Pronouns and 是 (to be) — Chinese grammar (HSK 1)

Subject + 是 + Noun

是 (shì) links a subject to a noun, like English "am / is / are". Unlike English it never changes form: 我是, 你是, 他是 all use the same 是. The pronouns 我 (I), 你 (you), 他 (he), 她 (she) and 我们 (we) also never change, so there is no "me / him / us" to learn.

Examples

我是学生。 Wǒ shì xuésheng.	I am a student.
她是老师。 Tā shì lǎoshī.	She is a teacher.
他是中国人。 Tā shì Zhōngguó rén.	He is Chinese.

Tip: 是 only links nouns to nouns; do not use it before adjectives (see 很 in the next unit).