挂墙上画 vs. 画挂墙上

[sunshine86]

I have an exercise that puzzles me a bit:

so 挂墙上画 is not an acceptable structure, but 画挂墙上 is more acceptable. What would be possible explanations for that or similar examples of that structure?

 

Than you for your help

[Kamille]

挂墙上画? "Hang wall on painting"? What language is that? How did you come up with the idea of assembling these words in such an order?

 

画挂墙上 is more "acceptable" indeed, and can have two meanings by the way: (1) "the painting hangs on the wall", and (2) "hang the painting on the wall" (either as an action that you're about to do or an order that you're giving to someone). 

Any of these meanings would be better off with a 在 before 墙上, and even a 把 at the very beginning in the second case, otherwise it sounds very familiar/spoken/arguably not that grammatically acceptable).

 

In the first case it's easy: 画 is the subject and, as in English, the subject comes first, then the verb and finally the detail.

In the second case it's a tad more specific: 画 is an object, and in Chinese, as opposed to English, you can put the object before the verb. The rest "在墙上", "on the wall" shouldn't be a problem, it's the same in both explanations.

 

Now since I don't know which meaning you intended in the first place, I can't really give you other exemples of similar structures.

[skylee]

What is the exercise about? Arranging the 4 characters so that they make sense? If so, I would arrange them as 牆上掛畫, the picture hung on the wall.

[Guest123]

Yes, it would be interesting to see the whole exercice, otherwise it's not clear what it's all about.

[sunshine86]

Well actually this is already the whole exercise, that is why it puzzles me. The question is, why 画挂墙上is  acceptable and 挂墙上画 not. I should explain why and give more examples, eventually note if "anything like that" exists also in other languages. I do not fully understand this question either.

[Guest123]

It must be about word order then. 

画挂墙上 is normal order : subject+verb+location complement (location complement always follows verb)

As 画 is a subject, it can not be at the end.

Well, yes, if there is an adverbial indicating where something is happening, it will be at the beginning. Example:

If you say 墙上挂着一幅画， you are describing a place, saying what is in that place, what's going on in it. The main "point of interest" is the room. But here the place word must be BEFORE the verb. So 挂墙上画 is incorrect anyway   .

In the sentence 画挂墙上 the speaker is interested in the painting and its location.

Sometimes it's helpful to see what question you can answer with the given sentence:

What's in the room? - 房间里有什么？ - 墙上挂着一幅画.

Where is the painting? - 画在哪儿？ - 画挂墙上.

 

You can consult wiki grammar for these:

 

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Word_order#Placement_of_place_words_in_a_sentence

 

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Location_complement

[anonymoose]

Where is the painting? - 画在哪儿？ - 画挂墙上.

 

I think the answer to this question should be (在)墙上(挂着) where the parts in brackets are optional.

 

画挂墙上, as a standalone phrase, means more like "hanging pictures on the wall". A Google search for this phrase give results such as 如果我有钱我也去买，画挂墙上就高端大气上档次了.

 

However, the sequence of characters 画挂墙上 is more usually embedded in a longer phrase, such as 想买点画挂墙上 or 不用钉子把画挂墙上 in which 画 is the object of a preceeding verb or a 把 construction.

[Kamille]

the subject of a preceeding verb

 

Its object you mean?

[Guest123]

@anonymoose - You are talking about how someone would speak in a natural situation, but in the limits of the exercice Sunshine86 has to do, it's already too much. That exercice doesn't seem clear enough, but I think their idea was just learning some very basic skills about word order.

[tommy175]

挂墙上画，Means I hang the canvas on the wall and start to paint. Here, 画 is a verb.

画挂墙上，The paint is hanging on the wall. Here, 画 is a noun.

墙上挂画，To hang the paint on the wall.

墙画挂上，To hang on the wall picture

Explanation from a native Chinese