Difference between revisions of "Chinese word order"
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! Subject !! Verb !! Object !! | ! Subject !! Verb !! Object !! | ||
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− | This concept shouldn't take long at all to master. | + | This concept shouldn't take long at all to master, but you can see more examples in our [[basic sentence order]] article. For the most part, this word order makes sense "by default" for English speakers. |
+ | |||
+ | <div class="YT-container"><youtube>uBaamGzhGuE</youtube></div> | ||
+ | |||
+ | Also see our A1 article on [[basic sentence order]]. | ||
== Adding extra information to a sentence == | == Adding extra information to a sentence == | ||
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− | |+Placement of | + | |+Placement of Target |
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! Subject !! Time when !! Manner !! Location !! Instrument !! <em>Target</em> !! Verb phrase !! Time duration !! | ! Subject !! Time when !! Manner !! Location !! Instrument !! <em>Target</em> !! Verb phrase !! Time duration !! | ||
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− | * 他 很 喜欢 吃 包子。我 <em>也</em> 很 喜欢 吃。 | + | * 他 很 喜欢 吃 包子。我 <em>也</em> 很 喜欢 吃。<span class="trans">He really likes to eat baozi. I also like to eat them.</span> |
− | * 我们 很 高兴。他 <em>也</em> 很 高兴。 | + | * 我们 很 高兴。他 <em>也</em> 很 高兴。<span class="trans">We are happy. He is also happy.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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− | * 你 是 我的 朋友。他们 <em>也</em> 都 是 我的 朋友。 | + | * 你 是 我的 朋友。他们 <em>也</em> 都 是 我的 朋友。<span class="trans">You are my friend. They are also all my friends.</span> |
− | * 我 吃素。我 家人 <em>也</em> 都 吃素。 | + | * 我 吃素。我 家人 <em>也</em> 都 吃素。<span class="trans">I am vegetarian. The people in my family are also all vegetarians.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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− | * 我 不 是 学生。他 <em>也</em> 不 是。 | + | * 我 不 是 学生。他 <em>也</em> 不 是。<span class="trans">I am not a student. He isn't either.</span> |
− | * 我 没 去过 美国。他 <em>也</em> 没 去过。 | + | * 我 没 去过 美国。他 <em>也</em> 没 去过。<span class="trans">I have not gone to the USA. He also hasn't gone.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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== Using question words in a Chinese sentence == | == Using question words in a Chinese sentence == | ||
− | You can insert question words (often called ''wh-words'' in English) into the structures above to form questions. Forming questions in Chinese is more straightforward than in English. In English you have to move the question word to the front of the sentence, whereas in Chinese it stays put in the sentence. All you have to do is replace the element you'd like to ask about with an appropriate question word. | + | You can [[Placement of question words|insert question words]] (often called ''wh-words'' in English) into the structures above to form questions. Forming questions in Chinese is more straightforward than in English. In English you have to move the question word to the front of the sentence, whereas in Chinese it stays put in the sentence. All you have to do is replace the element you'd like to ask about with an appropriate question word. |
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| 他 || 今年 || || 在 上海 || || 学了 || || <em> 多久 了</em> || ? | | 他 || 今年 || || 在 上海 || || 学了 || || <em> 多久 了</em> || ? | ||
|} | |} | ||
+ | </div> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Order of attributives== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sometimes, a noun will have more than one detail that you want to express. When this is the case, Chinese has a specific order for the attributives that describe the noun. It's important to keep this order in mind as you are describing something. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Order: | ||
+ | 1) Possessives such as "my," "his," or "Sarah's." | ||
+ | 2) Demonstrative pronouns (这/那), number, and measure word. | ||
+ | 3) Any adjectives that you want to use to describe the noun. | ||
+ | 4) The noun or noun phrase | ||
+ | |||
+ | Remember, it isn't necessary to include every single one of these attributes, but when they are all present , this is the order that they should come in. If some are missing, just jump over that section and move onto the next. The examples below will help make this clearer. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Examples=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div class="liju"> | ||
+ | |||
+ | * 我 的 这 三 个 孩子 都 很 听话。<span class="trans">These three kids of mine are all very obedient.</span> | ||
+ | * 这 个 红 色 的 小 盒子 里面 有 什么?<span class="trans">What is inside this little red box?</span> | ||
+ | |||
</div> | </div> | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
*[[Sentence Patterns]] | *[[Sentence Patterns]] | ||
+ | *[[Placement of question words]] | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
