2.6 The Sentence Particle 嚟 lai4 (Assertion)

We can use the sentence particle 嚟 lai4 / lei4 to form sentences that assert facts by using the following sentence structure:

The subject complement indicates the identity of the subject or describes the subject. In this sentence structure, we put the subject complement right after the subject without a verb in between. Note that we put 嚟 lai4 right after the subject complement. Therefore, if there are other sentence particles in the sentence, we put them after 嚟 lai4.

嚟 lai4 brings the subject complement into focus. We usually use this sentence structure when the subject complement is the information we want to exchange.

We can also add 嚟 lai4 to a sentence which has the verb 係 hai6.

We don’t usually put two personal pronouns right next to each other. In sentences like the following example, we usually add the verb 係 hai6 so that the two personal pronouns are separated.

⚠️ We don’t usually use 嚟 lai4 when we are simply saying someone’s name.