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  1. {{Grammar Box}} 
    2. 

  2. 

  3. 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.
    4. 

  4. 

  5. == Subject-Predicate ==
    6. 

  6. 

  7. A simple [[predicate]] can be just a verb. The most basic word order in Chinese is:
    8. 

  8. 

  9. === Structure === 
    10. 

  10. 

  11. <div class="jiegou">
    12. 

  12. 

  13. Subj. + Verb
    14. 

  14. 

  15. </div>
    16. 

  16. 

  17. You can form very simple sentences with just two words.
    18. 

  18. 

  19. === Examples ===
    20. 

  20. 

  21. <table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
    22. 

  22. <tr>
    23. 

  23. <th width="25%">Subject</th>
    24. 

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

  25. <th width="50%">Translation</th>
    26. 

  26. </tr>
    27. 

  27. <tr><td>你们<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen</span></td><td>吃。<span class="pinyin">chī.</span></td><td>You eat.</td></tr>
    28. 

  28. <tr><td>他<span class="pinyin">Tā</span></td><td>笑。<span class="pinyin">xiào.</span></td><td>He laughs.</td></tr>
    29. 

  29. <tr><td>我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span></td><td>读。<span class="pinyin">dú.</span></td><td>I read.</td></tr>
    30. 

  30. <tr><td>你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span></td><td>去。<span class="pinyin">qù.</span></td><td>You go.</td></tr>
    31. 

  31. <tr><td>你们<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen</span></td><td>看。<span class="pinyin">kàn.</span></td><td>You look.</td></tr>
    32. 

  32. <tr><td>你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span></td><td>来。<span class="pinyin">lái.</span></td><td>You come here!</td></tr>
    33. 

  33. <tr><td>我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span></td><td>说。<span class="pinyin">shuō.</span></td><td>I speak.</td></tr>
    34. 

  34. <tr><td>孩子<span class="pinyin">Háizi</span></td><td>哭。<span class="pinyin">kū.</span></td><td>Children cry.</td></tr>
    35. 

  35. <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>
    36. 

  36. <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>
    37. 

  37. </table>
    38. 

  38. 

  39. == Subject-Verb-Object ==
    40. 

  40. 

  41. 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:
    42. 

  42. 

  43. === Structure ===
    44. 

  44. 

  45. <div class="jiegou">
    46. 

  46. 

  47. Subj. + Verb + Obj.
    48. 

  48. 

  49. </div>
    50. 

  50. 

  51. 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.
    52. 

  52. 

  53. === Examples ===
    54. 

  54. 

  55. <table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
    56. 

  56. <tr>
    57. 

  57. <th width="18%">Subject</th>
    58. 

  58. <th width="18%">Verb</th>
    59. 

  59. <th width="24%">Object</th>
    60. 

  60. <th width="40%">Translation</th>
    61. 

  61. </tr>
    62. 

  62. <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>
    63. 

  63. <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>
    64. 

  64. <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>
    65. 

  65. <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>
    66. 

  66. <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>
    67. 

  67. <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>
    68. 

  68. <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>
    69. 

  69. <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>
    70. 

  70. <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>
    71. 

  71. <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>
    72. 

  72. </table>
    73. 

  73. 

  74. == When Things Get Tricky ==
    75. 

  75. 

  76. 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]].
    77. 

  77. 

  78. 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?)
    79. 

  79. 

  80. ==See also==
    81. 

  81. 

  82. * [[Word order]] (a more in depth article)
    83. 

  83. * [[Time words and word order]]
    84. 

  84. * [[Topic-comment sentences]]  
    85. 

  85. * [[Simple "noun + adjective" sentences]]
    86. 

  86. * [[Indicating location with "zai" before verbs]]
    87. 

  87. * [[Expressing location with "zai...shang/xia/li"]]
    88. 

  88. 

  89. == Sources and further reading ==
    90. 

  90. 

  91. * [[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]
    92. 

  92. * [[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]
    93. 

  93. * [[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]
    94. 

  94. 

  95. [[Category:A1 grammar points]]
    96. 

  96. [[Category:Table]]
    97. 

  97. {{Basic Grammar|none|A1|Subj. + Verb (+ Obj.)|<em>我 爱 你 。</em>|grammar point|ASGETNCO}}
    98. 

  98. {{Similar|Word order}}
    99. 

  99. {{Similar|Time words and word order}}
    100. 

  100. {{Similar|Actions in a row}}
    101. 

  101. {{Similar|Indicating location with "zai" before verbs}}    
    102. 

  102. {{Similar|Placement of question words}}  
    103. 

  103. {{Structure|Basics}}
    104. 

  104. {{Used for|Sentence Patterns}}
    105. 

  105.