The 把 (bǎ) 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.

What is a 把 sentence?

A basic sentence in Mandarin is formed with a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, as in English:

Subj. + Verb Phrase + Obj.

A 把 sentence shakes things up a bit, and you get this structure:

Subj. + 把 + Obj. + Verb Phrase

Note that the object has moved, and is preceded by 把. You now have SOV word order.

This is all well and good, but most students of Chinese, on learning about 把 sentences for the first time, have the same reaction: "Why the hell would I ever use this structure? The SVO word order always works just fine, right?" The answer is: well, no... not always. It's true that 把 sentences are often used to achieve somewhat subtle differences in emphasis, but there are also very good reasons to use 把 sentences when a regular sentence just won't do. Take this sentence for example:

你把书放在桌子上。"Put the book on the table."Nǐ bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.

How would you say this without the 把 construction? You might try this:

你放书在桌子上。Nǐ fàng shū zài zhuōzi shàng.

The only problem is that the above sentence is not grammatical. You can't put an object right after a verb, and then put other modifiers of the verb after the object. Here are other examples of how to successfully use 把 and 放 in the same sentence.

她把手机放在包里了。"She put the phone in the bag."Tā bǎ shǒujī fàng zài bāo lǐ le.
请把钱放在桌子上。"Please put the money on the table."Qǐng bǎ qián fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.
你是不是把衣服放在办公室了？"Did you put your clothes in the office or not?"Nǐ shì bu shì bǎ yīfu fàng zài bàngōngshì le?

把 Sentences with Two Objects

The usual structure for 把 sentences, as described above, puts the object right after 把 for certain verbs, however, you can have two objects in a 把 sentence. Their use in a 把 sentence will also involve prepositions.

They use the following structure:

Subj. + 把 + Obj. 1 + Verb + Preposition + Obj. 2

Common verbs that take two objects include: 买 (mǎi), 卖 (mài), 送 (sòng), 借 (jiè), 还 (huán), 介绍 (jièshào).

把 sentences with two objects
Subject	把	Object 1	Verb	Preposition	Object 2
他	把	花	送	给	他女朋友	了	。
我	把	我的车	卖	给	朋友	了	。
我们	把	最好吃的东西	拿	给	客人	了	。

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.

Result complements 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:

我把作业做完了。Wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuò wán le.I finished the homework.
你把这个汉字写错了。Nǐ bǎ zhège Hànzì xiě cuò le.You wrote this character wrong.

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

请把这些东西拿出来。Qǐng bǎ zhèxiē dōngxi ná chūlái.Please take this stuff out.
我把他推出去了。Wǒ bǎ tā tuī chūqù le.I pushed him out.

Note that potential complements do not appear in 把 sentences. This is because they are hypothetical, whereas a 把 sentence must describe what actually happens.

Forming 把 sentences

Negating 把 sentences

To negate a 把 sentence, insert 不 (present or future) 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	用	坏	。
你	不要	把	我的水	喝	完	。
他	没	把	衣服	穿	好	。
她	没有	把	她的房间	打扫	干净	。
我	不想	把	这件事	告诉	她	。

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:

你把作业写完了吗？Nǐ bǎ zuòyè zuò wán le ma?Did you finishing doing your homework?
你可以把这些都吃完吗？Nǐ kěyǐ bǎ zhèxiē dōu chī wán ma?Can you eat these all?

你把我的东西放在哪里了？Nǐ bǎ wǒ de dōngxi fàng zài nálǐ le?Where did you put my stuff?
他把你的书借给谁了？Tā bǎ nǐ de shū jiè gěi shéi le?Who did he lend your book to?

你是不是把纸用完了？Nǐ shì bù shì bǎ zhǐ yòng wán le?Did you use up the paper or not?
你能不能把你的名字写清楚？Nǐ néng bù néng bǎ nǐ de míngzi xiě qīngchǔ?Can you write your name clearly or not?

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	这件事		告诉	别人了	。
她		把	咖啡	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 might involve noun measure words, which will come after the 把 and before the object.

More 把 and quantity examples
Subject	把	Measure Word	Object	Verb
我	把	你的两件	衣服	洗好了	。
他	把	昨天买的三块	蛋糕	吃了	。
请你	把	老师写给我们的几句	话	读一下	。

Verb measure words are frequently used in 把 sentences, and come at the end of a 把 sentence.

More 把 and quantity examples
Subject	把	Object	Verb	Measure Word
我	把	这句话	读了	三遍	。
妈妈	把	这些脏衣服	洗了	好几遍	。
弟弟	把	我的手机	玩坏了	好几次	。

Note that in all of these sentences, the object is something specific and definite.

把 sentences and aspect particles

The particles 了 and 着 can both be used with 把 constructions, while 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	。
请	把	你的电脑	带	着	。

Verbs for 把 sentences

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

Notes about 把

The object is known. (It's already been mentioned or discussed previously.)
The sentence describes what happened to the object in some detail (it's not just a "bare" verb; there's "more stuff" after the verb).

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 一把伞, 一把枪 and 一把椅子. 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:

请你把那把伞拿给我。Qǐng bǎ nà bǎ sǎn ná gěi wǒ.Please give me that umbrella.

Sources and further reading

Books

A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 461-70) →buy
Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 53-4) →buy
Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 159-64) →buy
Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 167-81) →buy
Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 3-5) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 142-4) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 225-7, 321-3) →buy
Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 463-92) →buy
Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 354-5) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 41-2, 88) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 15, 51, 101-2) →buy
40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 369-70, 384, 398-9)→buy

Websites

Mandarin Essential Grammar (Yale): 把 Construction
CTCFL (Oxford): The 把 Construction
ChinesePod: Qing Wen - The Magic Word 把 (free podcast content)
ChinesePod: Qing Wen - 把 Humbug (free podcast content)
FluentU: The Definite Guide to the Chinese Ba Construction
Mandarin Online: 把字句
Just Learn Chinese (blog): Lesson 10 How to understand and use Chinese sentence pattern “…把…”?

Category:Structures Category:Prepositions Category:Particles