Using 跟 (gēn) to express "with" is so simple and helpful, after
studying it briefly, it will always be *with* you! 跟 (gēn) is a very
common word that will help complete many other sentence structures.

Structure
---------

The preposition 跟 (gēn) is commonly used to express "with." Just
remember that the "with" phrase comes *before the verb*.

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 跟 + Person + Verb + Obj.

</div>
The word 一起 (yīqǐ) is used a lot with 跟 (gēn), expressing the idea of
"doing something *together with* somebody." It may seem kind of
redundant, but it's totally normal in Chinese to use both.

Also, for most of the examples below, 跟 (gēn) is interchangeable with
和 (hé), which you may remember, also means "[and](and "wikilink"),"
just like 跟 (gēn) does.

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 跟 + Person + 一起 + Verb + Obj.

</div>
Certain Chinese [verbs](verb "wikilink") use 跟 (gēn) a lot, so be on
the lookout for them (examples below)!

Examples
--------

<div class="liju">
-   我 昨天 <em>跟</em> 朋友 <strong>去</strong> 海滩
    了。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān <em>gēn</em> péngyou <strong> qù
    </strong> hǎitān le.</span><span class="trans">I went to the beach
    with friends yesterday.</span>
-   不要 <em>跟</em> 我
    <strong>说话</strong>！<span class="pinyin">Bùyào <em>gēn</em> wǒ
    <strong>shuōhuà</strong>!</span><span class="trans">Don't talk to
    me!</span>
-   我 明天 要 <em>跟</em> 新 客户
    <strong>见面</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ míngtiān yào
    <em>gēn</em> xīn kèhù
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I'm going to
    meet new clients tomorrow.</span>
-   你 什么 时候 <em>跟</em> 你 女朋友
    <strong>结婚</strong>？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ shénme shíhou
    <em>gēn</em> nǐ nǚpéngyou
    <strong>jiéhūn</strong>?</span><span class="trans">When are you
    gonna marry your girlfriend?</span>
-   你 喜欢 <em>跟</em> 你 父母 <strong>聊天</strong> 吗？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan <em>gēn</em> nǐ fùmǔ
    <strong>liáotiān</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you like
    to talk with your parents?</span>
-   你 想 <em>跟</em>我 <strong>一起 去</strong> 吗？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ xiǎng <em>gēn</em> wǒ <strong>yīqǐ
    qù</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you want to go with
    me?</span>
-   请 你们 <em>跟</em> 老师 <strong>一起
    读</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Qǐng nǐmen <em>gēn</em> lǎoshī
    <strong>yīqǐ dú</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Please read
    together with the teacher.</span>
-   下 周 谁 <em>跟</em>老板 <strong>一起
    出差</strong>？<span class="pinyin">Xià zhōu shéi <em>gēn</em>
    lǎobǎn <strong>yīqǐ chūchāi</strong>?</span><span class="trans">Who
    is going on a business trip together with the boss next week?</span>
-   结婚 以后，你 想 <em>跟</em> 父母 <strong>一起 住</strong>
    吗？<span class="pinyin">Jiéhūn yǐhòu, nǐ xiǎng <em>gēn</em> fùmǔ
    <strong>yīqǐ zhù</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you want
    live together with your parents after you get married?</span>
-   今年 中秋节 你 会 <em>跟</em> 家人<strong> 一起 过 </strong>
    吗？<span class="pinyin">Jīnnián Zhōngqiūjié nǐ huì <em>gēn</em>
    jiārén <strong>yīqǐ guò</strong> ma?</span><span class="trans"> Are
    you going to spend this Mid-Autumn Festival with your family?</span>

</div>
**Note:** One of the most common beginner mistakes is to fail to use 跟
(gēn) with 见面 (jiànmiàn), "to meet." It might help to think of 见面
(jiànmiàn) as "to meet *with* (somebody)," the "with" cluing you into
the fact that you need a 跟 (gēn) in there. The verbs 结婚 (jiéhūn), "to
marry," and 聊天 (liáotiān), "to chat" are used with 跟 (gēn) in the
exact same way.

