PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

14

Prepositions and prepositional phrases

Prepositions occur before a noun phrase and indicate some relationship between the noun phrase and the main verb of the sentence. The preposition plus its noun phrase forms a prepositional phrase.

14.1The grammar of the prepositional phrase in the Mandarin sentence

Here are the two rules to follow when using prepositional phrases.

Rule 1. In Mandarin, the prepositional phrase occurs immediately before the verb phrase.

Compare this with English, in which the prepositional phrase occurs immediately after the verb phrase.

	[ ]	[ !"]
	[ ]	[ !"]
Tpmen	[gli dìdi]	[mki le brngqilín].
They [for younger brother] [buy ice cream]
They bought ice cream for younger brother.
	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]
Tp	[gqn tóngxué]	[liáo tipn].

She [with classmates] [chat]

She chats with classmates.

Rule 2. Nothing occurs between the preposition and its noun phrase object.

•The suffixes le, D/ zhe, and / guo follow verbs, but not prepositions:

Say this	Not this
!"#$%&	G !"#$%&
!"#$%	!"#$%
Tp zài Zhsngguó zhùguo yrnián.	Tp zàiguo Zhsngguo zhù yrnián.

He lived in China for a year.

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Basic functions of prepositions		14.2
Say this	Not this
!"#$%&	G !"#$%&
!"#$%	!"#$%
Wn zuótipn gqn tp shus huà le.	Wn zuótipn gqn le tp shus huà.

I spoke with him yesterday.

•Adverbs occur before the prepositional phrase. They do not occur between the prepositional phrase and the main verb.

Say this			Not this
!"#$%&			G !"#$%&
!"#$%			!"#$%
Qmng nm mKshàng dào wn jip lái.			Qmng nm dào wn jip mKshàng lái.
Please come to my home immediately.
!"#$%&'			G !"#$%&'
!"#$%&			!"#$%&
Wn yRdìng gqn nm qù kàn diànymng.			Wn gqn nm yRdìng qù kàn
			diànymng.

I will definitely go with you to see a movie.

Í15.1

14.2Basic functions of prepositions

Here are the most common Mandarin prepositions, arranged according to function. The prepositional phrase is emphasized in each example. The last category includes prepositions that are only used in formal speech and writing.

14.2.1Prepositions that indicate location in time or space – no movement involved

zài ‘at, in, on’

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tp mlitipn wknshang zài jiP chr fàn.

He eats at home every evening.

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tpmen mlitipn zài gSngyuán lM wán.

They play in the park every day.

zài is optional in time expressions

( ) !"#$%&'( ) !"#$%&

Wn (zài) liKng diKn zhSng lái zhko nm, xíng ma?

I’ll come looking for you at 2 o’clock, okay?

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PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

14.2

14.2.2Prepositions that indicate an action performed towards a reference point – no movement involved

/ duì ‘to, towards’

!"#$%&!"#$%

Tp duì nM shus le shénme huà?

What did he say to you?

xiàng ‘towards’

!"#$%

Tp yrzhí xiàng wàimian kàn.

He keeps looking (to the) outside.

14.2.3Prepositions that indicate joint performance of an action

gQn ‘with’

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'

Tp mlitipn gQn tP péngyou chr wofàn.

She eats lunch every day with her friends.

This use of gqn overlaps with that of the conjunction gqn.

Í16.1

14.2.4Prepositions that indicate movement of the subject

/ cóng ‘from’: movement from a location

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'

Tp mànmpn de cóng sùshè znuchtlái le.

He slowly walked out of the dormitory.

dào ‘to’: movement to a location that is the destination

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tp xikng dào cPntRng qù zhko péngyou.

He’s thinking about going to the cafeteria to look for his friends.

wKng, ‘towards’ a location

!"!

WKng xRbian znu.

Go (towards the) west.

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Basic functions of prepositions

14.2

/ jìn ‘into’ a location

!"#!"

Tp jìn chéng qù le.

He went into the city.

/ cóng and dào may occur in sequence in the same sentence:

= = != =

Cóng sùshè dào yóujú zlnme znu?

How do you go from the dormitory to the post office?

14.2.5Prepositions that indicate transfer of something from one noun phrase to another

/ gLi ‘to, for’

!"#$!"#

Tp gLi wN mki sht le.

She bought a book for me.

gQn ‘from’

!"#$!"#

Tp gQn wN jiè sht le.

He borrowed a book from me.

xiàng ‘from’

!"#$!"#

Tp xiàng wN jiè sht le.

He borrowed a book from me.

