Level 1 · Lesson 6

他是谁？
Who is he?

他是谁？我们是学生，他们也是学生。

Ask who with 谁, build the plural pronouns with 们, and put 也 before the verb.

听 · Listen

对话
 安娜 —  李明，他是谁？ 
Li Ming, who is he?  
 李明 —  他是王老师。 
He is Teacher Wang.  
 安娜 —  她也是老师吗？ 
Is she a teacher too?  
 李明 —  她不是老师，她是医生。 
She is not a teacher — she is a doctor.  
 安娜 —  你们是学生吗？ 
Are you (all) students?  
 李明 —  我们是学生，他们也是学生。 
We are students, and they are students too.  
 王老师 —  大家好！你们好！ 
Hello everyone! Hello!  
 安娜 —  王老师，您好！ 
Hello, Teacher Wang!  

讲解 · Explanation

他是谁？谁是老师？

谁 shéi is 'who', and like 什么 and 哪 it stays in the slot the answer will fill. In 他是谁？ the answer is a name, so 谁 sits after 是, exactly where 王老师 will go. In 谁是老师？ the person is the subject, so 谁 stands at the front. Nothing is fronted, nothing is inverted, and neither question takes 吗. You may also hear 谁 read shuí in formal speech; shéi is the everyday reading.

我们、你们、他们

Add 们 men to a personal pronoun and you get its plural: 我们 'we', 你们 'you' (more than one), 他们 'they'. 们 is light and toneless, and it is the only plural ending in the language — it attaches to people, never to things, so 学生 stays 学生 whether there is one or fifty. One caution: 您 has no 们 form. To be polite to a group, say 你们好 or 大家好.

我是学生。他也是学生。

也 yě means 'also', and it is an adverb — every Chinese adverb stands after the subject and before the verb. So 'he is a student too' is 他也是学生, and 他是学生也 is impossible. 不 lives in the same zone, and the two line up in a fixed order: 他也不是老师 'he is not a teacher either'.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
谁	who	stays in the answer's position; also read shuí
我们	we, us	们 is toneless
你们	you (plural)	no 们 on 您
他们	they, them	她们 is written for an all-female group
也	also, too	before the verb, never at the end
大家	everyone	大家好 greets a whole room

练习 · Practice

她……？ Which sentence asks 'Who is she?'

我是学生。 Now say 'He is a student too.'

李明是学生，安娜是学生，他______是学生。 Li Ming is a student, Anna is a student — they are students.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Who is the teacher?'

谁、我们、你们、他们、也、大家 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

他是谁？她是谁？我们是学生，他们也是学生。

Point at three people in a photograph and ask 他是谁？ or 她是谁？ out loud, then answer each one yourself with 他是 … or 她叫 …. Finish with a pair of sentences that use 也: say what you are, then add someone else with 他也是 …. Say 大家好 once at normal speed — it is how you will open every class.