Meaning & usage
のは～だ highlights one part of a situation as the key information, like saying it is you or it is now that makes the statement true. The background clause comes first in the plain form plus のは, as in 知っているのは or 悪いのは, with な added after a noun, and the emphasized word or phrase follows with だ, which becomes です in polite speech. Be careful not to drop の, since は alone would change the meaning from singling out a fact to marking an ordinary topic.
Example sentences 6
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悪いのはきみのほうだ。
It is you who is to blame.
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私が知っているのはこれだけです。
This is all I know.
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楽しいのはこれからだと思うよ。
I think the best is yet to come.
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それがやれるのは今だけだ。
This is the only possible time for doing that.
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私が持っているのは本だけです。
All I have is books.
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考えられるのはそれだけだ。
It's the only thing I can think of.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 8 past exam questions.
And 4 more tests.
