<p>什么 is a modifier for 名字 in 你叫什么名字</p>
<p>怎么 is a modiifer for 知道 in 你怎么知道我的名字</p>
<p>You cannot move 怎么 in the sentence. And you can see that they are actually of different structure.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:56:30.993Z
2020-08-06T09:56:30.993Z
fefe
<p>This is the relevant grammar structure:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Subj. + 怎么 + Verb + Obj.<br />
<sub><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/How_to_do_something_with_%22zenme%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How to do something with &quot;zenme&quot;</a> (see also <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words#Expressing_.22How.22_with_.E6.80.8E.E4.B9.88_.28z.C4.9Bnme.29" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Expressing &quot;How&quot; with 怎么 (zěnme)</a>)</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>So</p>
<blockquote>
<p>你知道怎么我的名字</p>
</blockquote>
<p>is not correct because <strong>we need to have a verb after 怎么</strong>, but instead we have the noun phrase 我的名字.  However, these are correct:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>你知道我的名字。  [with no 怎么]<br />
You know my name.</p>
<p>你知道怎么<strong>叫</strong>我的名字。  [adding 叫 after 怎么]<br />
You know how to say my name.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I don't believe 怎么 can be moved to any other place in 你怎么知道我的名字 to give a grammatical sentence, as there is only one verb, i.e., 知道.</p>
<p>(I should note the existence of <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E6%A0%B7" rel="nofollow noreferrer">怎么样</a>, which is perhaps irregular in this regard.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:04:01.803Z
Following your structure Subj. + 怎么 + Verb + Obj and we need to have a verb after 怎么. Do we not need to have a verb after 什么? Should it not be 你什么叫名字?
O Connor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:05:22.440Z
It's a different grammar structure for 什么, namely [Subj. + Verb + 什么 + (Noun) ?](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words#Expressing_.22What.22_with_.E4.BB.80.E4.B9.88_.28sh.C3.A9nme.29)
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:27:21.297Z
Then `你 有 什么 地方 的 钥匙` should be a correct sentence/question.
O Connor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:32:00.783Z
Sounds correct to me, although we’re getting away from the original question.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:54:08.877Z
2020-08-06T09:54:08.877Z
Becky 李蓓
<blockquote>
<p><em>Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>No, 怎么 can be placed before or after 你. However, changing the placement of 怎么 would change the meaning of the sentence. It would no longer mean &quot;How do you know my name&quot;</p>
<p>The problem is 怎么 can mean 'how' or ''how come' (used to ask why something has happened, especially when you are surprised by it)</p>
<p>[你<strong>怎么</strong>][知道我的名字] = [<strong>How do</strong> you] [Know my name]</p>
<p>[<strong>怎么</strong>][你知道我的名字] = [<strong>How come</strong>] [you know my name]</p>
<p><strong>If you want to ask &quot;how do you know my name?&quot;, you must put 怎么 after the subject</strong>, otherwise [怎么你...] would mean &quot;How come you...&quot;</p>
<p>I always avoid using &quot;怎么&quot; for &quot;How come&quot; and op for the more specific 为什么</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Is 你知道怎么我的名字 also correct?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>&quot;你知道怎么我的名字&quot; needs a verb between 怎么(how) and 我的名字 (noun).</p>
<p>E.g. &quot;你知道怎么(读)我的名字?&quot;; &quot;你知道怎么(写)我的名字?&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:57:25.200Z
怎么 at the beginning is more like an exclamation than an adverb
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:58:14.343Z
How about I replace 怎么 with 为什么?  "为什么你知道我的名字?" . '怎么' carries the meaning of 'why' as '为什么' does
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:18:15.190Z
Using an exclamation in the sentence would look like this. "什么? 你知道我的名字?"  -- "What? Do you know my name?"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:20:19.817Z
In case I want to use `为什么` for `why`, must it always be before `你` or can it also be right after `你`?
O Connor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:23:15.487Z
Both "[你][为什么]知道我的名字?" and "[为什么][你]知道我的名字?" mean " why do you know my name?"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:32:03.397Z
"why do you know my name?" implies "you shouldn't have known".  A more common sentence would be 为什么你要知道我的名字? (Why do you need to know my name)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:32:13.113Z
So `为什么` can be both before and after `你`.
O Connor
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2020-08-06T10:33:27.863Z
Yes, 为什么 can be either before or after 你. and the meaning would not be changed, just the emphasis be different. 为什么你知道我的名字 emphasize the question
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T22:44:59.223Z
