Shàng zhōu上周
wǒ我
cóng Shàng hǎi从上海
qù去
Běi jīng北京
chū chāi le出差了
。Last week I travelled from Shanghai to Beijing on business.
Wǒ我
shì是
zuò fēi jī坐飞机
qù de去的
，zuò huǒ chē坐火车
tài màn le太慢了
。I went by plane — the train would have been too slow.
Zài Běi jīng在北京
wǒ我
yù dào le遇到了
hěn jiǔ méi jiàn de很久没见的
péng you朋友
，tā她
jiào叫
Wáng Fāng王方
。In Beijing I ran into a friend I had not seen for a long time; her name is Wang Fang.
Wǒ我
hé tā和她
shì是
shàng dà xué de shí hou上大学的时候
rèn shi de认识的
。It was back at university that the two of us met.
Wǒ men我们
yì qǐ一起
zài Běi jīng在北京
chī le吃了
Běi jīng kǎo yā北京烤鸭
，fēi cháng非常
hǎo chī好吃
。We had Peking duck together in Beijing, and it was excellent.
Dàn shì但是
dì èr tiān第二天
wǒ我
yào要
shàng bān上班
，dàng wǎn当晚
jiù就
huí Shàng hǎi le回上海了
。But I had work the next day, so I headed back to Shanghai that same night.
Wǒ我
hěn qī dài很期待
xià cì下次
zài再
hé tā和她
jiàn miàn见面
。I am looking forward to meeting up with her again next time.
Take a step forward
Usage of 是…的 (shì… de)
Meaning: Used to spotlight when, where, or how something happened.
Context: Only for events that have already taken place. The event itself is taken as known; one detail of it is put in focus.
Structure:
Subject + 是 + (time / place / manner) + Verb + 的
Note: 是 and 的 are a pair — the detail you want to stress sits between them. Drop the 的 and the emphasis disappears.
- • 我是坐飞机去的。
(It was by plane that I went. / From Text) - • 我是昨天到北京的。
(It was yesterday that I got to Beijing.) - • 我们是在大学认识的。
(It was at university that we met.)
Usage of 见 vs 见面 (jiàn / jiàn miàn)
Meaning: To see someone / to meet up with someone.
Context: Both are about seeing a person, but they behave completely differently in a sentence.
Structure:
见 + Person | 跟 / 和 + Person + 见面
Note: 见 takes an object directly (见朋友). 见面 is a separable verb and takes no object — 我见面他 is wrong; say 我跟他见面. 我见了他 is fine too, but it means “I saw him” rather than “we met up”.
- • 我很期待下次再和她见面。
(I am looking forward to meeting up with her again next time. / From Text) - • 我明天要见我的朋友。
(I am seeing my friend tomorrow.) - • 我明天要跟老师见面。
(I am meeting with the teacher tomorrow.)