Sentence Structure in Penang Hokkien

In this chapter, we look at the structure of sentences in Penang Hokkien. (This chapter is being added to progressively, for now I've only completed the section on simple statements.)

There are three kinds of sentences:

1. Statements (Declarative Sentences)

1/1: Declarative sentence makes a statement
A simple sentence contains a subject and a predicate. The predicate comprises a verb and optionally, an object. In Penang Hokkien, the structure of a simple statement is the same as that of English. In normal sentences, pronouns wah4 and lu4 become wah1 and lu1 when they are used as subjects.

Wah1 kio33 lu4.
I call you.

Lu1 kio33 wah4.
You call me.

In Penang Hokkien, the meaning is conveyed by the position of the subject, verb and object. In a simple statement, the construction is subject - verb - object. The words are not affected by inflection (no change in forms such as "I" to "me", "he" to "him" in English) or conjugation (no verb inflections as in "call" to "calls" in English). The pronouns wah4 and lu4 do sandhi from basic form to modified form when they serve as subject in front of a verb.

The meaning changes if the position of the nouns or pronouns are switched. The pronoun ie1 (and for that matter, ee1 and i1) does not change its form whether used as subject or object.

Wah1 kio33 ie1.
I call him.

Ie1 kio33 wah4.
He calls me.

To recap: wah4 and lu4 modify to wah1 and lu1 when used as subject in normal sentences. Ie1, ee1 and i1 do not modify whether they appear as subject or object.

Emphatic sentences are sentences where you want to place an emphasis on the subject, object or occasionally verb. For emphatic purposes, the pronouns wah4 and lu4 remain wah4 and lu4 even when used as subject.

A33si33 wah4 kio3 lu4, lu4 kio3 ie1!
If I call you, you call him!

1/2: Statements can be enhanced by adding modifiers.

1/2/1: By adding adverbs:

Ie1 kio33 wah4 tua33-tua33 sniah1.
He calls me loudly.

Ie1 tua33-tua33 sniah1 kio33 wah4.
He loudly calls me.

1/2/2: By adding a time modifier:

Ie1 ba3lu1 kio33 wah4.
He has just called me.

Ie1 ta3ma1 kio33 wah4.
He called me just now.

1/2/3: By adding another verb:

Ie1 kio33 wah1 lai2.
He asks me to come.

Ie1 kio33 lu1 ciak1.
He asks you to eat.

In the two examples below, on normal sentences, the object wah4 and lu4 modify to the sandhi form wah1 and lu1 in the presence of the verb complements lai2 and ciak. However, if you wish, you can use the emphatic form wah4 and lu4, to make emphatic sentences.

Ie1 kio33 wah4 lai2.
He asks me to come.

Ie1 kio33 lu4 ciak1.
He asks you to eat.

1/2/4: By adding an object complement:

In the presence of object complements, the object itself is usually in the emphatic form, to show the stress on the object.

Ie1 kio33 wah4 Ah3 Hock3.
He calls me Ah Hock.

Ie1 kio33 wah4 mm33 tiok3 mia2.
He calls me the wrong name.

1/3: Location of Modifiers

Adverbs can be placed at the end of the sentence (Ie1 kio33 wah4 tua33-tua33 sniah1) or right after the subject (Ie1 tua33-tua33 sniah1 kio33 wah4).

Time modifiers are usually placed after the subject (Ie1 ba3lu1 kio33 wah4). They can also be placed in front of the subject (Ba3lu1 ie1 kio33 wah4). Some can be placed at the end of the sentence (Ie1 kio33 wah4 ta3ma1) but the majority sounds awkward there. The best location is right after the subject.

The additional verbs are placed after the first verb (Ie1 kio3 wah4 lai2).

The object complement follows the noun it complements (Ie1 kio33 wah4 Ah3 Hock3).

1/4: Sentences with object of preposition

Most verbs in Penang Hokkien follow the subject-verb-object construction in forming sentences. However, there are some that require an object of preposition, the most common of which are the following:

ka3 + someone + kong4: "to tell (someone)"
kong4 hor33 + someone + thnia1: also mean "to tell (someone)" hor3 + someone + cai1: "to let (someone) know"

Wah1 kong4.
I say.

Wah1 ka3 lu1 kong4.
I tell you.