@TangHo 怎么 doesn't carry the meaning 'why' in standard Mandarin.  I don't know if it's dialectal, but I am not aware of any dialects that takes the use of 怎么 as 'why'.
dan
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2020-08-06T23:01:19.343Z
@dan Google Translate said so,  in 笑傲江湖，綠竹翁 said：「姑姑你怎麽出來了？」It is obvious that he was not asking her  how she came out, but why she came out
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T23:11:46.280Z
@TangHo Oh, yes, in 你怎么出来了, 怎么 expresses a bit surprise.  It's more like "how come".  You can take it as 'why'.  However, your example 怎么你知道我的名字 is a wrong way to use it.  It should be 你怎么知道我的名字 just like 你怎么出来了.  The order should not be changed.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T23:16:47.893Z
@dan But 你怎么知道我的名字 could also mean "how do you know my name?' That's confusing.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T23:22:38.383Z
@dan I agree with you, 怎么 carries the meaning of 'how' and 'how come ( used to ask why something has happened, especially when you are surprised by it)' make more sense than just 'why' (for what reason)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T23:34:38.527Z
@TangHo Here is what I take.  你怎么知道？!(how come you know it?!) Vs 你怎么知道的? (How do you know it?)
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:55:35.283Z
2020-08-06T23:31:00.463Z
2020-08-06T23:31:00.463Z
Tang Ho
<p>怎么 and 什么 in Chinese are <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/39800"><strong>interrogative substitutes</strong></a>.</p>
<p><strong>They work as placeholders</strong>. Their position in the sentence depends entirely on what other phrase they are replacing, in order to compose a interrogative sentence.</p>
<p>In 你怎么知道我的名字 the substitute 怎么 replaces a complement of the verb 知道, which would occur before 知道. You can see this if we rewrite the sentence to be affirmative:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我<strong>就是</strong>知道你的名字 I <strong>just</strong> know your name (affirmative with same verb, 就是 can answer the &quot;how&quot; question, and occurs before the verb)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Replying to 怎么知道 while maintaining a simple complement + 知道 to illustrate how the substitute works is kinda hard. A less contrived example might be:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我<strong>从我朋友那里</strong>知道</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 你叫什么名字, the substitute 什么 acts a modifier of 名字. It would work also without 名字, so for the purpose of this argument, let's assume you ask 你叫什么. Then you rewrite the sentence to be affirmative as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我叫<strong>张卫国</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Again, the position of the phrase that answers the question is the same as the interrogative substitute.</p>
<p>Yes, there are some exceptions, due to how you can construct question and answers with complex complements, e.g. subordinate clauses, etc. but the rule of thumb is, the interrogative substitute goes in the sentence where its answer would go.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:45:11.603Z
You said ` the position of the phrase that answers the question is the same as the interrogative substitute` and you used `就是` to replace the substitute `怎么` but `就是` is not a `way` to the `how`. Can you give an example answer to the `how` question which replaces ` the substitute `怎么`  position?
O Connor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:51:50.460Z
@OConnor my example is a bit contrived because the question "how do you know" is hard to answer while maintaining the verb 知道 with a simple complement... more complex examples might be confusing. Anyway, an example might be: 我朋友告诉我才知道
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:54:38.983Z
@OConnor even better: 我从我朋友那里知道
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:20:27.487Z
2020-08-06T10:56:19.930Z
2020-08-06T10:56:19.930Z
blackgreen
<p>你知道怎么我的名字 is incorrect.</p>
<p>怎麼你(會)知道我的名字 is correct. Add 會 would be more fluent.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:04:12.167Z
You are placing 怎么 after the verb. which is not the case the OP is stating
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:18:18.837Z
@TangHo 小弟的回應哪邊錯了？請賜教。
HungYu Chang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T10:47:59.103Z
The main question is can 怎么你 be changed to 你怎么? You should address that first before you address the obviously ungrammatical 你知道怎么我的名字 example
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-06T09:56:55.570Z
2020-08-06T09:56:55.570Z
HungYu Chang
<p>When you ask someone his/her name, you can say: <code>你叫什么名字</code></p>
<p>什么 is not right after 你</p>
<p>but when you ask someone how he/she knows your name, you say: <code>你怎么知道我的名字</code></p>
<p>Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence? Is <code>你知道怎么我的名字</code> also correct? So the structure of this sentence the same as <code>你叫什么名字</code></p>

