<p>我[可以]看一个月吗? = [Can] I read for one month? (O)</p>

<p>我看一个月[可以吗?] = I read for one month, [is it possible?] (O)</p>

<p>我[可以]看一个月. = I [can] read for a month. (O)</p>

<p>我看一个月[可以]. = I read for a month [can]. (X)</p>

<p>我看一个月? [可以]. = I read for a month? [(yes) It is possible]. (O)</p>

<p>~</p>

<p>"我看一个月可以吗" is a [topic] + [comment] sentence. </p>

<ul>
<li><p>[我看一个月] is the topic</p></li>
<li><p>[可以吗?] is the comment</p></li>
</ul>

<p>The adverb "可以" in SVO sentence "我[可以]看一个月吗?"  cannot be placed after the verb "看"</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-18T19:04:15.013Z
2020-05-18T19:35:26.023Z
2020-05-18T19:35:26.023Z
Tang Ho
<p>I doubt if </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我看一个月可以吗? , should be translated to<br>
  Can I read it for a month?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>我看一个月可以吗? has other translation in advanced conversation<br>
because verb and object is hidden<br>
note: 看 can be translated to "do you think" </p>

<p>It can be interpreted as 
我看(这事)一个月可以(做到(某件事)/行)吗?<br>
which is<br>
Do you think/ Is it possible that<br>
it can be done in a month?<br>
<br><br>
But then I think you may have found this phrase from <a href="https://quizlet.com/205256324/hsk1-w5-l3-%E5%9C%A8%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E4%B9%B0%E4%B8%9C%E8%A5%BF-text-flash-cards/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a><br>
and it is translated as<br>
Can I (borrow it and) read it for a month?</p>

<p>The answer is yes, there is some flexibility about this order</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-20T15:06:20.420Z
I took it exactly from that conversation. I didn't understood completely the "hidden" elements though. I guess I will come back to this question when I know a little bit more of chinese. But the main point it is that it continues to have the same structure of 可以 + Verb + Obj., thought in this particular case the object is implicit right?
Puco4
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-20T16:24:44.173Z
@Puco4 the website is correct about the structure as it's talking about using 可以 as "may". Using 看 and 可以 at the same time may have different meaning but don't worry about it until later. This structure is useful in many cases
wada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-20T16:24:55.210Z
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22
wada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-20T12:09:53.530Z
2020-05-20T12:09:53.530Z
wada
<p>I have some confusion about the grammar structure of 可以 Kěyǐ.
I found in this <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_permission_with_%22keyi%22" rel="nofollow noreferrer">website</a> the basic usage is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Subj. + 可以 + Verb + Obj.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But then I came across a dialogue where they put it after the verb:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我看一个月可以吗?</p>
<p>Wǒ kàn yīgè yuè kěyǐ ma?</p>
<p>Can I read it for a month?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> Does this mean there is some flexibility about this order?</p>

<grammar><usage><sentence-structure><word-order>
可以 order structure?
# 可以 order structure?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-05-18)

I have some confusion about the grammar structure of 可以 Kěyǐ.
I found in this [website](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_permission_with_%22keyi%22) the basic usage is:

> Subj. + 可以 + Verb + Obj.

But then I came across a dialogue where they put it after the verb:

> 我看一个月可以吗?
>
> Wǒ kàn yīgè yuè kěyǐ ma?
>
> Can I read it for a month?

**Question:** Does this mean there is some flexibility about this order?

**Tags:** grammar, usage, sentence-structure, word-order

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-05-18. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

我[可以]看一个月吗? = [Can] I read for one month? (O)

我看一个月[可以吗?] = I read for one month, [is it possible?] (O)

我[可以]看一个月. = I [can] read for a month. (O)

我看一个月[可以]. = I read for a month [can]. (X)

我看一个月? [可以]. = I read for a month? [(yes) It is possible]. (O)

~

"我看一个月可以吗" is a [topic] + [comment] sentence.

* [我看一个月] is the topic
* [可以吗?] is the comment

The adverb "可以" in SVO sentence "我[可以]看一个月吗?" cannot be placed after the verb "看"


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-05-20. Score: 1

I doubt if

> 我看一个月可以吗? , should be translated to  
> Can I read it for a month?

我看一个月可以吗? has other translation in advanced conversation  
because verb and object is hidden  
note: 看 can be translated to "do you think"

It can be interpreted as
我看(这事)一个月可以(做到(某件事)/行)吗?  
which is  
Do you think/ Is it possible that  
it can be done in a month?  
  
  
But then I think you may have found this phrase from [here](https://quizlet.com/205256324/hsk1-w5-l3-%E5%9C%A8%E7%BD%91%E4%B8%8A%E4%B9%B0%E4%B8%9C%E8%A5%BF-text-flash-cards/)  
and it is translated as  
Can I (borrow it and) read it for a month?

The answer is yes, there is some flexibility about this order

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I took it exactly from that conversation. I didn't understood completely the "hidden" elements though. I guess I will come back to this question when I know a little bit more of chinese. But the main point it is that it continues to have the same structure of 可以 + Verb + Obj., thought in this particular case the object is implicit right?  
> **username_2**: @Puco4 the website is correct about the structure as it's talking about using 可以 as "may". Using 看 and 可以 at the same time may have different meaning but don't worry about it until later. This structure is useful in many cases  
> **username_2**: https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22it_depends%22_with_%22kan%22  

---

