---
title: "Chinese sentence structure: word order, questions and how Chinese shows past and future without tenses"
description: "How a Chinese sentence is built: subject, time, place, verb, object; questions with no change of order; describing words before the noun; and how Chinese shows past, present and future with no tenses, through 了, 过, 在, 着 and 会, each with examples."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-sentence-structure"
published: "2026-10-27"
updated: "2026-10-27"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

# Chinese sentence structure: word order and tense

The order is close to English, but when and where come before the verb, and verbs never change.

By Mandarin The WildUpdated 27 October 20263 min read

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The short answer

A Chinese sentence runs subject, verb, object, as in English, but when and where come before the verb: 我明天在家看书 is “I tomorrow at home read books”. Chinese has no tenses: a verb never changes form, and time words, together with a few small words like 了 (done), 过 (ever done), 在 (doing now) and 会 (will), say when something happens1.

## The basic order

Words that say when, where, how or with whom go between the subject and the verb1:

| In this order | Chinese | English |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Who | 我 | I |
| 2. When | 明天 | tomorrow |
| 3. Where | 在家 | at home |
| 4. With whom | 跟朋友 | with friends |
| 5. Verb | 看 | watch |
| 6. What | 电影 | a film |

我明天在家看书。

kànshū: “I’ll read at home tomorrow.”

看kàn书shū

Verb

to read; to study

Also written 看書

English puts most of these after the verb (“I’ll watch a film at home tomorrow”); Chinese puts them in front, in that order. Time can also open the sentence: 明天我在家看书 is just as good.

## Questions keep the order

A question doesn’t move any words. Add 吗 to the end of a statement, or put a question word where the answer will go:

| Statement | Question |
| --- | --- |
| 你是老师。 (You are a teacher.) | 你是老师吗？ (Are you a teacher?) |
| 你去北京。 (You go to Beijing.) | 你去哪儿？ (Where are you going?) |
| 他买了书。 (He bought a book.) | 他买了什么？ (What did he buy?) |

The [question words](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-pronouns) are 什么 (what), 谁 (who), 哪儿 (where), 什么时候 (when), 为什么 (why) and 怎么 (how). Asking “verb not verb” works too: 你去不去？ ([A-not-A questions](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/a-not-a)).

## Describing words go first

Everything that describes a noun comes before it, joined by 的, even a whole clause that English puts after:

- 漂亮的衣服: pretty clothes
- 我买的书: the book (that) I bought
- 昨天来的人: the person who came yesterday

## Past, present and future without tenses

Chinese verbs never change form; 去 is “go”, “went” and “will go”1. Time words, 昨天 (yesterday), 现在 (now), 明天 (tomorrow), often say enough. Small words after or before the verb add the rest:

| Word | What it adds | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 了 (le) | the action is done | 我吃了饭。 I ate. |
| 过 (guo) | you have ever done it | 我去过北京。 I have been to Beijing. |
| 在 / 正在 (zài) | it is going on now | 他在看电视。 He’s watching TV. ([正在](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zhengzai)) |
| 着 (zhe) | a state that lasts | 门开着。 The door is open. |
| 会 (huì) | it will happen | 明天会下雨。 It will rain tomorrow. |
| 要 / 快要…了 | it is about to happen | 火车快要开了。 The train is about to leave. ([快要…了](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/kuai-le)) |

了 is not a past tense: it says an action is complete, and it can be used about the future too, as in 明天吃了饭再走 (tomorrow, eat first and then go)1. To say how long, the time goes after the verb: 我学了两年中文 ([verb + 了 + duration](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration)).

## Topic first

Chinese often opens with the topic, what the sentence is about, then says something about it1: 这本书我看过 is “this book, I have read”. It is how people talk, and you will hear it in every show.

## Two sentences to know next

- **把** moves the object before the verb, for what you do to something: 我把书放在桌子上 (I put the book on the table). [The 把 sentence](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/ba).
- **被** makes the passive: 我的手机被偷了 (my phone was stolen). [The 被 sentence](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/bei).

Our [Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar) page has 112 patterns, each with real sentences from stories, and the [Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library) lets you meet them in graded reading from HSK 1.

## Questions

### What is the word order of a Chinese sentence?

Subject, then when, then where, then the verb and its object: 我明天在家看书 (I’ll read at home tomorrow). Like English it is subject–verb–object, but time and place come before the verb.

### Does Chinese have tenses?

No. Verbs never change form. Time words (昨天, 明天) and small words (了 for a completed action, 过 for experience, 在 for an action in progress, 会 for the future) say when something happens.

### How do you make a question in Chinese?

Without changing the word order: add 吗 to the end of a statement (你是老师吗？), or put a question word where the answer goes (你去哪儿？).

## Sources

Checked on 27 October 2026. Prices and features change; tell us if one has.

1. [Wikipedia: Chinese grammar (subject–verb–object, adverbials before the verb, no tense, the aspect markers 了 过 在 着, topic-prominence)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar)

## Keep exploring

- [Guide笔画How Chinese writing works](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/how-chinese-writing-works)
- [Guide日语Chinese vs Japanese](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-vs-japanese)
- [Guide流利How to learn Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/how-to-learn-chinese)

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