Basic sentence order
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In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order.
Contents
SV Structure
The most basic "Subject + Verb" word order in Chinese is:
Subject + Verb
You can form very simple sentences with just two words.
Examples
| Subject | Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| 你 | 吃 | 。 |
| 他 | 跑步 | 。 |
| 我 | 跳舞 | 。 |
SVO Structure
A basic sentence usually has an object, and is formed with this 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
| Subject | Verb | Object | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 你 | 吃 | 包子 | 。 |
| 他 | 说 | 中文 | 。 |
| 我 | 爱 | 你 | 。 |
See also
- Word order (a more in depth article)
- Time words and word order
- Using "zai" with verbs
Sources and further reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 10) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 11, 249) →buy
