Chinese is a topic prominent language. This means that the topic of the sentence takes precedence in the sentence. The sentences do not follow normal first word order, but instead follow the topic prominent order. For example :
- ‘Yuan zi li ting zhe yi liang che’ which means In the courtyard is parked a car. The normal word should have been ‘A car is parked in the courtyard’
- Jin tian pa shan ming tian ye ying which means ‘Today climb mountains, tomorrow camp outdoors’. The normal word order should be We climb the mountains today and camp outdoors tomorrow.
- You yong wo zui na shou which means ‘Swimming I am the best. The normal word order should be I'm the best at swimming.
In the chinses word order almost all modifiers of nouns, verbs and adjectives precede the head (modified item), , rather than follow the head. Hence,
- Adjectives precede nouns
- Prepositional phrases modifying a verb precede the verb
- Relative clauses precede the head noun
- The standard of comparison in a comparative adjective precedes the adjective
- Genitive constructions precede the head noun
The Chinese language also uses postpositions in many constructions in place of prepositions, for example:
- Fang zi li mizn
"house-inside" = inside the house - Zhuo zi shang
"table-on" = on the table
This language also comprises the formation of adjectival phrases rather than subordination, for example:
- Bei wo qi guo de ma
"by me ridden horse" = the horse that I have ridden - Gei ren fan nao de shi qing
"(give people worries)'s matter" or "to people worrisome matter" = matter that worries people
There are two types of accusative cases in the Chinese language. Accusative I is the more commonly found case. Accusative II results in a change of state in the object, and implies a stronger sense in which something is done to the object, and is marked with the prefix bǎ and by a movement of the verb phrase to the end of the clause.
- Wo dap o le pan zi
I broke the plate. (Accusative I), versus - Wo ba pan zi da po le
I (acc.)-plate broke (and it is no longer intact). (Accusative II) - da le yi ge dian hua
I hit a telephone (I made a phone call). (Accusative I), versus - Wo bat a da le yi dun
I him beat (up). (Accusative II)
