Mandarin · Chapter 8 · Lesson 7 · Grammar primer
Shi de construction
Grammar for HSK 3.
The short version
是 (shì)…的 (de) corrects a detail; negate with 不是 (bú shì)
了 (le) reports that something happened; 是 (shì)…的 (de) takes a known event and spotlights when, where, how or by whom. Because you are conceding the event and disputing a circumstance, the negative is 不是 (bú shì)…的 (de), never 没 (méi). 我没来 (wǒ méi lái) denies the whole thing; 我不是昨天来的 (wǒ bú shì zuó tiān lái de) just fixes the day.
我是昨天来的。 Wǒ shì zuó tiān lái de.
That's the gist. The full article goes deeper - more examples, the edge cases, the why - and the practice below scores like a vocabulary session and earns the same XP.
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end. There are 23 in all: practise more afterwards if you want them.
Lesson 7 of 16 in this chapter