<p>&quot;是&quot; is considerd to be a copula, while &quot;的&quot; is not a possessive maker but just part of the adjective &quot;喜欢的&quot;.</p>
<p>The sentence should be translated into English as &quot;The person I like is Xiao Ming&quot;. However the sentence pattern is closer to &quot;My favorite person is Xiao Ming&quot;. It's obvious that &quot;favorite&quot; is an adjective here, equivalent to the role of &quot;喜欢的&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-14T06:43:41.713Z
2022-01-14T06:43:41.713Z
Woody
<p>This is not a <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_%22shi..._de%22_construction_for_emphasizing_details" rel="nofollow noreferrer">是……的 construction</a>, and you can tell because the 的 comes before the 是.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他 <strong>是</strong> 小明。<br />
He <strong>is</strong> Xiao Ming.</p>
<p>我喜欢的人 <strong>是</strong> 小明。<br />
The person I like <strong>is</strong> Xiao Ming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here the 的 lets us know that 我喜欢 = &quot;I like&quot; is being used as an adjective, so 我喜欢的人 = &quot;the person I like&quot;.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Another way to use 的 (de) is as an <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Attributive" rel="nofollow noreferrer">attributive</a>. It's just a way of connecting adjectives or other words with a noun. It gives us more information about the noun, and the 的 (de) makes it clear that the extra information is connected to the noun.<br />
<sub><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structural_particle_%22de%22#.E7.9A.84_.28de.29_Before_Nouns" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Structural particle &quot;de&quot;</a>, Chinese Grammar Wiki</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Whether or not you consider this 的 as a &quot;possessive particle&quot; seems to be a matter of linguistic preference.  It seems the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">copula</a> in this sentence is 是.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-14T06:50:33.010Z
2022-01-14T06:50:33.010Z
Becky 李蓓
<p>A sentence like 我喜欢的人是小明。What is the role of the shi and de in this sentence? Would the shi be considered a copula? And is the de a possessive marker?</p>

<grammar>
What is the shi and the de in a shi..de construction?
# What is the shi and the de in a shi..de construction?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-14)

A sentence like 我喜欢的人是小明。What is the role of the shi and de in this sentence? Would the shi be considered a copula? And is the de a possessive marker?

**Tags:** grammar


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-01-14. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

This is not a [是……的 construction](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/The_%22shi..._de%22_construction_for_emphasizing_details), and you can tell because the 的 comes before the 是.

> 他 **是** 小明。  
> He **is** Xiao Ming.
>
> 我喜欢的人 **是** 小明。  
> The person I like **is** Xiao Ming.

Here the 的 lets us know that 我喜欢 = "I like" is being used as an adjective, so 我喜欢的人 = "the person I like".

> Another way to use 的 (de) is as an [attributive](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Attributive). It's just a way of connecting adjectives or other words with a noun. It gives us more information about the noun, and the 的 (de) makes it clear that the extra information is connected to the noun.  
> [Structural particle "de"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structural_particle_%22de%22#.E7.9A.84_.28de.29_Before_Nouns), Chinese Grammar Wiki

Whether or not you consider this 的 as a "possessive particle" seems to be a matter of linguistic preference. It seems the [copula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)) in this sentence is 是.


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### Answer by username_1 on 2022-01-14. Score: 4

"是" is considerd to be a copula, while "的" is not a possessive maker but just part of the adjective "喜欢的".

The sentence should be translated into English as "The person I like is Xiao Ming". However the sentence pattern is closer to "My favorite person is Xiao Ming". It's obvious that "favorite" is an adjective here, equivalent to the role of "喜欢的".


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