sentence pattern lesson 13

Lesson 13, Pattern 2 把
and Pattern 3 verbal complements

last revised April 14, 2004

Pattern 2: 把

S V Obj becomes S 把 Obj V Compl

我吃飯 becomes
affirmative: 我把那碗飯吃完了。 I ate that bowl of food.
negative: 我沒把那碗飯吃完。 I didn't eat that bowl of food.

This pattern is used more commonly in Chinese than the equivalent is used in English. Literally, 把 means "to take," so a rough translation of the pattern is "take something and do something to it." In other words, the subject of the sentence has an impact on the object. The object is usually definite and known to both speaker and listener. As our text notes, there is always a complement or some other element after the verb. In fact, this pattern is required with certain types of complements. Note these variations.

Pattern	Example	English
S 把 O V 了 aspect particle 了	我把書看了`。`	I looked at the book.
S 把 O V V reduplication of verb	我把書看看`。`	I'll take a look at the book.
S 把 O V Compl resultative, directional, or other complement	請把你的茶杯帶來`。`	Please bring your teacup.
	他把錄音帶留在這兒`了。`	He left the tape here.
	她把詞典看完了`。`	She finished looking at the dictionary.
	你把課文念得很清楚`。`	You read the text very clearly.
S 把 O V IO indirect object	我把信用卡給服務員`了。`	I gave the credit card to the waiter.
S Adv 把 O V (element) Negative adverb goes before 把. Note: in most cases this kind of sentence is past, so 沒 is commonly used.	我沒把信用卡給服務員`。`	I didn't give the credit card to the waiter.
S 把 O Adv V (element) Other adverbs, such as 都, can go before the main verb.	他把家常豆腐都吃完了`。`	He ate up all the family-style tofu!
S AV 把 O V (element) Auxiliary verbs go before 把.	你得把證件留給語言實驗室的職員`。`	You must leave your identification with the language lab attendant.
S Adv AV 把 O V (element) Negative adverb goes before the auxiliary verb.	我不想把我的新詞典借給他`。`	I don't want to lend my new dictionary to him.

Pattern 3: complements using 到, 在, or 給

When using the following complements, if there is an object, it must be preposed or set off with the 把-pattern:

S V 到 Place/time (V to a place or time)
- 他走到學校了。
- He walked to the school.
- 我聽錄音聽到晚上八點半了。
- I listened to tapes until 8:30pm.

S V 在 Place (V onto/into a place)
- 請你把課本放在桌子上。
- Please put the textbook onto the table.
- Note: This use of 在 is different from the "location of action." Rather than telling where the action occurs, this pattern tells where the object or subject ended up. Because in a sense the final location of the object is the result of the action, the 在-expression goes after the verb, not before it.

S V 給 Person (V to/for a person)
- 服務員把學生證還給我了。
- The attendant returned my student ID to me.

Combinations with 給:
留給	leave Obj with person	我把證件留給你`。` I will leave my ID with you.
送給	give Obj to person	他把字典送給我`了。` He gave me the dictionary.
帶給	take Obj to person	請把這本書帶給她`。` Please take this book to her.
還給	return Obj to person	售貨員把信用卡還給他`了。` The clerk returned the credit card to him.
借給	lend Obj to person	我要把這盤錄音帶借給你`。` I want to lend this tape to you.

Please note that if you use 給-人 as a verbal complement (S V-給-人), then you must use the 把-pattern with any direct object (S 把-Obj V-給-人).

Cantonese and Mandarin differ with regard to this. In Cantonese, verb-object combinations such as 打電話 can be split into two parts and used with 給人 applied in the middle (e.g. 我打給你電話). However, that is not acceptable in Mandarin. In such cases you must use the pattern for 給 as a preposition (S 給-人 V-O) instead, thus 我給你打電話。 我打電話給你 is also an acceptable variant.


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Lesson 13, Pattern 2 把 and Pattern 3 verbal complements

last revised April 14, 2004

Pattern 2: 把

Pattern 3: complements using 到, 在, or 給

Lesson 13, Pattern 2 把
and Pattern 3 verbal complements