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lǎoshī shuō, zuò lǎoshī zuì zhòngyào de shì yào yǒu nàixīn.

老师lǎoshī　说shuō，　做zuò　老师lǎoshī　最zuì　重要zhòngyào　的de　是shì　要yào　有yǒu　耐心nàixīn。lǎoshī shuō, zuò lǎoshī zuì zhòngyào de shì yào yǒu nàixīn.
The teacher said that the most important thing about being a teacher is to have patience.
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Questions & Answers about lǎoshī shuō, zuò lǎoshī zuì zhòngyào de shì yào yǒu nàixīn.

Why is 老师 repeated twice? Why not just say it once?

The two 老师 play different roles:

  • The first 老师 in 老师说 is the subject: “The teacher said …”
  • The second 老师 in 做老师 is inside the clause “to be a teacher”.

So the structure is:

  • 老师说， → The teacher said,
  • 做老师最重要的是要有耐心。 → The most important thing about being a teacher is to have patience.

You could replace the first 老师 with 他 / 她 if it was clear from context who you’re talking about:

  • 他(她)说，做老师最重要的是要有耐心。
What does 做 mean in 做老师? Why not just use 是老师?

做 here means “to work as / to be (in a role)”.

  • 做老师 = to work as a teacher / to be a teacher
  • 做饭 = to cook (literally: to do food)
  • 做医生 = to work as a doctor

You could say 当老师 instead, which is very natural:

  • 当老师最重要的是要有耐心。

是老师 usually means “is a teacher” as a simple fact about someone, not about the role in general. For this kind of “being in a role” idea, 做 / 当 are more idiomatic than 是 in this position.

What is the function of 最重要的 and why do we need the 的?

最重要的 is “the most important (thing)”.

  • 最 = most
  • 重要 = important
  • 最重要的 → the most important one / the most important thing

The 的 does two things:

  1. It turns the adjective phrase into a noun phrase:
    • 重要 = important (adjective)
    • 重要的 = the important one / important thing (noun-like)
  2. It makes it possible to use the pattern:
    A 最重要的 是 B → The most important thing about A is B.

So:

  • 做老师最重要的是要有耐心。
    = The most important thing about being a teacher is (to) have patience.
Why do we need 是 in 最重要的是要有耐心? Can we say 最重要的要有耐心?

You normally need 是 here. The structure is:

X 最重要的 是 Y
The most important thing about X is Y.

  • 做老师最重要的 → the most important thing about being a teacher
  • 是 → is
  • 要有耐心 → to have patience

If you remove 是, the sentence sounds incomplete or unnatural:

  • ✗ 做老师最重要的要有耐心。 → feels wrong / awkward.

There are patterns where 是 can be dropped, but X 最重要的 是 Y is a very common set pattern, and 是 is usually kept.

What does 要 mean in 要有耐心 here? Does it mean “will”, “must”, or just “to”?

In this sentence, 要 is closer to “should / need to”, not future “will”.

  • 要有耐心 ≈ need to have patience / should have patience.

Comparisons:

  • 有耐心 = have patience (plain statement)
  • 要有耐心 = need to have / should have patience (adds a sense of requirement)
  • 必须有耐心 = must have patience (stronger, more forceful)
  • 会有耐心 = will have patience (future ability/likelihood, sounds odd here)

So here 要 expresses a requirement or expectation, not tense.

Why is it 有耐心 and not something like 很耐心? Is 耐心 a noun or an adjective?

耐心 can be both:

  • noun: patience
  • adjective: patient

In this sentence, 耐心 is used as a noun:

  • 有耐心 = have patience

Examples:

  • 老师很耐心。 → The teacher is very patient. (adjective use)
  • 老师有耐心。 → The teacher has patience. (noun use)

Here the structure is 要有 + noun:

  • 要有耐心。 → need to have patience
  • 要有责任心。 → need to have a sense of responsibility
  • 要有信心。 → need to have confidence

So 有耐心 (noun) fits the pattern 要有 + something (quality) very naturally.

Why is there a comma after 老师说 instead of quotation marks like in English?

Modern Chinese writing often uses punctuation like this for reported speech:

  • 老师说，做老师最重要的是要有耐心。

This comma marks a pause between the reporting verb and what is said, similar to English:

  • The teacher said, “The most important thing about being a teacher is to have patience.”

Chinese can use 「」 or “” quotation marks, but in many everyday texts you’ll just see:

  • A 说，B。

So:

  • 老师说，明天不用来。
  • 他告诉我，今天下雨。

The comma is the standard way to introduce what someone says in plain text.

Why is there no subject like “you” or “a teacher” before 做老师最重要的是…?

In Chinese, general statements about roles, habits, or truths often omit an explicit subject when it’s obvious or generic.

  • 做老师最重要的是要有耐心。
    → Literally: Being a teacher, the most important (thing) is to have patience.

It’s understood that this is about anyone who is (or wants to be) a teacher. If you add a subject, it becomes more specific:

  • 作为老师，最重要的是要有耐心。
    (As a teacher, the most important thing is to have patience.)
  • 一个老师最重要的是要有耐心。
    (For a teacher, the most important thing is to have patience.)

But the shorter version with no explicit subject is very normal in Chinese.

Could we use 当老师 instead of 做老师? Is there any difference?

Yes, both are possible:

  • 做老师最重要的是要有耐心。
  • 当老师最重要的是要有耐心。

They are very close in meaning:

  • 做老师: slightly more colloquial, “be / work as a teacher”.
  • 当老师: also very common, sometimes feels a little more like “take on the position of a teacher / serve as a teacher”.

In this sentence, 做 and 当 are interchangeable in everyday usage; both are natural.

Why isn’t there any tense marker like “will” or “is” for time? How do we know when this happens?

Chinese usually doesn’t mark tense (past/present/future) with verb changes the way English does. Instead, you rely on:

  • Context
  • Time words (昨天, 现在, 明天, 将来, etc.)
  • Aspect particles like 了, 过, 着 (when needed)

Here, the sentence expresses a general truth / principle:

  • 做老师最重要的是要有耐心。
    → The most important thing about being a teacher is (to) have patience.

General truths are tenseless in Chinese; they’re understood as always true, so no tense markers are needed.