Emphasizing the doer of an action with "you"

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

Examples

  • 这 件 事 我 负责。I am responsible for this.
  • 这 是 他 决定 的,你 就别 干涉 了。This is for him to decide, don't meddle.
  • 太 悲剧 了,会议 王总 主持,肯定 会 很 无聊!Oh no. This meeting is being led by the boss. It's definitely going to be boring.

Note that 由 not a passive marker.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books