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 provide more information related to the action (in this case, that it was completed). In the example above 下 indicates this 'disposal'.

The idea of disposal will be covered in more detail below. For now, just remember that a 把 sentence must describe what happened to the object in the end (beyond just what the verb tells you by itself). 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 。

Question forms of 把 sentences

You can make 把 sentences into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Mandarin:

  • With a question particle
  • With a question word
  • With positive-negative verbs

Some examples:

  • 你把你的手机弄丢了吗？
  • 你可以把五个汉堡吃下吗？
  • 你把我的东西放在哪里了？
  • 他把你的自行车卖给谁了？
  • 你是不是把牙膏用完了？
  • 你能不能把我写的文章翻译成英文？

Be careful how you form questions with 把 sentences though. Remember that you have to have a definite object, and you have to describe the disposal of that object. A question form could easily get in the way of one of these conditions.

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 不小心 把 我的 秘密 告诉 别人 了 。
她 把 茶 全 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:

  • 我把香蕉吃了两个。

The measure word phrase 两个 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 Quantity
我 把 衣服 洗了 三 遍 。
你 把 这些 规则 看 两 回 。
他 把 蛋糕 吃了 一半 。
她 把 课文 翻译了 不少 。

Note that in all of these sentences, the object is something specific and definite. For example, the third sentence can not be translated as "I ate half a cake." It has to be "I ate half of the cake."

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 。纠正
我 把 文章 纠正了 错误 。
他 把 那 件 衣服 清除了 污迹 。
她 把 电脑 安装了 软件 。

把 sentences and aspect particles

The particles 了 and 着 can both be used with 把 constructions, whilst 过 cannot. This is because the object of a 把 construction must be obvious, or 'present' in some way in the context. 过 indicates some kind of action in the past, which suggests that the object is no longer present in the context, so it's not suitable for a 把 construction.

了 and 着, though, can be used to indicate that the disposal of the object is complete or ongoing, respectively.

把 sentences and aspect particles
Subject 把 Object Verb phrase Aspect particle
我 把 那 本 书 翻译成英文 了 。
你 （不要） 把 门 开 着 。
她 把 瓶子 打破 了 。
他 把 那 件 衣服 清除 着 。

When to use a 把 sentence

The conditions for using a 把 sentence were briefly mentioned above. These are:

  • The object is definite and specific, or generic.
  • The sentence describes what happened to the object.

Known object

把 sentences can only deal with objects that are previously known about or have been clearly established in context. In other words, 把 sentences should have objects that are obvious.

This means that the object must either be definite (often preceded by 'the' in English), or generic. A generic object is a general class of things that the listener should know about. For example:

我有时候把茶当咖啡喝。

Here 茶 and 咖啡 do not refer to any particular cups of tea or coffee, but to these drinks in general. This is acceptable because as general classes of things (generic objects), these are known and understood by the listener.

Disposal (what happened to the object)

The other requirement for a 把 sentence is that it described what happened to the object, or its end fate as far as the sentence is concerned. This rules out any actions that don't have a clear effect on the object, such as psychological verbs. For example, you generally can't use 把 sentences to describe emotions or perceptions. Something has to be done to the object, and not just done by the subject.

Some examples:

* 我把他想念。
* 他把他妹妹爱。
* 你把我的东西看见了吗？

None of these are acceptable 把 sentences because the object is not directly changed or affected by the verb. There is no disposal. So far so good. But it can get a bit trickier. The object does not have to be physically affected in the real world for a 把 sentence to be acceptable. For example, a 把 sentence could be used to describe something being written down:

我把我的姓名写下来了。

Here the name hasn't been physically affected, but it has been converted into written form so its disposal is still described. Another example:

我有一件是想说出来。

Again, the 'something' in this sentence can't be 'changed' or 'affected' by being spoken about, but it is a change of form so a 把 sentence can be used. Even real world objects that do physically exist do not need to be physically affected to appear in a 把 sentence:

我把小偷的脸给警察描述出来了。

Nothing has actually happened to the thief's face here, but its appearance has been described and passed on to the police, which counts as disposal.

Verbs for 把 sentences

You might have noticed by now that some types of verbs are more suitable for 把 sentences than others. This comes back to the issue of disposal, as described in the section above. Because of this, there are some verbs that work really well in 把 sentences, or even sound unnatural without this structure. Here are some examples:

  • 放 - putting an object in a place is a perfect action for a 把 sentence. 放 pretty much has to be in a 把 construction.
  • 买 and 卖. Sentences about buying and selling also prefer a 把 structure.
  • 当 and 成. Taking one thing to be another or converting something into something else is best expressed with a 把 sentence.

A related point is that the verb (or verb phrase) in a 把 sentence must clearly indicate the result. This prevents single character verbs from being used alone in 把 sentences. They have to be combined with some sort of result to form a compound. Common options are 下, 到, 掉.

Because result complements and 把 sentences are both about the end results of actions, they appear together very frequently. If you're using one, in most cases you can be pretty sure that it will go nicely with the other.

On the other hand, some verbs generally can't indicate what happened to the object. They only describe what the subject did. Here are some examples of verbs that do not generally work in 把 sentences:

  • Psychological verbs
    • 爱
    • 喜欢
    • 想念
    • 了解
    • 害怕
    • 痛恨
  • Perception verbs
    • 看
    • 听
    • 闻
    • 像

把 sentences and complements

Because 把 sentences are all about disposal, and complements in Mandarin often handle this issue, it's good to be aware of how these two grammar features interact.

The first point is that potential complements cannot appear in 把 sentences. This is because they are hypothetical, whereas a 把 sentence must describe what actually happens.

Result complements, on the other hand, work particularly well in 把 sentences. When you consider that both structures deal with the result or outcome of an action, this makes sense. The majority of result complements (except for perception verbs) fit in very well in a 把 construction. A couple of examples:

  • 我把我的作业做完了。
  • 你把这个汉字写错了。

Direction complements also work well in 把 constructions, for similar reasons. For example:

  • 请把这些东西拿起来。
  • 我把他推出去了。

In summary, remember that 把 sentences can not be used with potential complements, but prefer to be used with result and direction complements.

Other uses of 把

It's important to note that 把 has other uses. The most common is as a measure word for things with handles, or things that you hold. Examples include 一把椅子, 一把枪 and 一把扇子. So, you've got to look at how 把 is being used in a sentence before you can understand its meaning.

To demonstrate the difference, here's a sentence with both kinds of 把 in:

请你把那把椅子交给我。

Sources and further reading

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