是…的 — the pattern for asking "how did you get here?"
When both speakers already know an event happened, 是…的 highlights how, when or where it happened: 我是坐飞机来的。 — It was by plane that I came. The 是 goes before the detail, the 的 at the end.
Structure
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Subject + 是 + detail + Verb + 的
我是昨天来的 — it was yesterday that I came.
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Subject + 是 + detail + Verb + 的 + Object
我是在北京学的中文.
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不是 + detail + Verb + 的
我不是坐飞机来的 — negation replaces 是 with 不是.
How it works
This pattern presupposes the event. Both of you know I arrived; what is under discussion is how. 我是坐飞机来的。 English does this with stress or a cleft — "I came by plane" / "It was by plane that I came".
That is why it dominates small talk about the past: 你是什么时候来的？ (When did you get here?) 你是在哪儿学的中文？ (Where did you learn Chinese?) 你是跟谁一起来的？ (Who did you come with?)
No 了. The two do different jobs — 了 reports that something happened; 是…的 assumes it did and asks about the circumstances. Compare 我昨天来了。 (I came yesterday — news) with 我是昨天来的。 (It was yesterday that I came — you already knew I came).
With an object, 的 may sit before or after it: 我是在北京学的中文 and 我是在北京学中文的 are both correct, the first slightly more colloquial. The 是 itself can be dropped in positive statements (我昨天来的) but never in the negative: 我不是坐飞机来的。
Examples
Quick drill — 5 questions
Five fill-in-the-gap questions built from the example sentences above. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that the pattern has actually landed.
Choose the word that belongs in the gap:
Common mistakes
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 我是坐飞机来了。 | 我是坐飞机来的。 | 是…的 and 了 do opposite jobs and never appear together. |
| 你什么时候来的吗？ | 你是什么时候来的？ | There is already a question word; 吗 cannot be added. |
| 我不坐飞机来的。 | 我不是坐飞机来的。 | 是 may be dropped in a positive sentence, never in a negative one. |
是…的 — emphasising the details — frequently asked questions
What does the 是…的 construction do?
It emphasises the when, where or how of an event both speakers already know happened: 我是坐飞机来的 (I came by plane). The 是 goes before the detail being emphasised and the 的 closes the sentence.
What is the difference between 我昨天来了 and 我是昨天来的?
我昨天来了 reports the event as news — I came yesterday. 我是昨天来的 assumes you already know I came and specifies when — it was yesterday. This is why 是…的 dominates follow-up questions.
Can you use 了 with 是…的?
No. 了 announces that something happened; 是…的 takes it as given. They contradict each other, so 我是昨天来了 is ungrammatical.
Where does the object go in a 是…的 sentence?
Either side of 的: 我是在北京学的中文 and 我是在北京学中文的 are both correct. The first, with 的 before the object, is slightly more colloquial.
Next, learn
Put it to work
Drill the vocabulary for this level on the HSK 4 word list, rebuild scrambled sentences in the Sentence Builder, read graded stories that use this pattern in the story library, or follow a step-by-step route through the whole site in Guided Learning Paths.