Co-verbs and co-verb phrases

The term "co-verb" refers to a verb when, used with its own object, its function is to modify the main verb of a sentence. An example is 在 zài , which can be used as a co-verb meaning to be located in, on or at a place. Please note in this context that sequence and background are important in Chinese when it comes to describing actions. The first action in a sequence should come first in an utterance. The way to learn co-verb phrases properly is to understand the description of sequence in Chinese word order. For instance,

小 丁 在 家 看 书

Xiăo Dīng zài jiā kàn shū

Xiao Ding is reading a book at home.

The first action in the sequence could be described as the background to the main action, but it still has to come first in the sentence, with the co-verb 在 zài to be located in followed by the noun 家 jiā home forming a co-verb phrase. In the example given here Xiao Ding would have had to be at home before he started reading the book .

English prepositions are similar to Chinese co-verbs, but they appear after the main verbal clause. This means that it can be difficult for English speakers to master Chinese co-verb phrases.

Here are some more examples to help you to consolidate the concept of co-verb phrases.

1. 我 坐 飞机 去中 国

wǒ zuò fēijī qù Zhōngguó

I’ll go to China by plane .

The action of 坐 zuò taking (lit. sitting on) the plane happens before going to China, so the co-verb phrase 坐飞机 zuò fēijī by ( taking the) plane is placed before the main verbal clause 去中国 qù Zhōngguó go to China .

2. If you want to say I study Chinese at Oxford you must bear in mind that in a Chinese person’s mind the person has to be 在牛津 zài Niújīn at Oxford before he can 学汉语 xué Hànyŭ study Chinese , so the sentence in Chinese is

我 在 牛津 学 汉语

wǒ zài Niújīn xué Hànyŭ

3. How do you say He goes to school by car? You must bear in mind that he has t o take (or sit in) the car before he can reach school, so 坐汽车 zuò qìchē by ( taking the) car should be placed before 去学校 qù xuéxiào go to school. The Chinese sentence should be 他 坐汽车 去学校 ta zuò qìchē qù xuéxiào.

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Going to School by car. Learning Chinese in classroom. Watching TV at home.

The words in the following list are the most commonly used co-verbs for beginners.

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Co-verbs

Co-verbs are a group of verbs that often act as prepositions in a clause with another verb, though they can act as verbs in their own right (prepositional constructions I, p. 155).

Amongst them are: -

Zai 在 ‘to be at, be in, at, in, on’

He is in China 他在中国

He studies at the Foreign Languages Institute 他在外语学院学习

Gei 给 ‘to, for (for indirect objects), to give to’

He gives me books 他给我书

He introduced me to his friend 他给我介绍他的朋友

Yong 用 ‘by means of, to use’

He is using a Chinese dictionary 他用汉语词典

He reads the newspaper with [the help of]a dictionary 他用词典看报

Other co-verbs:

Ti 替 ‘for, as a substitute for’

He is taking my place 他替我

I am writing a letter for my mother 我替我妈妈写信

Some co-verbs are almost always used in prepositional phrases, and only usually act as verbs in their own right with complements attached.

Dui 对 ‘Concerning, vis-a-vis, to be in front of , facing something/one’

He was facing the dormitory 他对着宿舍

He is very good to students 他对学生很好

Gen 跟 ‘in company with, to follow’

I follow my students to the Institute 我跟着我的学生

I am going to the shops with my students 我跟我的学生去商店

NB all co-verb constructions will come before the main verb in the way that prepositional or adverbial phrases come before the verbs they modify.

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Assignments

Translate the sentences into Chinese (15, co-verbs and measure words)

Are they all coming to the student dormitory to see me? Three of them are.

The English students often wrote letters to their Chinese friends.

The teacher gave an introduction to five students to the Chinese language.

I learn Chinese at the Institute for Chinese.

She is returning the book to me

Is Ms Wang (teacher) in China? Yes, she is studying there.

What are you buying? I buying books for my mother.

The readers in the library were all students from China.

Frequently asked questions

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1. What are co-verbs?

2. Why should I treat these words as co-verbs, but not prepositions?

3. How can I form a sentence with a co-v. clause?

4. Where should the adverbs, such as 常常 , 总是 , and modal verbs such as 可以 , 应该 be placed in the sentences which co-verbs are used?

5. What should I do if a sentence has more than one co-v. clause?

6. Can you tell me the difference between 离 and 从 ?

7. What is the difference between the co-verb 给 and 为 ?

8. What is the difference between 我跟他说 , 我对他说 and 我给他说 ?

   
   

   
   

   
   

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