Difference between revisions of "The "shi... de" construction for emphasizing details"
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== 是 is often optional == | == 是 is often optional == | ||
Revision as of 03:33, 10 August 2011
| This article is a stub. Editors can help the Chinese Grammar Wiki by expanding it. |
- 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.
Contents
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.
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。
- 他 不 是 用 毛笔 写 的 信。
- 你 不 是 跟 她 出去 的。
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
- With positive-negative inversion
Some examples:
是 is often optional
Where to put 的 in a 是 ... 的 construction
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。
- 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。
- 他 小 的时候 是 用 筷子 吃饭 的。
- 她 是 用 电脑 学习 汉语 的。
Focusing on agent
- 他 是 被 谁 杀害 的？
- 我的 钱包 是 被 男人 偷走 的。
- 你的 玩具 是 被 你 妹妹 弄破 的。
- See also: 被 sentence
Focusing on target
- 你 是 给 谁 做 的 饭？
- 我 是 为 你 回来 的。
- 他 是 对 你 感 兴趣 的。
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