Check out the examples below:

<div class="liju">
-   我 要 <strong>见面</strong> 你。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yào
    <strong>jiànmiàn </strong> nǐ.</span>
-   我 要 <em>跟</em> 你 <strong>见面</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    yào <em>gēn</em> nǐ
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I want to meet
    with you.</span>
-   我 昨天 <strong>见面</strong> 他 了。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong> tā le.</span>
-   我 昨天 <em>跟</em> 他 <strong>见面</strong>
    了。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān <em>gēn</em> tā
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong> le.</span><span class="trans">I met with
    him yesterday.</span>
-   你 什么时候 <strong>见面</strong> 她 ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    shénme shíhou <strong>jiànmiàn</strong> tā?</span>
-   你 什么时候 <em>跟</em> 她 <strong>见面</strong>
    ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ shénme shíhou <em>gēn</em> tā
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong>? </span><span class="trans">When are you
    going to meet with her?</span>
-   明天 我 要 <strong>见面</strong> 我 男朋友 的
    家人。<span class="pinyin">Míngtiān wǒ yào <strong>jiànmiàn</strong>
    wǒ nánpéngyou de jiārén.</span>
-   明天 我 要 <em>跟</em> 我 男朋友 的 家人
    <strong>见面</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Míngtiān wǒ yào
    <em>gēn</em> wǒ nánpéngyou de jiārén
    <strong>jiànmiàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Tomorrow I am
    going to meet my boyfriend's family.</span>
-   你 有没有 <strong>见面</strong> 过 Obama?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yǒu
    méiyǒu <strong>jiànmiàn</strong> guo Obama?</span>
-   你 有没有 <em>跟</em> Obama <strong>见 过
    面</strong>？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu <em>gēn</em> Obama
    <strong>jiàn guo miàn</strong>?</span><span class="trans">Have you
    ever met Obama?</span>

</div>
Later on you'll learn more about [why this is the
case](separable_verb "wikilink"), but for now just memorize the correct
pattern.

Where 和 (hé) and 跟 (gēn) Differ
---------------------------------

We mentioned earlier that 跟 (gēn) is essentially interchangeable with
和 (hé). There's at least one common usage where this is not the case,
though:

<div class="liju">
-   <strong>和</strong> 我 读 。<span class="pinyin"><strong>Hé</strong>
    wǒ dú.</span>
-   <em>跟</em> 我 读 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gēn</em> wǒ
    dú.</span><span class="trans">Read after me.</span>

</div>
The reason is that although 跟 (gēn) and 和 (hé) can both mean "and" or
"with," the word 跟 (gēn) also has a sense of "to follow" embedded in
it. There's a before/after aspect.

The following sentences are both correct, because they're simultaneous
rather than before/after:

<div class="liju">
-   <strong>和</strong> 我 <strong>一起</strong>
    读。<span class="pinyin"><strong>Hé</strong> wǒ
    <strong>yīqǐ</strong> dú.</span>
-   <em>跟</em> 我 <strong>一起</strong>
    读。<span class="pinyin"><em>Gēn</em> wǒ <strong>yīqǐ</strong>
    dú.</span><span class="trans">Read with me.</span>

</div>
Because of this slight difference between 跟 (gēn) and 和 (hé), it's
recommended to start out using 跟 (gēn) to mean "with."

See also
--------

-   [Expressing "together" with
    "yiqi"](Expressing_"together"_with_"yiqi" "wikilink")
-   [Verbs with "gei"](Verbs_with_"gei" "wikilink")
-   [Using "dui"](Using_"dui" "wikilink")
-   [Expressing "and" with "he"](Expressing_"and"_with_"he" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical
    Guide](Modern_Mandarin_Chinese_Grammar:_A_Practical_Guide "wikilink")
    (p.84,
    p.88)[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415700108?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415700108)
-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part
    1](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1 "wikilink") (pp.166-167)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")