why is this sentence like this?

[xuechengfeng]

字寫的那麼好﹐話說的四聲那麼準。

I under stand that it's something like, "You write (characters) so well, and speak the four tones so accurate."

but why is zi before xie, and hua before shuo?

[Claw]

These are examples of topic-comment sentences.

字 is the topic, (你)寫得那麼好 is the comment concerning 字.

話 is the topic, (你)說的四聲那麼準 is the comment concerning 話.

你 is implied in both sentences.

Also, it should be 得, not 的, in the first sentence. I know you'll ask why, so here's the explanation...

The subject in the first sentence is 你. The predicate verb is 寫. 那麼好 is the potential of the verb, so you use a 得.

The subject of the second sentence is the entire noun phrase 你說的四聲 (the four tones which you speak). So you use a 的, which connects a description (你說) to a noun (四聲). 那麼準 is the predicate (since adjectives can also act as predicate verbs in Chinese).

[xuechengfeng]

Sorry, like we've stated in the past DeFrancis uses the wrong "de" so I get used to typing that in.

So I'm still kind of confused, is that basically just placing more emphasis on the character/speech than the person?

[Claw]

So I'm still kind of confused, is that basically just placing more emphasis on the character/speech than the person?

Yes, that's essentially the case. English sometimes can use the topic-comment structure, but it's not as common and may sound stilted. For example: "The characters, you write them so well."

BTW, I edited my post about to explain the 得 and 的 difference also. Don't know if you saw it or not since you posted a response right before I submitted the edit.

[xuechengfeng]

thanks for the response and the edit in, that cleared a few things up. hell, i shoulda paid attention in ENGLISH class 'cuz terms like predicate still make me want to vomit.