<p>As a native speaker, I consulted some grammar books and couldn't find an explanation for this example, so I'm speaking from my personal thinking.</p>
<p>The 是+...+的 structure is necessary in this sentence. I can't think of another way to express &quot;This car is red.&quot; You can't say &quot;这辆车红&quot;, and &quot;这辆车很红&quot; has a slightly different meaning.</p>
<p>Is this only for colors? No. I think it is only for &quot;quality&quot;, for things that are either yes or no, not for things that have a degree. For example, you have to say &quot;这辆车是国产的&quot;. You can't say &quot;这辆车国产&quot;.</p>
<p>The difference between 是+adjective+的 and 很+adjective is that they answer different questions.</p>
<p>Is it red or not red? What color is it? It is red. 它是红的。</p>
<p>How red is it? It is very red 它很红。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-01T07:17:40.853Z
2021-09-01T07:17:40.853Z
Betty
<p>In Chinese, adjectives of quality such as 聪明（smart），漂亮（pretty），高兴（happy）and the various colour terms etc., when used in predicative construction, must be initialised with a certain value. These adjectives are associated with a compact semantic field which includes its complement as well: 聪明 ranges from &quot;not so smart&quot; to &quot;vary smart&quot;. We simply cannot say *他聪明. We can say 他不聪明，他相当聪明，他很聪明, where 不，相当 or 很 serves to initialise the value (either negative or positive, because &quot;neutral&quot; is not a stable value).</p>
<p>Another way to initialise it with a certain value is to pre-build a class of occurrences and say this is an occurrence of that class: 这辆车是红色的，这本书是我的，这瓶啤酒是他买的。The construction 是...的 is the trace of an operation which indicates that we have a class of occurrences pre-built based on a term: 红色的 - a class of occurrences related to red; 我的 - a class of occurrence related to me (&quot;what belongs to me&quot;); 他买的 - a class of occurrences related to &quot;what he bought&quot;.</p>
<p>Incidentally, this may help explain why in Chinese we say 我的车，他的房子，你的老师，我的朋友，but it is odd to say *我的爸爸 or *我的妈妈. In fact, a native speaker would most likely say 我爸爸 or 我妈妈, because we don't consider 爸爸 or 妈妈 as an occurrence among others in a class: they are unique.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-01T15:06:17.893Z
2021-09-01T15:06:17.893Z
KK_Tse
<p>这辆_车_是_红色的(车). <p>
This car is a red (car).
&quot;红色的&quot; is adj.  <p>
red, noun, 红色  <p>
red, adj, 红色的  <p></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-01T02:27:40.407Z
2021-09-01T02:27:40.407Z
Ming Tong
<p>Consider this: 是(verb) + 红色(adj) + 的(adv).</p>
<p>Yes, &quot;的&quot; emphasizes the color &quot;红色&quot;, it is considered a modifier when placed at the end of the sentence.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-31T13:54:48.997Z
2021-08-31T14:01:33.377Z
2021-08-31T14:01:33.377Z
r13
<p>I have read that the 是+...+的 structure is used for emphasis. I wonder in sentences describing colours like 这辆车是红色的,  is the 是+...+的 structure used for emphasis too?
What kind of 是+...+的 is this? Is 的 necessary in such sentences?</p>
<p>I really couldn't find much information about this kind of 是+...+的 structure. And I haven't found this structure except in sentences describing colours.</p>

<grammar><adjectives>
是+...+的 structure in describing colours
# 是+...+的 structure in describing colours

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-31)

I have read that the 是+...+的 structure is used for emphasis. I wonder in sentences describing colours like 这辆车是红色的, is the 是+...+的 structure used for emphasis too?
What kind of 是+...+的 is this? Is 的 necessary in such sentences?

I really couldn't find much information about this kind of 是+...+的 structure. And I haven't found this structure except in sentences describing colours.

**Tags:** grammar, adjectives


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-09-01. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

As a native speaker, I consulted some grammar books and couldn't find an explanation for this example, so I'm speaking from my personal thinking.

The 是+...+的 structure is necessary in this sentence. I can't think of another way to express "This car is red." You can't say "这辆车红", and "这辆车很红" has a slightly different meaning.

Is this only for colors? No. I think it is only for "quality", for things that are either yes or no, not for things that have a degree. For example, you have to say "这辆车是国产的". You can't say "这辆车国产".

The difference between 是+adjective+的 and 很+adjective is that they answer different questions.

Is it red or not red? What color is it? It is red. 它是红的。

How red is it? It is very red 它很红。


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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-09-01. Score: 2

In Chinese, adjectives of quality such as 聪明（smart），漂亮（pretty），高兴（happy）and the various colour terms etc., when used in predicative construction, must be initialised with a certain value. These adjectives are associated with a compact semantic field which includes its complement as well: 聪明 ranges from "not so smart" to "vary smart". We simply cannot say \*他聪明. We can say 他不聪明，他相当聪明，他很聪明, where 不，相当 or 很 serves to initialise the value (either negative or positive, because "neutral" is not a stable value).

Another way to initialise it with a certain value is to pre-build a class of occurrences and say this is an occurrence of that class: 这辆车是红色的，这本书是我的，这瓶啤酒是他买的。The construction 是...的 is the trace of an operation which indicates that we have a class of occurrences pre-built based on a term: 红色的 - a class of occurrences related to red; 我的 - a class of occurrence related to me ("what belongs to me"); 他买的 - a class of occurrences related to "what he bought".

Incidentally, this may help explain why in Chinese we say 我的车，他的房子，你的老师，我的朋友，but it is odd to say \*我的爸爸 or \*我的妈妈. In fact, a native speaker would most likely say 我爸爸 or 我妈妈, because we don't consider 爸爸 or 妈妈 as an occurrence among others in a class: they are unique.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2021-09-01. Score: 0

这辆\_车\_是\_红色的(车).

This car is a red (car).
"红色的" is adj.

red, noun, 红色

red, adj, 红色的


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### Answer by username_4 on 2021-08-31. Score: 0

Consider this: 是(verb) + 红色(adj) + 的(adv).

Yes, "的" emphasizes the color "红色", it is considered a modifier when placed at the end of the sentence.


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