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 (shì... de) construction is used to draw particular attention to certain information in a sentence. It's often used to ask questions that seek specific information, or to explain a situation by emphasizing a particular detail. While not strictly tied to any "tense," the 是⋯⋯的 construction is frequently used when asking or telling details about the past.

When to use it

Even if you understand that 了 is not used to mark "past tense" in Chinese, it's possible that you incorrectly use it that way sometimes. For example, what if you want to ask a question about something that happened in the past? Would you ever say one of the following sentences?

  • 你 昨天 几点 到 了 ？Nǐ zuótiān jǐ diǎn dào le?What time did you arrive yesterday?
  • 你 跟 谁 去 了 ？Nǐ gēn shéi qù le?Who did you go with?
  • 他 用 什么 打 你 了 ？Tā yòng shénme dǎ nǐ le?What did he use to hit you?

In each of these sentences above, 了 is not the right choice, because you're not asking if an event happened or not. You're asking about details of past events. When you are singling out details for emphasis--in a question or a statement--you need to use the 是⋯⋯的 construction.

A 是⋯⋯的 construction can pick out any detail that's related to a past event. Whatever comes immediately after 是 is emphasized. Check out this example:

  • A: 昨天 我 去 杭州 了。Zuótiān wǒ qù Hángzhōu le.I will go to Hangzhou tomorrow.
  • B: 你 是 怎么 去 的 ？Nǐ shì zěnme qù de?How did you get there?
  • A: 我 是 坐 火车 去 的 。Wǒ shì zuò huǒchē qù de.I went by train.

Now let's revisit those other three sentences and ask the questions correctly with 是⋯⋯的:

  • 你 昨天 是 几点 到 的 ？Nǐ zuótiān shì jǐ diǎn dào de?What time did you arrive yesterday?
  • 你 是 跟 谁 去 的 ？Nǐ shì gēn shéi qù de?Who did you go with?
  • 他 是 用 什么 打 你 的 ？Tā shì yòng shénme dǎ nǐ de?What did he use to hit you?

Affirmative Form

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... "

Structure

Subj. + 是 + [Information to be Emphasized] + Verb + 的

This structure can be used to emphasize any detail, but most commonly it emphasizes time, manner, or place. Don't worry if this still seems a little confusing; lots of helpful examples are coming up!

Examples

  • 你们 是 什么 时候 到 的 ？Emphasizing "when"Nǐmen shì shénme shíhou dào de?When did you arrive?
  • 我们 是 昨天 到 的 。"Yesterday" is emphasized.Wǒmen shì zuótiān dào de.We arrived yesterday.
  • 你 是 在 哪儿 出生 的 ？"Where" is emphasized.Nǐ shì zài nǎr chūshēng de?Where were you born?
  • 我 是 在 中国 出生 的 。"In China" is emphasized.Wǒ shì zài Zhōngguó chūshēng de.I was born in China.

Although this structure is called the 是⋯⋯的 construction, the 是 is nearly always optional. You will often hear this structure with 是 omitted, so be aware. The only time 是 is required in this construction is when it's being negated. Other than that, 是 is commonly omitted.

  • 你 骑 自行车 来 的 吗 ？Emphasizing "by bike"Nǐ qí zìxíngchē lái de ma?Did you come by bike?
  • 我 走 来 的 。Emphasizing "by foot"Wǒ zǒu lái de.I came by foot.
  • 谁 告诉 你 的 ？Emphasizing "who"Shéi gàosu nǐ de?Who was it that told you?
  • 一 个 同事 告诉 我 的 。Emphasizing "a colleague"Yī gè tóngshì gàosu wǒ de.It was a colleague that told me.

You might be wondering, "can I still say the same thing without the 是 and the 的?" The answer is that in most cases, no, not really. While the 是 can sometimes be dropped, these examples sound weird without the 的. It's just a part of learning to ask questions naturally in Mandarin. You don't have to learn a "past tense," but you do have to learn this way of asking for details about the past, sooner or later.

Negative Form

是⋯⋯的 sentences can only be negated with 不, as 没 can not be used to negate 是.

是 can't be omitted in this construction because it's being negated.

Examples

  • 我 不 是 走 来 的 。Wǒ bù shì zǒu lái de.I didn't come by foot.
  • 他 不 是 跟 我们 一起 去 的 。Tā bù shì gēn wǒmen yīqǐ qù de.He didn't go together with us.
  • 他们 不 是 在 网上 认识 的 。Tāmen bù shì zài wǎngshàng rènshi de.They didn't meet online.

Note that negating a 是⋯⋯的 construction creates the implication that the action in the sentence was carried out, and only the detail emphasized by 是⋯⋯的 is being denied. So, in the second sentence, the implication is that 他 didn't go with 我们, but did go out with someone. So negative 是⋯⋯的 constructions would work nicely in the final scenes of detective dramas.

Used in a Question

是⋯⋯的 constructions can be made into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Chinese:

Examples

  • 你们 是 不 是 去年 认识 的 ？Nǐmen shì bu shì qùnián rènshi de?Did you meet each other last year?
  • 这个 东西 多少钱 买 的 ？Zhège dōngxi duōshǎo qián mǎi de?How much did this thing cost?
  • 她 用 邮件 回复 的 吗 ？Tā yòng yóujiàn huífù de ma?Did she reply by email?

Where to put 的

Up till now we've said that 的 appears at the end of the sentence in a 是⋯⋯的 construction. This is very often the case. However, if there's an object, 的 can appear before the object.

Examples

  • 他 是 在 AllSet Learning 学 的 中文 。the 的 comes before the object 中文Tā shì zài AllSet Learning xué de Zhōngwén.He studied Chinese with AllSet Learning.
  • 他们 是 昨天 晚上 见 的 面 。the 的 comes before the object 面Tāmen shì zuótiān wǎnshang jiàn de miàn.They met last night.
  • 是 谁 开 的 空调 ？the 的 comes before the object 空调Shì shéi kāi de kōngtiáo?Who turned on the air conditioner?

Note that if the object is a person, 的 has to go at the end of the sentence. Otherwise it can go before the object or at the end of the sentence.

  • 我 是 在 咖啡店 认识 的 我 男朋友 。I met my boyfriend in a cafe.
  • 我 是 在 咖啡店 认识 我 男朋友 的 。Wǒ shì zài kāfēi diàn rènshi wǒ nánpéngyou de.I met my boyfriend in a cafe.

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.

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books

Websites
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