“I heard Chinese grammar is very difficult. Is it true?”

We often get this question from people who are attempting to learn Chinese.

Well, the answer is yes and no. Take Chinese sentence structure and word order for example. Making basic sentences with a subject, verb, and object is super-easy, just like in English. But when there are more elements involved, such as adverbs and time phrases, things get a little more complicated.

If you’re an absolute beginner who would like to experience the joy of forming a perfect Chinese sentence on your own, or if you’ve ever been frustrated with the placement of words in sentences, this article is for you!

Table of Contents

1. Basic Chinese Language Word Order
2. Advanced Sentence Structures
3. The Golden Rule of Chinese Word Order
4. Transforming a Sentence into a Question
5. Sentence Building Exercises
6. Conclusion

1. Basic Chinese Language Word Order

1.1 S + V + O

Chinese is an SVO language, like English and many other Romance languages.

Not sure what SVO is? Don’t worry. We’ll explain with a sample sentence.

S (Subject)	V (Verb)	O (Object)
我	喜欢	这个。
Wǒ	xǐhuan	zhège.
I	like	this.

S is for the subject. V is for the verb. O is for the object. The basic word order in Chinese is Subject + Verb + Object.

Let’s look at another SVO-structured sentence:

S (Subject)	V (Verb)	O (Object)
我	在学	中文。
Wǒ	zài xué	Zhōngwén.
I	at (am) study(ing)	Chinese.

Note: Since Chinese verbs don’t conjugate, some “aid words” will be added to indicate tense. For example, to express an action that’s in progress, as in the example above, we use the word 在 (zài), meaning “at,” plus a verb. We can view 在学 (zài xué), or “at study,” as the verb phrase “to be studying.”

1.1.1 Exceptions

Granted that the Chinese language is pretty flexible, there are cases—especially in colloquial language—where we can bend the SVO rule a little.

For example, when the object or subject is clear to the audience, they can be omitted.
The subject in the following sentence is omitted.

V	O
是	我。
shì	wǒ.
(It) is	me.

The object in the following sentence is omitted.

S	V
我	喜欢。
Wǒ	xǐhuan.
I	like (it).

When special attention needs to be brought to the object, it can even be put at the beginning of a sentence.

O	S	V
这个	我	xǐhuan.
Zhège	wǒ	xǐhuan.
This	I	like.

2. Advanced Sentence Structures

Don’t you wish the world was as simple as an SVO sentence? Well, even sentences get sophisticated with packed information, like “where,” “when,” “how,” and so on.

One common mistake that beginners make concerning the word order of Chinese sentences is that they tend to put the phrases with extra information at the end. However, this is often not the correct way of forming the sentence.

2.1 S + Place + V + O

Phrases suggesting the location should go BEFORE the verb.

1)

S	Place	V	O
我	在家	学	中文。
Wǒ	zài jiā	xué	Zhōngwén.
I	at home	study	Chinese.

2)

S	Place	V
他们	在门外	聊天。
Tāmen	zài ménwài	liáotiān.
They	outside the door	chat.

Note: Sample sentence 2) doesn’t have an object. Verbs like 聊天 (liáotiān) are composed of an action verb and a complement which can be considered the object. In this case, 聊 is the action verb and 天 is the complement.

2.1.1 Exceptions

However, location phrases are used AFTER a verb in some rare cases with certain verbs. These special verbs include:

• 坐 (zuò), “to sit”
• 站 (zhàn), “to stand”
• 走 (zǒu), “to walk”
• 住 (zhù), “to live”
• 留 (liú), “to stay”
• 停 (tíng), “to park”
• 放 (fàng), “to put”

These verbs usually indicate motion towards something. The location phrases serve as a complement explaining where the action leads to.

With these special verbs, the order is S + Special Verb + Place.

English Meaning	S + Special Verb + Place	Note
“Put the suitcase on top.”	行李箱放上面。✓ Xínglǐ xiāng fàng shàngmian. Literal translation: “Suitcase (should be) put on top.” 行李箱上面放。x Xínglǐ xiāng shàngmian fàng.	The location phrase 上面 (shàngmian), or “on top,” is where the action 放 (fàng), meaning “to put,” is supposed to happen next. So 上面 (shàngmian) is used after 放 (fàng).
“You walk on the left side.”	你走左边。✓ Nǐ zǒu zuǒbiān. Literal translation: “You walk left side.” 你左边走。x Nǐ zuǒbiān zǒu.	左边 (zuǒbiān), or “on the left side,” is where the speaker wants the listener to walk. Therefore, it’s 走左边 (zǒu zuǒbiān), or “walk on the left side,” rather than 左边走, or “left side walk.”
“I live in Beijing.”	我住北京。✓ Wǒ zhù Běijīng. Literal translation: “I live Beijing.” 我北京住。x Wǒ Běijīng zhù.	Other than 我住北京 (Wǒ zhù Běijīng), you can also say 我住在北京。(Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng.) Literally, it means “I live in Beijing.

