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  <title>Connecting nouns with "shì"</title>
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  <h1>Connecting nouns with "<span class="pinyinst">shì</span>" "<span class="hanzist">是</span>"</h1>

  <p>The verb <i><b>to be</b></i> is not used in Chinese the same way as it is in English. In Chinese, <span class="hanzi">是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì</span>) is for connecting <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Nouns" title="Nouns" class="mw-redirect">nouns</a>, and is generally not used with <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Adjectives" title="Adjectives" class="mw-redirect">adjectives</a>.</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_194">Contents</h2>

  <div class="contents">
    <ul>
      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Basic_Sentence"> 1 Basic Sentence</a> 

      <ul>
        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Structure"> 1.1 Structure</a></li>

        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Examples"> 1.2 Examples</a></li>
      </ul></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Other_Uses_of_.E6.98.AF"> 2 Other Uses of <span class="hanzi">是</span></a> 

      <ul>
        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Examples_2"> 2.1 Examples</a></li>
      </ul></li>

      <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#See_also"> 3 See also</a></li>

      <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Connecting_nouns_with_%22shi%22#Sources_and_further_reading"> 4 Sources and further reading</a></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_195"><span id="Basic_Sentence">Basic Sentence</span></h2>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_196"><span id="Structure">Structure</span></h3>

  <p>The structure for connecting nouns with <span class="hanzi">是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì</span>) is:</p>

  <div class="deux">
    Noun 1 + <span class="hanzist">是</span> + Noun 2
  </div>

  <p>This is equivalent to "Noun 1 <b>is</b> Noun 2" in English.</p>

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

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_197">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 是 学生。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ shì xuésheng.</span> <br/>I am a student.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 是 John 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ shì John ma?</span> <br/>Are you John?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他们 是 有钱人。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Tāmen shì yǒuqiánrén.</span> <br/>They are rich people.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 是 老板 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ shì lǎobǎn ma?</span> <br/>Are you the boss?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 是 我 男朋友。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhè shì wǒ nán péngyou.</span> <br/>This is my boyfriend.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">那 是 你们 公司 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nà shì nǐmen gōngsī ma?</span> <br/>Is that your company?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 妈妈 是 老师 吗？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ māma shì lǎoshī ma?</span> <br/>Is your mother a teacher?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 都 是 你 的 钱。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhè dōu shì nǐ de qián.</span> <br/>This is all your money.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">那 是 什么 菜？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nà shì shénme cài?</span><br/> What food is that?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 也 是 他 的 朋友。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ yě shì nǐ de péngyou.</span><br/> I am also your friend.</li>
    </ul>

    <p><br/></p>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_198"><span id="Other_Uses_of_.E6.98.AF">Other Uses of </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 127, 80); font-family: NotoSansCJKsc; font-size: 30px; font-weight: normal;">是</span></h2>

  <p>Be careful and take note. As you can see above, <span class="hanzi">是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì</span>) 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 <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences" title="Simple &quot;noun + adjective&quot; sentences">the linking word 很 (hěn)</a>.</p>

  <p>In Chinese it is also possible to use the phrase "<span class="hanzi">是不是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì bù shì</span>)?" It can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence. It's meaning is quite similar to the English word: "<b>right</b>" or "<b>aren't you?</b>" 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 <span class="hanzi">是不是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì bù shì</span>) pattern is also part of the <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Affirmative-negative_questions" title="Affirmative-negative questions" class="mw-redirect">affirmative-negative questions</a>.</p>

  <p>Another way to use <span class="hanzi">是</span> (<span class="pinyin">shì</span>) is to <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Tag_questions_with_%22ma%22" title="Tag questions with &quot;ma&quot;">use it as a tag question</a>. You can add “<span class="hanzi">是吗?</span>” (<span class="pinyin">shì ma?</span>) to the end of a question to mean the English equivalent of: "<b>is it</b>" or "<b>yeah?</b>" Using this in a question usually allows the speaker to get a confirmation answer.</p>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_199"><span id="Examples_2">Examples</span></h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">他 没 听 到， 是 不 是 ？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Tā méi tīng dào, shì bù shì ?</span><br/> He didn't hear you, right?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 是 不 是 还 没 吃 饭？</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ shì bù shì hái méi chīfàn?</span> <br/>Haven't you eaten yet?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你们 是 不 是 中 国 人？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐmen shì bù shì Zhōngguó rén?</span> <br/>Are you Chinese?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 到 了， 是 吗 ？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ dàole, shì ma ?</span> <br/>You have arrived, yeah?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 有 两 个 孩子， 是 吗 ？</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ yǒu liǎng ge háizi, shì ma ?</span> <br/>You have two kids, yeah?</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_200">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Word_order" title="Word order">Word order</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences" title="Simple &quot;noun + adjective&quot; sentences">Simple "noun + adjective" sentences</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_201">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <ul>
    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 29)　</li>

    <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 47-8)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>) (p. 44)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>)(2nd ed) (pp. 50-1)</li>

    <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (p. 62)</li>
  </ul>
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