<sentence-structure><word-order>
Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence: 你怎么知道我的名字
# Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence: 你怎么知道我的名字

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-06)

When you ask someone his/her name, you can say: `你叫什么名字`

什么 is not right after 你

but when you ask someone how he/she knows your name, you say: `你怎么知道我的名字`

Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence? Is `你知道怎么我的名字` also correct? So the structure of this sentence the same as `你叫什么名字`

**Tags:** sentence-structure, word-order


---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-06. Score: 4

什么 is a modifier for 名字 in 你叫什么名字

怎么 is a modiifer for 知道 in 你怎么知道我的名字

You cannot move 怎么 in the sentence. And you can see that they are actually of different structure.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-06. Score: 3

This is the relevant grammar structure:

> Subj. + 怎么 + Verb + Obj.  
> [How to do something with "zenme"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/How_to_do_something_with_%22zenme%22) (see also [Expressing "How" with 怎么 (zěnme)](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words#Expressing_.22How.22_with_.E6.80.8E.E4.B9.88_.28z.C4.9Bnme.29))

So

> 你知道怎么我的名字

is not correct because **we need to have a verb after 怎么**, but instead we have the noun phrase 我的名字. However, these are correct:

> 你知道我的名字。 [with no 怎么]  
> You know my name.
>
> 你知道怎么**叫**我的名字。 [adding 叫 after 怎么]  
> You know how to say my name.

I don't believe 怎么 can be moved to any other place in 你怎么知道我的名字 to give a grammatical sentence, as there is only one verb, i.e., 知道.

(I should note the existence of [怎么样](http://youdao.com/w/%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E6%A0%B7), which is perhaps irregular in this regard.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Following your structure Subj. + 怎么 + Verb + Obj and we need to have a verb after 怎么. Do we not need to have a verb after 什么? Should it not be 你什么叫名字?  
> **username_2**: It's a different grammar structure for 什么, namely [Subj. + Verb + 什么 + (Noun) ?](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words#Expressing_.22What.22_with_.E4.BB.80.E4.B9.88_.28sh.C3.A9nme.29)  
> **username_0**: Then `你 有 什么 地方 的 钥匙` should be a correct sentence/question.  
> **username_2**: Sounds correct to me, although we’re getting away from the original question.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-06. Score: 3

> *Must 怎么 be right after 你 in this sentence?*

No, 怎么 can be placed before or after 你. However, changing the placement of 怎么 would change the meaning of the sentence. It would no longer mean "How do you know my name"

The problem is 怎么 can mean 'how' or ''how come' (used to ask why something has happened, especially when you are surprised by it)

[你**怎么**][知道我的名字] = [**How do** you] [Know my name]

[**怎么**][你知道我的名字] = [**How come**] [you know my name]

**If you want to ask "how do you know my name?", you must put 怎么 after the subject**, otherwise [怎么你...] would mean "How come you..."

I always avoid using "怎么" for "How come" and op for the more specific 为什么

> *Is 你知道怎么我的名字 also correct?*

"你知道怎么我的名字" needs a verb between 怎么(how) and 我的名字 (noun).

E.g. "你知道怎么(读)我的名字?"; "你知道怎么(写)我的名字?"

