Abstract: The “shi(是)……de(的)” sentence structure is extensively utilized and broadly applicable in contemporary Chinese, featuring specific syntactic forms and pragmatic functions that present challenges for learners of the Chinese language. Based on statistical analysis of various corpora, this paper categorizes sentences into two major and nine subcategories according to syntactic function and syntactic structural form. It scrutinized the similarities and distinctions in errors made by Thai and English native speakers during the acquisition of this sentence structure. Commonalities manifest in a higher incidence of errors in affirmative structures (Type Ⅱ) compared to emphatic structures (TypeⅠ), with the omission of "de" and "shi" constituting prevalent error types. Disparities arise as errors made by English native speakers in Type(Ⅱ) structures are primarily concentrated on the S7 and S8. subcategories, whereas errors made by Thai native speakers did not exhibit a discernible trend in each subcategory. The paper analyzed the underlying reasons for these patterns concerning language typology, pragmatic competence, and textbook design, subsequently proposing three pedagogical recommendations: emphasize comparative teaching of language types; adopt interactive situational teaching methods; attention should be paid to the hierarchy and diversity of subtypes of "shi……de" sentences when arranging country-specific textbooks.

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Keywords: “shi……de” sentence; sentence categorization; Thai-English native speakers; error analysis