A.他在画些什么？山不山，水不水的。
(What is he drawing? Something Mountain not mountain. River not river.)
B.那个人不男不女的，真难看。
(That person neither male nor female. Truly disgusting.)
Here “不山” (not mountain) , “不水” (not river) , “不男不女” (neither male nor female) are all tenable . Another Western syntactic rule is that a noun can not repeat itself. But it is not always so in the Chinese language. Instances are : “山山水水” (mountains mountains , rivers rivers ) , “风风雨雨” (wind wind , rain rain), “花花草草” (flowers flowers , grass grass) , “坛坛罐罐” (jars jars , pots pots) , “坑坑洼洼” (holes holes , hollows hollows) , “车车马马” (chariots chariots , horses horses ) “汤汤水水” ( soups soups , water, water ) . We often find such structures in the Chinese language. Again for instance, unless together with some added words, bare one-syllable words as a rule are not used as predicates. Usually we do not say : “他走”(He off), “瓜小” (Melon small) and “我站” ( We stand) . But when appropriately paired , they can be used too , such as : “他走，我也走” (He off , I too off), “瓜小，瓤可甜” (Melon small , but pulp sweet) and “我们站，他们坐” ( We stand , they sit) . A sentence in the Western languages must have the important structural elements such as subject, predicate, object, etc., or the sentence will be untenable. It is not so in the Chinese language. In the Chinese language, sentences with no subject, no predicate or no object are often found.
Sentences without subjects are called no subject sentences in the western grammar. Such sentences are widely used in the Chinese language , which can be classified according to their structures as follows :A) When explaining certain natural phenomena or warning that certain things are happening , such sentences are the so-called verb-object word groups . At the end of such sentences the auxiliary verb denting a change “J” is used. Examples are “下雨了” (It has rained), “出太阳了”(Sun is out) “上课了” (Class has begun) and “开车了”(The bus has started). B) When expressing demands or prohibitions, often as slogans or watchwords. Examples are : “爱护花草” (care flowers and lawn) , “随手关门” (Shut the door after you ) , “请走便道” ( Please go by the sidewalk) and “振兴中华” (Rejuvenate China) . C) In mottos or proverb , such as “不经一事，不长一智” (Not experiencing one things , not increasing a bit of wisdom), “种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆” (Plant melons , harvest melons . Plant beans , harvest beans) , “不入虎穴，焉得虎子” ( Not get into dens of tigers , how get tiger’s cubs?) and “吃一堑，长一智” (A fall into a pit , a gain in wit). D) When expressing wish or expectation , Examples are : “愿我们的友谊万古长青” (wish our friendship last forever ) , “纪念孙中山先生” ( In memory of Dr.Sun Yatsen) and “发扬‘五四’爱国主义光荣传统” (Carry on the glorious patriotic tradition of the May 4th Movement) , etc .
