把 with 在, 到, 给 and 成: putting things somewhere
Four complements make 把 obligatory rather than optional: 在 and 到 for where a thing ends up, 给 for who receives it, 成 for what it becomes.
Structure
主语 + 把 + 宾语 + 动词 + 在／到 + 处所 ｜ + 给 + 接受者 ｜ + 成 + 结果
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
Most sentences have a plain alternative. These four do not: once the verb is followed by , , or , the object has to move in front of the verb with .
says where something ends up: “Please put the book on the table.” is not Chinese — the object cannot sit between the verb and .
says where it was taken, or how far: “I took the luggage up to the room”, . implies movement across a distance, only the resting place.
names the receiver: “I gave him this book”, “Please hand me your passport.” The verb before is what was actually done — , , , — and attaches the person.
says what the thing turned into: “Please translate this sentence into English”, “I’d like to change my renminbi into dollars.” The verbs that take are the verbs of turning one thing into another: , , , , .
The general rules of still apply. The object must be definite — , not …. Negators and adverbs go in front of : “I didn’t give him the money.” And the complement is not optional: is incomplete, because alone does not say the luggage arrived.
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
请把书放在桌子上。請把書放在桌子上。
Qǐng (third tone, dipping) bǎ (third tone, dipping) shū (first tone, high and level) fàng (fourth tone, falling) zài (fourth tone, falling) zhuōzi (first tone, high and level) shàng. (fourth tone, falling)···
Please put the book on the table.
我把行李送到房间了。我把行李送到房間了。
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) bǎ (third tone, dipping) xíngli (second tone, rising) sòng (fourth tone, falling) dào (fourth tone, falling) fángjiān (second tone, rising) le. (neutral tone)···
I took the luggage up to the room.
请把这个句子翻译成英文。請把這個句子翻譯成英文。
Qǐng (third tone, dipping) bǎ (third tone, dipping) zhège (fourth tone, falling) jùzi (fourth tone, falling) fānyì (first tone, high and level) chéng (second tone, rising) Yīngwén. (first tone, high and level)···
Please translate this sentence into English.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 请放书在桌子上。
Correct
Correct sentence: 请把书放在桌子上。
Why: Nothing may stand between the verb and 在. The object has to move in front of the verb, and 把 is what carries it there.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我把行李送房间了。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我把行李送到房间了。
Why: A 把 sentence needs an element after the verb, and here that element is 到. Without it, 送 does not say the luggage got there.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我把钱没给他。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我没把钱给他。
Why: Negators and adverbs always come before 把, never between 把 and the verb.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
Both patterns can involve giving, and 给 appears in both, but in different roles. In a double-object sentence, 给 is the verb itself and takes two objects in a fixed order: 我给他一本书 “I gave him a book.” In this pattern 给 is a complement attached to some other verb, naming the person the thing reached: 我把这本书送给他了. Use the double-object frame when the plain fact of giving is the message; use 把…给 when the point is what happened to a particular, already-known object. Notice that the 把 version requires a definite object — 这本书 — while 一本书 fits the double-object frame comfortably.
Verbs with two objects: 给, 送, 教 →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Choose the correct way to say “Please put the book on the table.”