The 是⋯⋯的 (shì... de) construction is used to draw particular attention to certain information in a sentence. It's often used to ask questions that seek specific information, or to explain a situation by emphasizing a particular detail.
While not strictly tied to any "tense," the 是⋯⋯ 的 construction is frequently used when asking details about the past or telling details about the past.
A 是 ⋯⋯ 的 sentence is formed with this structure:
Subj. + 是 + [Information to be Emphasized] + Verb + 的
This structure can be used to emphasize any detail, but most commonly it emphasizes time, manner, or place. Don't worry if this still seems a little confusing; lots of helpful examples are coming up!
A 是⋯⋯ 的 construction can pick out any detail in a sentence. Whatever comes immediately after 是 is emphasized. So in the sentence below:
We can pick out any one of the details by putting 是 in front of it:
These are some of the most common questions asked using the 是 ⋯⋯ 的 construction and some possible answers:
You might be wondering, "can I still say the same thing without the 是 and the 的?" The answer is that in most cases, no, not really. While the 是 can sometimes be dropped, these examples sound weird without the 的. It's just a part of learning to ask questions naturally in Mandarin. You don't have to learn a "past tense," but you do have to learn this way of asking for details about the past, sooner or later.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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 constructions can be made into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Chinese:
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.
A few examples:
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:
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.
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 Manner:
Focusing on Instrument:
Focusing on Agent:
Focusing on Target: