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Level Independent Chinese · HSK 3

是…的: Stressing When, Where and How

Once both speakers know something happened, the conversation moves to the details. "You're here! When did you arrive? How did you come?" For those questions Chinese uses 是…的 (shì…de) around the detail, not 了.

了 announces an event. 是…的 takes the event for granted and focuses on one circumstance of it.

是 + detail + verb + 的

是 goes right before the detail you're stressing (time, place, manner, companion, person); 的 goes at the end. In positive sentences 是 can be dropped, 的 can't. The negative is 不是…的.

  • 你是什么时候来的？——我是去年来的。

    Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái de? — Wǒ shì qùnián lái de.

    When did you come? — Last year.

  • 你是怎么来的？——坐飞机来的。

    Nǐ shì zěnme lái de? — Zuò fēijī lái de.

    How did you get here? — By plane.

  • 他是跟朋友一起去的。

    Tā shì gēn péngyou yìqǐ qù de.

    He went with friends.

  • 我不是在北京出生的。

    Wǒ bú shì zài Běijīng chūshēng de.

    I wasn't born in Beijing.

  • 这是谁做的？

    Zhè shì shéi zuò de?

    Who made this?

了 or 是…的?

The question is whether the event itself is the news. If it is, use 了. If it's known and you're asking or telling about a detail, use 是…的.

FocusExample
了the event is news他来了。 He's arrived.
是…的a detail of a known event他是昨天来的。 He arrived yesterday (it was yesterday that he came).

Where the object goes

With an object, 的 can come at the end or right before the object. Before the object is very common in speech.

  • 你是在哪儿学的中文？

    Nǐ shì zài nǎr xué de Zhōngwén?

    Where did you learn Chinese?

  • 我是在大学学中文的。

    Wǒ shì zài dàxué xué Zhōngwén de.

    I learned Chinese at university.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我是去年来了。

    ✓我是去年来的。

    Wǒ shì qùnián lái de.

    是 pairs with 的, not 了.

  • ✗你什么时候来了中国？

    ✓你是什么时候来中国的？

    Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái Zhōngguó de?

    The arrival is known; you're asking about a detail of it, so use 是…的.

  • ✗我没是坐飞机来的。

    ✓我不是坐飞机来的。

    Wǒ bú shì zuò fēijī lái de.

    The negative of 是 is always 不是.

Questions learners ask

Can 是…的 talk about the future?

Not in this pattern: it's for past events. A different 的 at the end of a sentence adds certainty (他会来的, he will come), but that's not stressing a detail.

Can I leave out 是?

Yes, in positive statements and questions: 你什么时候来的？ is very common. In the negative 是 must stay: 不是…的.

Practice this in lessons

The Everyday Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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