Learn comment structure: find out how to analyze sentence parts like subjects, verbs, objects, and linking words. Get tips for improving coherence and clarity in your writing and speaking, with examples and practice.
The topic-comment structure in Mandarin highlights what you're talking about (the topic) and then says something about it (the comment); this pattern shapes how information is organized and perceived.
Topic
话题设定了背景,通过指出你要讨论的事物或人物,通常出现在句子的开头,以提示什么内容是核心或相关。
The topic sets the stage by naming the thing or person you're discussing, and it usually comes at the sentence's start to signal what's relevant.
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Comment
评论提供与话题相关的信息、判断或行动,是句子的主要内容,紧随话题之后。
The comment provides information, judgment, or action related to the topic, forming the sentence's main message after the topic.
While the subject shows who does an action, the topic is what the sentence is about and can be broader, more general, or even absent from the sentence.
Sometimes a sentence repeats a noun both as topic and subject; this "double-tell" reinforces focus and clarity by mentioning the thing twice in different roles.
Using topic-comment lets you highlight known vs. new information, guide the listener's attention, and maintain smooth, natural discourse in conversations and writing.
To internalize topic-comment, try turning sentences so that key information comes first as topic, then add your comment; notice how this changes emphasis and flow in real examples.
Lǐ Xiǎomíngchī le zǎofàn.
As for Lǐ Xiǎomíng, (he) ate breakfast.
(eat) Turn 'Lǐ Xiǎomíng chī le zǎofàn' into topic-comment: Lǐ Xiǎomíng ___ chī le zǎofàn.
The topic-comment structure organizes sentences around what you choose to discuss first (the topic) and what you say about it (the comment), shaping emphasis and coherence in Mandarin.
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