The Linking Verb 係 (he) — Sixian Hakka Grammar

(he) is the verb to be when one thing is being identified as another. It stands between the subject and a noun, in the same order English uses, and it never changes shape: there is no agreement with the subject, no tense, and no separate singular and plural. A single (he) serves for am, is, are, was and were alike.

佢係一個學生仔。
giˇ he idˋ ge hog sangˊ eˋkì he yit ke ho̍k sâng é
She is a student.
𠊎係一家餐廳个廚師。
ngaiˇ he idˋ gaˊ conˊ tangˊ ge cuˇ siiˊngài he yit kâ chhôn thâng ke chhù sṳ̂
I am a cook at a restaurant.

What Can Follow It

The word after (he) is always a noun or a noun phrase. A countable noun normally arrives with a number and a classifier — (idˋyit) (geke) — where English is content with a bare a. Dropping the classifier is one of the first things that marks a sentence out as foreign.

佢係一位先生。
giˇ he idˋ vi xinˊ sangˊkì he yit vi sîn sâng
He is a teacher.
𠊎係一位英文先生。
ngaiˇ he idˋ vi inˊ vuˇ xinˊ sangˊngài he yit vi yîn vù sîn sâng
I am an English teacher.

The subject can equally be a demonstrative standing on its own, which is how something is introduced or pointed out for the first time.

這係吾个電腦。
iaˋ he ngaˊ ge tien noˋyá he ngâ ke thien nó
This is my computer.
該係麼个？
ge he maˋ geke he má ke
What is that?

Never Before an Adjective

(he) identifies; it does not describe. An adjective in Hakka is a complete predicate in its own right and takes no linking verb at all — it simply follows the subject. What it does normally take is a degree adverb such as (dongˊtông) in front of it, and that adverb is what an English ear mistakes for the missing is.

天時當冷。
tienˊ siiˇ dongˊ langˊthiên sṳ̀ tông lâng
The weather is very cold.
厥爸當後生。
giaˊ baˊ dongˊ heu sangˊkiâ pâ tông heu sâng
His father is very young.
這水當冷。
iaˋ suiˋ dongˊ langˊyá súi tông lâng
This water is very cold.

Putting (he) in front of an adjective is the commonest beginner error. The rule is worth stating plainly: where the English has is followed by an adjective, Hakka has no verb at all.

The Negative

The negative is (mˇm̀) placed directly before (he), giving (mˇ hem̀ he) is not. The pairing is fixed: (moˇmò), which negates most other verbs, is never used with (he).

佢毋係先生。
giˇ mˇ he xinˊ sangˊkì m̀ he sîn sâng
She is not a teacher.

Asking and Answering

A statement becomes a question when (moˇmò) is added at the very end. Nothing is inverted and nothing is inserted at the front, so question and statement share the same shape.

這係若叔無？
iaˋ he ngiaˊ sugˋ moˇyá he ngiâ suk mò
Is this your uncle?

There is no word for yes or no to answer with. The reply repeats the verb — (he) to agree, (mˇ hem̀ he) to disagree — which is why both turn up so often at the head of an answer.

毋係，該係吾姨。
mˇ he ge he ngaˊ iˇm̀ he ke he ngâ yì
No, that's my aunt.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Sixian Hakka course

92 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “The Linking Verb 係 (he)” is about in bold:

這係吾个朋友，Anna。佢係一個學生仔。
iaˋ he ngaˊ ge penˇ iuˊ, Anna. giˇ he idˋ ge hog sangˊ eˋ.yá he ngâ ke phèn yû, Anna. kì he yit ke ho̍k sâng é.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
吾个第一印象係佢當聰明。
ngaˊ ge ti idˋ in xiong he giˇ dongˊ cungˊ minˇ.ngâ ke thi yit yin siong he kì tông chhûng mìn.
My first impression is that she is very smart.
Lesson 333
你係第一個注意著个人！
nˇ he ti idˋ ge zu i doˋ ge nginˇ!ǹ he thi yit ke chu yi tó ke ngìn!
You are the first person to notice!
Lesson 337

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