Mandarin Grammar Lesson 2
"To Be"- Equative

Function words

shi⁴

is

是

bu⁴

not

不

Nouns

ren²

 person

人

  shu¹

book

书

che¹

 car

車

  lao³ shi¹

老师

peng² you³

 friend

朋友

  xue² sheng¹

學 生

The Equating Verb " shi⁴ "

Grammar Description

English vs. Chinese Linking Verbs

English uses the format NOUN + "to be" + NOUN to equate a subject and another noun (predicate nominative).  Examples:

The exact same format is used to link nouns and adjectives (predicate adjective) in English: NOUN + "to be" + ADJECTIVE.  Examples:

Chinese uses two different verbs, one to link nouns to nouns (shi⁴) and a second verb to link nouns to adjectives (hen³).  The pattern given in this lesson is only used to link a noun to another noun.  The pattern for linking a noun to an adjective is given in the next grammar lesson.

The Negative bu⁴

To form the negative of most sentences the prefix bu⁴ is added before the verb or adjective being negated.

Subject Verb Agreement

In Chinese, subjects and verbs automatically agree.  They do not need to be adjusted for first person, second person, third person, or singular/plural considerations.  English has "am, are, is" plus different forms for each tense.  Mandarin uses " shi⁴ " for all these cases.

Notes and Additional Information

The negation character 不 is pronounced as a fourth tone in isolation ( bu⁴ ).  However, when it precedes another 4th tone character the tone change rules take effect.  Because the pronunciation will normally be that of the 2nd tone in such cases, the symbol ^2* will be used in such cases.  Be aware that in certain environments (such as when preceded by another 4th tone sound) it will revert to a 4th tone pronunciation.