Sentence PatternsHSK 4
The 是... 的 construction for indicating purpose
The 是...的 pattern emphasizes purpose, often using 来 (come) or 去 (go) to show the direction of the action. Use it when the subject is a person and you want to highlight the intention behind their coming or going—just remember to end with 的.
Structure
Subj. + 是 + 来/去 + Verb + 的
used with 来 (come) or 去 (go) to show purpose
Examples
- 我是来玩的。Wǒ shì lái wán de.I came for fun.
- 我们都是去出差的。Wǒ men dōu shì qù chū chāi de.We are all going on business trips.
- 他们都是来实习的。Tā men dōu shì lái shí xí de.They all came here to do internships.
- 你真的是来帮我们的吗？Nǐ zhēn de shì lái bāng wǒ men de ma?Are you really here to help us?
- 我们不是去玩的，是去做调查的。Wǒ men bú shì qù wán de, shì qù zuò diào chá de.We're not going for fun. We're going to do research.
Words that use this
- 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion)
- 的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute); (used to form a nominal expression); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs