Level 3 Lesson 15.2 – 我把房间打扫了。

GRAMMAR

Grammar 1. 把字句的结构

Bǎzìjù De Jiégòu ▸ Structure of The 把 Sentences

Let's look at an example sentence first:

Wǒ bǎ fángjiān dǎsào le.
我把房间打扫了。
I “ba” room clean-up -le.
I  - “disposing of” the room  - cleaned up.
[I had the room cleaned up.]

(1) Structure of 把字句

The structure of a typical 把字句 goes like this:

Subject + 把… + Verb Predicate

(2) Purpose of 把字句

We use a 把字句

1. to highlight the Subject’s DISPOSAL OF the Prepositional Object, and/or
2. to highlight the Subject’s IMPACT UPON the Prepositional Object

For example,

• Mèimei bǎ nà kuài miànbāo chī le.
  妹妹把那块面包吃了。
  Little sister - “disposing of” that “kuai” (of) bread - ate.
• Xiǎo Guān dǎsuàn míngnián bǎ gōngzuò huàn le.
  小关打算明年把工作换了。
  Little Guan plans to next year - “disposing of” (his) job - changes.
• Tā bǎ nà zhǎn dēng guān le.
  她把那盏灯关了。
  She - “ba” that “zhan” (of) light - turned off (already).

(3)  把字句 with Negative Words(不/没/别)

The structure goes like this, with the Negatives Words used before the "把 Phrase":

Subject + 不/没/别 + 把… + Verb Predicate

• Yī niánjí de xuésheng hái zuò bu dào bù bǎ zhèxiē Hànzì dōu xiě cuò.
  一年级的学生还做不到不把这些汉字写错。
  Student (of) Grade 1 still are not able to not - “disposing of” these Chinese characters - write wrong.
• Tā chūqu de shíhou méi bǎ bīngxiāng guānshàng.
  他出去的时候没把冰箱关上。
  He (when) going out (did) not - “disposing of” (the) refrigerator - close.
• Bié wàng le bǎ hùzhào ná zhe.
  别忘了把护照拿着。
  (Do) not forget to - “disposing of” (the) passport - be taking.

(4)  把字句 in Questions

The 把字句 can also be questions. The "把 Phrase" is used before the Verb Predicate.

• Nǐ zǒu de shíhou méi bǎ yàoshi dài zhe ma?
  你走的时候没把钥匙带着吗？
  (Did) you (when) leaving not - “disposing of” (the) key - not be taking?
• Tāmen bǎ jiéguǒ gàosu nǐ le méiyǒu?
  他们把结果告诉你了没有？
  (Did) they - “disposing of” (the) result - tell you (already or) not?
• Xiǎo Xióng zěnme bǎ nǚpéngyou de shēngrì wàng le?
  小熊怎么把女朋友的生日忘了？
  How come Little Xiong - “disposing of” (his) girlfriend’s birthday - forgot?

Grammar 2. 把字句的谓语

Bǎzìjù De Wèiyǔ ▸ Verb Predicates in The 把 Sentences

The Verb Predicates in a 把字句 are usually constructed by a Verb with other Sentence Elements.

❖ As students, we don't necessarily have to be able to tell exactly what type of Sentence Element is used along with the Verb, we're introducing the following types as possible examples that students may hear in daily conversation or may read in supplement materials.

(1) The Verb can be followed by a Particle

For example,

• Chūqu de shíhou bǎ màozi dài zhe.
  出去的时候把帽子戴着。
  (When) going out - “disposing of” (the) hat - be wearing.
• Wǒ bǎ bīngxiǎng mǎi le yǐhòu zài mǎi diànnǎo.
  我把冰箱买了以后再买电脑。
  I(, in the) time (that is) after -“disposing of” (a) refrigerator - buy(,) moreover buy (a) computer.

(2) The Verb can be followed by a Complement of Result

For example,

• Fēng bǎ xiǎo chuán guā zǒu le.
  风把小船刮走了。
  (The) wind - “disposing of” (the) small boat - blew away.
• Nǐ bǎ yá shuā gānjìng le méiyǒu?
  你把牙刷干净了没有？
  (Have) you - “disposing of” (your) teeth - clean up clean (already or) not?

(3) The Verb can be followed by a Complement of Frequency

For example,

• Tā xiǎng bǎ yǔxié shuā yí yà.
  他想把雨鞋刷一下。
  He wants to - “disposing of” (the) rain shoes - brush “really quick”.
• Wǒmen bǎ fángjiān li de dēng guān yíxià ba.
  我们把房间里的灯关一下吧。
  (Let) us - “disposing of” (the) lights (in the) room - turn off “(for) a little bit”.

(4) The Verb can be followed by a Complement of Time-Duration

For example,

• Shāngdiàn bǎ mén guān le yí ge xiǎoshí.
  商店把门关了一个小时。
  (The) shop - “disposing of” (its) door - closed (for) one “ge” (of) hour.
• Tā bǎ diànshì de shēngyīn guān le jǐ fēnzhōng.
  他把电视的声音关了几分钟。
  He - “disposing of” (the) TV sound - turned off (for) a few minutes.

(5) The Verb can be followed by a Complement of State

For example,

• Wǒ bǎ xǐshǒujiān dǎsǎo de hěn gānjìng.
  我把洗手间打扫得很干净。
  I - “disposing of” (the) bathroom - clean up very clean.
• Háizi bǎ zhè ge gùshi jiǎng de nàme qīngchu.
  孩子把这个故事讲得那么清楚。
  (The) child - “disposing of” this “ge” (of) story - tell that clear.

(6) The Verb can be in the Reduplication Form

For example,

• Nǐ qù bǎ liǎn xǐ yi xǐ.
  你去把脸洗一洗。
  You go (and) - “disposing of” (your) face - wash “really quick”.
• Wǒmen děi bǎ jiàoshì dǎsǎo dǎsǎo.
  我们得把教室打扫打扫。
  We need to - “disposing of” (the) classroom - clean up “really quick”.

(7) The Verb can be followed by an Object

For example,

• Wǒ bǎ nà shuāng shǒutào gěi dìdi le.
  我把那双手套给弟弟了。
  I - “disposing of” that pair (of) gloves - gave to (my) little brother (already).
• Néng bǎ yán gěi wǒ ma? Xièxie.
  能把盐给我吗？谢谢。
  Can (you) - “disposing of” (the) salt - give me? Thanks.

❖ 把字句 is a very important structure. It is commonly used in Chinese. And today we’re learning it for the first time. Later on we’ll learn more about 把字句, so that we’ll be able to say more complicated 把字句.