The verb *to be* is not used in Chinese the same way as it is in
English. In Chinese, 是 (shì) is for connecting
[nouns](nouns "wikilink"), and is generally not used with
[adjectives](adjectives "wikilink").

Basic Usage
-----------

### Structure

The structure for connecting nouns with 是 (shì) is:

<div class="jiegou">
Noun 1 + 是 + Noun 2

</div>
This is equivalent to "Noun 1 **is** Noun 2" in English.

Chinese does not
[conjugate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_conjugation) verbs.
That is, the form of the verb is the same no matter who is doing it. In
this case, it is always 是 (shì) and never changes. As you can see, it's
easy to form simple sentences expressing *to be* in Chinese. The only
tricky thing about 是 (shì) in Chinese is that it's used to link *two
nouns*, so you can't rely too much on translating directly from English
when it comes to expressing the English verb "to be" in Chinese.

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   我 <em>是</em> 学生。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>shì</em>
    xuésheng.</span><span class="trans">I am a student.</span>
-   你 <em>是</em> John 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>shì</em> John
    ma?</span><span class="trans">Are you John?</span>
-   他们 <em>是</em> 有钱 人。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>shì</em>
    yǒuqián rén.</span><span class="trans">They are rich people.</span>
-   你<em>是</em> 老板 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>shì</em> lǎobǎn
    ma?</span><span class="trans">Are you the boss?</span>
-   这 <em>是</em> 我 男朋友。<span class="pinyin">Zhè <em>shì</em> wǒ
    nánpéngyou.</span><span class="trans">This is my boyfriend.</span>
-   那 <em>是</em> 你们 公司 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nà <em>shì</em>
    nǐmen gōngsī ma?</span><span class="trans">Is that your
    company?</span>
-   你 妈妈 <em>是</em> 老师 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ māma
    <em>shì</em> lǎoshī ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your mother a
    teacher?</span>
-   这 都 <em>是</em> 你 的 钱。<span class="pinyin">Zhè dōu
    <em>shì</em> nǐ de qián.</span><span class="trans">This is all your
    money.</span>
-   那 <em>是</em> 什么 菜？<span class="pinyin">Nà <em>shì</em> shénme
    cài?</span><span class="trans">What food is that?</span>
-   我 也 <em>是</em> 他 的 朋友。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yě
    <em>shì</em> tā de péngyou.</span><span class="trans">I am also his
    friend.</span>

</div>
Other Uses of 是 (shì)
----------------------

Be careful and take note. As you can see above, 是 (shì) is only used to
link two nouns. It cannot be used to link a noun and an adjective. This
is a very common mistake for people just beginning to learn Chinese. For
that kind of sentence, you'll want to use a different structure with
[the linking word 很
(hěn)](Simple_"noun_+_adjective"_sentences "wikilink").

In Chinese it is also possible to use the phrase "是不是 (shì bu shì)?"
It can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence. It's meaning is
quite similar to the English expressions "right" and "aren't you?" This
is very useful if you want to express concern for a person, or if you
want to mix up your sentence structure a bit and make it more
interesting. The 是不是 (shì bu shì) pattern is also part of
[affirmative-negative
questions](affirmative-negative_question "wikilink").

Another way to use 是 (shì) is to [use it as a tag
question](Tag_questions_with_"ma" "wikilink"). You can add “是吗?” (shì
ma?) to the end of a question to mean the English equivalent of: "is it"
or "yeah?" Using this in a question usually allows the speaker to get a
confirmation answer.

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   他 没 听到，<em>是 不 是</em> ？<span class="pinyin">Tā méi tīngdào,
    <em>shì bu shì</em>?</span><span class="trans">He didn't hear you,
    right?</span>
-   你 <em>是 不 是</em> 还 没 吃饭？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>shì bu
    shì</em> hái méi chīfàn?</span><span class="trans"> Haven't you
    eaten yet?</span>
-   你们 <em>是 不 是</em> 中 国 人？<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen <em>shì
    bu shì</em> Zhōngguó rén?</span><span class="trans"> Are you
    Chinese?</span>
-   你 到 了，<em>是 吗</em> ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ dào le, <em>shì
    ma</em>?</span><span class="trans"> You have arrived, yeah?</span>
-   你 有 两 个 孩子，<em>是 吗</em> ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yǒu liǎng
    gè háizi, <em>shì ma</em>?</span><span class="trans"> You have two
    kids, yeah?</span>

</div>
See Also
--------

-   [Word order](Word_order "wikilink")
-   [Simple "noun + adjective"
    sentences](Simple_"noun_+_adjective"_sentences "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1
    (3rd ed)](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed) "wikilink") (p.
    29)　[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385)
-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (pp.
    47-8)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615)
-   [New Practical Chinese Reader
    1 (新实用汉语课本1)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_1_(新实用汉语课本1) "wikilink") (p.
    44)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401)
-   [New Practical Chinese Reader 1
    (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_1_(新实用汉语课本1)(2nd_ed) "wikilink") (pp.
    50-1)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235)
-   [40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
    (基础汉语40课上册）](40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(基础汉语40课上册） "wikilink") (p.
    62)[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20)

[Category:A1 grammar points](Category:A1_grammar_points "wikilink")