ChinesePod user Walter asked about basic word order in Mandarin Chinese, so we devised a little game that you can play at home or in class with your friends or teacher.
The concept is simple but incredibly fun and useful. Get 4 cups or containers and write down some words that fit into the following categories;
person
time
place
doing what...
Now order the cups into this order and take turns reading what you have written. This will get you used to using the correct word order in Chinese of 谁 》 什么时候 》在哪里 》 做什么。
Gwilym,Fiona Tian,Constance Fang