Difference between revisions of "Chinese word order"

(Created page with ""Word order" in Chinese is 语序 (yǔxù) or 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 ...")
 
 
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"Word order" in Chinese is 语序 (yǔxù) or 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.
+
{{AKA|sentence order|语序 (yǔxù)|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.
  
 
== The Basic SVO Sentence ==
 
== The Basic SVO Sentence ==
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On this level, Chinese word order very closely matches English word order.  "SVO" stands for "Subject-Verb-Object" <ref>For more information on the SVO concept, see the Wikipedia article [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93verb%E2%80%93object Subject–verb–object].</ref>.  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.).
 
On this level, Chinese word order very closely matches English word order.  "SVO" stands for "Subject-Verb-Object" <ref>For more information on the SVO concept, see the Wikipedia article [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93verb%E2%80%93object Subject–verb–object].</ref>.  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.).
  
−
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30em"
+
<div class="jiegou">
−
|+SVO word order
+
 
 +
Subject + Verb + Object
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:25em"
 +
|+SVO word order examples
 
|-
 
|-
−
! Subject !! Verb !! Object
+
! Subject !! Verb !! Object !!
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 我 || 爱 || 你
+
| 我 || 爱 || 你 || 。
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 你 || 吃 || 饭
+
| 你 || 吃 || 饭 || 。
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 他 || 踢 || 足球
+
| 他 || 踢 || 足球 || 。
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
This concept shouldn't take long at all to master. This makes sense "by default" for English speakers.
+
</div>
 +
 
 +
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 ==
 +
 
 +
More details can be added to the basic sentence structure. How to do this is demonstrated below.
  
−
== Placement of Time Words in a Sentence ==
+
=== 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).
 
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).
  
−
== Placement of Place Words in a Sentence ==
+
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:30em"
 +
|+Placement of Time Words
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! <em>Time when</em> !! Verb phrase !!
 +
|-
 +
| 我 || <em>今天</em> || 工作 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 你们 || <em>每天</em> || 洗澡 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || <em>星期二</em> || 来 || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
=== 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.
 
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.
  
−
== Exceptions to the Normal Placement of Place Words ==
+
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Placement of place words
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time when !! <em>Place word</em> !! Verb phrase !!
 +
|-
 +
| 我 || || <em>在 上海</em> || 工作 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 你们 || 星期六 || <em>在 家</em> || 看 电影 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 她 || 1980年 || <em>在 美国</em> || 出生 || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
For some common exceptions to this word order, please see the following section.
  
−
There are some special verbs which seem to be allowed to break the rules.  For these special verbs, the WHERE information after comes ''after'' them rather than before them.  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.
+
=== Exceptions to the normal placement of place words ===
  
−
== Placement of Duration in a Sentence ==
+
There are some special verbs which seem to be allowed to break the rules (see also [[location complement]]s).  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.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Exception to place word location in sentences
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time when !! Place word !! Verb phrase !! <em>Place word</em> !!
 +
|-W
 +
| 我们 || || || 住 || <em>在 中国</em> || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || || || 走 || <em>到 外面</em> || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || 刚才 ||  || 坐 || <em>在 房间 里</em> || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
=== 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.
 
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.
  
−
== Placement of Manner in a Sentence ==
+
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Placement of duration
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time when !! Place word !! Verb phrase !! Place word !! <em>Time duration</em> !!
 +
|-
 +
| 我 || || || 住 || 在 中国 || <em>三年</em> 了 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 我 || 去年 || 在 北京 || 学习 了 || || <em>三 个 月</em>  || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || 上 个 星期 || 在 家里 || 看 电视 看 了 || || <em>二十 个 小时</em> || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
=== 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 [[Complements | complement]] works very well too.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Placement of manner
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time-when !! <em>Manner</em> !! Place word !! Verb !!
 +
|-
 +
| 我 ||  || <em>高兴 地</em> ||  || 笑了 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || 买 完 东西 以后 || <em>满意 地</em> || || 走 了 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 她 || 喝醉 的 时候 || <em>疯狂 地</em> || 在桌子上 || 跳舞 || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
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.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Placement of instrument
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time when !! Manner !! Place word !! <em>Instrument</em> !! Verb !! Time duration !!
 +
|-
 +
| 她 || || || || <em>用 筷子</em> || 吃饭 || || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 他 || 今天 早上 ||  || 在 办公室 || <em>用 电脑</em> || 工作 || || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 咱们 || || 友好地 || 在 路上 || <em>用 中文</em> || 讨论 了 || 十 分钟 || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
=== 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.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
 +
|+Placement of Target
 +
|-
 +
! Subject !! Time when !! Manner !! Location !! Instrument !! <em>Target</em> !! Verb phrase !! Time duration !!
 +
|-
 +
| 我 || 有时候 ||  || || || <em>对 父母</em> || 说谎 || || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 我 ||  || 偷偷 地 || || || <em>和 女朋友</em> || 见面 || || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 司机 || || 热情 地 || || || <em>给 我</em> || 介绍 上海 || || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 警察 || 那天 || 不停地 || 在 警察局 || || <em>对 他</em> || 审问 了 || 几 个 小时 || 。
 +
|-
 +
| 她 || 上 个 星期 || || 在 他 家 || 用 网上 的 菜谱 || <em>给 我们</em> || 做了 饭 || || 。
 +
|}
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
=== 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:
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 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。<span class="trans">We are happy. He is also happy.</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
Before 都:
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 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。<span class="trans">I am vegetarian. The people in my family are also all vegetarians.</span>
  
−
Manner refers to HOW you do something, as in quietly, quickly, angrily, drunkenly, etc.
+
</div>
  
−
== Placement of Instrument in a Sentence ==
+
Before 不 and 没:
  
−
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.
+
<div class="liju">
  
−
== Sub-pages - possible titles ==
+
* 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。<span class="trans">I have not gone to the USA. He also hasn't gone.</span>
  
−
* [[SVO word order]]
+
</div>
−
* [[Time, manner place word order]]
 
−
* Placement of?
 
