Breakdown of túshūguǎn běi bian yǒu yí gè xiǎo gōngyuán, nán bian shì yínháng.
是shì
to be
个gè
noun classifier
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
有yǒu
to have
Questions & Answers about túshūguǎn běi bian yǒu yí gè xiǎo gōngyuán, nán bian shì yínháng.
Why does the sentence use 有 in the first part (有一个小公园) but 是 in the second part (是银行)?
Chinese distinguishes between:
- Existence / presence: using 有
- Identification / equation: using 是
In 图书馆北边有一个小公园:
- The focus is that there exists a small park on the north side of the library.
- Structure: Place + 有 + Something = There is something at that place.
In 南边是银行:
- The focus is what the south side is / is occupied by: it is a bank.
- Structure: Place + 是 + Noun = The place is (a) X.
You could also say:
- 图书馆南边有一家银行。 (There is a bank on the south side of the library.) or
- 北边是一个小公园。 (The north side is a small park.)
The choice of 有 vs 是 depends on whether you’re talking about existence (有) or identifying what the place is (是), not on north vs south specifically.
Why is it 图书馆北边 and not 在图书馆北边?