<blockquote>
<p>她是不会来了。</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>如今是什么办法都试过了</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What your quoted explanation means is 是 is used for an <em><strong>assessment</strong></em>. E.g. 她是不会来了 // the speaker <em><strong>estimates</strong></em> that she wouldn't come. Just like to say <em>judging from current situation, she wouldn't come</em>.</p>
<p>Compared with 是...的, 她是不会来的 is more of <em><strong>emphasis</strong></em>. The speaker is more certain that she wouldn't come. The sentence is saying that <em>it's impossible she would come</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-03T12:08:05.733Z
Thank you for your clear answer. So, in case I omit the 是 in the above examples, the sentences are just stating a fact: 她不会来了。= She won't come (A fact; we know it because she told us); 如今什么办法都试过了 = So far we have tried every method possible (There is a limited set of methods available to use and we have tried them all). Is it correct?
Jon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-03T12:17:03.590Z
@Jon Yes, that's correct.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-02T23:37:12.803Z
2021-08-02T23:37:12.803Z
dan
<p>You shall learn how to detect an omitted phrase in a Chinese sentence, and separate a long sentence into meaningful pieces (like clues of a puzzle). For the two cases:</p>
<p>她是不会来了。Actually, the complete sentence should be 我&quot;想(猜,估計)&quot;她是不会来了。 I think (guess, estimate) she won't come.</p>
<p>如今是什么办法都试过了。 = 如今是 什么办法都试过了。如今是 is a customary phrase similar to English - &quot;now the situation is....&quot;. There are quite a few phrases that share the same pattern:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>現今是 = 如今是 = 現下是 = 目前是</p>
</li>
<li><p>前題是 Before going further, let's set some things straight. Example: &quot;我願意和你共創事業。 前題是 你必須....&quot;</p>
</li>
<li><p>問題是 Before going further, here are some questions/problems, .... &quot;我願意和你共創事業。 前題是 你父母許可嗎? 你有獨立的經濟來源嗎?....&quot;</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-03T01:38:53.140Z
2021-08-03T01:38:53.140Z
r13
<p>This is the title of a paragraph in the book &quot;Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar&quot;, by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington, whose content I find really hard to understand. The explanation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>是 shì may also be used loosely to refer to or to make an overall assessment
of a situation, rather like its function as a marker of emphasis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And then some examples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>她是不会来了。<br/>I don't think she will come./She is unlikely to come.<br/>如今是什么办法都试过了<br/>So far we have tried whatever methods we could think of.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I cannot understand what the explanation is supposed to mean. The paragraph before this one explains how to use the &quot;是…的&quot; construction to emphasize, so I also cannot understand the difference between these two patterns, and if the omission of 是 in the example sentences changes the meaning.</p>

<grammar><meaning><usage><difference><sentence-structure>
是 assessing an overall situation
# 是 assessing an overall situation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-02)

This is the title of a paragraph in the book "Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar", by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington, whose content I find really hard to understand. The explanation:

> 是 shì may also be used loosely to refer to or to make an overall assessment
> of a situation, rather like its function as a marker of emphasis.

And then some examples:

> 她是不会来了。  
> I don't think she will come./She is unlikely to come.  
> 如今是什么办法都试过了  
> So far we have tried whatever methods we could think of.

I cannot understand what the explanation is supposed to mean. The paragraph before this one explains how to use the "是…的" construction to emphasize, so I also cannot understand the difference between these two patterns, and if the omission of 是 in the example sentences changes the meaning.

**Tags:** grammar, meaning, usage, difference, sentence-structure


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-08-02. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> 她是不会来了。

> 如今是什么办法都试过了

What your quoted explanation means is 是 is used for an ***assessment***. E.g. 她是不会来了 // the speaker ***estimates*** that she wouldn't come. Just like to say *judging from current situation, she wouldn't come*.

Compared with 是...的, 她是不会来的 is more of ***emphasis***. The speaker is more certain that she wouldn't come. The sentence is saying that *it's impossible she would come*.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your clear answer. So, in case I omit the 是 in the above examples, the sentences are just stating a fact: 她不会来了。= She won't come (A fact; we know it because she told us); 如今什么办法都试过了 = So far we have tried every method possible (There is a limited set of methods available to use and we have tried them all). Is it correct?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Yes, that's correct.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-08-03. Score: 2

You shall learn how to detect an omitted phrase in a Chinese sentence, and separate a long sentence into meaningful pieces (like clues of a puzzle). For the two cases:

她是不会来了。Actually, the complete sentence should be 我"想(猜,估計)"她是不会来了。 I think (guess, estimate) she won't come.

如今是什么办法都试过了。 = 如今是 什么办法都试过了。如今是 is a customary phrase similar to English - "now the situation is....". There are quite a few phrases that share the same pattern:

* 現今是 = 如今是 = 現下是 = 目前是
* 前題是 Before going further, let's set some things straight. Example: "我願意和你共創事業。 前題是 你必須...."
* 問題是 Before going further, here are some questions/problems, .... "我願意和你共創事業。 前題是 你父母許可嗎? 你有獨立的經濟來源嗎?...."


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