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<p>"Separable verbs" get their name from their ability to
"separate" into two parts (a <a href="verb" class="uri" title=
"wikilink">verb</a> part and an <a href="object" class="uri" title=
"wikilink">object</a> part), with other words in between. In fact,
you could also simply call separable verbs "verb-object <a href=
"phrase" title="wikilink">phrases</a>."</p>
<h2 id="what-they-are">What They Are</h2>
<p>Purely from the "separable" aspect, Mandarin's separable verbs
have a counterpart in English: phrasal verbs (also called two-word
verbs). While the grammatical components of English's phrasal verbs
are different, the "separable" quality works in a very similar way.
Take the phrasal verb "check out" for example:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check out</strong> my new computer.</li>
<li><strong>Check</strong> my new computer
<strong>out</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Do you see what happened there? The verb "check out" can split
into two parts (a <em>verb</em> and a <em>preposition</em>), and
other words can go in between those two parts. Separable verbs work
much the same way in Chinese, except that the two parts are a
<em>verb</em> and an <em>object</em> (a noun).</p>
<p>Let's look at a typical example in Chinese, using the verb 见面,
meaning "to meet."</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我们 明天 <em>见面</em> 。<span class="expl">no
separating</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen míngtiān
<em>jiànmiàn</em>.</span></li>
<li>我们 昨天 <em>见</em> <strong>了</strong> <em>面</em> 。<span class=
"expl">separated, 了 inserted</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen
zuótiān <em>jiàn</em> <strong>le</strong>
<em>miàn</em>.</span></li>
<li>我们 <em>见</em> <strong>过</strong> <em>面</em> 。<span class=
"expl">separated, 过inserted</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen
<em>jiàn</em> <strong>guo</strong> <em>miàn</em>.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Below we will introduce separable verbs in more detail, provide
more examples, and also offer more specific cases of where
separable verbs can get tricky.</p>
<h2 id="why-use-them">Why Use Them</h2>
<p>If separable verbs are simply verb-object phrases, then why the
special name? It's because there are some special features of
Chinese verb-object phrases worth special attention, and the name
"separable verbs" helps call attention to this. Mastering separable
verbs can be a little tricky, and is an essential objective of the
intermediate (<a href="B1" class="uri" title="wikilink">B1</a>)
level learner of Chinese.</p>
<p>Separable verbs are just one of those things you can't avoid.
Many extremely common verbs, such as "to sleep" (睡觉) or "to meet"
(见面) are separable verbs, and until you understand which verbs are
separable verbs and how they work, you'll forever be making
mistakes with these verbs, even in very basic sentences.</p>
<h2 id="how-to-use-them">How to Use Them</h2>
<p>First, you need to understand the structure of separable verbs.
Most separable verbs are a "Verb + Object" (the object is a noun)
construct. One might wonder, then, why there needs to be a separate
category called "separable verbs" instead of just thinking of them
as a verb and an object. There are several reasons to think of them
as special verbs:</p>
<ol>
<li>Many separable verbs can't be easily translated into other
languages in a way that makes both the verb and the object part
clear. For example, 睡觉 (to sleep), 游泳 (to swim), or 结婚 (to get
married). In these examples, it's just not easy to think of the
objects as an object.</li>
<li>The relationship between the verb and the object in a separable
verb pair is very close; adding the object to the verb is sort of
the "default form" of the verb, even if the verb part can be used
without the object.</li>
<li>Separable verbs are a source of frequent errors from learners
of Chinese. No matter how you think of them, it's good to give
these "words" or "phrases" extra attention to make your Chinese
more natural.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>The key to using separable verbs correctly is to
remember that they are "Verb + Object" constructs.</strong> The
verb alone must be treated as a verb, and the object cannot be
treated as a verb. It's from this essential relationship that the
following principles flow:</p>
<h3 id="common-examples">Common Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 想 <strong>跟 你</strong> <em>见面</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
xiǎng <strong>gēn nǐ</strong> <em>jiànmiàn</em>.</span><span class=
"expl">the prepositional phrase, literally "with you," comes before
the verb</span></li>
<li>我 想 <em>见面</em> <strong>你</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
xiǎng <em>jiànmiàn</em> <strong>nǐ</strong>.</span><span class=
"expl">你 is an extra object; 面 is already the object</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>我们 都 可以 <em>帮忙</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu kěyǐ
