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 went to Hangzhou yesterday.
  • 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

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

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.

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

What happens when you lose 是

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.

Generally, 是 can be omitted, and this will change the affirmative tone in the sentence, but the meaning will not change. However, in a small number of cases, omitting 是 will make the emphasized part of the sentence unclear. At this time, you need to use the speaker's accent of certain words to distinguish what is being emphasized. Take a look at this example:

  • 你 上周 和 他 去 北京 的 吗 ？Nǐ shàng zhōu hé tā qù Běijīng de ma?Did you go to Beijing with him last weekend?

This sentence could emphasize 上周 (time), or 和他 (part of the subject). To figure out which one the sentence is emphasizing you need to specifically look at the position of 是.

  • 你 是 上周 和 他 去 北京 的 吗 ？ Nǐ shì shàng zhōu hé tā qù běijīng de ma?
  • 你 上周 是 和他 去 北京 的 吗 ？Nǐ shàng zhōu shì hé tā qù běijīng de ma?Did you go to Beijing with him last weekend?

Both these sentences are correct. In the first sentence 是 is in front of 上周, therefore the emphasis is on 上周. In the second sentence 是 is in front of 和他, so 和他 is emphasized.

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 here as it's being negated.

Some examples:

  • 他们 不是 在 网上 认识 的 。Tāmen bù shì zài wǎngshàng rènshi de.They didn't meet online.
  • 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.
  • 我 不 坐 地铁 来 的 。Wǒ bù zuò dìtiě lái de.I didn't come by metro.
  • 我 不 在 中国 出生 的 。Wǒ bù zài Zhōngguó chūshēng de. I wasn't born in China.

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:

Some 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?

Position of 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, it can be a little tricky when you change the position of 的. Take a look at the example below:

  • 我们 是 用 Skype 开 会 的 。Wǒmen shì yòng Skype kāi huì de.We had a meeting by Skype.
  • 我们 是 用 Skype 开 的 会 。Wǒmen shì yòng Skype kāi de huì.

As you can see, when the verb is followed by an object, 的 can go before or after the object. Both sentences are correct in grammar while the first the sentence can also mean "We have meetings by Skype." You can even remove the 是 and 的 and it won't affect the meaning or completeness of the sentence 句子的意思和完整性。

  • 你 是 上周 和 他 一起 去 北京 的 吗 ？Wǒ shì zài túshūguǎn rènshi de ma? Did you go to Beijing with him last week?.
  • 你 上周 是 和 他 一起 去 北京 的 吗 ？shì de ma?Last week, did you go to Beijing with him?

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

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