Asking Questions Using“shì……de”

We have learned that le is used to express something that happened in the past, and we know that we wouldn’t say that le is used to marked “past tense”. However, we may still use le incorrectly. For example, how would you ask something like this: “Who did you drink the alcohol with?” or “When did you go to China?”

You would maybe say:

• “Nǐ gēnshéi hējiǔ le?"

• “Nǐ shénmen shíhòu qù shànghǎi le?”

Since you are asking about details of past events, you will use shì...de instead of le. Details including asking who, when (what time, which month, etc.), how, how much and where.

This pattern will allow us to emphasize certain information in a sentence; specifically when we are describing a past event. This will change the flavor and focus of a sentence greatly, so please pay attention.

We will use this pattern to ask and answer wh-questions (who, when, how, how much, where) about an event in the past, however, it does not work when "what" is the object. Often, we will know that this pattern is being used, because we will see a shì and de wrapping the sentence.

Shì is placed directly in front of the information we are emphasizing ( shì is optional, for the most part).
De is placed after a verb OR a verb phrase. 

Subject + (shì) + FOCUS + verb + de
Who (FOCUS is subject)	A: Nǐ (shì) gēn shéi yīqǐ qù dòngwùyuán de？——> With whom did you go to the zoo？ 你(是)跟谁一起去动物园的？ B: Wǒ (shì) gēn wǒ māma yīqǐ qù de. ——> It was my mom who I went to the zoo with. 我(是)跟我的妈妈一起去的动物园。
When (FOCUS is time)	A: Tā (shì) shénme shíhou qù de gòuwù zhōngxīn？ ——> When did he go to shopping mall？      他(是)什么时候去的购物中心？ B: Tā (shì) zuótiān qù de. ——> He went to shopping mall yesterday.      他(是)昨天去的。
Where (FOCUS is place)	A: Nǐmen zuótiān (shì) zài nǎlǐ chàngge de？——> Where did you guys sing yesterday.     你们昨天(是)在哪里唱歌的？ B: wǒmen zuótiān (shì) zàijiā chàngge de. ——> We sang at home yesterday.     我们昨天(是)在家唱歌的。
How (FOCUS is manner)	A: Nǐ (shì) zěnme qù hǎibiān de？ ——> How did you go to the beach?     你(是)怎么去海边的？ B: Wǒ (shì) qíchē qù hǎibiān de. ——> I biked to the beach.     我(是)骑车去海边的。
How much (FOCUS is price)	A: Nǐ de shǒujī (shì) duōshǎo qián mǎi de? ——> How much did you buy your phone?    你的手机(是)多少钱买的？  B: (shì) yībǎikuài mǎi de. ——> Bought it for 100 bucks.     (是)一百块买的。
Notice that in the first sentence, the "de" is be placed either after a verb phrase or a verb. For example, "Nǐ shì gēn shéi qù dòngwùyuán de" vs "Nǐ shì gēn shéi qù de dòngwùyuán", these two sentences are both correct. "Qù dòngwùyuán" is a verb phrase and "qù" is the "verb" of this verb phrase.

Negation: Negation will always be done with bù, and bù will always go before the shì. Shì, in this case, is NOT optional.

Tā bùshì zuótiān qù dòngwùyuán de, tā shì shàng ge xīngqī qù de. ——> He didn't go to the zoo yesterday. He went last week. 他不是昨天去动物园的，他是上个星期去的。

Bùshì wǒ dǎdiànhuà gěi bàba de, shì wǒ dìdi dǎ de. ——> It was not I who called the dad, it was my little brother. 不是我打电话给爸爸的，是我弟弟打的。

Wǒ bùshì zài túshūguǎn kànshū de, wǒ shì zàijiā kàn de. ——> I didn't read at the library, I read at home. 我不是在图书馆看书的，我是在家看的。