As you begin learning Chinese, you will notice a few similarities between the structure of Chinese language and English. Yes, the basic sentence pattern "S-V-O" is same with English. Here are more examples, with the English rendered somewhat literally so that you can see the structure of the Chinese.

          • S-V-O 我姓张。 wo3 xing4 zhang1. I am surnamed Zhang.
          • S-Adv-V-O 他也姓张。 ta1 ye3 xing4 zhang1. He is also surnamed Zhang.
          • S-V-O-吗 你姓张吗？ni3 xing4 zhang1 ma1? Are you surnamed Zhang?

Examples:

          1. S-V-O 我是美国人。Wo3 shi4 mei3 guo2 ren2. I am American.
          2. S-Adv-V-O 他也是美国人。 Ta1 ye3 shi4 mei3 guo2 ren2. He is also American.
          3. S-V-O-吗 你是美国人吗？ Ni3 shi4 mei3 guo2 ren2 ma1? Are you American?

Easy, but is useful. You can use the sentence pattern when you introduce a friend. Here is example:

    A：您好，我是Peter，他是我的中国朋友丁力。
          Nin2 hao3, wo3 shi4 Peter, ta1 shi4 wo3 de zhong1 guo2 peng2 you ding1 li4.
          Hello, I am peter, he is my Chinese friend Dingli.

    B：您好，我是David。
          Nin2 hao3, wo3 shi4 David.
          Hello, I am David.

          I may soon quit (my job).

Related content: Learn Chinese Grammar – how to express yes-or-no question