II. When to use the bǎ 把construction

 

Since the bǎ把 construction is used to point out what action has been carried out upon a particular object and how the object has consequently been disposed of, it is usually used when stating what one has done to something, what one has accomplished (the verb must take an object) or what has happened to something as a result of an action. It is also often used in imperative sentences such as commands, requests or instructions asking someone to move, change, deal with, handle or manipulate something and affect it in a specific way. The following are a few examples.

 

A.        Wǒ bǎ nǐ-de mén xiūhǎo le. 

            我把你的门修好了。

  I fixed your door.

 

B.        Wǒ bǎ jīntiān de zuòyè zuòwǎn le. 

  我把今天的作业做完了。

  I finished today’s homework.

 

C.        Wáng xiānsheng bǎ tā-de chē màigěi wǒ le.  

  王先生把他的车卖给我了。

  Mr. Wang sold his car to me.

 

D.        Qǐng nǐ bǎ lājī náchūqu.  

  请你把垃圾拿出去。

  Please take out the garbage.

 

E.        Bǎ chuānghu dǎkāi yìdiǎnr, hǎo bù hǎo? 

  把窗户打开一点儿，好不好？

  Open the window a little bit, all right?

 

There are two conditions under which the bǎ把 constructions is more likely to be used. First, “the more prominent the referent of the direct object is, the more appropriate it is to use a bǎ把 noun phrase to refer to it.” Second, “the more the verb elaborates or specifies how the direct object is being handled or dealt with, the more appropriate it is to use bǎ 把(Charles Li 1981:483-484).” The bǎ把 construction is also sometimes structurally required.