Welcome to Hidden Dragon
Lesson 1 of 5
Basic Sentence Structure
Understanding how Chinese sentences are built
Chinese Word Order: Subject-Verb-Object
Good news! Chinese uses the same basic word order as English: Subject + Verb + Object (SVO).
我 喝 茶
wǒ hē chá
I drink tea
More Examples
他 看 书
tā kàn shū
He reads books
她 吃 饭
tā chī fàn
She eats rice/food
我们 学 中文
wǒmen xué zhōngwén
We study Chinese
Topic-Comment Structure
Chinese also uses a topic-comment structure where you introduce a topic first, then comment on it. This is very common in conversation.
这本书，我看过了
zhè běn shū, wǒ kàn guò le
(As for) this book, I've read it
Topic is introduced first, then we comment about it
Key Differences from English
- •No verb conjugation: 我喝 (I drink), 他喝 (he drinks) - verb stays the same
- •No noun plural markers: 书 means "book" or "books" by context. Note: 们 marks plural for people (我们, 他们, 老师们)
- •Topic can come first: Chinese often puts the topic at the beginning
💡 Practice Tip
Start with simple SVO sentences. Once you're comfortable, try adding more detail like time, place, or manner. The basic structure stays the same!