4 Phrase order in the Mandarin sentence
4.1 Basic phrase order
The basic order of the Mandarin sentence is
topic + subject + predicate
A sentence need not have an overt topic. In addition, if the subject is understood from the
context of the sentence, it is often omitted from the sentence.
The predicate consists of everything in the sentence except for the topic and subject, including
the verb, its objects, negation, adverbial modifiers, prepositional phrases, and aspect particles.
The following sections present the order of these constituents.
C8.1, 15.1, 17, 20.1, 21.1, 39.1, 46.2, 46.3, 57
4.2 The position of direct and indirect objects
In the neutral sentence in which nothing is emphasized, the direct and indirect objects of the
verb follow the verb. We refer to the verb and its objects as the verb phrase.
If there is an indirect object, it precedes the direct object.
subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
他给我一本书。
他給我一本書。
Tā gěi wǒ yī běn shū.
He gave (gives) me one book.
Most verbs take only a direct object.
subject + verb + direct object
我看了那些书。
我看了那些書。
Wǒ kàn le nà xiē shū.
I read those books.
The object may also occur before the subject for emphasis. In this position it is topicalized.
C 57