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 怎么 at the beginning is more like an exclamation than an adverb  
> **username_3**: How about I replace 怎么 with 为什么?  "为什么你知道我的名字?" . '怎么' carries the meaning of 'why' as '为什么' does  
> **username_3**: Using an exclamation in the sentence would look like this. "什么? 你知道我的名字?"  -- "What? Do you know my name?"  
> **username_0**: In case I want to use `为什么` for `why`, must it always be before `你` or can it also be right after `你`?  
> **username_3**: Both "[你][为什么]知道我的名字?" and "[为什么][你]知道我的名字?" mean " why do you know my name?"  
> **username_3**: "why do you know my name?" implies "you shouldn't have known".  A more common sentence would be 为什么你要知道我的名字? (Why do you need to know my name)  
> **username_0**: So `为什么` can be both before and after `你`.  
> **username_3**: Yes, 为什么 can be either before or after 你. and the meaning would not be changed, just the emphasis be different. 为什么你知道我的名字 emphasize the question  
> **username_4**: @TangHo 怎么 doesn't carry the meaning 'why' in standard Mandarin.  I don't know if it's dialectal, but I am not aware of any dialects that takes the use of 怎么 as 'why'.  
> **username_3**: @username_4 Google Translate said so,  in 笑傲江湖，綠竹翁 said：「姑姑你怎麽出來了？」It is obvious that he was not asking her  how she came out, but why she came out  
> **username_4**: @TangHo Oh, yes, in 你怎么出来了, 怎么 expresses a bit surprise.  It's more like "how come".  You can take it as 'why'.  However, your example 怎么你知道我的名字 is a wrong way to use it.  It should be 你怎么知道我的名字 just like 你怎么出来了.  The order should not be changed.  
> **username_3**: @username_4 But 你怎么知道我的名字 could also mean "how do you know my name?' That's confusing.  
> **username_3**: @username_4 I agree with you, 怎么 carries the meaning of 'how' and 'how come ( used to ask why something has happened, especially when you are surprised by it)' make more sense than just 'why' (for what reason)  
> **username_4**: @TangHo Here is what I take.  你怎么知道？!(how come you know it?!) Vs 你怎么知道的? (How do you know it?)  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-08-06. Score: 2

怎么 and 什么 in Chinese are [**interrogative substitutes**](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/39800).

**They work as placeholders**. Their position in the sentence depends entirely on what other phrase they are replacing, in order to compose a interrogative sentence.

In 你怎么知道我的名字 the substitute 怎么 replaces a complement of the verb 知道, which would occur before 知道. You can see this if we rewrite the sentence to be affirmative:

> 我**就是**知道你的名字 I **just** know your name (affirmative with same verb, 就是 can answer the "how" question, and occurs before the verb)

Replying to 怎么知道 while maintaining a simple complement + 知道 to illustrate how the substitute works is kinda hard. A less contrived example might be:

> 我**从我朋友那里**知道

In 你叫什么名字, the substitute 什么 acts a modifier of 名字. It would work also without 名字, so for the purpose of this argument, let's assume you ask 你叫什么. Then you rewrite the sentence to be affirmative as:

> 我叫**张卫国**

Again, the position of the phrase that answers the question is the same as the interrogative substitute.

Yes, there are some exceptions, due to how you can construct question and answers with complex complements, e.g. subordinate clauses, etc. but the rule of thumb is, the interrogative substitute goes in the sentence where its answer would go.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You said ` the position of the phrase that answers the question is the same as the interrogative substitute` and you used `就是` to replace the substitute `怎么` but `就是` is not a `way` to the `how`. Can you give an example answer to the `how` question which replaces ` the substitute `怎么`  position?  
> **username_5**: @OConnor my example is a bit contrived because the question "how do you know" is hard to answer while maintaining the verb 知道 with a simple complement... more complex examples might be confusing. Anyway, an example might be: 我朋友告诉我才知道  
> **username_5**: @OConnor even better: 我从我朋友那里知道  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-08-06. Score: -1

你知道怎么我的名字 is incorrect.

怎麼你(會)知道我的名字 is correct. Add 會 would be more fluent.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: You are placing 怎么 after the verb. which is not the case the OP is stating  
> **username_6**: @TangHo 小弟的回應哪邊錯了？請賜教。  
> **username_3**: The main question is can 怎么你 be changed to 你怎么? You should address that first before you address the obviously ungrammatical 你知道怎么我的名字 example  

---

