Cantonese Grammar - Copula ("to Be")

Copula ("to Be")

States and qualities are generally expressed using stative verbs that do not require the verb "to be". For example, to say "I am hungry", one would say 我肚餓 ngo5 tou5 ngo6 (literally: I stomach hungry).

With noun complements, the verb 係 hai6 serves as the verb "to be".

噚日係中秋節 cam4 jat6 hai6 zung1 cau1 zit3 Yesterday was Mid-Autumn festival

Another use of 係 is in cleft constructions for emphasis, much like the English construction "It's ... that ...". The sentence particle 嘅 ge3 if often found along with it.

佢係完全唔識講廣東話嘅 keoi5 hai6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 sik6 Gwong2 dung1 waa6*2 ge "(It is the case that) s/he doesn't know Cantonese at all."

To indicate location, the words 喺 hai2 and 响 hoeng2, which are collectively known as the locatives or sometimes coverbs in Chinese linguistics, are used to express "to be at":

我而家喺圖書館 ngo5 ji4 gaa1 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2 "I am at the library now"

(Here 依家 ji4 gaa1 means "now".)