<blockquote>
<p>买杯子的那个是谁？</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this sentence, we basically see two structures:</p>
<ol>
<li>The “是” Sentence</li>
<li>Modifier+的+Noun</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>1) The “是” Sentence</strong></p>
<p>In this case, the verb 是 ties two things, indicating that they are identical or that the second explains or states the case of the first. The structure works the same way even if we have the interrogative word &quot;谁&quot;.</p>
<p>A<strong>是</strong>B</p>
<p>A: 买杯子的那个(人)<br />
B: 谁</p>
<p>Both forms &quot;A是B&quot; and &quot;B是A&quot; are correct (their meanings sometimes are slightly different).</p>
<p>买杯子的那个(人)<strong>是</strong>谁？<br />
谁<strong>是</strong>买杯子的那个(人)？</p>
<p><strong>2) Modifier+的+Noun</strong></p>
<p>A modifier (i.e. any word, phrase, or clause, except conjunctions, grammatical particles, interjections, and exclamations) is used in this structure to qualify or modify a noun (headword). &quot;的&quot; is placed between modifier and headword.</p>
<p>MODIFIER + <strong>的</strong> + HEADWORD</p>
<p>MODIFIER: 买杯子<br />
HEADWORD: 那个(人)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>where do I find this grammar explained?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I just did a copy/paste from my free course (Lesson 17 and Lesson 18) at wearyourchinesename.com, but you can find an explanation of these basic structures in any Chinese course.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T14:10:15.077Z
Not sure I made that clear. My main issue is that the question begins with "mei beizi". So far, I have only known questions with "shen me", "shei" etc., where the word order is the same as in the positive sentence.
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T14:55:01.490Z
@JohnV In this case the declarative sentence would be, for example, 买杯子的那个是我哥哥, where 我哥哥 replaces 谁. Both A是谁 and 谁是A are structurally correct.
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T15:06:43.013Z
Thank you, that is exactly what I did not know. That a sentence can begin like that (买杯子) is competely new thing for me. Is this grammar covered in your lessons?
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T18:30:09.920Z
@JohnV "买杯子的那个" is to be taken together, and not only "买杯子". You need to focus on the headword "那个" and not on the modifier "买杯子". It is the headword "那个" that can have the same grammatical function as the whole, so that you can also say "那个(人)是谁?" or "谁是那个(人)?"
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T07:13:14.007Z
Thank you! So what is this grammar called, please? I did not find anything in my coursebook about it.
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T08:45:27.093Z
@JohnV Search for usage of 是 and 的. In my lessons I call them "the '是' Sentence" and "the Modifier+的+Noun Structure".
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T11:59:29.040Z
One more thing, if I may - when I search for "那个", I just get this entry about it being a filter word.
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T12:24:42.973Z
@JohnV Maybe you mean "filler". No, it's not used as a filler word here. It means, as I wrote, 那个人.
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T12:33:36.550Z
Ah, a silly typo, thanks. I am slowly starting to understand. I think now I get the sentences like 我买的杯子 (the cup I bought). It is just...I cannot wrap my head around the fact that there is no subject preceding the verb in my original question/sentence.
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T12:44:11.280Z
Would not work, too?  那个买杯子的人是谁？
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T13:18:00.117Z
@JohnV Yes, but "那个" is still related to 人. In the structure Modifier+的+Noun, the modifier is still 买杯子, **not** 那个买杯子. The one who, or if you want to call it the "subject" who 买杯子 is the noun **after** 的. That's why 买杯子 is called modifier. Suggestion: forget English, learn Chinese.
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T11:43:06.750Z
2021-11-21T11:50:36.850Z
2021-11-21T11:50:36.850Z
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
<p>買杯子的那個是谁？ and 誰買了這個杯子？ are different questions.</p>
<p>買杯子的那個是谁？ =&gt; You want to know who is buying cup . The action(buy cup) is still in progress.</p>
<p>誰買了這個杯子？ =&gt; You want to know who bought this cup.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T14:06:54.207Z
Thanks. Why the action is still in progress, I thought "le" here indicates completeness?
John V
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T00:31:45.040Z
I don't see the difference. If I really want to know who is buying the cup, I'd use "去買杯子的人是誰?"
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T08:25:05.290Z
I suppose the difference is, in 買杯子的那個是谁?, the questioner merely wants to know who bought a cup; whereas in 誰買了這個杯子?, the questioner wants to know who bought "this" particular cup, because of ......這個杯子?  However the answers to both questions would be the same, i.e., the name, if known, of the buyer in question. I do not, however, see the first question as a Present Continuous Tense, unless the context shows the questioner is actually looking at the buyer in the process of buying a cup.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T09:02:10.040Z
Hi all. Sorry for the intrusion. Since OP used simplified Chinese, do you think it would be better to adapt? Traditional Chinese, especially for those at HSK1 level, might be well considered as if it were a different language!
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-22T09:16:53.073Z
To many Taiwanese Simplified Chinese is also a different language :)
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T13:40:41.613Z
2021-11-21T13:40:41.613Z
HungYu Chang
<p>I passed HSK 1 as a self-learner (using the official coursebook) but there were a few grammar points I could not find in the book (and did not know).
I do not know the official name of this grammar so using an example of a question whose structure really confuses me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>买杯子的那个是谁？</p>
</blockquote>
<p>How are these questions formed, where do I find this grammar explained?
I understand that if it was simply &quot;who&quot; bought the cup or &quot;what did my friend buy&quot;, I would simply use the question words, e.g. (谁买了这个杯子）etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T11:44:39.610Z
Hi, what do you mean with "official coursebook"?
Joe at wearyourchinesename.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-21T14:08:09.803Z
@GiuseppeRomanazzi Hi, I mean the standard HSK 1 Course by Confucius Institue (Hanban)
John V
<grammar><sentence-structure><hsk>
Word order in a question such as "who was the person who bought the cup"?
# Word order in a question such as "who was the person who bought the cup"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-11-21)