<em>bāngmáng</em>.</span><span class="trans">All of us can help you
with this.</span></li>
<li>我们 都 可以 <em>帮忙</em> <strong>你</strong> 。<span class=
"pinyin">Wǒmen dōu kěyǐ <em>bāngmáng</em>
<strong>nǐ</strong>.</span><span class="expl">你 is an extra object;
忙, which means "a favor", is already the object</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>我 想 <strong>跟 她</strong> <em>结婚</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
xiǎng <strong>gēn tā</strong> <em>jiéhūn</em>.</span><span class=
"expl">the prepositional phrase, literally "with her," comes before
the verb</span></li>
<li>我 想 <em>结婚</em> <strong>她</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
xiǎng <em>jiéhūn</em> <strong>tā</strong>.</span><span class=
"expl">她 is an extra object; 婚 is already the object</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>他 不 喜欢 <em>聊 他 的 工作</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā bù xǐhuan
<em>liáo tā de gōngzuò</em>.</span><span class="trans">He doesn't
like to talk about his work.</span></li>
<li>他 不 喜欢 跟 我 <em>聊天</em> <strong>他 的 工作</strong> 。<span class=
"pinyin">Tā bù xǐhuan <em>liátiān</em> <strong>tā de
gōngzuò</strong>.</span><span class="expl">天 is an extra object;
他的工作 is already the object.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>他 下个月 <em>离职</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā xià gè yuè
<em>lízhí</em>.</span><span class="trans">He will leave his job
next month.</span></li>
<li>他 下个月 <em>离职</em> <strong>他 的 工作</strong> 。<span class=
"pinyin">Tā xià gè yuè <em>lízhí</em> <strong>tā de
gōngzuò</strong>.</span><span class="expl">他的工作 is an extra object;
职, which means "job," is already the object</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3 id="used-with-了-着-过">Used with 了, 着, 过</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>见</em> <strong>了</strong> <em>面</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>jiàn</em> <strong>le</strong>
<em>miàn</em></span></li>
<li><em>见</em> <strong>过</strong> <em>面</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>jiàn</em> <strong>guo</strong>
<em>miàn</em></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><em>结</em> <strong>了</strong> <em>婚</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>jié</em> <strong>le</strong> <em>hūn</em></span></li>
<li><em>结</em> <strong>过</strong> <em>婚</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>jié</em> <strong>guo</strong> <em>hūn</em></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><em>开</em> <strong>了</strong> <em>会</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>kāi</em> <strong>le</strong> <em>huì</em></span></li>
<li><em>开</em> <strong>过</strong> <em>会</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>kāi</em> <strong>guo</strong> <em>huì</em></span></li>
<li><em>开</em> <strong>着</strong> <em>会</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>kāi</em> <strong>zhe</strong> <em>huì</em></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><em>吃</em> <strong>了</strong> <em>饭</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>chī</em> <strong>le</strong> <em>fàn</em></span></li>
<li><em>吃</em> <strong>过</strong> <em>饭</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>chī</em> <strong>guo</strong> <em>fàn</em></span></li>
<li><em>吃</em> <strong>着</strong> <em>饭</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>chī</em> <strong>zhe</strong> <em>fàn</em></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><em>Note: unlike the particles 过 and 着, the particle 了 is
especially tricky, and it can also appear after the object. So it
can be correct in multiple places.</em></p>
<h3 id="used-with-measure-words">Used with Measure Words</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>见</em> <strong>个</strong> <em>面</em> 吧 。<span class=
"pinyin"><em>Jiàn</em> <strong>gè</strong>
<em>miàn</em></span><span class="trans">Let's meet.</span></li>
<li>我们 <em>见</em> 过 <strong>三 次</strong> <em>面</em> <span class=
"pinyin">Wǒmen <em>jiàn</em> guo <strong>sān cì</strong>
<em>miàn</em></span><span class="trans">We've met three
times.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>什么时候 有空 ，出来 <em>吃</em> <strong>个</strong> <em>饭</em> 吧
。<span class="pinyin">Shénme shíhou yǒu kòng, chūlái <em>chī</em>
<strong>gè</strong> <em>fàn</em>ba.</span><span class="trans">When
you're available, let's go out for dinner.</span></li>
<li>老板 请 大家 <em>吃</em> 了 <strong>一 顿</strong> <em>饭</em>
<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn qǐng dàjiā <em>chī</em> le <strong>yī
dùn</strong> <em>fàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">The boss
invited everyone to dinner.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>希望 你 今晚 <em>睡</em> <strong>个</strong> 好 <em>觉</em>
。<span class="pinyin">Xīwàng nǐ jīnwǎn <em>shuì</em>
<strong>gè</strong> hǎo <em>jiào</em>.</span><span class="trans">I
hope you can have some good sleep tonight.</span></li>
