{{Grammar Box}} 

In its most basic form, Chinese [[word order]] 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]] 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]] 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 "ye"|the "also" adverb 也 (yě)]], [[Time words and word order|a time word]], or [[Indicating location with "zai" before verbs|a location where something happened]].

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]] (a more in depth article)
* [[Time words and word order]]
* [[Topic-comment sentences]]  
* [[Simple "noun + adjective" sentences]]
* [[Indicating location with "zai" before verbs]]
* [[Expressing location with "zai...shang/xia/li"]]

== Sources and further reading ==

* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (p. 10) [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 →buy]
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 11, 249) [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 →buy]
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (p. 76) [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 →buy]

[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
[[Category:Table]]
{{Basic Grammar|none|A1|Subj. + Verb (+ Obj.)|<em>我 爱 你 。</em>|grammar point|ASGETNCO}}
{{Similar|Word order}}
{{Similar|Time words and word order}}
{{Similar|Actions in a row}}
{{Similar|Indicating location with "zai" before verbs}}    
{{Similar|Placement of question words}}  
{{Structure|Basics}}
{{Used for|Sentence Patterns}}