The "shi... de" construction for emphasizing details

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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 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.

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 是 坐 火车 来 的。
  • 是 用 毛笔 写 的 信。
  • 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:

Some examples:

  • 你 是 用 手枪 杀害 他 的
  • 他 是 坐 飞机 去 意大利 的
  • 你 是 跟 出去 的?
  • 你 是 怎么 来 北京 的?
  • 你们 是 不是 去年 认识 的?
  • 你的 自行车 是 不是 被 这 个 人 偷走 的?

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
  • 我们 (是) 两 个 月 以前 认识
  • 我 (是) 用 中文 问路

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:

  • 在 英国 学习 英语。

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

  • 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

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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