Introduction
作业我做完了。(Zuòyè wǒ zuò wán le.) — literally "The homework, I've finished it." Chinese lets you lift the object to the front of the sentence when it is the thing you are talking about, and the rest of the sentence then says what happened to it.
Overview
Structure: Object + Subj. + Verb (+ 了 (le) or a complement)
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| O + S + V | 作业我做完了。(Zuòyè wǒ zuò wán le.) | I've finished the homework. |
| O + S + 没 + V | 那本书我没看过。(Nà běn shū wǒ méi kàn guo.) | That book I haven't read. |
| O + V (no subject) | 饭做好了。(Fàn zuò hǎo le.) | The food's ready. |
| As a question | 这个字你会写吗？(Zhège zì nǐ huì xiě ma?) | Can you write this character? |
| Neutral order | 我做完作业了。(Wǒ zuò wán zuòyè le.) | I've finished my homework. |
The fronted object has to be something you have both already got in mind:
- ✓ 那本书我没看过。(Nà běn shū wǒ méi kàn guo.) ❌ 一本书我没看过。(Yì běn shū wǒ méi kàn guo.)
- The subject can be dropped when it is obvious: 饭做好了。(Fàn zuò hǎo le.)
- The verb needs something after it — 了 (le), 过 (guo) or a complement: ✓ 作业我做完了 ❌ 作业我做。(Zuòyè wǒ zuò.)
- Order alone does the work. Nothing is added, and the meaning of the verb does not change.
Examples
作业我做完了。
Zuòyè wǒ zuò wán le.
The homework, I've finished it.
那本书我没看过。
Nà běn shū wǒ méi kàn guo.
That book I haven't read.
这个字你会写吗？
Zhège zì nǐ huì xiě ma?
This character — can you write it?
饭做好了，快来吃吧。
Fàn zuò hǎo le, kuài lái chī ba.
Dinner's ready, come and eat.
钱我已经给他了。
Qián wǒ yǐjīng gěi tā le.
The money, I've already given it to him.
你的手机我找到了。
Nǐ de shǒujī wǒ zhǎo dào le.
Your phone — I found it.
Usage Notes
- This is how you pick a topic up out of the conversation. Someone asks about the homework, and you answer starting from the homework: 作业我做完了。(Zuòyè wǒ zuò wán le.)
- The fronted noun is definite by nature, so it takes 这 (zhè)、那 (nà) or a possessive, or it is simply something already mentioned.
- Fronting is not the same as adding emphasis with 是……的 (shì… de). It moves the starting point of the sentence, nothing more.
- A time word usually follows the fronted object, next to the subject: 那本书我昨天看完了。(Nà běn shū wǒ zuótiān kàn wán le.)
- The plain order is never wrong. Use fronting when the object is the topic, and the plain order when the whole event is the news.