HSK 3 Special structures (把 · 被 · 是…的 · 让)
是 … 的
Emphasizing with 是…的
Structure 是 + (when/where/how) + Verb + 的
When an action ALREADY happened and what matters isn’t WHETHER it happened but WHEN, WHERE or HOW, you frame that detail with 是 … 的: 我是昨天来的 = "I came YESTERDAY" (the focus is on "yesterday"). 是 goes before the highlighted detail and 的 closes the sentence. It differs from 了 (which only reports that the action took place).
Examples
- 我是昨天来的。
I came yesterday.
- 你是在哪儿学的中文?
Where did you learn Chinese?
- 他是坐飞机来的。
He came by plane.
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