II. Some distinctive features of Chinese

The basic word order of Chinese is Subject -Verb-Object (SVO),in which the Verb follows the Subject of the sentence and precedes the Object if the Verb if a transitive one. For example,

7) Subject Verb Object

t` x&huan xi2og0u

She likes little dogs.

However, because Chinese is topic-prominent and some other reasons, it is not strictly a SVO language. While the elements of "topic" in previous examples 2) and 3) are treated as "topics" by some grammarians, they are considered as "the advancement of Objects" by others. Moreover, the special "b2 structure" also puts the Object before the Verb as showed in the following:>

8) t` b2 w0de sh[ n1 z0u le

he BA my book take away PFV

He took away my book.

Hence, some linguists believe that Chinese is evolving from a SVO to a SOV word order.

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