Using "ba" sentences

Also known as: 把字句 (Bǎzì Jù), 把 construction, disposal construction, preposition 把 and pre-transitive 把.

The 把 sentence is a useful structure for focusing on the result or influence of an action. It's really common in Mandarin, but can feel a bit strange for English speakers at first.

How to form a 把 sentence

Basic 把 sentences

A basic sentence in Mandarin is formed with a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, as in English:

我 吃了 馒头。

A 把 sentence shakes things up a bit, and you get this structure:

Subject + 把 + Object + Verb

So you now have SOV word order

我 把 馒头 吃下了。

You might notice that another character, 下, crept in after the verb. This is because 把 sentences are used for describing what happened to the object. In other words, there always has to be something else after the verb:

Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Something else

This is often described as the disposal of the object, which might sound a bit fancy but we'll use it for convenience here. As well as the verb, you need to indicate that the action was completed and applied to the object. In the example above 下 indicates this 'disposal'.

The idea of disposal will be covered in more detailed below. For now just remember that a 把 sentence must describe what happened to the object in the end. A useful way of thinking about it is that 把 is similar to saying "What I did with ... was ... " or "What happened to ... was ..."

More examples

Basic 把 sentences
Subject 把 Object Verb Disposal
我 把 那 本 书 放 在 桌子 上 。
你 把 你的作业 做 好 。
他 把 我的 钱包 偷 走 了 。
她 把 我的车 修 好了 。
您 把 您的 姓名 写 下来 。

Another important rule for using 把 sentences is that they have to be about something specific or definite. The object has to be something that is clear in the context, and known to both speaker and listener.

Negating 把 sentences

To negate a 把 sentence, insert 不 (present) or 没有 (past) directly in front of 把. You can't put it after 把, 'inside' the 把 construction, as this would break the rule about describing what happened to the object. It would be like saying "What happened to ... was nothing". It doesn't sound natural.

Negating 把 sentences
Subject Negative 把 Object Verb Disposal
我 没有 把 你的 电脑 弄 坏 。
你 不要 把 我的 啤酒 喝 完 。
他 没 把 钥匙 拿 起来 。
她 没有 把 她的 房间 收拾 干净 。

Adverbs in 把 sentences

Adverbs can usually be placed before 把 or before the verb (the exception is negative adverbs, as described above). Adverbs in each of these positions can change the meaning in slightly different ways, as demonstrated with 都 in the examples below. In the first sentence, "我们都把作业做完了", 都 modifies "我们" to make "We all finished the homework." In the second sentence, 都 modifies 作业 to make "We finished all the homework."

把 sentences with adverbs
Subject Adverb 把 Object Adverb Verb Disposal
我们 都 把 作业 做 完了 。
我们 把 作业 都 做 完了 。
他 不在意地 把 我的 秘密 告诉 别人 了 。
她 把 茶 慢慢地 喝 完了 。

(Note the subtle difference in meaning between the first two sentences.)

把 sentences and measure words

As mentioned above, the object of a 把 sentence must be something specific and definite. This excludes usage with quite a lot of measure word phrases as these are indefinite. So the English sentence

I ate two bananas.

should not be a 把 sentence in Mandarin, as the object bananas is not definite. It's any two bananas, not two specific bananas that are clear in the context. However, the sentence

I ate two of the bananas.

has a very definite object (marked by the in English). The listener should known exactly which bananas the speaker ate two of, so it would be a 把 sentence in Chinese. The measure word and quantity appear in this structure:

Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Measure word phrase

The example above would be:

我把香蕉吃了三个。

The measure word phrase 三个 fulfils the rule about describing what happened to the object (its disposal). The ultimate fate of the bananas is that two of them were eaten.

More 把 and quantity examples
Subject 把 Object Verb Measure word
我 把 啤酒 喝了 十二 瓶 。
你 把 这些 规则 看 两次 。
他 把 蛋糕 吃了 一半 。
她 把 课文 解释了 不少 。

Note that in all of these sentences, the object is something specific and definite. For example, the first sentence can not be translated as "I drank twelve bottles of beer." It has to be "I drank twelve bottles of the beer."

把 sentences with two objects

The usual structure for 把 sentences, as described above, puts the object right after 把. You can have two objects in a 把 sentence, though. This uses the following structure:

Subject + 把 + Object 1 + Verb + Object 2

Usually the second object is a feature or smaller part of the first one, or at least related to it in some way.

把 sentences with two objects
Subject 把 Object 1 Verb Object 2
我 把 我的自行车 换了 轮 。
你 把 窗 上了 锁 。
他 把 那件衣服 清除了 污迹 。
她 把 电脑 安装了 软件 。

When to use a 把 sentence

  • 'What did you do?' vs 'What did you do with...?'

Known object

  • Definiteness
  • Generic things

Disposal

Subjects and verbs for 把 sentences

Subjectless 把 sentences

Verb must indicate result

  • Single character verbs can't be used alone

把 sentences and complements

  • No potential complements
  • Result complements prefer 把
  • Direction complements prefer 把

Other rules for 把 sentences

  • No 过 particle

Other uses of 把

Measure word for things with handles

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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