Focusing on a detail of a past event with 是... 的 shì... de 37.9
37.9 Focusing on a detail of a past event with 是 的 shì de
To focus on a specific detail of an event, such as the time or place of the event, use 是... 的
shì... de.是 shì occurs right before the phrase that is being focused on.
的 de occurs right after the verb or at the end of the sentence.是... 的 shì... de is used to focus on:- the time when an event occurred:
他是一年以前去中国的。
他是一年以前去中國的。
Tā shì yīnián yǐqián qù Zhōngguó de.
He went to China a year ago.你的新车是什么时候买的？
你的新車是甚麼時候買的？
Nǐ de xīn chē shì shénme shíhòu mǎi de?
When did you buy your new car?- the one who performed the activity:
这本书是谁写的？
這本書是誰寫的？
Zhè běn shū shì shéi xiě de?
Who wrote this book?- location:
你的大衣是在哪儿买的？
你的大衣是在哪兒買的？
Nǐ de dàyī shì zài nǎr mǎi de?
Where did you buy your coat?这件衣服是在哪儿买的？
這件衣服是在哪兒買的？
Zhè jiàn yīfú shì zài nǎr mǎi de?
Where did you buy this item of clothing?- a prepositional phrase:
他是跟谁结婚的？
他是跟誰結婚的？
Tā shì gēn shéi jiéhūn de?
Who (with whom) did he marry?If the verb has an object and the object is not a pronoun, 的 de can come either after the verb
or at the end of the sentence.昨天晚上是谁给你做的晚饭？
昨天晚上是誰給你做的晚飯？
Zuótiān wǎnshàng shì shéi gěi nǐ zuò de wǎnfàn?
Who cooked dinner for you last night?or昨天晚上是谁给你做晚饭的？
昨天晚上是誰給你做晚飯的？
Zuótiān wǎnshàng shì shéi gěi nǐ zuò wǎnfàn de?
Who cooked dinner for you last night?