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Mythic Mandarin

Your first sentences: pronouns, 是 and 不

Chinese Foundations · Lesson 5 of 11 · About 18 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can say who someone is with 是, who they are not with 不是, and use the Chinese pronouns.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    Quick recall: what does 人 mean?

    1. mouth
    2. person
    3. big
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, person.

    人 (rén) is a person.

New words

  • 我wǒI, me
  • 你nǐyou
  • 他tāhe, him
  • 她tāshe, her
  • 我们wǒmenwe, us
  • 你们nǐmenyou (more than one)
  • 他们tāmenthey, them
  • 是shìto be (A is B)
  • 不bùnot
  • 学生xuéshengstudent
  • 老师lǎoshīteacher

Who is who: pronouns

Chinese pronouns
ChinesePinyinEnglish
我wǒI, me
你nǐyou
他tāhe, him
她tāshe, her
我们wǒmenwe, us
你们nǐmenyou (more than one)
他们tāmenthey, them

Chinese pronouns never change: 我 is both I and me. 们 makes them plural. 他 and 她 sound the same (tā); only the writing shows he or she.

A 是 B: who someone is

Chinese sentences start like English ones: who, then what they do or are. 是 (shì) links two nouns: 我是学生, I am a student. It never changes form: 我是, 你是, 他们是.

  • 我是学生。

    Wǒ shì xuésheng.

    I am a student.

  • 她是老师。

    Tā shì lǎoshī.

    She is a teacher.

  • 我们是学生。

    Wǒmen shì xuésheng.

    We are students.

    No plural ending on 学生: the 们 in 我们 is enough.

Put 不 (bù) before 是 to say what someone is not. Before a fourth tone, 不 is said with a rising tone: 不是 is bú shì.

  • 我不是老师。

    Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.

    I am not a teacher.

  • 他们不是学生。

    Tāmen bú shì xuésheng.

    They are not students.

  • Not: 我不老师。

    But: 我不是老师。 Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.

    不 negates a verb: between two nouns you still need 是.

  • Not: 我是不学生。

    But: 我不是学生。 Wǒ bú shì xuésheng.

    不 goes right before the verb it negates: 不是.

Meet Li Ming and Anna

A language café. Two people introduce themselves.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen to the dialogue first. What is Anna?

    1. a student
    2. a teacher
    3. we do not know
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, a teacher.

    安娜 says 我不是学生，我是老师: she is a teacher, not a student.

  2. Listening

    And Li Ming?

    1. a student
    2. a teacher
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, a student.

    李明 says 我是学生: he is a student.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 李明

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我wǒ是shì李明Lǐ Míng。

    Hello! I'm Li Ming.

  2. 安娜

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我wǒ是shì安娜Ānnà。

    Hello! I'm Anna.

  3. 李明

    我Wǒ是shì学生xuésheng。

    I'm a student.

  4. 安娜

    我Wǒ不bú是shì学生xuésheng，我wǒ是shì老师lǎoshī。

    I'm not a student. I'm a teacher.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 我是学生。

    Wǒ shì xuésheng.

    I am a student.

  • 我不是老师。

    Wǒ bú shì lǎoshī.

    I am not a teacher.

  • 他们是老师。

    Tāmen shì lǎoshī.

    They are teachers.

Practice

  1. Fill the gap

    Complete: I am a student.

    我＿学生。

    1. 是
    2. 不
    3. 他
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 是.

    我是学生: 是 links 我 and 学生.

  2. Word order

    Put the words in order: He is not a student.

    • 学生
    • 他
    • 不是
    Show the answer

    他不是学生 Tā bú shì xuésheng.

    He is not a student.

    Who first (他), then 不是, then what he is not (学生).

  3. Meaning

    What does 她 mean?

    1. he
    2. she
    3. they
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, she.

    她 (tā) is she. 他 (tā) is he: the same sound, a different character.

  4. Your turn

    Type we in pinyin.

    Show the answer

    Answer: wǒmen

    We is wǒmen (我们): 我 plus the plural ending 们.

  5. Grammar

    Which sentence says I am not a teacher?

    1. 我是不老师。
    2. 我不老师。
    3. 我不是老师。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 我不是老师。.

    我不是老师。 不 goes right before 是.

  6. Listening

    Listen. What did you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    他们是学生。 Tāmen shì xuésheng.

    1. We are students.
    2. They are students.
    3. They are teachers.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, They are students..

    You heard 他们是学生 (Tāmen shì xuésheng): they are students.

Your mission: who is who

Describe yourself and someone you know in Chinese.

  1. Say what you are: 我是学生 or 我是老师. If neither fits, say 我不是学生 and 我不是老师.
  2. Say what a friend is with 他是 or 她是.
  3. Record both sentences, then play them back.

Sentence frames

  • 我是＿＿。

    Wǒ shì ＿＿.

    I am ...

  • 我不是＿＿。

    Wǒ bú shì ＿＿.

    I am not ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can use 我, 你, 他 and 她, and add 们 for more than one.
  • I can say who someone is with 是.
  • I can say who someone is not with 不是 (bú shì).
  • I know that 他 and 她 sound the same.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Questions with 吗 and your name with 叫