凭 is a preposition
that means "on the basis of" or "by virtue of." Usually the subject
of a sentence with 凭 is a person.
Structure with 凭
凭 with a noun
凭 can be followed up with a noun or noun phrase. The nouns can
be something concrete like 银行卡, 身份证, etc., or they can be something
abstract like 经验, 努力, 感觉 etc.
Examples
- 凭 护照， 外国 人 可以 买 火车 票。With the help
of a passport, foreigners can buy train tickets.
- 他 凭 自己 的 努力 学 了 三千 多 个 汉字。He
studied more than three thousand Chinese characters on his own
volition.
- 我们 凭 学生证 在 电影院 享受 折扣 优待。Since we
have student ID cards, we enjoy a special discount at the movie
theater.
凭 with a verb phrase
凭 can also be used with a verb phrase or subject-predicate
phrase,as follows:
凭 + Verb Phrase / Subj.-Predicate
Examples
- 怪不得 那 个 孩子 的 数学 不 好，他 只 凭 计算器 算。No
wonder that kid's math is so bad. It's because he always uses a
calculator.
- 学好 跳舞 不 能 只 凭 看 迈克尔·杰克逊 的 音乐 录像带， 还 得 凭 自己 的
努力。Watching Michael Jackson music videos isn't
enough to study how to dance. You also have to push
yourself.
- 凭 老 李 在 这 一 行 做 了 二 十 年，他 就 有 资格 做 你 的 师傅。On the basis of Old Li's twenty years of experience, he is
qualified to be your teacher.
- 凭 我 学 中文 的 时间 比 你 短 但是 说 得 比 你 好，我 就 可以 说 我 比 你
聪明。From the fact that I have studied Chinese
for a shorter time, but speak better than you, I can say that I'm
more intelligent than you are.
凭 with 什么
This is one of the most common grammatical phrases, heard many
times. It often has a feeling of dissatisfaction or anger, perhaps
said while people are arguing. It is like saying "On what basis do
you ...!?!?" Usually it is paired with blame, scold, hit etc.
Subj. + 凭什么 + Verb Phrase
Examples
- 你 凭什么 怪 我！On what grounds are you
blaming me?
- 我 没有 做 错，他 凭什么 骂 我？I haven't done
anything wrong. How can you scold me?
- 她 一直 很忠诚， 你 凭什么 怀疑 她？ She's always
been honest, how can you mistrust her?
Structure with 凭着
You can also add 着 to 凭 to make it 凭着, however when you do so
you can only use it if the action has already been completed. If
the actions happens frequently or has not happened yet, you cannot
use 凭着. The structure is the same as using 凭 by itself.
Examples
- 小白 凭着 自己 的 努力 致富。Off of his own
hard work, Little Bai was able to become rich.
- 他 凭着 智慧 战胜 了 很多 的 困难。Using his
intellect, he was able to overcome many challenges.
See also
Sources and further
reading
Books
Category:
B2 grammar points