Chinese Grammar Lesson _ The Golden Rule of Chinese Word Order _ Yoyo Chinese.

Nǐ hǎo, welcome to YoYo Chinese Grammar. Today we are going to talk about Chinese word order. First, remember this, when it comes to simple Chinese sentences like subject plus verb plus object sentences such as I love you or he drinks water, the word order for these sentences is actually the same as they are in English. When it comes to complicated Chinese sentences, the word order is going to be different from English. And here's the rule. In a complex Chinese sentence, the word order goes like this, subject such as who or what, and when the action takes place, where the action takes place, how the action takes place, and then the action. Let me say it again, first the subject, and then when, where, how, and then the action. Since this concept is so important, from now on let's call this Chinese word order rule the golden rule. Let's learn this through an example. How do you say I study Chinese at the library with Lily tomorrow? There are several components here. I is the subject, study Chinese is the action, at the library is where you study Chinese, with Lily is how you study Chinese, and tomorrow is obviously when you study Chinese. So according to the Chinese word order rule, subject, when, where, how, and then the action. Subject I should be put at the beginning, then it's followed by time tomorrow, location which is at the library, how the action is done with Lily, and then the action study Chinese. Now let's put all these elements together and you'll get the right Chinese sentence. I, tomorrow, at the library, with Lily, study Chinese. Bingo. Think this way, we Chinese are not straightforward at all. We don't just tell you what we want to say up front, which is to study Chinese. Instead we will circle around the real issue, telling you all the unnecessary elements first, such as when, where, and how, and then we'll tell you hey, this sentence is actually about to study Chinese. This may be why in this sentence, study Chinese goes to the end of the sentence. I don't want to confuse you but I want to mention something real quick. In Chinese, actually it's ok to put time at the very front just like in English. For example, in English you can either say, I will go to China tomorrow, or tomorrow I will go to China. The same goes with the Chinese. So for the previous sentence you can also say, tomorrow, I, at the library, with Lily, study Chinese. Please note that only time phrases can be moved to the front, where and how cannot. They have to stay where they were, alright? Ok, I strongly suggest you start speaking Chinglish from now on, which is speaking English in a Chinese way. For example, instead of saying, I went to Disneyland yesterday, say, I yesterday went to Disneyland. Instead of saying, I work at IBM, you say, I, at IBM, work. Instead of saying, I like to work with you, you say, I, like to, with you, work. Or instead of saying, I go to work by subway, you say, I, by subway, go to work. If you do what I asked you to do, you will very soon start to think like a Chinese and maybe dream in Chinese. We will talk more about the Chinese word order in our next lesson. Zài jiàn, jiā yóu.