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 昨天'Yesterday' is emphasized.
  • 去年 到 北京 去 'Last year' is emphasized.
  • 坐 飞机 去 美国 'By plane' is emphasized.
  • 跟 他 朋友 唱歌 'With his friends' is emphasized.
  • 在 英国 学 英文 'In Britain' is emphasized.
  • 在 中国 出生 '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:

  • 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭
  • 我 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭
  • 我 上 个 星期六 跟 我 家人 在 饭馆 吃饭

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

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

Focusing on place

  • 在 美国 学习 英文
  • 他们 在 图书馆 认识
  • 我们 在 家里 喝醉

Focusing on manner

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

Focusing on instrument

  • 用 法文 信。
  • 他 小 的时候 用 筷子 吃饭
  • 用 电脑 学习 汉语

Focusing on agent

  • 被 谁 杀害
  • 我的 钱包 被 男人 偷走
  • 你的 玩具 被 你 妹妹 弄破
See also: 被 sentence

Focusing on target

  • 给 谁 饭?
  • 为 你 回来
  • 对 你 感 兴趣

Negating 是 ... 的

是 ... 的 and questions

是 is often optional

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

Sources and further reading

Books

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