2.2 S + Time + V + O

Just like place phrases, time phrases also go BEFORE the verb.

As we learned a little earlier, 在 (zài), meaning “at,” is used to indicate the progressive tense. Besides that, time phrases can also be used to make a sentence more explicit. For example, 现在 (xiànzài), meaning “now,” is often used when something is happening at the moment.

S	Time	V (at + V = V-ing)	O
我	现在	在学	中文。
Wǒ	xiànzài	zài xué	Zhōngwén.
I	now	at (am) study(ing)	Chinese.

For things that happened in the past, we can use the “aid word” 了 (le) to indicate the past tense. There are many other time phrases you can include, such as:

• 昨天 (zuótiān), “yesterday”
• 上个礼拜 (shàngge lǐbài), “last week”
• 去年 (qùnián), “last year”

S	Time	V ( V + 了 = V-ed)	O
我	昨天	学了	中文。
Wǒ	zuótiān	xué le	Zhōngwén.
I	yesterday	studied	Chinese.

Note that the time phrases we talk about here refer to a specific point in time, answering the question “When?” They do not refer to a “time period,” which would answer “For how long?” When the duration of time is involved, it’s another long story.

Also, if special attention needs to be brought to the time, these time phrases can be placed at the beginning of a sentence. For example, we can say 现在我在学中文 (Xiànzài wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén) to tell someone “Right now, I’m learning Chinese.”

2.3 S + Manner + V + O

Manner is often described using adverbs that tell “how” the action happens. Like time and place words, they also go BEFORE the verb.

1)

S	Manner	V	O
我	非常	喜欢	这个。
Wǒ	fēicháng	xǐhuan	zhège.
I	extremely	like	this.

2)

S	Manner	V	O
我	开心地	学	中文。
Wǒ	kāixīn de	xué	Zhōngwén.
I	happily	study	Chinese.

2.4 S + Instrument + V + O

Instrument here is the equivalent of “by…” or “with…” in English, describing the tool or method used for the action. As you may have guessed, they also go BEFORE the verb.

S	Instrument	V	O
我	用手机	学	中文。
Wǒ	yòng shǒujī	xué	Zhōngwén.
I	by using my phone	study	Chinese.

Here comes a question: When there’s more than one “BEFORE the verb” element in a sentence, what are the Chinese word order rules? For example, when there’s time, place, manner, and instrument at the same time, how should you arrange them?

Here’s an example:

我昨天开心地在家用手机学中文。

Wǒ zuótiān kāixīn de zàijiā yòng shǒujī xué Zhōngwén.

Word-by-word translation: “I yesterday happily at home by using the phone studied Chinese.”

As you can see, the word order in this sentence is:

S + Time + Manner + Place + Instrument + V + O

This is the most common and natural order of words. Of course, when certain things need to be emphasized, they could be brought to the front of the sentence. Even though it’s very rare to use all of the above elements in one sentence in a real-life conversation, it’s good for a Chinese learner to know the proper way to arrange them.

3. The Golden Rule of Chinese Word Order

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(smiley cartoon person under golden sun)

At this point, a pattern in Chinese sentence structure seems to be getting more clear. The descriptive part always goes first, such as 开心地学中文 (kāixīn de xué Zhōngwén), meaning “happily study Chinese,” 用手机学中文 (yòngshǒujī xué Zhōngwén), meaning “using the phone to study Chinese,” and 在家学中文 (zài jiā xué Zhōngwén), meaning “at home study Chinese.”

Even though there are a handful of exceptions, as we mentioned earlier, as a general rule:

Modifiers go before the modified.

Not only does the golden rule apply to verbs, but also to nouns.

For example, 红色的行李箱 (hóngsè de xínglǐ xiāng) means “red suitcase.” 红色 (hóngsè), or “red,” modifies 行李箱 (xínglǐ xiāng), meaning “suitcase.” So 红色 (hóngsè) goes before 行李箱 (xínglǐ xiāng).

放在上面的行李箱 (fàngzài shàngmiàn de xínglǐ xiāng) translates as “the suitcase that’s put on top.” The noun 行李箱 (xínglǐ xiāng), or “suitcase,” still comes after the modifying phrase 放在上面 (fàngzài shàngmiàn), or “to put on top.”

4. Transforming a Sentence into a Question

Finally, we’ll be looking into how to form questions in Chinese. You may be surprised how easy it is!

4.1 Yes-or-No Questions

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(woman holding cards with no and yes)

Questions that are answered with a “yes” or “no” can be referred to as yes-or-no questions. So, what’s the word order in Chinese sentences after transforming them into such a question?