Wah1 kong4 hor3 lu1 thnia1.
I tell you.

Wah1 hor3 lu1 cai1.
I let you know.

The above examples show the pronouns wah4 and lu4 in their sandhi forms, for normal sentences, wah1 and lu1. You can use the emphatic form wah4 and lu4 if you wish to place a stress on whichever pronoun.

Wah4 kong4, lu4 thnia1.
I say, you listen.

Wah1 ka3 lu4 kong4.
I tell you.

1/5: Sentences with auxiliary verbs

The auxiliary verb usually takes its place between the subject and the normal verb.

Wah1 uh3 kio33 lu4.
I did call you.

Wah1 boh3 kio33 ie1.
I didn't call him.

Wah1 boek1 kio33 ee1.
I want to call her.

Lu1 be3sai1 kio33 ie1.
You are not allowed to call him.

Ee1 be3 kio33 wah4.
She can't call me.

2. Questions (Interrogative Sentences)

Interrogative sentence asks a question.

There are three main ways to form questions in Penang Hokkien:

Unlike English, Penang Hokkien retains the subject-verb-object structure of statements when forming questions.

2/1: Forming questions by adding an interrogative particle
Check out the list of interrogative particles that are used to form questions in the chapter on Particles. These interrogative particles are placed at the end of the sentences. Note that they do not change the form of the object (the pronoun wah4 in their absence do not change to wah1 when they are included).

Ie1 kio33 wah4.
He called me.

Ie1 kio33 wah4 boh2?
Did he call me?

Ie1 kio33 wah4 nia2?
He called me, didn't he?

Ie1 kio33 wah4 meh4?
He call me, really?

2/2: Forming questions by using question words
The following are the questions words:

2/2/1: Statements can be changed into questions by replacing the subject or object with a question word, retaining the subject-verb-object structure.

Ie1 kio33 cui3cui3?
Whom does he call?

Cui3cui3 kio33 wah4?
Who called me?

2/2/2: Question words can also be added to change statements into questions.

Ie1 kio33 wah4 ha1mik1?
What does he call me? (literally, He calls me what?)

Ie1 ta1lok3 uh3 kio33 wah4?
Did he call me? (literally, He where got call me?)

Ie1 khee3 ta1lok1?
Where does he go? (literally, He goes where?)

Ie1 an1cnua1 kio33 wah4?
How does he call me?
When added in front of a verb, an1chnua4 becomes an1chnua1 due to tone sandhi.

The response to the above sentence takes on a similar structure:

Ie1 yong33 tien33wa3 kio33 lu4.
He used the phone to call you.

In most interrogative sentences, the placement of the question word is the same in Penang Hokkien as in English.

Ha1mik1 su3 ie1 kio33 wah4?
Why did he call me?

Ti33si2 ie1 kio33 wah4?
Ki3si2 ie1 kio33 wah4?
When did he call me?

The general classifier -leh2, here sandhis to -leh3, can also be replaced with the classifier for people, -khien4, sandhied as -khien1

Tok1 cit3-khien1 lang2 kio33 wah4?
Which person called me?

2/3: Forming questions by using question tags
The question tag si33 mm33 si33 can be inserted in the middle, at the end or at the beginning of a statement to form a question.

Ie1 kio33 wah4.
He called me.

Ie1 si3 mm33 si3 kio33 wah4?
He called me, didn't he?

Ie1 kio33 wah4, si3 mm33 si3?
He called me, right?

Si33 mm33 si33 ie1 kio33 wah4?
Isn't it he who called me?

3. Commands (Imperative Sentences)

Imperative sentence issues a command, a directive or a request. As in English, the subject is understood rather than expressed.

Kio33 ie1!
Call him!

As with Declarative Sentences, the Imperative Sentences also accept various modifiers.

To3long3 kio33 ie1.
Please call him.

Khuai1-khuai3 kio33 ie1!
Quickly call him!

Kio3 ie1 kin3jit1.
Call him today.

To negate an imperative sentence, add negators such as mm33thang3 in front of the verb.

Mm3thang3 kio33 ie1.
Don't call him.

To3long3 mm33thang3 kio33 ie1!
Please don't call him!

To3long3 mm33thang3 kio33 ie1 lai2!
Please don't call him to come!

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