Any extended discussion of the structure of Chinese sentences would require a previous survey of Chinese modes of thought. It would be necessary to consider how they conceive their ideas, in order to understand why they express them as they do. For example, were a foreigner giving a description of a building, he would imagine himself on the outside looking inward. But a Chinaman would be more than likely to imagine himself in the inside looking outward. The result would lead to seeming contradiction. What one calls “the right” the other would speak of as “the left”. Such a survey would be beyond the scope of these panes, lessons, but a few illustrations may be given to show how sentences grow up, and crystallize into forms of speech around some axial word.
| chhâ. | ||
| Wood. | ||
| âng | chhâ. | |
| Red | wood. | |
| tōiⁿ | chhâ. | |
| Hard | wood. | |
| phàⁿ | chhâ. | |
| Brash | wood. | |
| chhâ | tōiⁿ. | |
| The | wood | is hard. |
| chhâⁿ | phàⁿ. | |
| The | wood | is brittle. |
| bói | chhâ. | |
| Buy | wood. | |
| chhâ | bói liáu. | |
| Wood | is bought. | |
| lòi | chhâ. | |
| Split | wood. | |
| chhâ | lòi hó. | |
| Wood | is split. | |
| àiⁿ-khṳ̀ lòi | chhâ. | |
| Will go split | wood. | |
| chhâ | lòi-hó--liáu, uá chiũ-lâi. | |
| The | wood | when split, I then will come. |
