Study on Jianghuai Dialect: Word of Shi before Subject in Ni chen lu

There are large amounts of shi before sentence subjects in Ni Chen Lu,according to the contextual relevance;these shi are divided into three different kinds that indicating continuity,causality and definite mood.Those three kinds of shi with different usage also in the novel in Jianghuai Mandarin of the Ming Dynasty--Journey to the West.We put it down to the literary style.Comparing with Yangzhou Dialect of today,we find those usages have already disappeared completely.Comparing with contemporary Chinese,the scope of focus about shi should be regarded as the sentence.