tā yě shì xuéshēng.

to be

Breakdown of tā yě shì xuéshēng.

• 学生xuéshēng: student
• 他tā: he
• 也yě: also

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.