Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā shuō zuì zhòngyào de bù shì lǐwù duō guì, érshì sòng lǐwù de rén. - He says what matters most is not how expensive the gift is, but the person who gives it.

The pattern 不是 A，而是 B means “not A, but (rather) B.”
It’s used to contrast two possibilities and say that B is the correct / important one, not A.

In this sentence:

不是礼物多贵 → “it is not how expensive the gift is”
而是送礼物的人 → “but (rather) the person who gives the gift”

So the whole middle part means:

The most important thing is not how expensive the gift is, but the person who gives the gift.

You can think of 不是 … 而是 … as a fixed contrast pattern that is very common in Chinese.

What exactly does 而是 add? How is 而是 different from 但是 or 可是?

而是 is normally used together with a preceding 不 (不是 / 不 …) to make a “not A but B” contrast.

不是 A，而是 B → “not A, but (rather) B”

It emphasizes that A is rejected and B is correct / preferred.

但是 / 可是 both mean “but / however” and usually connect two clauses without that built‑in “A is wrong, B is right” feeling:

我想去，但是没时间。
I want to go, but I don’t have time.

In this sentence, 而是 is the second half of the pattern 不是 … 而是 ….
You normally would not replace it with 但是 or 可是 here.

What does 最 do in 最重要的? How is it different from 很重要?

最 means “most; the most” and marks the superlative degree.

重要 = important
很重要 = very important
最重要 = the most important

So 最重要的 here means “the most important (thing)”.

Compare:

这件事 很重要。
This matter is very important.
这件事 最重要。
This matter is the most important.

In our sentence, 最重要的 is being turned into a noun phrase (“the most important thing”), then described further by 不是 …，而是 ….

Why is there a 的 after 最重要, and where is the word “thing” in “the most important thing”?

Here 的 is being used as a nominalizer – it turns an adjective phrase into a noun phrase.

最重要 = most important (adjective phrase)
最重要的 = the most important one / the most important thing (noun phrase)

Chinese often leaves out obvious nouns if the meaning is clear from context. You could make it explicit:

他说 最重要的事情 不是 …
He said the most important thing is not …

But 事情 (“thing, matter”) is so predictable that it’s natural to omit it and just say 最重要的. The listener understands it as “the most important thing.”

There are two 的 in the sentence (最重要的, 送礼物的人). Are they doing the same thing?

They are related but used in slightly different ways:

最重要的
- Here 的 nominalizes an adjective phrase.
- 最重要 (most important) → 最重要的 (the most important [thing]).
送礼物的人
- Here 的 links a describing phrase with the noun 人.
- 送礼物 (give gifts) + 的 + 人 (person) → “the person who gives gifts”.

You can think of both as markers that connect something describing with a noun:

adjective + 的 → a noun phrase:
最重要的 → “the most important (thing)”
verb phrase + 的 + noun → like a relative clause:
送礼物的人 → “the person who gives (the) gift(s)”

How does 送礼物的人 mean “the person who gives the gift”? Why does the verb phrase come before 人?

Chinese typically puts the describing part before the noun, and 的 connects them.

Structure:

[送礼物] 的人
- 送礼物 = give a gift
- 的 = marker connecting the description to the noun
- 人 = person

So literally it is:

“[gives gift] 的 person” → “the person who gives the gift”

This is a very common pattern and is the usual way to express relative clauses (like “who …, that …, which …”) in Chinese:

我昨天见到的人 = the person whom I saw yesterday
他买的书 = the book that he bought
会说中文的老师 = the teacher who can speak Chinese

So 送礼物的人 naturally means “the person who gives the gift.”

Why is it 送礼物的人 and not 给礼物的人? What’s the nuance of 送 here?

Both 送 and 给 can be involved in giving, but they have different typical uses:

送:
- “to give (as a present)”
- “to deliver / to send”
给:
- “to give (to someone)” in a broader sense
- often highlights the receiver (who you give to)

Because 礼物 (gift) is explicitly mentioned, 送礼物 naturally suggests “to give a gift (as a present)”.

