<p>Simply put. There is always S V O structure in Chinese. </p>

<p>In this case, 这(this) is the S, 是(is) is the V, 你第一次来中国 (your first time coming to China) is the object phrase.</p>

<p>PS 你第一次来中国 = 你的第一次来中国. (The 的 in the first sentence got dropped)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-21T15:27:35.237Z
2014-08-21T15:27:35.237Z
ChineseHulu.com
<p><strong>这是你第一次来中国吗？</strong> means <code>Is this your first time in China?</code></p>

<p>I wouldn't consider this a <em>noun phrase</em> at all...</p>

<p><code>第一次</code> as a whole is an <strong>adverb</strong>.</p>

<p><code>来</code> is your <strong>verb</strong>.</p>

<p>Everything else is pretty self-explanatory and you seem to understand the other parts of the sentence.</p>

<p>In fact you can use <strong>这是你第一次</strong> as a set phrase to ask <code>is this your first time xxx</code> while just adding <code>xxx</code> at the end.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-21T15:30:20.580Z
2014-08-21T15:30:20.580Z
Mou某
<p>I am confused about the sentence 这是你第一次来中国吗？
I think I know the correct translation: "Is this the first time you go to China?"
However, I am confused about the grammatical structure of the sentence.</p>

<p>I would expect that when the structure 这是 (something) 吗？is present, then (something) is a noun phrase. For example:</p>

<ul>
<li>这是你要的吗？(Is this what you want?)</li>
<li>这是你点的菜吗？(Is this the dish you ordered?)</li>
</ul>

<p>你要的 (what you want) and 你点的菜 (the dish you ordered) are noun phrases (right?). However, I can't identify 你第一次来中国 as a noun phrase. </p>

<p>If 你第一次来中国 is a noun phrase: What is the structure that makes it a noun phrase? Why does it not say 你的第一次来中国? Isn't 次 a measure word? Why can it be followed by a verb?</p>

<p>If 你第一次来中国 is not a noun phrase, how can it be used with 这是 (something) 吗？?</p>

<sentence-structure><number>
What's the grammatical structure of 这是你第一次来中国吗？
# What's the grammatical structure of 这是你第一次来中国吗？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-21)

I am confused about the sentence 这是你第一次来中国吗？
I think I know the correct translation: "Is this the first time you go to China?"
However, I am confused about the grammatical structure of the sentence.

I would expect that when the structure 这是 (something) 吗？is present, then (something) is a noun phrase. For example:

* 这是你要的吗？(Is this what you want?)
* 这是你点的菜吗？(Is this the dish you ordered?)

你要的 (what you want) and 你点的菜 (the dish you ordered) are noun phrases (right?). However, I can't identify 你第一次来中国 as a noun phrase.

If 你第一次来中国 is a noun phrase: What is the structure that makes it a noun phrase? Why does it not say 你的第一次来中国? Isn't 次 a measure word? Why can it be followed by a verb?

If 你第一次来中国 is not a noun phrase, how can it be used with 这是 (something) 吗？?

**Tags:** sentence-structure, number


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-21. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Simply put. There is always S V O structure in Chinese.

In this case, 这(this) is the S, 是(is) is the V, 你第一次来中国 (your first time coming to China) is the object phrase.

PS 你第一次来中国 = 你的第一次来中国. (The 的 in the first sentence got dropped)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-08-21. Score: 1

**这是你第一次来中国吗？** means `Is this your first time in China?`

I wouldn't consider this a *noun phrase* at all...

`第一次` as a whole is an **adverb**.

`来` is your **verb**.

Everything else is pretty self-explanatory and you seem to understand the other parts of the sentence.

In fact you can use **这是你第一次** as a set phrase to ask `is this your first time xxx` while just adding `xxx` at the end.


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