Difference between revisions of "Expressing "for" with "wei""

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{{Grammar Box}} \r\nWhen you work ''for'' a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase.  The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.\r\nDon't confuse this preposition with [[Expressing purpose with "weile"|为了]], which is a bit different.\r\n== Structure ==\r\n<div class="jiegou">\r\n为 + [some part] + V\r\n</div>\r\n== Examples ==\r\n<div class="liju">\r\n* <em>为</em> 人民 服务。<span class="trans">Serve the people</span>
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{{Grammar Box}}  
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When you work ''for'' a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase.  The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.
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Don't confuse this preposition with [[Expressing purpose with "weile"|为了]], which is a bit different.
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== Structure ==
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<div class="jiegou">
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+ [some part] + V
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</div>
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== Examples ==
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<div class="liju">
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* <em>为</em> 人民 服务。<span class="trans">Serve the people</span>
 
* 我 <em>为</em>公司 做了一个市场调查。<span class="trans">I did a market research for our company.</span>
 
* 我 <em>为</em>公司 做了一个市场调查。<span class="trans">I did a market research for our company.</span>
 
* 她 <em>为</em> 美国 政府 工作。<span class="trans">She works for the United States government.</span>
 
* 她 <em>为</em> 美国 政府 工作。<span class="trans">She works for the United States government.</span>
 
* 老师 总是 <em>为</em> 学生 操心。<span class="trans">The teacher cares about the students.</span>
 
* 老师 总是 <em>为</em> 学生 操心。<span class="trans">The teacher cares about the students.</span>
* 公司 <em>为</em> 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。<span class="trans">The company provided her with many resources.</span>\r\n</div>\r\n== See also ==\r\n* [[Expressing purpose with "weile"]]\r\n== Sources and further reading ==\r\n=== Books ===\r\n
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* 公司 <em>为</em> 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。<span class="trans">The company provided her with many resources.</span>
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</div>
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== See also ==
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* [[Expressing purpose with "weile"]]
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== Sources and further reading ==
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=== Books ===
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* [[Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级)]] (pp. 238) [http://www.amazon.cn/gp/product/B004WA6JSQ/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B004WA6JSQ →buy]
 
* [[Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级)]] (pp. 238) [http://www.amazon.cn/gp/product/B004WA6JSQ/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B004WA6JSQ →buy]
 
* [[Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)]] (pp.76) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001N6R7DI&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI →buy]
 
* [[Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)]] (pp.76) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001N6R7DI&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI →buy]
* [[Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇)]] (pp. 203) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075308/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301075308 →buy]\r\n===Websites===\r\n*Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了]\r\n[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
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* [[Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇)]] (pp. 203) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7301075308/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7301075308 →buy]
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===Websites===
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*Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0236.html Uses of 为 and 为了]
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[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:Prepositions]]
 
[[Category:Prepositions]]
 
{{Basic Grammar|为|B1|为 + Noun⋯⋯|<em>为</em> 人民 服务 !|grammar point|ASG68RBX}}
 
{{Basic Grammar|为|B1|为 + Noun⋯⋯|<em>为</em> 人民 服务 !|grammar point|ASG68RBX}}

Revision as of 08:55, 26 November 2013

When you work for a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase. The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.

Don't confuse this preposition with 为了, which is a bit different.

Structure

为 + [some part] + V

Examples

  • 人民 服务。Serve the people
  • 公司 做了一个市场调查。I did a market research for our company.
  • 美国 政府 工作。She works for the United States government.
  • 老师 总是 学生 操心。The teacher cares about the students.
  • 公司 她 提供 了 很 多 资源。The company provided her with many resources.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites