Difference between revisions of "Basic sentence order"
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In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order.  Don't expect these similarities to hold true too far past the very basic sentence order outlined below, though!
 
In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order.  Don't expect these similarities to hold true too far past the very basic sentence order outlined below, though!
  
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== SV Structure ==
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== SV ==
  
 
The most basic word order in Chinese is:
 
The most basic word order in Chinese is:
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=== Structure ===
  
 
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You can form very simple sentences with just two words.
 
You can form very simple sentences with just two words.
  
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== Examples ==
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=== Examples ===
  
 
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== SVO Structure ==
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== SVO ==
  
 
A basic sentence usually has an object, and is formed with this structure:
 
A basic sentence usually has an object, and is formed with this structure:
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=== Structure ===
  
 
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This is the same as in English, and is commonly referred to as SVO word order. You can express a huge variety of things with this simple structure.  
 
This is the same as in English, and is commonly referred to as SVO word order. You can express a huge variety of things with this simple structure.  
  
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== Examples ==
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=== Examples ===
  
 
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Revision as of 08:21, 17 February 2014

In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order. Don't expect these similarities to hold true too far past the very basic sentence order outlined below, though!

SV

The most basic word order in Chinese is:

Structure

Subject + Verb

You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

Examples

Very simple SV sentences
Subject Verb Translation
你 吃。 You eat.
他 笑。 He laughs.
我 读。 I read.
我 去。 I go.
你 看。 You look.
你 滚 ! You get out of here!
你 说。 You speak.
孩子 哭。 Child cry.
谁 要 学？ Who wants to study?
谁 想 做？ Who wants to do?

SVO

A basic sentence usually has an object, and is formed with this structure:

Structure

Subject + Verb + Object

This is the same as in English, and is commonly referred to as SVO word order. You can express a huge variety of things with this simple structure.

Examples

Simple SVO sentences
Subject Verb Object Translation
我 吃 肉。 I eat meat.
你 喝 汤。 You drink soup.
我 去 学校。 I go to school.
他 说 中文。 He speaks Chinese.
我们 要 买 电脑。 We are going to buy computer.
我 想 吃 中国 菜。 I want to eat Chinese food.
我 喜欢 那 个 小 孩子。 I like that child.
我 爱 你 和 爸爸。 I love you and dad.
你 要 做 什么？ What do you want to do?
你 想 吃 什么 菜？ What food do you want to eat?

See also

Sources and further reading

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