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Questions & Answers about tā yě shì xuéshēng.
What does 也 do here, and where does it go in the sentence?
也 (yě) means “also/too.” As an adverb, it goes after the subject and before the verb/predicate:
- Pattern: Subject + 也 + Verb/Predicate
- Examples: 我也去。 “I’m going too.” / 她也很忙。 “She’s also busy.” In this sentence: 他 + 也 + 是 + 学生。
Why is 是 used here? Do we always need 是?
是 (shì) is the copula “to be,” used when the predicate is a noun or a pronoun:
- 他也是学生。 “He is also a student.” (noun predicate) Do not use 是 before adjectives:
- Say 他也很高。 “He’s also tall.” not ✗他也是高。
Do I need an article like “a” (一个) before 学生?
Chinese doesn’t require an article. 他也是学生。 is natural. If you add a classifier, you usually say:
- 他也是一个学生。 or the colloquial 他也是个学生。 Adding 一个/个 can make it feel like “(just) one student” or emphasize category/individuality.
Can I say 他是也学生?
No. 也 must come before the verb/predicate. The correct order is 他也是学生。 Putting 也 after 是 is ungrammatical in modern Mandarin.
How do I pronounce the whole sentence, and are there any tone quirks?
Pinyin: tā yě shì xuésheng.
- 他 tā (1st tone), 也 yě (3rd), 是 shì (4th), 学 xué (2nd), 生 sheng (neutral in Mainland; often 1st tone shēng in Taiwan). No third-tone sandhi applies to 也 here because it’s followed by a fourth tone, not a third.
Does 他 only mean “he”? How do I say “she” or “it”?
In writing:
- 他 = he (male), 她 = she (female), 它 = it (things), 牠 = it (animals, in Traditional contexts). In speech, they’re all pronounced tā, so context disambiguates.
Is 也 the same as 还 or 都?
They differ:
- 也 = “also/too,” expressing similarity: 他也是学生。
- 还 (hái) = “still/yet,” and sometimes “in addition” for actions: 他还是学生。 = “He is still a student.” Not “also” here.
- 都 (dōu) = “all/both”: 他们都是学生。 = “They are all students.” You can combine 也 and 都 with a plural subject: 他们也都是学生。 = “They are also all students.”
How do I say “He is not a student either”?
他也不是学生。 Place 也 before the negation 不是. This means “He also isn’t a student” (i.e., in addition to someone else not being one).
How do I turn it into a yes–no question?
Add 吗 at the end:
- 他也是学生吗？ “Is he also a student?” Possible answers: 是。 “Yes.” / 不是。 “No.”
Can I drop 是 and say 他也学生?
No. With a noun predicate like 学生, you need 是 in a normal declarative sentence: 他也是学生。 (Exceptions exist in special structures/topic-comment, but not for this basic pattern.)
Can I omit the subject if it’s clear from context?
Yes—Chinese often drops obvious subjects. In a reply, you might simply say 也是学生。 or even just 也是。 (“Me too.” / “So am I.”) if the noun is understood.
Is 也是 one word or two? And can 也是 stand alone?
Grammatically it’s an adverb 也 plus the verb 是. In conversation, 也是 can stand alone to mean “true/that’s also a good point,” as in agreeing mildly with someone’s remark.
What if I want to say “He is also a teacher”?
Replace the noun: 他也是老师。 If you want to emphasize “in addition to being X, he’s also Y,” you can use: 他既是老师，也是学生。 (“He is both a teacher and a student.”)
Does 学生 mean a specific level, like “college student”?
学生 is generic: any student. Specify level if needed:
- 大学生 (college student), 中学生 (middle/high school student), 小学生 (primary school student).