20
把 bF sentences: The ‘disposal’
construction
把 bǎ sentences focus on what happens to the object of a verb as the result of some action.
They answer the question: What does/did the subject do to the object? 把 bǎ sentences can
always be paraphrased as: the subject takes/took the object and does/did (an action) with it.
The structure of 把 bǎ sentences is sometimes called the ‘disposal construction.’20.1 The structure of 把 bF sentences
把 bǎ sentences take the following form:
subject + 把 bǎ object + action verb他把我的车偷走了。
他把我的車偷走了。
Tā bǎ wǒ de chē tōuzǒu le.
He stole my car away.
The 把 bǎ construction is widely used in Mandarin, but it may only be used when the object
and the verb have certain properties.20.2 Properties of the subject and object in 把 bF sentences
20.2.1 Properties of the subject
The subject in a 把 bǎ sentence must be capable of causing something to happen. This includes
subjects that are animate such as people, animals, insects, etc., and also inanimate forces of
nature such as rain, wind, earthquakes, floods, etc.
把 bǎ sentences with animate subject我把英文翻成中文了。
Wǒ bǎ Yīngwén fānchéng Zhōngwén le.
I translated the English into Chinese.
谁把烤鸭吃光了。
誰把烤鴨吃光了。
Shéi bǎ kǎoyā chīguāng le.
Who ate (finished eating) the roast duck?鸡把虫都吃了。
雞把蟲都吃了。
Jī bǎ chóng dōu chī le.
The chicken(s) ate all of the worms.