−
** [[Placement of prepositions]]
 
−
** [[Placement of attributives]]
 
−
*** Attributives preceding the subject (ASVO)
 
−
*** Attributives preceding the object (SVAO)
 
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*** See also: [[Structural particle de]]
 
−
** [[Placement of adverbials]]
 
−
*** [[Negative adverbs]]
 
−
*** See also: [[地]]
 
−
*** [[Adverbial order]]
 
−
**** Time, place, scope, degree, manner, instrument, target
 
−
** [[Placement of particles]]
 
−
** [[Placement of complements]]
 
−
*** Repetition of object with degree complement
 
−
*** 3 ways to arrange degree complements ([[Placement of 得]]):
 
−
# 汉语她说得很好
 
−
# 她汉语说得很好
 
−
# 她说汉语说得很好
 
−
* [[Subject and predicate]]
 
−
** Non SP sentences?
 
−
** Topic + subject + predicate
 
−
* [[Single and double objects]] (indirect then direct)
 
  
−
== Potential content ==
+
===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.
  
−
* Basic order: topic + subject + predicate
+
== Using question words in a Chinese sentence ==
−
** SVO language, but unusually has modifiers preceding the modified
+
 
−
*** e.g. 那两个喝醉的人打起来了。
+
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.
−
*** In many cases uses many postpositions rather than prepositions
+
<div class="liju">
−
* English vs Mandarin word order
+
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width:50em"
−
** English: Who, What, Where, When
+
|+Placement of question words
−
** Mandarin: Who, When, Where, What
+
|-
−
* Mandarin biggest to smallest units sequence
+
! Subject !! Time when !! Manner !! Place Word !! Instrument !! Target !! Verb !! Time duration !!
−
* In-situ question words
+
|-
−
* Topic-comment structure
+
| <em>谁</em> || || || 在 路上 || 用 中文 || 向 陌生人 || 问路 || || ？
−
* Topic and subject can sometimes be omitted
+
|-
−
* Time, manner place (TMP) adverb sequence
+
| 她 || <em>什么 时候</em> || || 在 路上 || 用 中文 || 向 陌生人 || 问路 || || ？
−
* More detailed word order:
+
|-
−
** Subject, verb, direct object
+
| 她 || || <em>怎么</em> || || 用 中文 || 向 陌生人 || 问路 || || ？
−
** Subject, verb, indirect object, direct object
+
|-
−
** Subject, prepositional phrase, verb, direct object
+
| 她 || || || <em>在 哪里</em> || 用 中文 || 向 陌生人 || 问路 || || ？
−
** Subject, location phrase, verb phrase
+
|-
−
** Subject, time, manner, place, predicate
+
| 她 || || || 在 路上 || <em>用 哪种 语言</em> || 向 陌生人 || 问路 || || ？
 +
|-
 +
| 她 || 昨天 || || 在 路上 || 用 中文 || <em>向谁</em> || 问路 || || ？
 +
|-
 +
| 你 || 闲暇的时候 ||  || || || || <em>做什么</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>
 +
 
 +
==See Also==
 +
*[[Sentence Patterns]]
 +
*[[Placement of question words]]
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
Line 96: Line 264:
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
  
−
* Grammar book: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108 Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide] (pp. 17 - 22)
+
=== Books ===
−
* Grammar book: [http://www.amazon.cn/%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95%E5%BF%AB%E6%98%93%E9%80%9A-%E5%8F%A5%E5%9E%8B%E7%BB%93%E6%9E%841-%E4%BD%95%E6%96%87%E6%BD%AE/dp/B004CCQVNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311567337&sr=8-1 中文语法快易通:句型结构1] (pp. 1 - 27) '''''(needs Amazon code)'''''
+
 
−
* Grammar book: [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar] (pp. 19 - 23)
+
* [[A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) ]] (pp. 228 - 329) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA →buy]
−
* Grammar book: [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA 外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照)] (pp. 228 - 329)
+
* [[Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar]] (pp. 19 - 23) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 →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 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]
 +
* [[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]
 +
* [[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)
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*[[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]
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===Videos===
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* Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fFYObYJG1k Chinese Word Order 001]
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* Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Be70LRAkw&list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD&index=9 Chinese Word Order 002]
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* Yoyo Chinese: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PmLGst9Vkk&list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD Chinese Word Order 003]
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=== Websites ===
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* Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar Chinese grammar]
 
* Wikipedia: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar Chinese grammar]
  
 
[[Category:Structures]]
 
[[Category:Structures]]

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.

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

SVO word order examples
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).

Placement of Time Words
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.

Placement of place words
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.

Exception to place word location in sentences
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.

Placement of duration
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.

Placement of manner
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.

Placement of instrument
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.

Placement of Target
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.

Placement of question words
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

  1. ↑ For more information on the SVO concept, see the Wikipedia article Subject–verb–object.

Sources and further reading

Books

Videos

Websites

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