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* [[Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition]] (pp. 90) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615 →buy] | * [[Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition]] (pp. 90) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615 →buy] | ||
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 102) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy] | * [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 102) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy] | ||
− | * [[Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2]] (pp. 318-21) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276881/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0887276881 →buy] | + | * [[Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2]] (pp. 89-90, 318-21) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276881/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0887276881 →buy] |
* [[Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide ]] (pp. 17 - 22) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108 →buy] | * [[Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide ]] (pp. 17 - 22) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108 →buy] | ||
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 10, 123) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy] | * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 10, 123) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy] | ||
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 142 - 143) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy] | * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 142 - 143) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy] | ||
* [[Structures of Mandarin Chinese for speakers of English 中文语法快易通:句型结构]] (pp. 1 - 27) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B004CCQVNW&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B004CCQVNW →buy] | * [[Structures of Mandarin Chinese for speakers of English 中文语法快易通:句型结构]] (pp. 1 - 27) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B004CCQVNW&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B004CCQVNW →buy] | ||
+ | *[[40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册)]] (p. 488)[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 →buy] (Order of Attributives) | ||
+ | *[[40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册)]] (pp. 62, 110-1)[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 →buy] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Videos=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fFYObYJG1k Chinese Word Order 001] | ||
+ | * Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Be70LRAkw&list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD&index=9 Chinese Word Order 002] | ||
+ | * Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PmLGst9Vkk&list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD Chinese Word Order 003] | ||
=== Websites === | === Websites === |
Latest revision as of 03:56, 22 November 2020
- Also known as: sentence order, 语序 (yǔxù) and 词序 (cíxù).
You may have heard that word order in Chinese is very similar to that of English, and compared to a language like Japanese, it is. Fairly quickly, though, you'll start to realize that there are quite a few ways that the word order of even relatively simple sentences simply don't match in Chinese and English. The honeymoon is over; you're going to have to work just a little bit to master Chinese word order.
Contents
- 1 The Basic SVO Sentence
- 2 Adding extra information to a sentence
- 2.1 Placement of time words in a sentence
- 2.2 Placement of place words in a sentence
- 2.3 Exceptions to the normal placement of place words
- 2.4 Placement of duration in a sentence
- 2.5 Placement of manner in a sentence
- 2.6 Placement of instrument in a sentence
- 2.7 Placement of target in a sentence
- 2.8 Placement of 也 in a sentence
- 2.9 Mnemonic Trick
- 3 Using question words in a Chinese sentence
- 4 Order of attributives
- 5 See Also
- 6 References
- 7 Sources and further reading
The Basic SVO Sentence
On this level, Chinese word order very closely matches English word order. "SVO" stands for "Subject-Verb-Object" [1]. For extremely simple sentences like "I love you" or "he eats glass," the word order of Chinese matches that of English, literally, word for word. Keep in mind that "SVO" doesn't include little details like articles (a, the, etc.) or prepositions (to, for, etc.).
Subject + Verb + Object
Subject | Verb | Object | |
---|---|---|---|
我 | 爱 | 你 | 。 |
你 | 吃 | 饭 | 。 |
他 | 踢 | 足球 | 。 |
This concept shouldn't take long at all to master, but you can see more examples in our basic sentence order article. For the most part, this word order makes sense "by default" for English speakers.
Also see our A1 article on basic sentence order.
Adding extra information to a sentence
More details can be added to the basic sentence structure. How to do this is demonstrated below.
Placement of time words in a sentence
Time words, the WHEN part of a sentence, have a special place in Chinese. They usually come at the beginning of a sentence, right after the subject. Occasionally you'll see them before the subject, but the place you won't be seeing them is at the end of the sentence (where they frequently appear in English).
