In its most basic form, Chinese [word order](word_order "wikilink") is
very similar to English word order. These similarities definitely have
their limits, though; don't expect the two languages' word orders to
stay consistent much beyond the very basic sentence orders outlined
below.

Subject-Predicate
-----------------

A simple [predicate](predicate "wikilink") can be just a verb. The most
basic word order in Chinese is:

### Structure

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + Verb

</div>
You can form very simple sentences with just two words.

### Examples

<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
<tr>
<th width="25%">
Subject

</th>
<th width="25%">
Verb

</th>
<th width="50%">
Translation

</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你们<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen</span>

</td>
<td>
吃。<span class="pinyin">chī.</span>

</td>
<td>
You eat.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
他<span class="pinyin">Tā</span>

</td>
<td>
笑。<span class="pinyin">xiào.</span>

</td>
<td>
He laughs.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span>

</td>
<td>
读。<span class="pinyin">dú.</span>

</td>
<td>
I read.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span>

</td>
<td>
去。<span class="pinyin">qù.</span>

</td>
<td>
You go.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你们<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen</span>

</td>
<td>
看。<span class="pinyin">kàn.</span>

</td>
<td>
You look.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span>

</td>
<td>
来。<span class="pinyin">lái.</span>

</td>
<td>
You come here!

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span>

</td>
<td>
说。<span class="pinyin">shuō.</span>

</td>
<td>
I speak.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
孩子<span class="pinyin">Háizi</span>

</td>
<td>
哭。<span class="pinyin">kū.</span>

</td>
<td>
Children cry.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
谁 <span class="pinyin">Shéi</span>

</td>
<td>
要 学？<span class="pinyin">yào xué?</span>

</td>
<td>
Who wants to study?

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
谁<span class="pinyin">Shéi</span>

</td>
<td>
想 玩？<span class="pinyin">xiǎng wán?</span>

</td>
<td>
Who wants to play?

</td>
</tr>
</table>
Subject-Verb-Object
-------------------

A slightly longer [predicate](predicate "wikilink") might be a verb with
an object. A sentence with both a verb and an object is formed with this
structure:

### Structure

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + Verb + Obj.

</div>
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

<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
<tr>
<th width="18%">
Subject

</th>
<th width="18%">
Verb

</th>
<th width="24%">
Object

</th>
<th width="40%">
Translation

</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
他们<span class="pinyin">Tāmen</span>

</td>
<td>
吃<span class="pinyin">chī</span>

</td>
<td>
肉。<span class="pinyin">ròu.</span>

</td>
<td>
They eat meat.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span>

</td>
<td>
喝<span class="pinyin">hē</span>

</td>
<td>
茶 吗？<span class="pinyin">chá ma?</span>

</td>
<td>
Do you drink tea?

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span>

</td>
<td>
去<span class="pinyin">qù</span>

</td>
<td>
学校。<span class="pinyin">xuéxiào.</span>

</td>
<td>
I go to school.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
他<span class="pinyin">Tā</span>

</td>
<td>
说<span class="pinyin">shuō</span>

</td>
<td>
中文。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngwén.</span>

</td>
<td>
He speaks Chinese.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span>

</td>
<td>
喜欢<span class="pinyin">xǐhuan</span>

</td>
<td>
孩子 吗？<span class="pinyin">háizi ma?</span>

</td>
<td>
Do you like kids?

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
我们<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen</span>

</td>
<td>
要 买<span class="pinyin">yào mǎi</span>

</td>
<td>
电脑。<span class="pinyin">diànnǎo.</span>

</td>
<td>
We want to buy a computer.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你们<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen</span>

</td>
<td>
想 吃<span class="pinyin">xiǎng chī</span>

</td>
<td>
中国 菜 吗？<span class="pinyin">Zhōngguó cài ma?</span>

</td>
<td>
Do you want to eat Chinese food?

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span>

</td>
<td>
爱<span class="pinyin">ài</span>

</td>
<td>
你 和 爸爸。<span class="pinyin">nǐ hé bàba.</span>

</td>
<td>
I love you and dad.

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
他们<span class="pinyin">Tāmen</span>

</td>
<td>
要 做<span class="pinyin">yào zuò</span>

</td>
<td>
什么？<span class="pinyin">shénme?</span>

</td>
<td>
What do they want to do?

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span>

</td>
<td>
想 去<span class="pinyin">xiǎng qù</span>

</td>
<td>
什么 地方？<span class="pinyin">shénme dìfang?</span>

</td>
<td>
What place do you want to go to?

</td>
</tr>
</table>
When Things Get Tricky
----------------------

Despite the convenient word order similarities highlighted above, things
start to break down as soon as you start adding in such simple sentence
elements as [the "also" adverb 也
(yě)](The_"also"_adverb_"ye" "wikilink"), [a time
word](Time_words_and_word_order "wikilink"), or [a location where
something
happened](Indicating_location_with_"zai"_before_verbs "wikilink").

Don't worry; the more complicated Chinese structures aren't hard,
they're just different! (If Chinese word order were really the same as
English word order, that would be just a little too convenient, wouldn't
it?)

See also
--------

-   [Word order](Word_order "wikilink") (a more in depth article)
-   [Time words and word order](Time_words_and_word_order "wikilink")
-   [Topic-comment sentences](Topic-comment_sentences "wikilink")
-   [Simple "noun + adjective"
    sentences](Simple_"noun_+_adjective"_sentences "wikilink")
-   [Indicating location with "zai" before
    verbs](Indicating_location_with_"zai"_before_verbs "wikilink")
-   [Expressing location with
    "zai...shang/xia/li"](Expressing_location_with_"zai...shang/xia/li" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

-   [New Practical Chinese Reader
    1 (新实用汉语课本1)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_1_(新实用汉语课本1) "wikilink") (p.
    10)
    [→buy](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)
-   [New Practical Chinese Reader 1
    (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_1_(新实用汉语课本1)(2nd_ed) "wikilink") (pp.
    11, 249)
    [→buy](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)
-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1
    (3rd ed)](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed) "wikilink") (p.
    76)
    [→buy](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)

[Category:A1 grammar points](Category:A1_grammar_points "wikilink")
<Category:Table>