Grammar · Chapter 8
是…的: how, when, where it happened
是 + how / when / where + verb + 的
When the fact is already known (“you arrived”) and you ask about a detail — how, when, where — use 是…的: 我是坐火车来的, “I came by train”. 的 sits at the end in place of 了; in speech 是 can be dropped.
Examples
- 你是怎么来的？ Nǐ shì zěnme lái de? How did you get here?
- 我是坐火车来的。 Wǒ shì zuò huǒchē lái de. I came by train.
- 他是昨天到的。 Tā shì zuótiān dào de. He arrived yesterday.