Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā shì yí gè hěn nǔlì de xuéshēng.

So 很 is needed for naturalness and often carries a genuine degree meaning (“very” or “quite”), but it also helps make the adjective feel like a normal description rather than a sharp statement.

What is the function of 的 (de) in 很努力的学生?

的 here connects a descriptive phrase to a noun.

Structure:

很努力的 = “(who is) very hard-working”
学生 = “student”

Together: 很努力的学生 = “a very hard-working student.”

In grammar terms, 的 turns the adjective/adjective phrase into an attributive modifier for the noun:

(很努力) + 的 + (学生)
“hard-working” + 的 + “student”

So, whenever a word or phrase (adjective, verb, or even a clause) is used to describe a noun, 的 is often used after that modifier.

Can I drop 的 and just say 很努力学生?

No, 很努力学生 is not grammatical.

For multi‑syllable adjectives (like 努力, 认真, 聪明), when they modify a noun directly before it, you basically always need 的:

✅ 很努力的学生
❌ 很努力学生

You can sometimes drop 的 with some very common single‑syllable adjectives, for example:

好学生 (“good student”)
坏孩子 (“bad child”)

But with 努力, you need 的:

✅ 努力的学生
❌ 努力学生

Why is 一 (yī) pronounced yí here?

This is due to tone sandhi (tone change rules in running speech).

General rule for 一:

Before a 4th‑tone syllable: 一 changes to 2nd tone (yí).
Before a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd‑tone syllable: 一 usually changes to 4th tone (yì).
When said alone or emphasized (the number “one” by itself): yī (1st tone).

In 一{yí} 个{gè} 很{hěn} 努{nǔ}力{lì} 的学生, the important thing is:

个 (gè) is 4th tone.

So 一 comes directly before a 4th tone → it changes to yí.

Spoken: yí gè (very natural) rather than yī gè.

Why do we need 个 (gè) between 一 and 学生?

Chinese uses measure words (classifiers) between numbers and nouns. You cannot go straight from a number to most nouns.

Pattern:

Number + Measure word + Noun

Here:

一 = one
个 = a general measure word
学生 = student

So 一个学生 literally means “one (measure word) student,” which functions as “a student.”

You must say:

✅ 一个学生
❌ 一学生

个 is the default, general classifier used with many types of nouns, including 学生, especially in everyday speech.

Could I say 他是很努力的学生 without 一个? What’s the difference?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different.

他是一个很努力的学生。
- Emphasizes “one” specific student.
- Feels like describing him as a particular example of such a student.
- Very natural when talking about him individually.
他是很努力的学生。
- Grammatically OK, but more likely implies:
  - “He belongs to the category of hard‑working students,” or
  - It’s a bit more general, sometimes slightly bookish/formal.
- In many everyday situations, native speakers still prefer 一个 here.

In simple learner contexts, 他是一个很努力的学生 is the most natural and neutral form.

Is 是 (shì) always needed when linking a person and a noun/adjective like this?

With a noun, you usually need 是:

他是学生。 = He is a student.
他是一个很努力的学生。 = He is a very hard-working student.

With adjectives, you usually do not use 是; you directly use the adjective (often with 很):

他很努力。 (not: ❌ 他是很努力。 in most neutral contexts)
这本书很有意思。 (“This book is interesting.”)

So:

Noun predicates: subject + 是 + noun
Adjective predicates: subject + 很 + adjective (no 是)

In 他是一个很努力的学生, the main predicate is the noun phrase “一个很努力的学生,” so 是 is needed.

Why does the adjective phrase come before 学生 instead of after it, like in English?

In Chinese, adjectives that modify nouns almost always come before the noun, often with 的:

很努力的学生
literally: “very-hard-working 的 student”

English puts the adjective before the noun too (“hard-working student”), but if you think in terms of a full relative clause, English might say:

“a student who is very hard-working”

Chinese compresses this structure into:

很努力的学生
(lit. “very-hard-working 的 student”)

So the basic order is:

[Descriptive phrase] + 的 + Noun
很努力的学生

Chinese does not say something like “学生很努力的” to mean “a hard-working student.” That would be interpreted as a sentence fragment “The student is very hard-working…” plus 的, and is not used as a noun phrase.

What’s the difference between 他 (tā) and 她 (tā)? They sound the same, right?

Yes, they are both pronounced tā (1st tone) but written with different characters and used differently in writing:

他 = “he / him” (male or gender‑neutral in many situations)
她 = “she / her” (female)
它 = “it” (animals, things, abstract concepts)
祂 / 牠 (in some contexts) for “divine being / animals,” etc.

In spoken Mandarin, you can’t hear the difference: they are all tā.
In written Mandarin, you must choose the correct character based on gender or context.

In this sentence, 他 is used, so it refers to a male or to “he” in a generic example.

Is 是 (shì) basically the same as “to be” in English?

Not exactly. There is overlap, but some key differences:

With nouns, 是 ≈ “to be”:
- 他是学生。= He is a student.
- 她是老师。= She is a teacher.
With adjectives, you normally don’t use 是:
- 他很努力。= He is hard‑working.
- 天气很冷。= The weather is cold.
  (Not: ❌ 天气是冷 in normal descriptive sentences.)
是 is also used for:
- Emphasis / correction:
  - 他是学生，不是老师。 = He is a student, not a teacher.
- Focus:
  - 是他帮了我。 = It was he who helped me.

So: 是 is a “be” verb mainly for identity/equivalence (X = Y), not for simple descriptive adjectives, where Chinese uses adjective predicates instead.

What is the overall grammatical structure of 他是一个很努力的学生?

You can break it down like this:

他 = subject (“he”)
是 = linking verb (“is”)
一个很努力的学生 = noun phrase (predicate)

Inside the noun phrase:

一 = one
个 = measure word
很努力的 = adjective phrase modifying the noun
- 很 = degree adverb (“very”)
- 努力 = adjective (“hard-working”)
- 的 = connects the modifier to the noun
学生 = noun (“student”)

Bracketed:

他
是
[一个 [很努力的学生]]

So syntactically:
Subject + 是 + [Number + Measure word + (Adjective phrase + 的) + Noun].

How would I say “They are very hard-working students” based on this sentence?

A natural version is:

他们是很努力的学生。

Notes:

他们 (tāmen) = they
No 一个, because we are talking about plural and not specifying “one.”
You generally don’t need 们 on the noun 学生 here; 他们 already shows plural.

So:

他是一个很努力的学生。= He is a very hard-working student.
他们是很努力的学生。= They are very hard-working students.