汉语之路Spoken Mandarin → 现代汉语语法

课程 → Level 12 · 句法与文体 → 课 1

Level 12 · Lesson 1

句法和语序
Syntax and word order

汉语没有词形变化，语法关系全靠语序和虚词；修饰在前，时间处所在动词前，话题在最前。

With no inflection at all, Chinese builds grammar out of order: modifiers first, time and place before the verb, topic before everything.

你已经会了 · You already know this

第一级你就会说“我学汉语”，第五级你会说“我昨天在家看完了那本书”。两句话长短差得很远，可是次序一模一样：先说谁，再说做什么，东西放在最后。你从来没有改过一个字的形状，也没有加过一个词尾——你靠的一直是次序。这个次序，就是汉语的语法。

You have been saying 我学汉语 since level 1 and 我昨天在家看完了那本书 since level 5. The two are worlds apart in length, but their order is identical: who first, then what they do, and the thing acted on last. You have never changed the shape of a single character or added a single ending — order has done all the work. That order is Chinese grammar.

规则 · The rules

汉语没有词形变化，词跟词的关系全靠语序和虚词表示。
规则 1
“我看见他”和“他看见我”用的是同样的三个词。
Same three words, opposite meanings — only the order differs.

英语的 he 和 him 是两个形状，汉语只有一个“他”。谁做、谁受，靠位置决定：动词前边的是主语，动词后边的是宾语。所以在汉语里，语序不是习惯，是语法本身；换了位置，句子的意思就换了。这一门学问叫句法。

English has two shapes, 'he' and 'him'; Chinese has only 他. Who acts and who is acted on is decided by position: before the verb is the subject, after it the object. Word order here is not a habit but the grammar itself — move a word and you have changed the sentence. The study of that is 句法, syntax.

基本语序是：主语 — 谓语 — 宾语。
规则 2
我（主语）学（谓语）汉语（宾语）。
Subject, then predicate, then object — the frame under every sentence you have built since level 1.

宾语离开动词后边的情况只有两种，而且两种都有记号：一种是第十一级学过的把字句（我把书看完了），一种是下边要讲的话题句（那本书我看完了）。除了这两种，宾语不能随便往前跑。

An object leaves its post-verbal slot in only two situations, and both are flagged: the 把 construction from level 11 (我把书看完了) and the topic sentence below (那本书我看完了). Outside those two, an object cannot simply drift forward.

修饰成分一律在中心语前边：定语在名词前，状语在动词前。
规则 3
我的那本新书；他慢慢地走。
Whatever modifies comes first, without exception.

这一条跟英语正好相反。英语可以说 the book on the table，汉语只能说“桌子上的书”；英语说 he runs fast，汉语得说“他跑得很快”。动词后边只留给补语，因为补语不是修饰，是补充。

This is the mirror of English. English says 'the book on the table'; Chinese can only say 桌子上的书. English says 'he runs fast'; Chinese says 他跑得很快. The slot after the verb belongs to the complement alone, and a complement completes the verb rather than modifying it.

时间词和处所词在动词前边，先说时间，后说处所。
规则 4
我昨天在家看书。
When goes before where, and both go before the verb.

时间词还可以放到主语前边，意思一样，只是更强调时候：昨天我在家看书。处所却动不了，它一定紧挨着动词。汉语说事情总是从大到小：先是时候，再是地方，最后才是动作。时候由时间词管，跟“了”没有关系——“明天我看完了那本书就还给你”里有“了”，说的却是明天。

A time word may also move in front of the subject: 昨天我在家看书 means the same, with the time highlighted. The place phrase cannot move; it sits right against the verb. Chinese narrows from large to small — when, then where, then the action. Time is the business of time words, not of 了: 明天我看完了那本书就还给你 carries 了 and is about tomorrow.

话题放在全句最前边，后边的部分说明这个话题。
规则 5
那本书我已经看完了。
Say what you are talking about first, then say something about it. The topic need not be the subject.

话题一定是听话的人已经知道的东西，所以常常带“这、那”。“那本书我已经看完了”里，“那本书”是话题，“我已经看完了”是对它的说明。汉语很喜欢这样开头，聊天的时候尤其多：这件事我不知道。汉语我学了三年了。

A topic is something the listener already has in mind, which is why it so often carries 这 or 那. In 那本书我已经看完了 the topic is 那本书 and everything after it is the comment. Chinese loves this opening, especially in conversation: 这件事我不知道, 汉语我学了三年了.

一步一步 · Step by step

造出“我昨天在家看完了那本书。”
  1. 看书 — 谓语加宾语，最里边的一层
  2. 看完了那本书 — 动词带上补语和“了”，宾语跟着往后
  3. 在家看完了那本书 — 处所紧挨着动词前边
  4. 昨天在家看完了那本书 — 时间在处所前边
  5. 我昨天在家看完了那本书。 — 主语在最前边——基本语序完成
一样的意思，三种语序
  1. 我看完了那本书。 — 基本语序：主语 — 谓语 — 宾语
  2. 我把那本书看完了。 — 把字句：宾语提前，用“把”做记号
  3. 那本书我看完了。 — 话题句：提到全句最前边，不用记号

练习 · Practice

“我看见他”和“他看见我”意思正好相反，靠的是什么？ What makes the two mean opposite things?
下面哪一句的语序是对的？ Which sentence has the right order?
排一排。 Arrange: 'I finished that book at home yesterday.'
汉语的定语和状语，都放在中心语的______边。 On which side of the head do modifiers stand?
成分和它的位置 Match each element to where it stands.