yǒu: to have

Questions & Answers about wǒ de bàngōngshì zhōuwéi hěn ānjìng, dōngtiān yǒu nuǎnqì, xiàtiān yǒu kōngtiáo.

What does 的 do in 我的办公室? Is it necessary?

的 (de) is a possessive particle.

• 我 (wǒ) = I / me
• 我的 (wǒ de) = my
• 办公室 (bàngōngshì) = office

So 我的办公室 literally means “my office”.

In this sentence 的 is necessary; 我办公室 is not natural here. With most nouns, you use 的 to show possession.

Why is it 我的办公室周围 and not something like 在我的办公室周围?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

• 我的办公室周围很安静。
  Literally: The area around my office is very quiet.
  Here 我的办公室周围 functions as the subject/noun phrase: “the surroundings of my office”.

• 在我的办公室周围很安静。
  Literally: At around my office, (it) is very quiet.
  在 (zài) makes it a location phrase, like “at / in / around my office”.

The original is more natural because we’re treating “the area around my office” as the subject.
在 is often used when the main subject is understood or omitted, e.g. 在办公室里很安静。

Does 很 really mean “very” here? Could you say 我办公室周围安静 without 很?