Chinese Sentence Components — 主语 / 谓语 / 宾语 / 定语 / 状语 / 补语

句子成分 (jùzi chéngfèn) are the building blocks of a sentence. Mandarin has six main components: 主语 (zhǔyǔ, subject), 谓语 (wèiyǔ, predicate), 宾语 (bīnyǔ, object), 定语 (dìngyǔ, attribute), 状语 (zhuàngyǔ, adverbial), and 补语 (bǔyǔ, complement).

The first three — subject, predicate, and object — form the sentence core, while the last three — attribute, adverbial, and complement — add extra detail. Understanding these six roles makes word order, the 的/地/得 particles, and every sentence type much easier to read.

A sentence does not need all six. 我学习 (I study) has only a subject and a predicate; 漂亮的女孩慢慢地读一本有趣的书 has all six. The trick is knowing which word plays which role.

The subject 主语 is the person or thing doing the action or being described. It usually comes first: 我 in 我学习中文 ("I study Chinese"), 他 in 他很高 ("he is tall"), 这本书 in 这本书很有意思 ("this book is interesting").

Subjects are usually nouns or pronouns, but a verb phrase or clause can also be the subject: 学中文很有意思 ("learning Chinese is interesting"), 跑步对身体好 ("running is good for your health").

The predicate 谓语 describes what the subject does or what state it is in. It follows the subject and is usually a verb — 学习 in 我学习中文, 吃 in 他吃饭 — but in Chinese an adjective can also be the predicate directly, with no 是 needed: 他很高 ("he is tall"), 今天很冷 ("it is cold today").

This is a key difference from English. In English we say "he is tall", but in Chinese the adjective 高 stands as the predicate on its own. Adding 是 here would be a mistake: 他是高 is wrong; say 他很高.

The object 宾语 receives the action of the verb and follows it: 中文 in 我学习中文 ("I study Chinese"), 书 in 我看书 ("I read a book"), 一个苹果 in 她吃了一个苹果 ("she ate an apple").

Only transitive verbs take an object. Some verbs can take two objects (a person and a thing), as in 我给他一本书 ("I give him a book"). Adjectives never take an object — 他很高 has no object, only a predicate adjective.

The attribute 定语 modifies a noun and always comes before it, usually linked with 的 (de): 我的书 ("my book"), 漂亮的女孩 ("pretty girl"), 我买的书 ("the book I bought"), 红色的花 ("red flower").

The attribute sits inside the subject or object phrase — 漂亮的 in 漂亮的女孩 is an attribute, and so is 有趣的 in 一本有趣的书 ("an interesting book"). Remember the particle choice: 的 marks a noun modifier (attribute), which is why it is called 定语 ("the fixed/attached element of the noun").

The adverbial 状语 modifies a verb or adjective, describing time, place, manner, degree, or frequency. It comes before the verb, often marked with 地 (de): 慢慢地走 ("walk slowly"), 认真地学习 ("study seriously"), 在北京工作 ("work in Beijing"), 昨天来 ("came yesterday").

Time and place adverbials often move to the very front of the sentence: 昨天我去了北京 ("yesterday I went to Beijing"). The particle 地 marks a manner adverbial, which is why it is called 状语 ("the described element of the verb").

The complement 补语 follows a verb or adjective to describe its result, degree, direction, or duration, often linked with 得 (de): 跑得很快 ("run very fast"), 做完了 ("finished doing"), 走进去 ("walk in"), 学了三年 ("studied for three years").

The complement completes the meaning of the verb or adjective. 我做完作业 ("I finished the homework") has 完 as a result complement, while 我说得很流利 ("I speak fluently") has 很流利 as a degree complement. 得 marks a complement, which is why it is called 补语 ("the supplementing element").

Chinese has several complement families — result (完/到/好), degree (得+很/极了), potential (听得懂/听不懂), directional (进来/出去), and duration-frequency (三年/三次) — each covered in its own dedicated guide.

The six components follow a predictable order: (定语+)主语 + (状语+)谓语 + (定语+)宾语 + 补语. For example, 漂亮的女孩慢慢地读一本有趣的书 — "the pretty girl slowly reads an interesting book" — has 定语 漂亮的, 主语 女孩, 状语 慢慢地, 谓语 读, 定语 有趣的, and 宾语 书.

The three particles map cleanly onto three components: 的 = 定语 (noun modifier), 地 = 状语 (verb/adjective modifier), 得 = 补语 (post-verb detail). 他高兴地跳了起来 ("he happily jumped up") uses 地 for manner, while 他高兴得跳了起来 ("he was so happy he jumped up") uses 得 for degree.

Do not add 是 before an adjective predicate. 他是高 is wrong; say 他很高 ("he is tall"). The adjective itself is the predicate.

Do not confuse the three particles. 定语 uses 的 (modifies a noun), 状语 uses 地 (modifies a verb or adjective), and 补语 uses 得 (follows a verb or adjective). 跑的快 is wrong; say 跑得快.

Keep the adverbial before the verb. 我学习在北京 is wrong; say 我在北京学习 ("I study in Beijing"). Chinese adverbials do not trail the verb the way English prepositional phrases do.

Do not treat a complement as an object. 做作业 ("do homework") has an object 作业, while 做完 ("finish doing") has a result complement 完. Only the object receives the action directly.