地球表面的三分之一是沙漠。

One third of the earth's surface is desert.

A third of the earth's surface is desert.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

=1 地球 dìqiú the earth
=1 地球 Dìqiú
  1. (astronomy) the Earth
  2. the Earth
=2 表面 biǎomiàn
  1. surface
  2. face
  3. outside
  4. appearance
=2 表面 biǎomiàn watch face
=3 的 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 pígéde "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. dì or di in poetry and songs
=3 的 dī a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 dīshì)
=3 的 dí really and truly
=3 的 dì (bound form) bull's-eye; target
4 三分之一 sānfēnzhīyī one third
=5 是 shì
  1. to be (followed by substantives only)
  2. correct; right; true
  3. (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well
  4. (adverb for emphatic assertion)
=5 是 shì variant of 是 shì
6 沙漠 shāmò desert

classifier: 個