tā shì yí gè hěn nǔlì de xuéshēng.

In this sentence, 很 can mean “very,” but it also often works more like a soft linker between the subject and an adjective.

• 他很努力。
  Literally: He very hardworking.
  Natural meaning: He is hardworking / He works hard.

If you say 他努力 with no 很, it can sound a bit like a contrast or judgment (“He is hardworking (unlike others)”), and is less neutral.

In 很努力的学生, 很 is both:

• marking the adjective phrase before a noun
• often understood as “very” or “quite”

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different.

1. 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.

2. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

1. With nouns, 是 ≈ “to be”:

   • 他是学生。= He is a student.
   • 她是老师。= She is a teacher.

2. 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.)

3. 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.

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].

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.