Subject | Time when | Verb phrase | |
---|---|---|---|
我 | 今天 | 工作 | 。 |
你们 | 每天 | 洗澡 | 。 |
他 | 星期二 | 来 | 。 |
Placement of place words in a sentence
When you want to tell WHERE something happened in Chinese (at school, at work, in Vegas, on the bus, etc.), you're most often going to use a phrase beginning with 在. This phrase needs to come after the time word (see above) and before the verb. Pay attention to this last part: before the verb. In English, this information naturally comes after the verb, so it's going to be difficult at first to get used to saying WHERE something happened before saying the verb.
Subject | Time when | Place word | Verb phrase | |
---|---|---|---|---|
我 | 在 上海 | 工作 | 。 | |
你们 | 星期六 | 在 家 | 看 电影 | 。 |
她 | 1980年 | 在 美国 | 出生 | 。 |
For some common exceptions to this word order, please see the following section.
Exceptions to the normal placement of place words
There are some special verbs which seem to be allowed to break the rules (see also location complements). For these special verbs, the WHERE information comes after the verb rather than before. It's important to remember that these verbs are exceptions. If you're not sure where the place phrase should go, it's usually safer to put it before the verb. This is the normal way to modify a verb in Chinese.
Subject | Time when | Place word | Verb phrase | Place word | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
我们 | 住 | 在 中国 | 。 | ||
他 | 走 | 到 外面 | 。 | ||
他 | 刚才 | 坐 | 在 房间 里 | 。 |
Placement of duration in a sentence
Whenever you talk about FOR HOW LONG, you're getting into duration. It's not the same as a regular time word; it has its own rules.
Subject | Time when | Place word | Verb phrase | Place word | Time duration | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
我 | 住 | 在 中国 | 三年 了 | 。 | ||
我 | 去年 | 在 北京 | 学习 了 | 三 个 月 | 。 | |
他 | 上 个 星期 | 在 家里 | 看 电视 看 了 | 二十 个 小时 | 。 |
Placement of manner in a sentence
Manner refers to HOW you do something, as in quietly, quickly, angrily, drunkenly, etc. This can be done adverbially (before the verb), but it's worth remembering that a complement works very well too.
Subject | Time-when | Manner | Place word | Verb | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
我 | 高兴 地 | 笑了 | 。 | ||
他 | 买 完 东西 以后 | 满意 地 | 走 了 | 。 | |
她 | 喝醉 的 时候 | 疯狂 地 | 在桌子上 | 跳舞 | 。 |
It is worth noting that "manner" is not something you'll want to add to every sentence. You will see it, but it's not the most common way to add more detail to a verb.
Placement of instrument in a sentence
OK, now we're getting a little out there. Rarely are you going to want to cram so much information into a simple sentence, but for the sake of argument, we're going to give it a go. This is the USING WHAT part of a sentence - called the instrument. In English, this is often placed at the end of the sentence and preceded by 'with'. In Chinese, it comes before the verb and is preceded by 用.
Subject | Time when | Manner | Place word | Instrument | Verb | Time duration | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
她 | 用 筷子 | 吃饭 | 。 | ||||
他 | 今天 早上 | 在 办公室 | 用 电脑 | 工作 | 。 | ||
咱们 | 友好地 | 在 路上 | 用 中文 | 讨论 了 | 十 分钟 | 。 |
Placement of target in a sentence
Target is about who or what the verb is aimed at. This includes doing things for or on behalf of someone, or towards people or objects.
Subject | Time when | Manner | Location | Instrument | Target | Verb phrase | Time duration | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
我 | 有时候 | 对 父母 | 说谎 | 。 | ||||
我 | 偷偷 地 | 和 女朋友 | 见面 | 。 | ||||
司机 | 热情 地 | 给 我 | 介绍 上海 | 。 | ||||
警察 | 那天 | 不停地 | 在 警察局 | 对 他 | 审问 了 | 几 个 小时 | 。 | |
她 | 上 个 星期 | 在 他 家 | 用 网上 的 菜谱 | 给 我们 | 做了 饭 | 。 |
Placement of 也 in a sentence
也 behaves like other adverbs, but if the sentence also contains 很, 都 or 不, 也 should appear before them.