<li>昨晚 我 只 <em>睡</em> 了 <strong>一 个 小时</strong> <em>觉</em>
。<span class="pinyin">Zuówǎn wǒ zhǐ <em>shuì</em> le <strong>yī gè
xiǎoshí</strong> <em>jiào</em>.</span><span class="trans">I only
slept one hour last night.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>他 爷爷 <em>结</em> 过 <strong>三 次</strong> <em>婚</em> 。<span class=
"pinyin">Tā yéye <em>jié</em> guo <strong>sān cì</strong>
<em>hūn</em>.</span><span class="trans">His grandpa got married
three times.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3 id="how-to-reduplicate">How to Reduplicate</h3>
<p><a href="Verb_reduplication" title="wikilink">Reduplication</a>
is a way to express the casual nature of a verb, or that it happens
only briefly. When it comes to separable verbs, <em>only the verb
part reduplicates</em>.</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>见 <em>见</em> 面<span class="pinyin">jiàn <em>jiàn</em>
miàn</span><span class="expl">the proper reduplication repeats only
the verb 见)</span></li>
<li><em>见</em><strong>面</strong> <em>见面</em><span class=
"pinyin"><em>jiàn</em><strong>miàn</strong>
<em>jiànmiàn</em></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>吃 <em>吃</em> 饭<span class="pinyin">chī <em>chī</em>
fàn</span><span class="expl">the proper reduplication repeats only
the verb 吃)</span></li>
<li><em>吃<strong>饭</strong>吃饭</em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>chī</em><strong>fàn</strong>
<em>chīfàn</em></span><span class="expl">饭 is the object; it should
not be repeated.)</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>散 <em>散</em> 步<span class="pinyin">sàn <em>sàn</em>
bù</span><span class="expl">the proper reduplication repeats only
the verb 散)</span></li>
<li><em>散<strong>步</strong>散步</em><span class="pinyin"><em>sàn
<strong>bù</strong> sànbù</em></span> <span class="expl">步 is the
object; it should not be repeated.)</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Note that separable verbs can't used with 一下 to express it
happens briefly.</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>见面</em> <strong>一下</strong><span class=
"pinyin"><em>jiànmiàn</em> <strong>yīxià</strong></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><em>散步<strong>一下</strong></em> <span class=
"pinyin"><em>sànbù</em> <strong>yīxià</strong></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="common-examples-1">Common examples</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most common examples of separable verbs that
beginners struggle with are 见面 and 睡觉. For a more complete list,
see the <a href="list_of_separable_verbs" title="wikilink">list of
separable verbs</a>.</p>
<h2 id="academic-debate">Academic debate</h2>
<p>There is some debate as to how useful the concept of separable
verbs really is. For our purposes, we're only concerned with
whether or not separable verbs are a useful concept <em>for the
student of Mandarin Chinese</em>. Many learners do, in fact, find
the concept to be quite useful in helping them speak more natural
Chinese.</p>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href=
"Chinese_Grammar_Without_Tears_(%E7%AE%80%E6%98%8E%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8C)"
title="wikilink">Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册)</a>
(pp. 208) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B0041UGAJU&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B0041UGAJU">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC3)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)</a> (pp.
16-7) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=756191251X">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (p.
113) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89"
title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课上册）</a> (p. 111)<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>
<ul>
<li>The Canadian TCSL Association: <a href=
"http://www.canadiantcslassociation.ca/PDF/jor0852037.pdf">离合词教学的理论与实践</a></li>
<li>北京语言大学网络教育学院: <a href=
"http://media.eblcu.cn/cls/demo/401053/course/1/1/sid003.htm">离合词及其教学</a></li>
<li>百度百科: <a href=
"http://baike.baidu.com/view/165257.htm">离合词</a></li>
<li>Sinosplice.com: <a href=
"http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2008/10/13/syntactic-anguish-of-the-verb-object-modifier-variety">
Syntactic Anguish of the Verb-Object-Modifier Variety</a></li>
<li>ChinesePod (free content): <a href=
"http://chinesepod.com/lessons/separable-verbs">Qing Wen -
Separable Verbs</a></li>
<li>Chinesegrammar.info: <a href=
"http://chinesegrammar.info/vocabulary/bang-and-bang-mang/">A look
into the seperable verb 帮忙 by comparing it to 帮.</a></li>
<li>Mandarin Friend: <a href=
"https://mandarinfriend.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/separable-verbs-a-misleading-concept-for-chinese-learners/">
“Separable Verbs” – A Misleading and Unnecessary Concept</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:Verbs" class="uri" title=
"wikilink">Category:Verbs</a></p>
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