Emphasizing the doer of an action with "you"

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由 (yóu) is used to emphasize who is the doer or initiator of an action, a bit like in English where we might say: "Andy is the one who...."

Structure

Topic + 由 + Person + Verb

This use of 由 is common in formal contexts such as business communications.

Examples

  • 这 件 事 由 我 说了算。Zhè jiàn shì yóu wǒ shuō le suàn.This matter is up to me.
  • 这 件 事 由 我 负责。Zhè jiàn shì yóu wǒ fùzé.I am responsible for this matter.
  • 这 件 事 是 由 她 引起 的。Zhèjiàn shì shì yóu tā yǐnqǐ de.The incident was caused by her.
  • 这次 的 广告 是 由 他 一个人 拍摄 的。Zhècì de guǎnggào shì yóu tā yīgèrén pāishè de.The advertisement was shot by him alone.
  • 你 想 怎么样 生活，完全 由 你 自己 规划。Nǐ xiǎng zěnmeyàng shēnghuó, wánquán yóu nǐ zìjǐ guīhuà.How you want to live your life is entirely up to you.
  • 你 去 过 上海，那 这次 就 由 你 做 导游 。Nǐ qù guo Shànghǎi, nà zhècì jiù yóu nǐ zuò dǎoyóu.You have been to Shanghai before, so you will be the tour guide this time.
  • 这 个 国家 的 粮食 主要 由 加拿大 进口。Zhège guójiā de liángshi zhǔyào yóu Jiānádà jìnkǒu.This country's grain is mainly imported from Canada.
  • 这个 规定 是 由 政府 发布 的。Zhège guīdìng shì yóu zhèngfǔ fābù de.This is a regulation issued by the government.
  • 这 是 由 他 决定 的，你 就 别 干涉 了。Zhè shì yóu tā juédìng de, nǐ jiù bié gānshè le.This is for him to decide. Stop interfering.
  • 太 悲剧 了，会议 由 王总 主持，肯定 会 很 无聊！Tài bēijù le, huìyì yóu Wáng zǒng zhǔchí, kěndìng huì hěn wúliáo!Oh no. This meeting is being led by the General Manager Wang.It's definitely going to be boring.

It may seem like it due to the way most of these sentences are translated into English, but please note that 由 not a passive marker. Stick to 被 for that.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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