是……的

shì……de

Lesson 6: The 是……的 sentence

Use 是……的 to emphasize the time, place, manner, purpose, or participant of an action that has already happened or been completed.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 3 · Lesson 6

我(是)去年九月来中国的。

Wǒ (shì) qùnián jiǔyuè lái Zhōngguó de.

I came to China last September.

Explanation

Chinese uses “是……的” to emphasize the time, place, manner, purpose, participant, etc. of an action that has already happened or been completed.

In an affirmative sentence, “是” can be omitted; in a negative sentence it cannot be omitted (you cannot drop 不是).

If the verb has a noun as its object, the object usually goes after “的”.

Structure

  1. Ssubject是optionalthời gian / địa điểm / phương thức / mục đích / đối tượngVverb的

    Affirmative form; 是 can be omitted.

    • 我(是)去年九月来中国的。

      Wǒ (shì) qùnián jiǔyuè lái Zhōngguó de.

      I came to China last September.

    • 我们(是)从美国来的。

      Wǒmen (shì) cóng Měiguó lái de.

      We came from America.

    • 他(是)坐飞机来的。

      Tā (shì) zuò fēijī lái de.

      He came by plane.

    • 我是上个星期去的。

      Wǒ shì shàng ge xīngqī qù de.

      I left last week.

    • 她是从德国来的。

      Tā shì cóng Déguó lái de.

      She came from Germany.

  2. Ssubject不是 ……Vverb的,是 ……Vverb的

    Negative form; 是 cannot be omitted.

    • 我不是来旅行的,我是来留学的。

      Wǒ bú shì lái lǚxíng de, wǒ shì lái liúxué de.

      I didn't come to travel; I came to study abroad.

    • 她不是一个人来的,是跟朋友一起来的。

      Tā bú shì yí ge rén lái de, shì gēn péngyou yìqǐ lái de.

      She didn't come alone; she came with a friend.

    • 他们不是坐火车来的,是坐飞机来的。

      Tāmen bú shì zuò huǒchē lái de, shì zuò fēijī lái de.

      They didn't come by train; they came by plane.

    • A:她是一个人来的吗? B:不是,她是跟旅游团一起来的。

      A: Tā shì yí ge rén lái de ma? B: Bú shì, tā shì gēn lǚyóutuán yìqǐ lái de.

      A: Did she come alone? B: No, she came with a tour group.

  3. Ssubject是…Vverb的宾语

    An object that is a noun usually goes after 的.

    • A:你是在哪儿学的汉语? B:在北京学的(汉语)。

      A: Nǐ shì zài nǎr xué de Hànyǔ? B: Zài Běijīng xué de (Hànyǔ).

      A: Where did you study Chinese? B: In Beijing.

    • A:你怎么去的上海? B:我坐飞机去的上海。

      A: Nǐ zěnme qù de Shànghǎi? B: Wǒ zuò fēijī qù de Shànghǎi.

      A: How did you go to Shanghai? B: I went to Shanghai by plane.

    • 你是什么时候去的北京?

      Nǐ shì shénme shíhou qù de Běijīng?

      When did you go to Beijing?

    • 我的汉语是在我们大学学的。

      Wǒ de Hànyǔ shì zài wǒmen dàxué xué de.

      I learned my Chinese at our university.

Usage notes

  • Asking about time, place of origin, manner, and who someone came with: 你是什么时候到的?/ 你是从哪国来的?/ 你们是怎么去的?/ 你是一个人来的吗?
  • A 是……的 sentence ends in 的; put 不是 right before the part being emphasized: 我不是坐火车来中国的。

Common mistakes

  • 你是什么时候来了中国?

    你是什么时候来的中国?/ 你是什么时候来中国的?

    don't use 了 in a 是……的 sentence

  • 我是在操场看见了玛丽的。

    我是在操场看见玛丽的

  • 我来中国不是坐火车的。

    我不是坐火车来中国的

  • 我们是坐汽车到博物馆去的参观。

    我们是坐汽车去博物馆参观的

  • 我是和朋友一起去大使馆。

    我是和朋友一起去大使馆的

Practice

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