Grammar Explanation
Equative verbs (EV) link two nouns or two noun phrases, as in “I am a teacher. (我是老师。wǒ shì lǎo shī.)” or “He is my son. (他是我的儿子。tā shì wǒ de ér zi.)”. The word order in most instances is the same in both English and Chinese.
The most commonly used equative verb in Chinese is “是 shì” (to be).
| S | EV | N |
|---|---|---|
| wǒ | shì | xuéshēnɡ. |
| 我 | 是 | 学生。 |
I am a student.
| tā | shì | měiɡuórén. |
| 他 | 是 | 美国人。 |
He is an American.
| tā | shì | lǐméi. |
| 她 | 是 | 李梅。 |
She is Li Mei.
Other common equative verbs include “姓 xìnɡ” (to be surnamed) and “叫 jiào” (to be named/called).
| S | EV | N |
|---|---|---|
| tā | xìnɡ | lǐ. |
| 她 | 姓 | 李。 |
She is surnamed Li.
| tā | jiào | lǐméi. |
| 她 | 叫 | 李梅。 |
She is called Li Mei.
“不” (no/not) follows the Subject to express negative ideas.
| S | 不 | EV | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| wǒ | bú | shì | xuéshēnɡ. |
| 我 | 不 | 是 | 学生。 |
I am not a student.
| tā | bú | shì | měiɡuórén. |
| 他 | 不 | 是 | 美国人。 |
He is not an American.
| tā | bú | jiào | lǐméi. |
| 她 | 不 | 叫 | 李梅。 |
She is not called Li Mei.