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 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 emphasising a particular detail.

While not strictly tied to any "tense," the 是... 的 construction is frequently used when asking details about the past or telling details about the past.

Basic 是... 的 structure

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

Subject + 是 + information to be emphasized + Verb + 的

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

Simple Question Examples

These are some of the most common questions asked using the 是... 的 construction and some possible answers:

• 你 是 怎么 来 的 ？ (Emphasizing "how" or "in what manner") How did you come?
• 你 是 怎么 做 的 ？ (Emphasizing "how" or "in what manner") How did you do it?
• 是 谁 告诉 你 的 ？ (Emphasizing "who") Who was it that told you?
• 你 是 什么时候 来 的 ？ (Emphasizing "when") When did you come?

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.

Other Examples

Some examples where time is emphasized:

• 我们 是 昨天 来 的。 "Yesterday" is emphasized.We came yesterday.
• 他 是 去年 到 北京 去 的。 "Last year is emphasized.He went to Beijing last year.

Some examples where manner is emphasized:

• 她 是 坐 飞机 去 美国 的。 "By plane" is emphasized.She went to America by plane.
• 我 是 从 香港 转机 到 上海 的。 "from Hong Kong" is emphasized" I'm coming to Shanghai from Hong Kong.

Some examples where place is emphasized:

• 我 是 在 英国 学 英文 的。 "In Britain" is emphasized.I studied English in Britain.
• 你 是 在 中国 出生 的。 "In China" is emphasized.You were born in China.

Singling out details for emphasis 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。I ate with my family in a restaurant last Saturday.

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。"last Saturday" is emphasized.
• 我 上 个 星期六 是 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭 的。"with my family" is emphasized.
• 我 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 是 在 饭馆 吃饭 的。"in a restaurant" is emphasized.

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.

Negating 是... 的

是... 的 sentences can only be negated with 不, as 没 can not be used to negate 是. Place 不 before 是 as you would in a standard sentence.

Some examples:

• 我们 不 是 坐 火车 来 的。We didn't come by train.
• 这个电话不 是 打给他的。This phone call wasn't given to him indeed.
• 我们 不 是 去 看她 的。We didn't go to see her.

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 last sentence, the implication is that 你 didn't go out with 她, but did go out with someone. So negative 是... 的 constructions would work nicely in the final scenes of detective dramas.

是... 的 and questions

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

• With a question particle
• With a question word
• Within affirmative-negative questions

Some examples:

• 你 是 用 手枪 杀害 他 的 吗？Did you use a pistol to murder him?
• 他 是 坐 飞机 去 意大利 的 吗？Did you take a plane to Italy?

• 你 是 跟 谁 出去 的？Who did you go out with?
• 你 是 怎么 来 北京 的？How did you come to Beijing?

• 你们 是 不是 去年 认识 的？Did you meet each other last year?
• 你的 车 是 不是 你弟弟 开 走 的？Was your car driven away by your brother?

是 is often optional

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.

Some examples:

• 他 （是） 昨天 来 的。He came yesterday.
• 我们 （是） 两 个 月 以前 认识 的。We met two months ago.
• 我 （是） 用 中文 问路 的。I used Chinese to ask the way.

Where to put 的 in a 是... 的 construction

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.

For example:

• 我 是 在 英国 学 的 英语。I studied English in England.

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.

Sometimes this arrangement is useful for avoiding ambiguity in the sentence.

More 是... 的 emphasis examples

The 是... 的 construction is very versatile and can be used to pick out a large variety of details in a sentence. Have a look at the examples below to get a stronger grasp of how this structure can be used.

Focusing on time

• 我 是 上 个 星期五 来 的。"last Friday" is emphasized.I came last Friday.
• 那 时候，我 是 每 天 坐 车 上班 的。"every day" is emphasized.Back then, I rode my bicycle to work every day.
• 我们 是 十 年 以前 认识 的。"ten years ago" is emphasized.We met each other ten years ago.

Focusing on place

• 她 是 在 美国 学习 英文 的。"in America" is emphasized.She studied English in America.
• 他们 是 在 图书馆 认识 的。"in the library" is emphasized.They met each other in the library.
• 我们 是 在 家里 喝醉 的。"in the house" is emphasized.We got drunk in the house.

Focusing on manner

• 我 是 跟 我 朋友 出去 玩 的。"with my friends" is emphasized.I went out to have a good time with my friends.
• 我 是 开车 回家 的。"by car" is emphasized.I came home by car.
• 他 是 花 了 半 个 小时 到 他 家 的。NEED EXPLANATION

Focusing on instrument

• 我 是 用 法文 写 的 信。"used French" is emphasized.I used French to write the letter.
• 他 小 的时候 是 用 筷子 吃饭 的。"used chopsticks" is emphasized.When I was younger, I used chopsticks to eat.
• 她 是 用 电脑 学习 汉语 的。"used the computer" is emphasized.She used the computer to study Chinese.

Focusing on agent

• 他 是 被 谁 杀害 的？"by whom" is emphasized.Who was he killed by?
• 我的 钱包 是 被 男人 偷走 的。"by a man" is emphasized.My wallet was stolen by a man.
• 你的 玩具 是 被 你 妹妹 弄破 的。"by your sister" is emphasized.Your toy was broken by your sister.

See also: 被 sentence

Focusing on target

• 你 是 给 谁 做 的 饭？"who" is emphasized.Who did you make food for?
• 我 是 为 你 回来 的。"for you" is emphasized.I came back for you.
• 他 是 对 你 说 的 这件事？"to you" is emphasized.

See also

• 的 (modal particle)
• Adding emphasis with "jiushi"
• Uses of "shi... de"

Sources and further reading

Books

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 577-9) →buy
• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 54-5) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 46-7, 173-80) →buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 319-22) →buy
• Contemporary Chinese 2 (当代中文2) (pp. 46) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 119-121) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 14-6) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 152-4) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 587-94) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 233-5) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 88-9, 153) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 204-5) →buy
• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Threshold Vol. 2 (汉语口语入门篇下) (pp. 66-8) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (p. 530)→buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 205)→buy

Websites

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