是…的 (shì…de): when, where and how
是…的 is for the details of something that has already happened: when, where, how or with whom. You already know it happened; 是…的 puts the spotlight on the detail.
The essentials
- Question: 你是什么时候来的？Answer: 我是昨天来的.
- The detail goes between 是 and 的: 我是坐飞机来的 (I came by plane).
- In a positive sentence 是 is often left out (我昨天来的); in the negative it stays: 我不是坐飞机来的.
- For a plain past event, use 了 instead: 我昨天来了 just says that you came.
Every lesson on this topic
Each lesson has a full explanation, examples in characters and pinyin you can listen to, and exercises with answers.
A2 (the A2 course)
- 是…的: when, where and how it happened: 你是什么时候来的？我是昨天来的。是…的 asks and tells the details of a past event.
B2 (the B2 course)
- Emphasis: 就是, 可, 并, 偏偏, 是…的, 才, 都: The small words that add insistence, surprise, contradiction and attitude.
In the app, these lessons are taught one idea at a time with audio, practised with questions you can answer in characters or pinyin, and brought back for review.
Other topics
- 了 (le) in Chinese, explained
- 的, 地 and 得: the three de
- Chinese measure words
- The 把 (bǎ) sentence, explained
- 被 (bèi) and the passive in Chinese
- Comparisons with 比 (bǐ)
- 过 (guò) and 着 (zhe): experience and ongoing states
- Chinese complements: result, direction and potential
- Questions in Chinese: 吗, question words and particles
- 不 (bù) or 没 (méi): negation in Chinese
- Chinese conjunctions: because, although, if
- Chengyu: Chinese four-character idioms
- Chinese numbers, dates and time
- Chinese tones and pinyin