Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
是的 and the 是……的 pattern
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
是的 can confirm a statement: “yes, that is so”. In 是……的, the speaker often highlights a detail of an established event, such as when, where or how it happened.
是的，这是我的书。
Shì de, zhè shì wǒ de shū.
Yes, this is my book.
我是坐火车来的。
Wǒ shì zuò huǒchē lái de.
I came by train.
是……的 is not a general past-tense marker. The event is normally already under discussion, and the highlighted detail is the focus.
Try it
What does 我是昨天来的 emphasise?
- The time of arrival
- A future plan
- The number of visitors
Answer and explanation
The time of arrival. 昨天 identifies when the established arrival happened.