Expressing yourself in an authentically "Chinese way" is really hard.

The key is to know how the language is structured differently.

There is one difference in particular which is crucial to understand if you want to communicate authentically:

Chinese is a "topic-prominent" language

The "topic" is the main thing being discussed, but it's not necessarily the "subject" as it would be in English, which is a "subject-prominent" language.

"Topic-prominence" creates subtle differences in the language structure.

If you make some simple changes, you can immediately sound more authentic. Try these 3:

#1 Put the topic first

Chinese sentences tend to follow "Subject - Verb - Object" structure, like in English. But "topic prominence" means the S-V-O order can be changed, like in the sentence: "I've been to the UK"

• 我已经去过英国了 - "I (S) + already go (V) + UK (O)"

• 英国，我已经去过 - "UK (O) + I (S) + already go (V)"

The second sentence sounds more authentic.

#2 Drop the subject

The subject can be removed altogether. For example, in same sentence:

• 英国，都去过了 - "UK (O) + already been (V)"

"I" is understood but not necessary in the sentence.

#3 Use topic markers

The topic is highlighted with markers like the "呢" particle, or the 就...而言 structure.

• 英国呢，没去过 - "UK + not been"

• 就英国而言，我还没有去过 - "UK + I + not been"

Understanding this one difference, and implementing these three small changes, will immediately make your Chinese sound way more authentic!