是 , grammar

[fij]

Dear All,

Which is correct / more commonly used?

他是中国人。 or 他中国人。

What book or online source would you recommend for 1st/2nd year (Mandarin) grammar?

Thanks.

[anonymoose]

他是中国人。

[ma3zi1]

Yeah, you need that verb.

[muirm]

I remember when I was first taught 是, the teacher explained that 是 is for connecting two nouns together. When you have an English sentencing using "to be", if both sides are nouns (like your sentence) then you usually want 是, otherwise you don't want it. There are obvious exceptions to this guideline like when you use 是 for emphasis, or when using the 是。。的 construction.

[daofeishi]

What book or online source would you recommend for 1st/2nd year (Mandarin) grammar?

For a highly readable basic Chinese grammar that will help get you up and running, try Claudia Ross' "Chinese Grammar". It's a Schaum Outline, but will probably contain just what you need without being overwhelming.

[Kenny同志]

Both are correct, with the first one being more standard than the second one.

A conversation may go like this:

他(是)哪国人？

瑞德？他中国人。

This kind of expression is not uncommon, especially in colloquial Chinese; one more example:

他哪里人？

常德的。

是， which is expected to be found between 他 and 哪in more standard Chinese is omitted.