Breakdown of míngtiān shì wǒmen chéngshì hěn tèbié de jiérì.
Questions & Answers about míngtiān shì wǒmen chéngshì hěn tèbié de jiérì.
是 is the main verb that links the subject (明天, tomorrow) to what it equals or is identified as (我们城市很特别的节日, a very special festival for our city).
The pattern is:
- A 是 B → A is B
Here:
- A = 明天 (tomorrow)
- B = 我们城市很特别的节日 (a very special festival for our city)
Without 是, the sentence would be incomplete in this kind of identifying statement. You need 是 when you say one noun is another noun (or noun phrase) in Mandarin.
Both 我们城市 and 我们的城市 are grammatically possible, but they feel slightly different:
- 我们的城市: more explicit, neutral our city.
- 我们城市: a bit more compact, often sounds slightly more colloquial or slogan‑like, and is common in speech and in set expressions.
Mandarin often drops 的 after a personal pronoun when the following noun is:
- a place: 我们学校, 你家, 他们公司
- a close relationship: 我妈妈, 他哥哥
So:
- 我们城市很特别的节日
- 我们的城市很特别的节日
Both can work. The version without 的 just feels a bit smoother and more idiomatic here.
Yes. 我们城市很特别的节日 is a single noun phrase, with 节日 (festival/holiday) as the core noun and everything before it describing it.
You can think of it as:
- [我们城市很特别的] 节日
→ a festival that is very special for our city
Inside that:
- 我们城市: indicates whose or for which city (our city)
- 很特别的: adjective phrase plus 的, modifying 节日
So the whole thing functions as one unit: “our city’s very special festival.”
的 turns the preceding description into something that can directly modify a noun.
Pattern:
- adjective / descriptive phrase + 的 + noun
Examples:
- 漂亮的 衣服 – beautiful clothes
- 重要的 会议 – an important meeting
- 很特别的 节日 – a very special festival
In 很特别的节日, 很特别 is an adjective phrase (very special). Adding 的 lets it attach to 节日 as an attribute, forming 很特别的节日 (a very special festival).
很 literally means very, but in Mandarin it often serves two functions:
Real intensifier: genuinely very
- 今天很冷。 – Today is very cold.
Soft linker before adjectives, making the sentence sound natural and not too abrupt.
In 很特别的节日, 很 most naturally keeps its ordinary very meaning: a very special holiday.
You can say 特别的节日 (special holiday) without 很; that is also fine. Adding 很 just makes it sound a bit more emphatic or smooth.
So here 很 does mean quite/very, but it’s also doing the usual job of making the adjective phrase feel more natural.
Yes, 明天是我们城市特别的节日 is grammatically correct.
Subtle difference in feel:
- 特别的节日: a special holiday
- 很特别的节日: a very / quite special holiday (stronger emphasis)
Both are fine; the version with 很 just emphasizes the degree a bit more and sounds very natural in everyday speech.
Mandarin usually keeps noun phrases compact and avoids stacking unnecessary 的.
Here the structure is:
- 我们城市 (our city) – directly in front of the descriptive phrase
- 很特别的 – adjectival phrase with 的, modifying
- 节日 – the head noun
If you said 我们城市的很特别的节日, it would sound clumsy and unnatural, like saying our city’s very special’s festival in English.
A more natural alternative with 的 placed differently would be:
- 我们城市的一个很特别的节日 – a very special festival of our city
But in the original sentence, 我们城市很特别的节日 is already a complete, smooth noun phrase, so only one 的 is needed.
You can include a measure word, but you don’t have to.
Possible versions:
- 明天是我们城市很特别的节日。
- 明天是我们城市一个很特别的节日。
With 一个:
- It emphasizes that this is one (of possibly several) special festivals for our city.
- It feels a bit more like introducing one particular festival in a longer explanation.
Without 一个:
- It’s more like a general identifying statement: Tomorrow is our city’s very special festival.
Both are acceptable; the choice depends on nuance and context.
Yes, 我们城市很特别的节日是明天 is also correct.
The difference is:
明天是我们城市很特别的节日。
→ Focuses on what tomorrow is.我们城市很特别的节日是明天。
→ Focuses on when our city’s very special festival is.
So the meaning is essentially the same, but the emphasis shifts depending on what you put at the beginning.
Both relate to festivals/holidays, but usage differs:
节日: full word for festival, holiday
- 传统节日 – traditional festivals
- 重要的节日 – important holidays
节: shorter, often used:
- in set names: 春节, 中秋节, 劳动节
- as a measure-like element: 一个节 (one festival) in some contexts
In your sentence, 节日 is the natural choice. Saying 明天是我们城市很特别的节。 sounds incomplete or too clipped.
特别 can be both, depending on how it’s used:
Adjective (describing a noun, often with 的):
- 很特别的节日 – a very special festival
- 这道菜很特别。 – This dish is very special.
Adverb (modifying another adjective or verb):
- 特别好。 – especially good / really good
- 他特别喜欢音乐。 – He especially/really likes music.
In 很特别的节日, 特别 is functioning as an adjective (special), modified by 很, and then turned into an attributive phrase with 的.
Both relate to city, but they’re used differently:
城市: common modern word for city as a general concept.
- 大城市 – big city
- 我们城市 – our city
城: can mean city, town, or city wall, often in:
- place names: 西安城, 古城
- more literary or historical contexts
In the sentence, 城市 is the normal, modern way to say city. 我们城 is possible in some dialectal or literary styles, but 我们城市 is the standard, neutral choice.