Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Rules, Examples, Mistakes
By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 12 October 2026
(bǎ) brings a known object in front of the verb, so the sentence can say what happened to it. It is the natural way to talk about putting, moving, handing over, changing and finishing things, and it has three rules: a known object, a verb that never ends bare, and negation before .
Quick check
Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.
Spot the mistake
0/3Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.
wǒ bǎ mén méi guān shàng 。
qǐng bǎ zhè jù huà fān yì zhōng wén 。
wǒ bǎ zhè běn shū xǐ huan 。
The whole system on one screen
The colours stay the same all page long:
| Piece | Example | Pinyin | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | | wǒ | whoever acts on the object |
| Adverbs | / | méi / bié | before , not before the verb |
| bǎ | marks the thing acted on | |
| Object | | nà běn shū | one you both know |
| Verb | | fàng | does something to the object |
| Result | | zài zhuōzi shang | never left out |
(bǎ) is often called the "disposal" construction: the sentence is about what the subject did to a particular thing.
。(Wǒ chīfàn le.) - I've eaten. Nothing is done to a known thing.。(Wǒ bǎ fàn chīwán le.) - I've finished the meal. Here is what happened to it.
The verb never ends bare
This is the rule learners trip over most often. (bǎ) promises "here is the thing", and the listener waits to hear what happened to it. A bare verb leaves the promise unpaid:
。(Wǒ bǎ shū kàn.) - Not a sentence: what happened to the book?。(Wǒ bǎ shū kànwán le.) - I finished reading the book.
The result slot takes any of these:
| Result | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| done | 。 | Wǒ bǎ zuòyè zuòwán le | I finished my homework |
| properly | 。 | Māma bǎ fàn zuòhǎo le | Mum has the meal ready |
| a state | 。 | Wǒ bǎ yīfu xǐ gānjìng le | I washed the clothes clean |
| a direction | 。 | Tā bǎ shū ná chūlái le | He took the book out |
。 | Qǐng bǎ mén guān yíxià | Could you shut the door |
The last row is how (bǎ) turns up in polite requests: a quick (yíxià), or a doubled verb, counts as a result. (nǐ bǎ fángjiān shōushi shōushi), tidy your room a bit. The results themselves are on the complements page.
When a bare 了 (le) is enough
The result can be as small as (le), but only when the verb itself already means the object is gone, used up or changed:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ bǎ dàngāo chī le. | I ate the cake |
。 | Tā bǎ chē mài le. | He sold the car |
。 | Wǒ bǎ tā de míngzi wàng le. | I forgot his name |
。 | Tā bǎ lājī rēng le. | He threw the rubbish out |
With a verb that does not finish anything off by itself, (le) alone sounds incomplete: (wǒ bǎ shū kàn le) is shaky, and (wǒ bǎ shū kànwán le) is what to say.
The object is one you both know
The object after (bǎ) is normally one the listener can identify: the book, this letter, my keys, it. A bare noun there is read that way: (wǒ bǎ shū kànwán le) means the book, not a book.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ bǎ nà běn shū kànwán le. | right: that book |
。 | Wǒ kànwán le yì běn shū. | right: a book, plain order |
。 | Wǒ bǎ yì běn shū kànwán le. | odd for "I read a book" |
A new, unknown object stays in plain order. Indefinite objects do turn up in natives' speech (, tā bǎ yì běn shū nòng diū le, he's gone and lost a book), but keep (bǎ) for things you both know until you have the feel of it.
在 (zài), 到 (dào), 给 (gěi) and 成 (chéng): where it ends up
When the verb says where the object ends up, who gets it or what it turns into, (bǎ) is the natural, often the only comfortable, way to say it:
| Endpoint | Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| at | 。 | Qǐng bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang | Put the book on the table |
| to | 。 | Qǐng bǎ lājī rēng dào wàimiàn | Put the rubbish outside |
| to someone | 。 | Wǒ bǎ qián huán gěi tā le | I paid him back |
| into | 。 | Qǐng bǎ zhè jù huà fānyì chéng Zhōngwén | Translate this into Chinese |
我把书给朋友 (wǒ bǎ shū gěi péngyou): 我 wǒ, I, the giver; 把书 bǎ shū, the book, the thing given; 给朋友 gěi péngyou, to a friend, the one who gets it.
Try "put the book on the table" without (bǎ) and you get (wǒ fàng shū zài zhuōzi shang), which sounds like a translation from English. With the verb (gěi) itself, there is no doubled : (wǒ bǎ qián gěi tā le), I gave him the money.
In quick speech the (zài) or (dào) is sometimes swallowed: (bǎ shū fàng zhuōzi shang). Learn and write the full form. (chéng) never drops: (fānyì chéng Zhōngwén), not .
Negation and adverbs go before 把 (bǎ)
In a plain sentence, (méi) sits right before the verb. In a (bǎ) sentence the verb is at the far end, so (méi), (bié) and modal verbs such as (xiǎng) move in front of instead. Most adverbs, (yǐjīng) among them, usually go there too:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ méi bǎ mén guān shang. | I didn't shut the door |
！ | Bié bǎ tā rēng le! | Don't throw it away |
。 | Wǒ xiǎng bǎ zhège wèntí jiějué hǎo. | I want to sort this out properly |
。 | Wǒ yǐjīng bǎ qián huán gěi tā le. | I've already paid him back |
One adverb usually stays after : (dōu), "all of it", follows the object it sums up: (wǒ bǎ shū dōu kànwán le), I've read all the books.
A (méi) sentence leaves the final (le) off, as usually does: (tā méi bǎ zuòyè xiěwán), he didn't finish the homework.
Verbs that never take 把 (bǎ)
If the verb does nothing to the object, (bǎ) has nothing to report. The test: can you answer "what did you do to it?" with this verb? "I shut it", yes. "I knew it", no.
| Kind | Verbs | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| being, having | (shì), (yǒu), (zài) | 。 |
| liking, wanting | (xǐhuan), (ài), (xiǎng) | 。 |
| knowing, seeing | (zhīdào), (rènshi), (kànjiàn) | 。 |
| coming and going | (lái), (qù) | 。 |
把 (bǎ) and 被 (bèi)
(bèi) also puts the object before the verb, from the other side: the thing affected becomes the subject.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ bǎ bēizi dǎ pò le. | I broke the cup |
。 | Bēizi bèi wǒ dǎ pò le. | The cup got broken by me |
Both need a verb with a result. The 被 (bèi) passive has the rest.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
。 | 。 | the verb needs a result |
。 | 。 | (méi) goes before (bǎ) |
。 | 。 | turning into needs (chéng) |
。 | 。 | liking does nothing to the book |
。 | 。 | no result, so no (bǎ) |
What to do next
- Do the drill below.
- Look round the room and give three instructions with
(bǎ) and an endpoint:(bǎ shǒujī fàng zài zhuōzi shang). - Then read the 被 (bèi) passive, the same event seen from the object's side.