14.2.6Prepositions that indicate the beneficiary of an action performed by another

/ gLi ‘for, on behalf of’

!"#$!"#

Tp gLi wN xil xìn le.

She wrote a letter for me (on my behalf ). (This can also mean: She wrote a letter to me.)

tì ‘for, on behalf of ’

!"#$%&!"#$%

Míngtipn qmng nm tì wN jipo sht.

Please teach for me tomorrow.

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PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

14.2

14.2.7Prepositions that mark the agent in passive sentences

bèi ‘by’

!"#$%&'(

Wn de píbpo bèi rénjip tsuznu le.

My wallet was stolen by someone.

jiào ‘by’

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'

Wn de kèbln jiào péngyou nòngdit le.

My textbook was lost by my friend.

/ ràng ‘by’

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tpmen de fángzi ràng hun shpo le.

Their house was burned down by the fire.

Í17

NOTE The preposition is part of the following fixed expressions:

(someone)

(someone)

gvn (someone) kui wánxiào to play a joke on (someone)

!" #$%&

!" #$%&

Tu gvge x\huan gvn tu kui wánxiào.

His older brother likes to play jokes on him.

(something)

(something)

duì (something) y]u xìngqù to be interested in (something)

!"#$%

!"#$%

W] duì kvxué y]u xìngqù.

I am interested in science.

14.2.8Prepositions used in formal speech and formal written language

To indicate beneficiary or recipient

/ wèi ‘for/on behalf of ’

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Wnmen yrnggpi wèi rénmín fúwù.

We should serve the people. (serve for the people)

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Prepositions that also function as verbs

14.3

To indicate the source (no movement)

yóu ‘from’

!"#$%&'( )!"#$%&'(

Yóu cM kl jiàn, rénmín dsu xmhuan zìyóu.

You can see from this that everyone likes freedom.

To indicate location in time or space

/ yú ‘at, in, on’

!"#$%&'()*+,*-!"#$%&'()*+,*

Jmndìng yú sPnyuè shíwO rì zài rénmín dàhuìtáng kpi huì.

The meeting is respectfully set at March 15 in the Great Hall of the People.

To indicate a point in time (no movement)

/ zìcóng ‘from, (ever) since’

!"#$%&'()*+,-./01!"#$%&'()*+,-./0

Zìcóng ZhSngguó kPifàng ymhòu, rénmín de shqnghuó shumpíng tígpo le.

Ever since China began to open up, the standard of living of its people has improved.

14.3Prepositions that also function as verbs

Many prepositions also function as verbs.

	As a preposition	As a verb
=zài	at	exist; be located at
	!"#
	!"
	Tp zài jip chr fàn.	Tp zài jip.
	He eats at home.	He is at home.
/ =gli to/for		give
	!"#$%	!"#$%&
	!"#$	!"#$%
	Tp gLi wn mki le máoyr.	Tp gLi le wn zhè jiàn máoyr.
	He bought a sweater for me.	She gave me this sweater.
=dào	to	arrive
	!"#$%&'(	!"#$
	!"#$%&'	!"#
	Nm shénme shíhòu dào	Tp shénme shíhòu dào?
	túshtgukn qù?
	When are you going to the library?	What time does he arrive?

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PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES			14.3
	As a preposition	As a verb
/ =duì	to, towards	correct
	!"#$"%&	Q: !"#$%&
	!"#$"%	!"#$%
	Nm yrnggpi duì kèren hln	Nm shì Yrngguórén,
	kèqi.	duì ma?
	You should be polite to guests.	You are English, right?
		A:
		Duì.
		Correct.
=gqn	with	follow
	!"#$	!D
		!"#
	Tp mlitipn gQn péngyou liáo tipn. Bù yào lko gQnzhe wn.
	He chats with friends every day.	Don’t follow me all the time.

You can identify a word as either a preposition or a verb by observing the other words with which it occurs.

•Prepositions are always followed by an object noun phrase and a verb phrase. If a word is not followed by both an object noun phrase and a verb phrase, it is not a preposition.

Verb: followed by a noun	Preposition: followed by a noun
phrase but no verb phrase	phrase and a verb phrase
!"#$%&	!"#$%&"'
!"#$%&	!"#$%&"'
Tp gLi wn zhè jiàn máoyr le.	Tp gLi wn mki le zhè jiàn máoyr le.
She gave me this sweater.	She bought this sweater for me.
!	!"#
	!"#
Tp zài jip.	Tp zài jip chr fàn.
He is at home.	He is eating at home.

ÍGlossary

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