Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Connect-two-nouns-with-是-(shì)
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In Chinese, 是 (shì) is used to connect nouns, and is rarely used with adjectives.
Structure
Here is the structure to connect names with 是 (shì):
Name 1 + 是 + Name 2
It's the equivalent of "Name 1 and Name 2" in French.
The Chinese language does not conjugate the verbs. As a result, the verb form is the same for all people using it, ie always "是 (shì)".
It is very simple to form sentences expressing "to be" in Chinese; the only specificity of 是 (shì) is that it is used to link "two nouns" and therefore we can not really rely on literal translation from French when using the verb "to be".
Examples
- 我 是 学生。
Wǒ shì xuéshēng .
I am a student.
- 她 是 医生。
Tā shì yīshēng .
She is a doctor.
- 他 是 老师。
Tā shì lǎoshī .
He is a teacher.
- 这 是 书。
Zhè shì shū .
It's a book.
- 那 是 杯子。
Nà shì bēizi .
It's a drink.