1 · The basic sentence
Word order
subject, time, place, verb, object
Subject, verb, object as in English — but time and place come before the verb, and the verb never changes.
The basic order is the same as in English: subject, verb, object. 我喝茶 is “I drink tea”. Because Chinese has no endings and no cases, the order is the only thing that says who does what: 我找你 is “I am looking for you”, 你找我 “you are looking for me”.
The verb never changes. It has no ending for the person — 我去, 他去, 我们去 — and no tense: 我明天去 is “I am going tomorrow”, and the word for tomorrow is all that makes it future. When something happens is said with time words and, later, with small particles such as 了.
Time and place stand before the verb. The full order is subject, time, place, verb, object: 我明天在家看书, “I will read at home tomorrow”. The time word may also come first, before the subject: 明天我在家看书. What it may not do is go to the end, where English puts it.
This is one of the commonest mistakes English speakers make: they follow the English order and add “at home” and “tomorrow” after the object. The verb and its object belong together at the end of the sentence, and everything that sets the scene — when, where, how often — comes in front of them. Short adverbs such as 也, 都 and 不 also stand before the verb.
The form
| subject + verb + object | 我喝茶。 |
| the verb does not change | 我去。他去。我们去。 |
| time before the verb | 我明天去。 |
| time before the subject | 明天我去。 |
| subject + time + place + verb + object | 我明天在家看书。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The basic order is subject, verb, object, as in English.
我喜欢中国菜。I like Chinese food.
The verb has one form for every person and every time.
他每天喝咖啡。He drinks coffee every day.
Time words stand before the verb, either after the subject or at the very start.
我晚上给你打电话。I'll ring you in the evening.
A place with zài also stands before the verb, after the time.
我明天在学校吃午饭。Tomorrow I'm having lunch at school.
A closer look
Starting with what the sentence is about
Chinese often opens a sentence with the thing it is about and then says something about it, even when that thing is the object. 这个菜我不吃 is “this dish — I don’t eat it”. This is not a mistake in word order; it is a way of naming the topic first, as English sometimes does in speech.
The adverbs that come before the verb have a fixed place too: they stand after the subject and before a place phrase with 在. 我也在家吃 is “I eat at home too”. 也 never goes before the subject or after the verb, and moved behind the place phrase it changes what “too” refers to.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
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you say how long something lasts
the length of time goes after the verb, not before it.
我每天睡八个小时。I sleep eight hours a day.
A point in time sets the scene and comes first; a length of time measures the action and follows it, like an object.
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the place is where somebody or something ends up, as with 住, to live
the place can follow the verb: 住在….
我住在北京。I live in Beijing.
Here the place is not where the action happens but its result, the spot where somebody stays, and that comes after the verb.
How to spot it
- 今天
- 明天
- 每天
- 在
Example sentences
我今天很忙。I am busy today.
她每天在公司工作八个小时。She works eight hours a day at the office.
明天我们去公园。Tomorrow we're going to the park.
我妈妈在医院工作。My mother works in a hospital.
他们周末常常去爬山。They often go hiking at the weekend.
我晚上在家做饭。I cook at home in the evening.
8 more example sentences
我爸爸早上六点起床。My dad gets up at six in the morning.
你明天来吗？Are you coming tomorrow?
我们在饭馆吃晚饭吧。Let's have dinner at a restaurant.
他去年在上海学中文。Last year he studied Chinese in Shanghai.
下午我要去银行。I have to go to the bank this afternoon.
我朋友星期六来我家。My friend is coming to my place on Saturday.
孩子们在外面玩儿。The children are playing outside.
我找你，不找他。I'm looking for you, not for him.
Worth knowing (1)
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The order is the grammar
Swap the subject and the object and the meaning swaps with them, because nothing else marks who does what. A small change in order can turn an invitation round.
我请你，不是你请我。I'm treating you, not the other way round.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “I read in the library”, with the place at the end. In Chinese the place where something happens is part of the scene, and the scene is set before the action: first 在图书馆, then 看书.
Who, when, where, then the action: time and place go before the verb.
Your turn
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