What do I need to remember to change my (wrong) instincts for word order?
A brief exploration using an example from GoEast's HSK4 material
I was reviewing and trying to remember sentences to build my intuition and sentence-building skills and noticed my instinct for the wrong word order.
My instinct is to say: … 已经很多年分手了。This must come from a cross-wiring with English although it’s not clear to me what the cross-wiring is, perhaps it comes from wanting to say: “…already many years since they broke up” rather than “…already broke up many years ago.”
Anyway, “Think in Chinese!” as your Chinese Mandarin teacher will keep telling you! See also 徐晶凝 | Xu Jingning‘s Intermediate Chinese Grammar Course if you haven’t got a teacher. The course is free and excellent to keep coming back to.
So here’s some useful advice from ChatGPT 4.0 after a bit of back and forth:
Your instinct to arrange the words as "已经很多年分手了" is understandable, especially if you're translating directly from an English thought process where "already many years broken up" seems logical. However, in Mandarin Chinese, the placement of time expressions and the verb "分手" (to break up) follows specific patterns that can be different from English.
The standard and more natural order in Mandarin is "已经分手很多年了", which directly translates to "already broken up many years ago." Here's why this structure is preferred:
已经 (yǐjīng): "Already" sets up the statement by indicating that an action has been completed in the past.
分手 (fēnshǒu): "Broken up" is the main verb of the sentence, and in Chinese, time expressions often follow the verb to specify when the action occurred or how long it has been since the action took place.
很多年 (hěn duō nián): "Many years" is the time expression indicating the duration since the action (分手) occurred.
了 (le): This particle is used here to indicate a change of state or the completion of an action, often placed at the end of the statement to mark the action as being in the past.
So, the phrase "已经分手很多年了" follows the natural Chinese syntax for expressing actions completed in the past and emphasizes the duration since the action occurred. It aligns with the typical Chinese sentence structure where the verb comes before the time expression.
In your version, "已经很多年分手了", placing the time expression directly after "已经" and before the verb "分手" disrupts the usual flow and clarity of information in Mandarin sentence structure. While it might still be understood by Chinese speakers due to context, it's less natural and could be seen as emphasizing the passage of time more than the action of breaking up, which is not the standard focus in such sentences.
So what are some general principles to keep in mind to think in Chinese?
Adjusting your instinct to match Mandarin Chinese word order involves understanding some key principles of Chinese sentence structure. Here are the general rules and concepts that might help:
1. Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) Order
Mandarin typically follows an SVO order, similar to English. The subject comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object of the verb.
2. Time and Place Before Verb
Time and place expressions usually precede the verb. If both time and place are mentioned, the time expression comes first.
Time: 明天 (míngtiān) - Tomorrow
Place: 学校 (xuéxiào) - School
Verb: 去 (qù) - Go
Correct Order: 明天我去学校。 (Míngtiān wǒ qù xuéxiào.) - Tomorrow I go to school.3. Modifier Precedes the Modified
Adjectives, possessive particles (的), and relative clauses precede the noun or phrase they modify. This is unlike English, where modifiers can both precede and follow the noun.
Example: 红色的苹果 (hóngsè de píngguǒ) - Red apple
4. Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases
Adverbs and adverbial phrases typically come before the verb or adjective they modify. For time-related adverbial phrases indicating duration or a point in time, they usually follow the verb, especially when emphasizing the duration of an action.
Example for Immediate Adverb: 我经常去学校。 (Wǒ jīngcháng qù xuéxiào.) - I often go to school.
Example for Duration: 我学中文学了两年了。 (Wǒ xué zhōngwén xuéle liǎng nián le.) - I have been studying Chinese for two years.5. The Use of Structural Particles
Mandarin uses structural particles like 了 (le) for completed actions, 着 (zhe) for ongoing actions, and 过 (guo) for experienced actions. These usually come after the verb or at the end of the sentence to indicate aspect.
6. Special Constructions: 把 (bǎ) and 被 (bèi) Sentences
The 把 (bǎ) sentence structure is used to emphasize the outcome of an action on an object, with the structure being S + 把 + O + V + other elements. 被 (bèi) sentences are used for passive voice, highlighting the receiver of an action.
To Adapt Your Instinct:
Think action-oriented: Focus on the action (verb) and its immediate elements like the object, manner (adverb), and time or place.
Place modifiers before the nouns: Remember that descriptions come before the thing they describe.
Time before action: Especially for duration and when the action occurred, keeping in mind the special placement for expressing the duration of an action.
Practice with structured sentences: Regularly practicing sentences with these structures can help internalize the patterns.
Embracing these principles with consistent practice and exposure to Mandarin through reading, speaking, and listening will naturally adjust your instinct to align with Mandarin word order and structure.
Applying these general rules to your example, "已经分手很多年了", and the instinctual alternative you mentioned, "已经很多年分手了", we can see how Mandarin's structure principles influence the correct word order:
Time and Verb Relationship: In Mandarin, the verb often comes before specific expressions of time that indicate duration since an action occurred. This is part of why "已经分手很多年了" is the preferred structure. The phrase "很多年了" (many years) serves as a duration that follows the verb "分手" (broke up), consistent with Mandarin's tendency to place time-related information in relation to the verb for clarity and emphasis on the action.
Modifier and Modified Principle: While "已经很多年" could be seen as a modifier for the action "分手了", indicating the duration directly before the verb makes the sentence less clear in Mandarin. This is because "已经" (already) directly modifies "分手" (broke up) to indicate that the action has been completed in the past. The duration "很多年了" naturally follows to specify how long ago the action was completed. This maintains clarity by keeping the focus on the action and its completion before detailing the duration.
Structural Flow in Mandarin: Mandarin typically emphasizes actions and their completion, especially with the use of "了" (le), which marks a completed action or change of state. "已经分手很多年了" places "了" at the end to signify not just the action's completion but also the passage of significant time since that completion. This structure maintains a logical flow, where the emphasis on the action's completion (分手了) is immediately followed by the duration (很多年), aligning with how Mandarin structures information for clarity and emphasis.
Naturalness and Clarity: The natural order of "已经分手很多年了" also reflects a more straightforward narration of events in Mandarin: stating the action first and then the duration. This order aligns with Mandarin's preference for leading with the core information (the breakup) and following up with additional details (the time since the breakup).
In essence, the rules of Mandarin word order guide the structure to focus on the action and its completion first ("已经分手"), followed by the duration ("很多年了"), which aligns with Mandarin's logical, action-oriented communication style. This structure is why "已经分手很多年了" feels more natural and clear in Mandarin compared to the instinctual alternative you mentioned.
I think this sort of exchange again highlights the potential in using LLM technology like ChatGPT 4.0 to explore language related questions interactively. It took me a bit of time to set it up to give me the right level of detail, background, translation. I look forward to seeing how the technology develops and what opportunities in language learning lie ahead.