SVO order; time and place go before the verb
Chinese uses Subject + Verb + Object like English, but time and place phrases sit BEFORE the verb, not after the object. Plain SVO: 我看书。(Wǒ kàn shū.) — I read a book. A time word goes right after the subject: 我今天去学校。(Wǒ jīntiān qù xuéxiào.) — I go to school today. The full frame is Subject + Time + Place + Verb + Object — e.g. 我明天在图书馆看中文书。(Wǒ míngtiān zài túshūguǎn kàn Zhōngwén shū.) — never Subject + Verb + Object + Time.
Topic-comment order fronts the topic
Instead of always keeping SVO, Chinese often fronts the thing being talked about — the topic — then comments on it. This is natural once the object is already known from context. Pattern: Topic, + Subject + Comment. Example: 这个电影，我很喜欢。(Zhège diànyǐng, wǒ hěn xǐhuan.) — This movie, I like it a lot. The plain SVO 我很喜欢这个电影 is equally correct; topic-comment order simply shifts the emphasis onto the topic.
是-sentence, 的-possession, no 是 on adjectives
Two patterns cover most simple statements. The 是-sentence links two NOUNS: A + 是 + B — 她是老师。(Tā shì lǎoshī.) — She is a teacher. 的-possession shows whose something is: Possessor + 的 + Noun — 我的书 (wǒ de shū) — my book. They combine in 这是我朋友的书。(Zhè shì wǒ péngyou de shū.) — This is my friend's book. But an ADJECTIVE is its own predicate with 很 and never takes 是: 他很高。(Tā hěn gāo.) — He is tall, not 他是很高.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Incomplete sentence: missing a core element
A sentence like 我图书馆。 has no verb, so the meaning is incomplete — is the speaker AT the library or GOING there? Every simple statement needs an explicit subject, verb and, where the verb takes one, an object. ✗ 我图书馆。 ✓ 我在图书馆看书。(Wǒ zài túshūguǎn kànshū.) — I read in the library. A complete, clear sentence scores more than an ambitious but broken one.
Grounded in the cambridge-0523 examiner digest (grammatical completeness): sentences that were "not a grammatically accurate sentence" with "incomplete meaning" were refused (s22 Q10, s23 Q10).
Time or place put at the sentence end
Learners translate word for word from English and put the time or place phrase last. ✗ 我去学校今天。 ✓ 我今天去学校。(Wǒ jīntiān qù xuéxiào.) — I go to school today. ✗ 他每天看书图书馆。 ✓ 他每天在图书馆看书。(Tā měitiān zài túshūguǎn kànshū.) — He reads in the library every day. Time and place both attach BEFORE the verb, never after the object.
English word-order transfer; an inferred grammar trap, not a specific examiner-report item (general FL trap).
是 before an adjective (他是很高)
An adjective is its own predicate and takes 很, not 是. Learners copy English "he is tall" and insert 是. ✗ 他是很高。 / ✗ 他是高。 ✓ 他很高。(Tā hěn gāo.) — He is tall. Keep 是 for linking two nouns only: 他是学生。(Tā shì xuéshēng.) — He is a student. Getting this small, high-frequency structure exactly right is what separates a credited simple sentence from an uncredited one.
English "to be" transfer onto adjective predicates; an inferred grammar trap (general FL trap).
Dropping 是 before a 的-predicate
A 的-possessive used as the predicate still needs 是 to link it to the subject. ✗ 这本书我的。 ✓ 这本书是我的。(Zhè běn shū shì wǒ de.) — This book is mine. Do not confuse this with a 的 phrase sitting inside the subject or object, where no extra 是 is needed. Here the link word 是 is exactly what turns 我的 into a complete predicate.
Dropping 的 in a possessive phrase
When you show whose something is, the 的 between possessor and noun is compulsory. ✗ 这是我朋友书。 ✓ 这是我朋友的书。(Zhè shì wǒ péngyou de shū.) — This is my friend's book. Dropping 的 leaves two nouns jammed together and the possession unmarked. Compare 我的书 (wǒ de shū) — my book: possessor 我 + 的 + noun 书.
Topic-comment: stray pronoun or no subject
Topic-comment order fronts the object as the topic, then gives Subject + Comment. Two slips spoil it: adding a needless resumptive pronoun for the fronted object, or dropping the subject from the comment. ✓ 数学，我不太喜欢。(Shùxué, wǒ bú tài xǐhuan.) — Math, I do not like it much. Keep the comment a full clause with its own subject 我, and do not re-name 数学 inside it.
Chinese word order copies English
A common but wrong idea: because both languages are SVO, word order copies straight from English. In fact time and place phrases must come BEFORE the verb in Chinese, unlike English, where they follow the object. ✗ 我看书图书馆今天。 (English order) ✓ 我今天在图书馆看书。(Wǒ jīntiān zài túshūguǎn kànshū.) — I read in the library today. Only the Subject-Verb-Object skeleton matches English.
是 sits before every predicate
Learners transfer English "he IS tall" and assume 是 precedes every description. But a Chinese ADJECTIVE is its own predicate, normally paired with 很 (hěn) and with no 是: ✓ 他很高。(Tā hěn gāo.) — He is tall. 是 links two NOUN phrases only: 他是学生。(Tā shì xuéshēng.) — He is a student. Adding 是 to an adjective — ✗ 他是高。 / ✗ 他是很高。 — is not how a Chinese adjectival predicate works.
Three-step sentence self-check
Check three things before finishing: subject, verb and (if needed) object are all present; time and place come before the verb (Subject + Time + Place + Verb), never after it; and you picked 是 for two nouns or 的 for possession, never 是 before an adjective.
Build the sentence in layers
Build the sentence in layers instead of all at once. Start with the SVO core 我看书, add the time 我今天看书, then add the place 我今天在图书馆看书。(Wǒ jīntiān zài túshūguǎn kànshū.) — I read in the library today. Each new element slots in front of the verb, so the order stays right.
Ordering scrambled words
For a scrambled-word task (排列词语), fix the SVO skeleton first — decide the subject, verb and object — then slot any time or place word in front of the verb before writing the final sentence. Building outward from a correct core stops the time or place phrase drifting to the end.
Write characters, never pinyin
In the writing paper, write everything in characters — never pinyin. A character wrong enough to change the meaning loses the mark, so choose carefully between same-sound forms. Pinyin is tolerated only in Listening answers, and even there it must be unambiguous.
Chinese sentence order looks similar to English at first glance -- both use Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) -- but two rules make Chinese word order distinctly different, and getting them right is the single biggest lever for writing a grammatically complete sentence:
Every simple statement also needs one of two core predicate patterns: the 是-sentence (linking two nouns, "A is B") or 的-possession (showing whose something is). Mixing these up, or dropping a required element, is the most common way marks are lost on otherwise simple sentences.
Say in Chinese: "I read (a) book." (basic Subject-Verb-Object order)
排列词语组成一个语序正确的句子：书 / 看 / 我
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
请用中文写一篇短文，介绍你的一周安排。文章必须包含：（1）至少一个时间词在动词前的句子；（2）至少一个是字句；（3）至少一个的字所有格短语。请用中文（汉字）书写，约60-100字，注意句子语序正确、完整。（8分）
用中文写3-4句话，介绍你的一位家人。请确保包含：（1）一个是字句说明他/她的身份；（2）一个地点在动词前的句子说明他/她在哪里工作或上学；（3）一个的字所有格短语。句子必须语序正确、意思完整。（6分）