Before 很:
- 他 很 喜欢 吃 包子。我 也 很 喜欢 吃。He really likes to eat baozi. I also like to eat them.
- 我们 很 高兴。他 也 很 高兴。We are happy. He is also happy.
Before 都:
- 你 是 我的 朋友。他们 也 都 是 我的 朋友。You are my friend. They are also all my friends.
- 我 吃素。我 家人 也 都 吃素。I am vegetarian. The people in my family are also all vegetarians.
Before 不 and 没:
- 我 不 是 学生。他 也 不 是。I am not a student. He isn't either.
- 我 没 去过 美国。他 也 没 去过。I have not gone to the USA. He also hasn't gone.
Mnemonic Trick
One way to remember the word order in Chinese is the order in which things have to happen. For example, time has to pass before you can be at a place, so that goes first. You have to be at a place before you can do anything there, so the location comes before the verb. You need the instrument before you can use it, so that comes before the verb as well. Adverbs and complements are a little more difficult, but since they have to do with the verb itself, they go around the verb, either before or after it, depending on their role. Hopefully this little trick helps you remember the order of words in Chinese, but remember, practicing with Chinese speakers and hearing them make these sentences is a great tool to use as well.
Using question words in a Chinese sentence
You can insert question words (often called wh-words in English) into the structures above to form questions. Forming questions in Chinese is more straightforward than in English. In English you have to move the question word to the front of the sentence, whereas in Chinese it stays put in the sentence. All you have to do is replace the element you'd like to ask about with an appropriate question word.
Subject | Time when | Manner | Place Word | Instrument | Target | Verb | Time duration | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
谁 | 在 路上 | 用 中文 | 向 陌生人 | 问路 | ? | |||
她 | 什么 时候 | 在 路上 | 用 中文 | 向 陌生人 | 问路 | ? | ||
她 | 怎么 | 用 中文 | 向 陌生人 | 问路 | ? | |||
她 | 在 哪里 | 用 中文 | 向 陌生人 | 问路 | ? | |||
她 | 在 路上 | 用 哪种 语言 | 向 陌生人 | 问路 | ? | |||
她 | 昨天 | 在 路上 | 用 中文 | 向谁 | 问路 | ? | ||
你 | 闲暇的时候 | 做什么 | ? | |||||
他 | 今年 | 在 上海 | 学了 | 多久 了 | ? |
Order of attributives
Sometimes, a noun will have more than one detail that you want to express. When this is the case, Chinese has a specific order for the attributives that describe the noun. It's important to keep this order in mind as you are describing something.
Order: 1) Possessives such as "my," "his," or "Sarah's." 2) Demonstrative pronouns (这/那), number, and measure word. 3) Any adjectives that you want to use to describe the noun. 4) The noun or noun phrase
Remember, it isn't necessary to include every single one of these attributes, but when they are all present , this is the order that they should come in. If some are missing, just jump over that section and move onto the next. The examples below will help make this clearer.
Examples
- 我 的 这 三 个 孩子 都 很 听话。These three kids of mine are all very obedient.
- 这 个 红 色 的 小 盒子 里面 有 什么?What is inside this little red box?
See Also
References
- ↑ For more information on the SVO concept, see the Wikipedia article Subject–verb–object.
Sources and further reading
Books
- A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 228 - 329) →buy
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 19 - 23) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 90) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 102) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 89-90, 318-21) →buy
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 17 - 22) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 10, 123) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 142 - 143) →buy
- Structures of Mandarin Chinese for speakers of English 中文语法快易通:句型结构 (pp. 1 - 27) →buy
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册) (p. 488)→buy (Order of Attributives)
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册) (pp. 62, 110-1)→buy
Videos
- Yoyo Chinese: Chinese Word Order 001
- Yoyo Chinese: Chinese Word Order 002
- Yoyo Chinese: Chinese Word Order 003
Websites
- Wikipedia: Chinese grammar