把 (bǎ) Sentence Structure
Use 把 (bǎ) to move a specific, known object in front of the verb and spell out what happened to it: 我把门关上了 (“I closed the door”). The verb almost always needs a result, a direction, or 了 attached, and negation goes before 把.
Why this trips learners up
Almost every Chinese sentence you have met follows Subject → Verb → Object: 我吃饭. So the first time you see how to use 把 (bǎ) in Chinese, it looks backwards: 把 grabs the object and slides it in front of the verb, giving Subject + 把 + Object + Verb. Why bother? Because sometimes the plain order simply won’t work. To say “put the book on the table,” you can’t say 放书在桌子上 (a verb can’t take its object and then pile more words behind it); you need 把书放在桌子上. 把 is what lets you act on an object and then say where it ended up.
Here is the idea that makes it click: 把 is for when you do something to a specific, known thing and change it. You close the door, finish the rice, put the cup somewhere. The object is never brand-new information; it is something you both already have in mind (那本书, 我的手机, 碗里的饭), which is exactly why an indefinite “a book” doesn’t fit a 把 sentence. The sentence stops being just “what I did” and becomes “what happened to that object.”
Because a 把 sentence is all about the outcome, the verb can almost never stand alone. You attach something that shows the result: a complement (关上, 吃完, 打扫干净), a direction (拿过来, 带进去), a 了, or a count (写了十遍). A bare 我把书看 is wrong; 我把书看完了 is right. One placement rule comes with it: anything that scopes the whole action, negation (没 / 别 / 不要) and mood or time adverbs (已经, 可能), goes before 把, never inside the construction. So it’s 我没把作业做完, not 我把作业没做完.
Two extras are worth knowing early. With giving-and-taking verbs you can carry a second object across with 给: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + 给 + Recipient, as in 我们把礼物送给客人了 (“we gave the gift to the guests”). And watch for a completely different 把: the measure word for things you grab by a handle, 一把伞 (“an umbrella”), 一把椅子 (“a chair”). The two can even collide in one sentence, 请把那把伞拿给我 (“please pass me that umbrella”), where the first 把 is the construction and the second is the measure word. Read the slot each one sits in and they never actually confuse.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
wǒ 我 Subject bǎ 把 Pattern mén 门 Object guān 关 Verb shàng 上 Complement le 了 Function word
I closed the door.
qǐng 请 Function word bǎ 把 Pattern chuānghu 窗户 Object dǎ 打 Verb kāi 开 Complement
Please open the window.
tā 他 Subject bǎ 把 Pattern wǎn lǐ de fàn 碗里的饭 Object dōu 都 Adverb chī 吃 Verb wán 完 Complement le 了 Function word
He ate up all the rice in the bowl.
wǒmen 我们 Subject bǎ 把 Pattern lǐwù 礼物 Object sòng 送 Verb gěi 给 Function word kèrén 客人 Object le 了 Function word
We gave the gift to the guests. (Two objects: 把 fronts the gift, then 给 hands it to the recipient.)
bié 别 Negation bǎ 把 Pattern zhè jiàn shì 这件事 Object gàosu 告诉 Verb tā 他 Complement
Don't tell him about this.
nǐ 你 Subject shì bu shì 是不是 Question bǎ 把 Pattern hùzhào 护照 Object fàng 放 Verb zài xínglixiāng lǐ 在行李箱里 Place le 了 Function word
Did you put your passport in the suitcase? (A 是不是 question that still describes what happened to the object.)
tā 他 Subject bǎ 把 Pattern zhège zì 这个字 Object xiě 写 Verb le 了 Function word shí 十 Number biàn 遍 Measure word
He wrote this character ten times. (A verb-measure count, 十遍, closes the 把 sentence.)
fúwùyuán 服务员 Subject yǐjīng 已经 Time bǎ 把 Pattern wǒmen diǎn de cài 我们点的菜 Object duān 端 Verb shànglái 上来 Complement le 了 Function word
The waiter has already brought out the dishes we ordered.
Common mistakes
Why it happens: A 把 sentence has to say what happened to the object, so the verb can almost never stand alone. Add a result, a direction, or 了; here 看 (read) needs 完 (finish) to show the book actually got read.
Why it happens: Negation (没 / 不) and time words go before 把, not before the verb. Learners copy the position from a normal sentence, but in a 把 sentence everything that scopes the action sits in front of 把.
Why it happens: 把 needs a verb that actually does something to the object. Feeling and state verbs, 喜欢 (like), 知道 (know), 是 (be), change nothing, so they can never take 把. Use normal word order instead.
Why it happens: 把 needs a definite, known object, something you both already have in mind. An indefinite 一本书 (“a book”) doesn’t fit; make it 那本书 (“that book”), or use normal word order (我看完了一本书).
Compare & contrast
| With 把 | Normal word order | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 我把蛋糕吃了。wǒ bǎ dàngāo chī le. | 我吃了蛋糕。wǒ chī le dàngāo. | 把 spotlights the result on a specific, known cake: it got eaten. Plain word order simply reports the action. |
| 他把钥匙弄丢了。tā bǎ yàoshi nòng diū le. | 他丢了钥匙。tā diū le yàoshi. | 把 frames the key (a known object) and what became of it. Plain word order just states that a key was lost. |
Try it yourself
Put the cup on the table: rebuild the 把 sentence.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
把 (bǎ) Sentence Structure grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.