City University of Hong Kong CLASS CLASS
Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Dec 7, 2020 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by Ariel (34,480 points) | 249 views

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In a 把 bǎ construction (see Unit 1), the verbal phrase expressing the instrument or vehicle should come before the 把 bǎ phrase.

我用吸尘器把地毯吸干净了。

Wǒ yòng xī chén qì bǎ dì tǎn xī gàn jìng le 。

I vacuumed the carpet. (lit. I cleaned the carpet with the vacuum cleaner.)

One does not usually say:

*我把地毯用吸尘器吸干净了。

Wǒ bǎ dì tǎn yòng xī chén qì xī gàn jìng le 。

to translate, ‘I cleaned the carpet with the vacuum cleaner.’

[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.

answered Dec 7, 2020 by Ariel (34,480 points)

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1,614 questions
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15,645 users