Cantonese word order: time and place before the verb

The default Cantonese sentence is who, then the action, then the thing. Time and place go in front of the verb, not at the end the way English often puts them. That one habit is most of word order.

The short versionStart from subject, verb, object: 我煮飯, I cook rice. When you add when or where, park those words before the verb. Time comes first, then place, then the action: 我今晚喺屋企睇戲. Trailing the verb with tomorrow or in the kitchen is the English shape to drop.

Who, action, thing

Cantonese is an SVO language, same skeleton as English. 我煮飯 is already a complete sentence. You do not add a tense ending, and you do not move the verb around to make a question. Extra information slots in around that skeleton rather than rewriting it.

ngo5 zyu2 faan6
我煮飯
I cook rice
subject, verb, object
keoi5 ziu1 zou2 heoi3 gung1 si1
佢朝早去公司
They go to the office in the morning
time sits before the verb

Time before the verb

English is happy to say I am going home tomorrow, with the time at the end. Cantonese puts 聽日 before the verb: 我聽日返屋企. A time word after the object sounds like an afterthought, not like the default sentence. Right dislocation, where a piece really does land at the end, is a later, spoken pattern with its own page.

ngo5 ting1 jat6 faan1 uk1 kei2
我聽日返屋企
I am going home tomorrow
聽日 before 返
ngo5 gam1 maan5 tai2 hei3
我今晚睇戲
I am watching a film tonight
今晚 before 睇

Place before the verb

Place works the same way, usually with 喺 hai2 in front of the location. 我喺廚房煮飯 is I cook in the kitchen. English I cook rice in the kitchen puts the place last. Cantonese does not. See the location guide for 喺 itself.

ngo5 hai2 cyu4 fong2 zyu2 faan6
我喺廚房煮飯
I cook in the kitchen
place before the verb
Time, then place, then the action

When a sentence has both, time comes first and place second. 我今晚喺屋企睇戲 is I watch a film at home tonight. Flip the two, or trail them after the verb, and it stops sounding like Cantonese. The 30 second overview is the short version of this same rule.

Common mistakes

Putting tomorrow at the end

我返屋企聽日 copies English I go home tomorrow. The default is 我聽日返屋企. If 聽日 really comes last, it is an afterthought, not the basic pattern.

Putting the place after the verb

我煮飯喺廚房 is the English order. 我喺廚房煮飯 is the Cantonese one.

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In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.NegationHow to say no, not, didn't, and don't in Cantonese. The four main negation words and when to use each one.Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.TonesCantonese has six tones, and the tones can change in certain grammatical contexts. Learn the six tones and the rules for tone change.ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.Time and datesClock time, days of the week, months, and years. The patterns you need to make plans and talk about when things happen.Modal verbsHow to say can, will, may, should, must, and want. The core modal verbs of Cantonese and the differences that trip up beginners.ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.Numbers and moneyCounting, talking about money, and asking how much things cost. Includes the two words for two and the everyday words for dollars and cents.RequestsHow to ask for things politely with 唔該 and 麻煩, give a gentle command, and soften a request with V 吓.係...嘅 focusA very common spoken pattern that puts the spotlight on one part of a sentence, used for emphasis, identity, and strong statements.ConditionalsHow to say if this, then that, and as soon as. The patterns you need for plans, hypotheticals, and cause and effect.Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.QuantifiersThe all purpose word 啲 for some and plural, plus 全部, 每, and 啲啲. How Cantonese marks amount without changing the noun.Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.Passive (畀)How to say something was done to someone or something, using 畀. Where Mandarin reaches for 被, spoken Cantonese uses 畀.Relative clausesHow to build phrases like the thing I ate or the person who called, by putting a whole clause in front of a noun with 嘅.Potential complementsHow to say you can or cannot manage a result, by slotting 得 or 唔 into the middle of a verb phrase. A neat Cantonese trick.Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.Giving (畀)How to say give someone something, and the word order Cantonese uses for giving, which often surprises learners.將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.Emphasis (先至)How to say only then and only if with 至 and 先至, a precise way to link a condition to its result that beginners often miss.ConjunctionsThe conjunctions and linking words that join ideas across a sentence, for reason, contrast, and sequence, in natural spoken Cantonese.DurationHow to ask and answer how long something takes and how often it happens, with 幾耐, 耐, and the common frequency words.Particle clustersReal Cantonese rarely uses one sentence particle at a time. Learn how particles stack and what the common combinations mean.Existential 有How 有 says there is, someone has, and something exists. One of the first verbs you need and a building block for many patterns.Code mixingHow English words slot into everyday Hong Kong speech, from like and OK to book a table, and how they pick up Cantonese tones.ReduplicationRepeating a word to add colour or soften it, like a reddish red or have a quick look. An expressive pattern that makes you sound natural.Reported speechHow to report what someone said using 話 and 講, for retelling conversations and passing on messages.Topic commentCantonese likes to name the thing you are talking about first, even when it is the object. How to front a topic and then comment on it.住 and 開Cantonese has more aspect than 咗 and 緊. Learn 住 for a state that keeps going, like wearing or holding, and 開 for something you do as a habit.Right dislocationIn casual Cantonese the subject or a modifier often comes after the sentence, even after the particle. How afterthought word order works.IdentityHow to say this is that, and this is not that. 係 is the equals sign of a Cantonese sentence, and 唔係 is how you flip it.AdjectivesAn adjective is already the verb, so you say 今日好熱, not 今日係熱. How Cantonese describes things without a copula.DegreeHow strong a quality is. 好 is the everyday very, 太 is too, 幾 is quite, and 咁 is so.How oftenUsually, sometimes, all the time, rarely, never. All five sit in one slot, between the subject and the verb.Also and only都 covers also and all from in front of the verb. 淨係 narrows to only, 又 and 再 split the two kinds of again, and 仲 says still.All, too, one moreThree endings that clip onto the back of the verb. 晒 says all of it, 埋 says the rest of it, and 添 asks for one more.How you do itFast, slowly, well. Cantonese reuses the adjective and hooks it onto the verb with 得, so 佢行得好快 is they walk very fast.FirstEnglish and Mandarin put first in front of the verb. Cantonese hangs 先 on the end, so 我食飯先 is let me eat first.
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