Every Chinese sentence divides into two parts: a subject (what we're talking about) and a predicate (what we say about it). English speakers instinctively assume the predicate must contain a verb — and, for adjectives and nouns, the verb "to be." That assumption is the source of endless beginner errors, because Chinese predicates come in four shapes, and two of them use no 是 (shì) at all. Once you can spot which of the four you're building, the question "do I need a verb here?" answers itself. This page maps all four; it pairs naturally with the S-V-O word order hub.
Subject + Predicate — the predicate isn't always a verb+object
Here are the four types at a glance. Notice the middle two carry no copula, and the fourth has a predicate that is itself a little subject-plus-predicate.
| Type | Predicate is… | Example | 是? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal | a verb (+ object) | 他跑步 (he runs) | — |
| Adjectival | a stative-verb adjective | 她很高 (she's tall) | no 是 |
| Nominal | a bare noun phrase | 今天星期一 (today's Monday) | no 是 |
| Subject-predicate | a whole clause | 他身体很好 (his health is good) | no 是 |
Type 1: Verbal predicate
The prototype, and the one that matches English. The predicate is a verb, with or without an object. This is the S-V-O frame in action.
他每天早上跑步。
tā měitiān zǎoshang pǎobù
He goes running every morning. (neutral) — verbal predicate; 跑步 is the verb.
我们下午一起吃饭。
wǒmen xiàwǔ yìqǐ chī fàn
We're having lunch together this afternoon. (informal) — verb 吃 with its object 饭.
Type 2: Adjectival predicate — no 是
To describe something's quality, you do not use 是. The adjective is the predicate all by itself, because Chinese adjectives are stative verbs — 高 doesn't mean "tall," it means "to be tall," so the "be" is already inside the word. A plain adjectival statement usually takes 很 as a neutral linker (not "very").
她很高，比我高半个头。
tā hěn gāo, bǐ wǒ gāo bàn ge tóu
She's tall — half a head taller than me. (informal) — 高 is the predicate; no 是.
今天很热，别忘了带水。
jīntiān hěn rè, bié wàng le dài shuǐ
It's hot today — don't forget to bring water. (informal) — 热 stands alone as 'to be hot'.
Type 3: Nominal predicate — no 是
Some predicates are a bare noun phrase, again with no verb — for dates, days, clock time, ages, and prices. 今天星期一 ("today's Monday") needs no 是 to link the two nouns; the noun stands as the predicate directly.
今天星期一，我得早点儿去公司。
jīntiān xīngqīyī, wǒ děi zǎo diǎnr qù gōngsī
It's Monday — I need to get to the office a bit early. (informal) — 星期一 is a bare nominal predicate, no 是.
他二十岁，还在上大学。
tā èrshí suì, hái zài shàng dàxué
He's twenty and still at university. (neutral) — 二十岁 predicates directly; 他是二十岁 would be wrong.
This drop is limited to specific domains, and negation pulls 是 back in (今天不是星期一). The full rules are on nominal predicates without 是.
Type 4: Subject-predicate predicate
The most striking type for English speakers: the predicate is itself a complete subject-plus-predicate clause. In 他身体很好, the overall subject is 他 ("he"), and what we say about him is the whole mini-sentence 身体很好 ("[the] body is good"). Chinese loves this "double-subject" pattern for describing someone's attributes — health, appearance, personality, abilities — and for wholes and their parts.
他身体很好，很少生病。
tā shēntǐ hěn hǎo, hěn shǎo shēngbìng
He's in good health — he rarely gets sick. (neutral) — 他 is the topic; 身体很好 is a subject-predicate describing him.
这个孩子头发很长。
zhège háizi tóufa hěn cháng
This child has long hair. (neutral) — literally 'this child, hair is long' — a whole-and-part double subject.
中国人口很多。
Zhōngguó rénkǒu hěn duō
China has a large population. (neutral) — literally 'China, population is many'.
Where English restructures with a possessive ("his health is good," "China's population is large"), Chinese simply names the whole, then predicates about a part of it. The inner clause is usually adjectival (Type 2 nested inside), which is why there's still no 是 in sight.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting 是 before an adjective. Adjectival predicates take 很, not 是.
❌ 她是高。
Incorrect — no 是 before an adjective; 高 is a stative verb: 她很高.
✅ 她很高。
tā hěn gāo
She's tall. — adjectival predicate, no copula.
2. Inserting 是 before an age. Age is a nominal predicate that drops 是.
❌ 他是二十岁。
Incorrect — age takes no 是 in a plain statement: 他二十岁 (or 他二十岁了).
✅ 他二十岁。
tā èrshí suì
He's twenty. — bare nominal predicate.
3. Forcing a copula into a subject-predicate predicate. The inner clause is adjectival, so no 是 belongs there.
❌ 他身体是好。
Incorrect — 好 is a stative verb; the inner clause needs 很, not 是: 他身体很好.
✅ 他身体很好。
tā shēntǐ hěn hǎo
He's in good health. — double subject, adjectival inner predicate.
4. Calquing English 'my hair is long' with a copula. Prefer the double-subject frame over a stilted 是.
❌ 我的头发是长。
Unnatural — say 我头发很长 (double subject) or at least 我的头发很长; no 是 before 长.
✅ 我头发很长。
wǒ tóufa hěn cháng
My hair is long. — 我 as topic, 头发很长 as the subject-predicate about me.
Key Takeaways
- A Chinese sentence is Subject + Predicate, and the predicate comes in four shapes.
- Verbal (他跑步): a verb, matching English.
- Adjectival (她很高): a stative-verb adjective — no 是, usually with 很.
- Nominal (今天星期一): a bare noun phrase for dates, ages, prices — no 是; see nominal predicates without 是.
- Subject-predicate (他身体很好): the predicate is itself a subject-plus-predicate clause — a "double subject" for attributes and parts.
- The recurring lesson: two of the four types need no copula, so 是 is far rarer than English "be."
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Nominal Predicates Without 是HSK 2 — For dates, days, clock time, ages, prices, weather, and origin, the predicate can be a bare NOUN phrase with no verb: 今天三号 'today's the 3rd', 他二十岁 'he's twenty', 一斤五块 'five kuài a catty', 他北京人 'he's a Beijinger'. Negation, though, always reinserts 不是.
- Basic Word Order: Subject–Verb–ObjectHSK 1 — Chinese basic order is Subject–Verb–Object, like English: 我爱你 'I love you', 他喝水 'he drinks water'. Because Chinese has no inflection, position does all the grammatical work — so the S-V-O slots are even more fixed than in English, and modifiers all sit BEFORE what they modify.
- Adjectives Are Stative Verbs (No 是)HSK 1 — A Chinese adjective is a kind of verb — it predicates on its own, with NO copula 是 (shì). 她很高 'she is tall', 天气很好 'the weather is good', 这个太贵了 'this is too expensive' — never *她是高. 高 already means 'to be tall', so 是 has no job; negate with 不 (不高), not 没.
- The Copula 是 (shì): A is BHSK 1 — 是 (shì) links two nouns — 我是学生, 这是我的书. It is ONLY for noun = noun. It is NOT used before adjectives (你很高, never 你是高), NOT for location (在, not 是), and NOT for possession (有). English 'be' fans out into several Chinese patterns; 是 is just one of them.