To form a yes-or-no question, all you need is the particle 吗 (ma), which turns a sentence into a question.

Examples:

Sentence	+ 吗	⇒ Question
你喜欢这个。 Nǐ xǐhuan zhège. “You like this.”	+吗？	你喜欢这个吗？ Nǐ xǐhuan zhège ma? “Do you like this?”
他在学中文。 Tā zài xué Zhōngwén. “He’s studying Chinese.”	+吗？	他在学中文吗？ Tā zài xué Zhōngwén ma? “Is he studying Chinese?”
她不住北京。 Tā bú zhù Běijīng. “She doesn’t live in Beijing.”	+吗？	她不住北京吗？ Tā bú zhù Běijīng ma? “Doesn’t she live in Beijing?”

4.2 Forming Other Questions

To form other types of questions, it only takes three steps.

Step 1: Think about how you would answer the question in a complete sentence.

Step 2: Find the question word you need.

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(question words in English)

Step 3: Replace the part you’re asking about with the question word.

Oh wait, don’t forget to change the period to a question mark!

Examples:

Sentence	Question Word	⇒ Question
你喜欢这个。 Nǐ xǐhuan zhège. “You like this.”	什么 shénme “what”	你喜你喜欢什么？ Nǐ xǐhuan shénme? “What do you like?”
她明天去北京。 Tā míngtiān qù Běijīng. “She is going to Beijing tomorrow.”	什么时候 shénme shíhou “when”	她什么时候去北京？ Tā shénme shíhou qù Běijīng? “When is she going to Beijing?”
我在学中文。 Wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén. “I’m studying Chinese.”	谁 shéi “who”	谁在学中文？ Shéi zài xué Zhōngwén? “Who is studying Chinese?”
他们在门外聊天。 Tāmen zài ménwài liáotiān. “They’re chatting outside the door.”	哪里 nǎlǐ “where”	他们在哪里聊天？ Tāmen zài nǎlǐ liáotiān? “Where are they chatting?”

What a confidence booster, right?

Be sure to visit our website to check out the top 25 Chinese questions you need to know.

5. Sentence Building Exercises

https://cdn.innovativelanguage.com/sns/em/2019/landing+pages/Infographic/Improve+Pronunciation/export/Chinese_improve_pronunciation.png

Now it’s time for some Chinese word order practice! Try out the new Chinese grammar skills you’ve just gained from reading this article.

Here are your building blocks:

Subject: 你 (nǐ), “you”

Verb: 喝 (hē), “to drink”

Object: 水 (shuǐ), “water”

Place: 在教室 (zài jiàoshì), “in the classroom”

Time: 五点 (wǔdiǎn), “five o’clock”

Manner: 偷偷地 (tōutōude), “secretly”

Instrument: 用碗 (yòng wǎn), “with a bowl”

Modifier: 冰 (bīng), “ice-cold”

Question Word: 什么 (shénme), “what”

Your building task is to make Chinese sentences from the English translations on the left side. If you like, use the hint in the middle. Put your answers on the right side.

English	Hint	Answer
“You drank water.”	S + V + O
“You drank water in the classroom at five.”	S + Time + Place + V + O
“You secretly drank water with a bowl.”	S + Manner + Instrument + V + O
“You drank ice-cold water at five o’clock.”	S + Time + Verb + Modifier + O
“Did you drink water?”	S + V + O + 吗？
“What did you drink?”	S + V + Question Word？

(No peeking until you’re done!)

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(hourglass indicating time is up)

Good job! Now you can check your answers.

English	Hint	Answer
“You drank water.”	S + V + O	你喝了水。 Nǐ hē le shuǐ.
“You drank water in the classroom at five.”	S + Time + Place + V + O	你五点在教室喝了水。 Nǐ wǔdiǎn zài jiàoshì hē le shuǐ.
“You secretly drank water with a bowl.”	S + Manner + Instrument + V + O	你偷偷地用碗喝了水。 Nǐ tōutōude yòng wǎn hē le shuǐ.
“You drank ice-cold water at five o’clock.”	S + Time + Verb + Modifier + O	你五点喝了冰水。 Nǐ wǔdiǎn hē le bīngshuǐ.
“Did you drink water?”	S + V + O + 吗？	你喝了水吗？ Nǐ hē le shuǐ ma?
“What did you drink?”	S + V + Question Word？	你喝了什么？ Nǐ hē le shénme?

6. Conclusion

Now, if I ask YOU the question from the beginning of this article, what would your answer be?

“Is Chinese grammar difficult?”

中文的语法难吗？

Zhōngwén de yǔfǎ nán ma?

Whether your answer is yes or no, I hope this article will at least provide you with a better understanding of Chinese syntax and gives you more confidence when interacting with native Chinese speakers. This is what ChineseClass101.com was designed for.
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