Emphasizing the doer of an action with "you"

Revision as of 08:13, 11 November 2020 by WikiSysop (talk | contribs) (Text replacement - "qùguò" to "qù guo")

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。Zhè jiàn shì yóu wǒ fùzé.I am responsible for this.
  • 这 件 事 是 她 引起 的。Zhèjiàn shì shì yóu tā yǐnqǐ de.The incident was caused by her.
  • 这次 的 广告 是 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 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 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 加拿大 进口。Zhè gè guójiā de liángshi zhǔyào yóu Jiānádà jìnkǒu.Canada is the main importer of food in this country.
  • 这 件 事 我 说了 算。Zhè jiàn shì yóu wǒ shuō le suàn.This is a matter for me to decide.
  • 这个 规定 是 政府 发布 的。Zhège guīdìng shì yóu zhèngfǔ fābù de.This is a regulation issued by the government.
  • 这 是 他 决定 的,你 就 别 干涉 了。Zhè shì yóu tā juédìng de, nǐ jiù bié gānshèle.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!Tài bēijùle, 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.

Note that 由 not a passive marker.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books