The "shi... de" construction for emphasizing details

Also known as: 是⋯⋯的结构 (shì ... de jiégòu), 是 ... 的 sentence and 是 ... 的 pattern.

The 是 ... 的 construction appears commonly in Chinese and is used to draw particular attention to certain information in a sentence. It's often used to respond to questions that seek specific information, or to explain a situation by emphasising a particular detail.

Basic 是 ... 的 structure

A 是 ... 的 sentence is formed with this structure:

Subject + 是 + information to emphasized + Verb + 的

This structure can be used to emphasise any detail, but most commonly it emphasises time, manner, or place.

Some examples:

• 我们 是 昨天 来 的。 'Yesterday' is emphasized.
• 他 是 去年 到 北京 去 的。 'Last year' is emphasized.

• 她 是 坐 飞机 去 美国 的。 'By plane' is emphasized.
• 他 是 跟 他 朋友 唱歌 的。 'With his friends' is emphasized.

• 我 是 在 英国 学 英文 的。 'In Britain' is emphasized.
• 你 是 在 中国 出生 的。 'In China' is emphasized.

Picking out different details with 是 ... 的

As mentioned above, a 是 ... 的 construction can pick out any detail in a sentence. Whatever comes immediately after 是 is emphasized. So in the sentence below:

• 我 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭。

We can pick out any one of the details by putting 是 in front of it:

• 我 是 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭 的。
• 我 上 个 星期六 是 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭 的。
• 我 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 是 在 饭馆 吃饭 的。

When to use 是 ... 的

As described above, the 是 ... 的 construction is used to draw attention to particular information in a sentence. Whereas a sentence without a 是 ... 的 construction might describe a situation, a sentence with a 是 ... 的 construction explains it. 是 ... 的 is not generally used for reporting new information, but for adding important details that make the information clearer.

You could think of 是 ... 的 as being equivalent to saying one of the following in English:

• "The situation is that"
• "It's that ..."
• "It was ... that ..."

If the sentence could be formed with one of those phrases in English, it can probably use a 是 ... 的 construction in Chinese. Usually the topic of a 是 ... 的 sentence has already been established.

Completed action

It's important to note that a 是 ... 的 construction also indicates that an action has been completed. However, this is not the purpose of a 是 ... 的 construction. The association with a completed action is more like a side effect of 是 ... 的. This means you shouldn't use 是 ... 的 just to indicate that an action is completed. Use the aspect particle 了 for that. Instead, use 是 ... 的 to draw attention to particular features of the action, as detailed below.

More 是 ... 的 emphasis examples

Focusing on time

• 我 是 上 个 星期五 来 的。
• 那 时候，我 是 每 天 坐 车 上班 的。
• 我们 是 十 年 以前 认识 的。

Focusing on place

• 她 是 在 美国 学习 英文 的。
• 他们 是 在 图书馆 认识 的。
• 我们 是 在 家里 喝醉 的。

Focusing on manner

• 我 是 跟 我 朋友 出去 玩 的。
• 我 是 开车 回家 的。
• 他 是 很 快地 到 他 家 来 的。

Focusing on instrument

• 我 是 用 法文 写 的 信。

Sources and further reading

Books

• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 587 - 594)

Websites

• University website: The shi ... de construction
• East Asia Student: The 是 … 的 construction in Mandarin