<p>我是 means 'I am something', while 我在 in your sentence is the abbreviation of 我正在, which means 'I am doing something'</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-03T02:06:21.447Z
2014-12-03T02:06:21.447Z
Jemy Zhang
<p>English 'be' is a mixture of at least 3 old verbs. That is why it is so irregular.</p>

<p>In Spanish we have the same situation as Chinese: 'ser' = be, am = 是 and 'estar' = be in a place or situation = 在。</p>

<p>English, sadly, formally lost this distinction, but in reality, it is still there.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-03T23:07:32.667Z
2014-12-03T23:07:32.667Z
Pedroski
<p>我是+ n.
<strong>我是</strong>一个学生:<strong>I am</strong> a student.</p>

<p>我在+ v. 
<strong>我在</strong>游泳:<strong>I am</strong> swimming
我在+ n.
<strong>我在</strong>家:<strong>I am at</strong> home</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-03T08:42:48.953Z
2014-12-03T08:42:48.953Z
shoothao
<p>Yes.</p>

<p>是 (verb) means "is, am, are, to be, yes" while 在 (verb) means "at, to be in, to exist", or is a short form of 正在 (adverb,) which is used to indicate an action in progress. 是 is the confirmation of a state of being, whereas 在 is a confirmation of a location, or indicates that you are in the middle of/in the process of doing something.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>是 (verb) + noun</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So when you want to use "I am [x]" where [x] could be a student/a teacher/an old man/a young girl/a lawyer, that's when you use 是. What comes after it is a noun.</p>

<p>e.g. 我是留学生。你是哪国人？她是我女朋友。</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>在 (verb) + place name</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Where you want to use "I am at [x]" where [x] is a place like Beijing/America/etc., that's when you use 在. What comes after it is a place name.</p>

<p>e.g. 我在北京学习汉语。你在哪儿？他在美国旅行。</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>正在/正/在 (adverb) + verb</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When you want to indicate a continuing action "I am currently [x]" where [x] is a verb like reading a book/watching TV/cooking dinner, you use 正在/正/在. What comes after it is a verb.</p>

<p>e.g. 我正在看电视。你在想什么？她正做饭。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-03T01:06:39.060Z
2014-12-03T01:24:03.027Z
2014-12-03T01:24:03.027Z
Ming
<p>In my Chinese class notes these two sentences appear:</p>

<p>我是南非人
and
我在看节目</p>

<p>Why does the one use 我是 and the other 我在?
Is there a rule/guidelines to help me decide which one to use?</p>

<p>Thanks,
Jaco</p>

<grammar><difference>
When to use 我是 vs 我在
# When to use 我是 vs 我在

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-03)

In my Chinese class notes these two sentences appear:

我是南非人
and
我在看节目

Why does the one use 我是 and the other 我在?
Is there a rule/guidelines to help me decide which one to use?

Thanks,
Jaco

**Tags:** grammar, difference


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-12-03. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Yes.

是 (verb) means "is, am, are, to be, yes" while 在 (verb) means "at, to be in, to exist", or is a short form of 正在 (adverb,) which is used to indicate an action in progress. 是 is the confirmation of a state of being, whereas 在 is a confirmation of a location, or indicates that you are in the middle of/in the process of doing something.

> 是 (verb) + noun

So when you want to use "I am [x]" where [x] could be a student/a teacher/an old man/a young girl/a lawyer, that's when you use 是. What comes after it is a noun.

e.g. 我是留学生。你是哪国人？她是我女朋友。

> 在 (verb) + place name

Where you want to use "I am at [x]" where [x] is a place like Beijing/America/etc., that's when you use 在. What comes after it is a place name.

e.g. 我在北京学习汉语。你在哪儿？他在美国旅行。

> 正在/正/在 (adverb) + verb

When you want to indicate a continuing action "I am currently [x]" where [x] is a verb like reading a book/watching TV/cooking dinner, you use 正在/正/在. What comes after it is a verb.

e.g. 我正在看电视。你在想什么？她正做饭。


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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-03. Score: 3

我是 means 'I am something', while 我在 in your sentence is the abbreviation of 我正在, which means 'I am doing something'


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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-12-03. Score: 1

English 'be' is a mixture of at least 3 old verbs. That is why it is so irregular.

In Spanish we have the same situation as Chinese: 'ser' = be, am = 是 and 'estar' = be in a place or situation = 在。

English, sadly, formally lost this distinction, but in reality, it is still there.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2014-12-03. Score: 1

我是+ n.
**我是**一个学生:**I am** a student.

我在+ v.
**我在**游泳:**I am** swimming
我在+ n.
**我在**家:**I am at** home


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