I passed HSK 1 as a self-learner (using the official coursebook) but there were a few grammar points I could not find in the book (and did not know).
I do not know the official name of this grammar so using an example of a question whose structure really confuses me:

> 买杯子的那个是谁？

How are these questions formed, where do I find this grammar explained?
I understand that if it was simply "who" bought the cup or "what did my friend buy", I would simply use the question words, e.g. (谁买了这个杯子）etc.

**Tags:** grammar, sentence-structure, hsk

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi, what do you mean with "official coursebook"?  
> **username_0**: @GiuseppeRomanazzi Hi, I mean the standard HSK 1 Course by Confucius Institue (Hanban)  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-11-21. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

> 买杯子的那个是谁？

In this sentence, we basically see two structures:

1. The “是” Sentence
2. Modifier+的+Noun

**1) The “是” Sentence**

In this case, the verb 是 ties two things, indicating that they are identical or that the second explains or states the case of the first. The structure works the same way even if we have the interrogative word "谁".

A**是**B

A: 买杯子的那个(人)  
B: 谁

Both forms "A是B" and "B是A" are correct (their meanings sometimes are slightly different).

买杯子的那个(人)**是**谁？  
谁**是**买杯子的那个(人)？

**2) Modifier+的+Noun**

A modifier (i.e. any word, phrase, or clause, except conjunctions, grammatical particles, interjections, and exclamations) is used in this structure to qualify or modify a noun (headword). "的" is placed between modifier and headword.

MODIFIER + **的** + HEADWORD

MODIFIER: 买杯子  
HEADWORD: 那个(人)

> where do I find this grammar explained?

I just did a copy/paste from my free course (Lesson 17 and Lesson 18) at wearyourchinesename.com, but you can find an explanation of these basic structures in any Chinese course.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Not sure I made that clear. My main issue is that the question begins with "mei beizi". So far, I have only known questions with "shen me", "shei" etc., where the word order is the same as in the positive sentence.  
> **username_1**: @JohnV In this case the declarative sentence would be, for example, 买杯子的那个是我哥哥, where 我哥哥 replaces 谁. Both A是谁 and 谁是A are structurally correct.  
> **username_0**: Thank you, that is exactly what I did not know. That a sentence can begin like that (买杯子) is competely new thing for me. Is this grammar covered in your lessons?  
> **username_1**: @JohnV "买杯子的那个" is to be taken together, and not only "买杯子". You need to focus on the headword "那个" and not on the modifier "买杯子". It is the headword "那个" that can have the same grammatical function as the whole, so that you can also say "那个(人)是谁?" or "谁是那个(人)?"  
> **username_0**: Thank you! So what is this grammar called, please? I did not find anything in my coursebook about it.  
> **username_1**: @JohnV Search for usage of 是 and 的. In my lessons I call them "the '是' Sentence" and "the Modifier+的+Noun Structure".  
> **username_0**: One more thing, if I may - when I search for "那个", I just get this entry about it being a filter word.  
> **username_1**: @JohnV Maybe you mean "filler". No, it's not used as a filler word here. It means, as I wrote, 那个人.  
> **username_0**: Ah, a silly typo, thanks. I am slowly starting to understand. I think now I get the sentences like 我买的杯子 (the cup I bought). It is just...I cannot wrap my head around the fact that there is no subject preceding the verb in my original question/sentence.  
> **username_0**: Would not work, too?  那个买杯子的人是谁？  
> **username_1**: @JohnV Yes, but "那个" is still related to 人. In the structure Modifier+的+Noun, the modifier is still 买杯子, **not** 那个买杯子. The one who, or if you want to call it the "subject" who 买杯子 is the noun **after** 的. That's why 买杯子 is called modifier. Suggestion: forget English, learn Chinese.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-11-21. Score: 0

買杯子的那個是谁？ and 誰買了這個杯子？ are different questions.

買杯子的那個是谁？ => You want to know who is buying cup . The action(buy cup) is still in progress.

誰買了這個杯子？ => You want to know who bought this cup.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks. Why the action is still in progress, I thought "le" here indicates completeness?  
> **username_3**: I don't see the difference. If I really want to know who is buying the cup, I'd use "去買杯子的人是誰?"  
> **username_4**: I suppose the difference is, in 買杯子的那個是谁?, the questioner merely wants to know who bought a cup; whereas in 誰買了這個杯子?, the questioner wants to know who bought "this" particular cup, because of ......這個杯子?  However the answers to both questions would be the same, i.e., the name, if known, of the buyer in question. I do not, however, see the first question as a Present Continuous Tense, unless the context shows the questioner is actually looking at the buyer in the process of buying a cup.  
> **username_1**: Hi all. Sorry for the intrusion. Since OP used simplified Chinese, do you think it would be better to adapt? Traditional Chinese, especially for those at HSK1 level, might be well considered as if it were a different language!  
> **username_4**: To many Taiwanese Simplified Chinese is also a different language :)  

---

