 On the other hand , when a noun is not counted or introduced with a demonstrative , a classifier is not necessary : for example , there is a classifier in <unk> ( sān <unk> <unk> , three @-@ CL car , " three cars " ) but not in <unk> ( wǒ @-@ de <unk> , me @-@ possessive car , " my car " ) . Furthermore , numbers and demonstratives are often not required in Chinese , so speakers may choose not to use one — and thus not to use a classifier . For example , to say " Zhangsan turned into a tree " , both <unk> ( <unk> <unk> <unk> yì kē <unk> , Zhangsan become PAST one CL tree ) and <unk> ( <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> , Zhangsan become PAST tree ) are acceptable . The use of classifiers after demonstratives is in fact optional . Likewise , in colloquial speech and in certain idioms , classifiers are sometimes not used even in numeral phrases . 