送礼物的人 → “the person who gives (presents a) gift”
给礼物的人 sounds incomplete; you’d normally say:
- 给他礼物的人 → “the person who gives him a gift”
- 给我礼物的人 → “the person who gives me a gift”

So 送礼物的人 is the most natural way to say “the person who gives the gift” here.

What does 多贵 mean in this sentence? How does 多 work in front of an adjective?

Here 多贵 means “how expensive” (degree/extent of expensive).

Pattern:

多 + adjective can mean “how [adj]” in terms of degree:
- 多高 = how tall
- 多大 = how big / how old (for age)
- 多远 = how far
- 多贵 = how expensive

So 礼物多贵 means “how expensive the gift is” (the degree of expensiveness).

This phrase is not a question here; it’s part of a statement:

最重要的不是 礼物多贵
The most important thing is not how expensive the gift is.

Depending on context, 多 + adjective can appear in questions (多高？) or in statements like this, referring to degree.

Could I say 礼物多么贵 instead of 礼物多贵? What’s the difference between 多 and 多么 here?

You could say 礼物多么贵, but the feeling is a bit different.

多贵 is simpler and very common in spoken modern Chinese.
多么贵 can sound more emphatic / exclamatory or a bit more formal / literary, especially in statements.

In everyday modern usage:

多 + adjective is often enough:
- 不要在意礼物多贵。
  Don’t mind how expensive the gift is.

多么 is very common in exclamations:

多么贵啊！
How expensive it is!

So 礼物多贵 is perfectly natural here and fits the neutral descriptive tone of the sentence.

Why is 不 written separately from 是 (as 不是) and how is 不 pronounced here?

In writing, 不 and 是 are often separated as two words: 不是, but together they function as “is not / are not”.

The pronunciation follows a tone sandhi rule:

不 is normally bù (4th tone).
Before another 4th‑tone syllable, 不 changes to bú (2nd tone).

Here, 是 is 4th tone, so:

不是 is pronounced bú shì, not bù shì.

Meaning‑wise, 不是礼物多贵 simply means “is not how expensive the gift is.” The separation is just standard word segmentation; together they mean “is not.”

Why is there no past tense marker on 是, even though 他说 is in the past (“he said”)?

Chinese verbs do not change form for tense like English verbs do. Time is shown mainly by:

Time words: 昨天, 现在, 明天, 刚才, etc.
Context
Sometimes aspect particles (了, 过, 着), but those are about aspect, not pure tense.

In English we often say:

He said (that) the most important thing was not …

In Chinese you can just say:

他说最重要的不是 …
He said (that) the most important thing is not …

The 是 here is neutral; it doesn’t have a tense built into its form. The past time is already clear from 他说. So using 是 is completely natural, and there’s no need to change anything to match “said.”

Could the sentence be written without 的 after 最重要, like 他说最重要不是礼物多贵? Would that be correct?

You do sometimes see 最重要不是 … in real usage, and many people will say it. However, the versions have slightly different structures:

最重要的不是 …
- 最重要的 is a noun phrase: “the most important thing”.
- Very clear, explicitly treating “the most important (thing)” as the subject.
最重要不是 …
- Here 最重要 acts more directly as a predicate: “what is most important is not …”
- In casual speech or writing, this is acceptable and common.

So:

他说最重要的不是礼物多贵，而是送礼物的人。
is very natural, slightly more “complete” in structure.

Your suggested form without 的 is understandable and also heard, but 最重要的不是 … is the standard textbook‑clear structure for learners.

Where would I put the English word “that”, as in “He said that the most important thing is not …”? Is anything missing after 他说?

Chinese does not need a word exactly like English “that” to introduce a clause.

English:

He said that the most important thing is not how expensive the gift is, but the person who gives it.

Chinese:

他说最重要的不是礼物多贵，而是送礼物的人。

There is no mandatory linking word like “that”. You simply place the quoted / reported content directly after 说.

Sometimes you can use words like 说（他）是…, 说…的是…, or for other verbs you might see 觉得（…）, 认为（…）, or 说：“…” with actual quotes, but:

For “He said that …”, just 他说 … is the normal structure.

So nothing is missing; Chinese just doesn’t require an explicit “that” here.