<p>It is not accepted in writing Chinese, however, you can say that in oral Chinese, like</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>给我打电话吧，等你回家之后</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The second part of the sentence is served as a complementary clarification and even though, it is not commonly used.</p>

<p>If you write it that way, it is not grammatically acceptable.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-30T16:15:39.967Z
2018-07-31T14:20:14.247Z
2018-07-31T14:20:14.247Z
zyy
<p>In Mandarin, relative (your "dependent") clauses always precede the noun they modify (and there are no really "relative pronouns" in Info-European sense).</p>

<p>The basic word order is subject–verb–object (SVO). Otherwise, Chinese is chiefly a <em>head-last language</em>, meaning that <em>modifiers precede the words they modify – in a noun phrase, for example, the head noun comes last, and all modifiers, including relative clauses, come in front of it</em>.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar#Relative_clauses" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar#Relative_clauses</a>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_clause#Mandarin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_clause#Mandarin</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-01T01:38:03.900Z
2018-08-01T01:38:03.900Z
Vitaly Osipov
<p>In English a phrase such as “Call me when you get home” can be reversed into “When you get home, call me.”</p>

<p>Is this also possible in Chinese? </p>

<p>I tried to answer the question myself, but I could only think of myself using the dependent clause first and never using it second in Chinese class.</p>

<p>Also, all the examples on <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22when%22_with_%22de_shihou%22#Examples" rel="nofollow noreferrer">AllSet Learning</a> have the dependent clause in the beginning, but the site doesn’t specifically condemn the reverse. </p>

<p>Is it grammatically acceptable in Chinese?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-30T07:09:55.943Z
You are better off giving a specific example of Chinese sentence. There isn't a consolidated rule for that.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-30T07:11:54.057Z
"when you come home" in Chinese can be 回家的时候 which usually would come before 请你给我电话，see any E-C dictionary on "when"
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-30T13:34:32.883Z
for how to translate search web using e.g.
英文语法 relative clauses, relative pronouns,

Relative clauses are often introduced by a relative pronoun (usually who, which, that, but when, where and whose are also possible)
user6065
<grammar><sentence-structure>
Are independent and dependent clauses reversible?
# Are independent and dependent clauses reversible?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-30)

In English a phrase such as “Call me when you get home” can be reversed into “When you get home, call me.”

Is this also possible in Chinese?

I tried to answer the question myself, but I could only think of myself using the dependent clause first and never using it second in Chinese class.

Also, all the examples on [AllSet Learning](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22when%22_with_%22de_shihou%22#Examples) have the dependent clause in the beginning, but the site doesn’t specifically condemn the reverse.

Is it grammatically acceptable in Chinese?

**Tags:** grammar, sentence-structure

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You are better off giving a specific example of Chinese sentence. There isn't a consolidated rule for that.  
> **username_2**: "when you come home" in Chinese can be 回家的时候 which usually would come before 请你给我电话，see any E-C dictionary on "when"  
> **username_2**: for how to translate search web using e.g. 英文语法 relative clauses, relative pronouns,  Relative clauses are often introduced by a relative pronoun (usually who, which, that, but when, where and whose are also possible)  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-07-30. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

It is not accepted in writing Chinese, however, you can say that in oral Chinese, like

> 给我打电话吧，等你回家之后

The second part of the sentence is served as a complementary clarification and even though, it is not commonly used.

If you write it that way, it is not grammatically acceptable.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2018-08-01. Score: 1

In Mandarin, relative (your "dependent") clauses always precede the noun they modify (and there are no really "relative pronouns" in Info-European sense).

The basic word order is subject–verb–object (SVO). Otherwise, Chinese is chiefly a *head-last language*, meaning that *modifiers precede the words they modify – in a noun phrase, for example, the head noun comes last, and all modifiers, including relative clauses, come in front of it*.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_grammar#Relative_clauses>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_clause#Mandarin>


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