Breakdown of jīntiān shì wǒ dìyīcì lái zhè gè gōngyuán.
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.
Questions & Answers about jīntiān shì wǒ dìyīcì lái zhè gè gōngyuán.
In this sentence, 是 is working a lot like “to be” in English, but it’s also doing something more specific: it’s linking 今天 (today) with the event 我第一次来这个公园 (my first time coming to this park).
The structure is basically:
- A 是 B
- 今天 是 我第一次来这个公园
- “Today is my first time coming to this park.”
You can say 今天我第一次来这个公园 without 是, and it’s still understandable, but it sounds less natural and a bit incomplete. Using 是 makes the sentence feel like a clear statement: “As for today, it is my first time here.”
In Chinese, the common pattern is:
- 第一次 + Verb (+ Object)
- 第一次来这个公园 – “(to) come to this park for the first time”
- 第一次见你 (dìyīcì jiàn nǐ) – “meet you for the first time”
- 第一次吃火锅 (chī huǒguō) – “eat hotpot for the first time”
Putting 第一次 after the verb (e.g. 来第一次这个公园) is ungrammatical.
So the sentence is literally structured as:
今天 是 我 第一次 来 这个公园
“Today is (my) first time come this park.”
个 is a measure word / classifier, and in Chinese, you almost always need a measure word between a number or a demonstrative and a noun.
General pattern:
- 这 + 个 + 公园 – “this + (classifier) + park”
- 那 + 本 + 书 – “that + (classifier) + book”
- 三 + 杯 + 咖啡 – “three + (classifier) + coffee”
You can’t say 这公园 in standard Mandarin; you need 这个公园.
个 is the most common, “default” classifier, so it works with many nouns, including 公园 (park).
No, not in standard Mandarin. Normally you cannot omit the classifier:
- ✅ 这个公园 – correct
- ❌ 这公园 – sounds wrong/very dialectal
In some dialects or very casual speech, you might hear something like 这公园, but in proper Mandarin (especially for learners), always include the classifier 个 here.
Chinese chooses 来 vs 去 based on the speaker’s (or listener’s) point of view, not the English translation.
- 来 = come towards the speaker’s (or relevant) location.
- 去 = go away from the speaker’s (or relevant) location.
In context, the speaker is probably in the park when saying this, so:
- 今天是我第一次来这个公园。
= “Today is my first time coming to this park (and I’m here now).”
If you were at home talking about your plan, you might say:
- 今天我要第一次去这个公园。
“Today I’m going to this park for the first time.”
So the choice reflects where you are (or imagine yourself).
It’s not strictly wrong, but it feels a bit off if you’re already inside the park while saying it.
- If you’re not there yet (talking about your plan):
今天是我第一次去这个公园。 – sounds fine. - If you’re already in the park, 来 is the natural choice.
So grammatically it works, but native speakers choose 来 or 去 carefully based on the point of view.
What’s the difference in meaning between:
- 今天是我第一次来这个公园。
and - 我今天第一次来这个公园。
Both are understandable and similar in meaning, but:
今天是我第一次来这个公园。
- Feels like a statement of fact about today.
- Structure: [Topic] 今天
- 是
- [Fact] 我第一次来这个公园.
- 是
- Slightly more natural and complete as a standalone sentence.
我今天第一次来这个公园。
- No 是, so it feels more like just describing what happened today.
- Could be understood as “Today I came to this park for the first time,” but it sounds a bit informal/incomplete to many native speakers as a stand‑alone sentence.
Using 是 makes the sentence sound clearer and more standard.
No, 了 is not necessary in this sentence, and adding it at the end (今天是我第一次来这个公园了) would sound odd or wrong in most contexts.
The idea of “up until now” / “ever in my life” is already carried by:
- 今天是我第一次… – “Today is my first time…”
Chinese often shows “experience” or “completion” in different ways:
- 我去过这个公园。 – “I’ve been to this park before.”
- 今天是我第一次来这个公园。 – “Today is my first time coming to this park.”
So 第一次 already encodes that this has not happened before; no extra particle is needed.
The structure with 的 that you might expect from English is not how Chinese works here.
Correct pattern:
- 第一次 + Verb + Object
- 第一次来这个公园 – first time come this park
- 第一次见到他 – first time see him
Incorrect patterns:
- ❌ 我的第一次来这个公园 – sounds unnatural/wrong.
- ❌ 第一次的来这个公园 – also wrong.
You can say 这是我第一次来这个公园。
But not 这是我的第一次来这个公园。 in normal speech.
So: skip 的, and use 第一次 + verb.
Yes, there is tone sandhi here.
- Written tones: 第 (dì, 4th) 一 (yī, 1st) 次 (cì, 4th)
- Actual spoken tones: dì yí cì (4th – 2nd – 4th)
Rule: 一 (yī) changes to second tone (yí) when it’s followed by a fourth‑tone syllable (like 次).
So you should pronounce it as: dì yí cì.
Yes, and your alternative is correct.
- 这个公园 = “this park” (specific noun)
- 这里 = “here / this place” (more general “here”)
Both sentences are natural, with slightly different focus:
- 今天是我第一次来这个公园。
– Emphasis: it’s your first time at this specific park. - 今天是我第一次来这里。
– Emphasis: it’s your first time here (could be a park, a building, a city, etc.).
In many real conversations, 来这里 is very common and slightly more casual.
That meaning comes from 第一次 plus the context, not from a special “ever” word.
- 第一次来这个公园 is normally understood as:
- “my first time in my life coming to this park.”
If you wanted to say “the first time today” (implying there might be a second time later), you’d usually phrase it differently, for example:
- 今天我已经来这个公园一次了。
“Today I’ve already come to this park once.”
In your sentence, 今天是我第一次来这个公园, the default interpretation is: up until now in your life, you have never come to this park before today.
No. Putting 今天 at the very end like that is wrong in this kind of sentence.
Natural positions for 今天 here are:
- 今天是我第一次来这个公园。
- 我今天第一次来这个公园。 (less complete but understandable)
Time words like 今天、昨天、明天 usually go near the start of the sentence, not at the end after the object.