The ba ˇ construction

The
bk construction is a grammatical feature unique to the Chinese language. In this construction, the coverb
bk, which as a verb has the meaning [to grasp], has the function of shifting the object of the verb to a pre-verbal position in the pattern of [subject + bk + object + verb]. Three interrelated features of the construction can be identiyed:

(1) As seen in 1.3.2, an unqualiyed object after the verb will gener-ally be of indeynite reference. Employment of the coverb
bk, which moves the object in front of the verb, automatically con-verts the noun to deynite reference:

 !5 Wn qù (lit. I go buy book) I am going mki she. to buy a book/some books.

 ! Wn qù bK she (lit. I go grasp book buy back-come)

 5 mki huílái. I am going to buy the book /books (and come back with it/them).

(2) In the discussion of complements in 13.4.3, it was apparent that with complements adjustments have to be made when the verb is followed by an object:

 Zhèi gè rén (lit. this mw person say words say


shuD huà shuD p very fast) This person speaks

 5 de hln kuài. very fast.

In this example, the repetition of the verb
shud enables it to deal with the object and the complement one at a time. The coverb

bk is used to similar effect, moving the object before the verb and leaving the post-verbal position clear for the complement.

 Ta bk shE (lit. she grasp book put good p)

 5 fàng hKo le. She placed the books in good order.

 ! Ta bk tA gb zài (lit. she grasp it leave at

book-
 !5 shEjià shang. shelf on) She placed it on the bookshelf.

Note:
Ta [it] cannot be omitted after
bk.

Bk and bèi construc-tions

160 III Sentences

(3)
Bk, which as noted derives from a verb meaning [to grasp], also implies intentional (or sometimes unintentional) manipulation of the object on the part of the subject. In the latter case,
gli may sometimes be added before the main verb.

 ! Ta bK ycfu (lit. she grasp clothes wash clean

 !5 xm ganjìng le. p) She has washed the clothes./

She has done the washing.

 ! Ta bK chènshan (lit. he grasp shirt handle dirty p) (
)
 5 (gli)nòngzang le. He dirtied his shirt.

The subject of a
bk construction deliberately (or unwittingly) handles or deals with the object in such a way that some kind of consequence is registered in the complement that follows the verb.

The
bk construction, therefore, cannot be used if any of the above conditions are not met. In other words, a
bk construction must have an object of deynite reference (shifted now to a pre-verbal position directly after
bk); a complement of some kind after the verb to indicate the result achieved by the action of the verb, either intentionally or unintentionally, on the part of the subject. The following sentences are therefore unacceptable:

(a) *
 ! Wn bK wo tiào (lit. I danced once)

 5 le yc cì.

(The noun
wo [dance] is not of deynite reference in this context.) (b) *
 !5 Wn bK she fàng. (lit. I put the books)

(There is no complement and therefore no indication of any result achieved by the action of the verb
fàng [put].)

(c) *
 !" Wn bK diànymng kàn (lit. I took two hours to

 !"5 le likng gè zhdngtóu. watch the film)

(It is clearly beyond the power of the subject to decide how long the ylm will be. There are of course occasions when the subject can control the duration of something – see 20.1.1 below.) (d) *
 !" Wn bK zhèi bln she (lit. I like this book very

 !5 xmhuan de hln. much)

(The verb
 xmhuan [like] expresses the inclination of the subject and the complement
 de hln [very much] indicates the degree or extent of the liking; these cannot be regarded as a manipulative action and an achieved result.)

161 20.1.1 The bk construction and complements

Complements in a
bk construction may take various forms:

 ! Wn bk la jc dào (lit. I grasp litter pour off p)

 5 diào le. (result – verb) I have dumped the rubbish.

 ! Ta bk xìn fbng hKo (lit. she grasp letter seal good p)

5 le. (result – adjective) She has sealed the letter.

 ! Ta bk huà guà (lit. he grasp picture hang

up-
 5 qMlái le. (direction) come p) He hung the picture.

 Dìdi bk kèwén (lit. younger-brother grasp text

 ! fùxí le liKng revise asp two times) My younger

 5 biàn. (frequency) brother revised the text twice.

 Jmngchá bk xikotdu (lit. police grasp thief imprison

 ! guan le liKng asp two mw month) The police

 5 gè yuè. (duration) kept the thief in prison for two months.

 Jiljie bk fángjian (lit. elder-sister grasp room tidy

 ! shdushí le yC xià. asp one stroke) My elder sister

 5 (brief duration) tidied up the room.

 ! Ta bk ymzi la dào (lit. she grasp chair pull to table

 ! zhuDzi pángbiAn. side) She pulled the chair to the

5 (destination) side of the table.

 ! Wn bk dàyc (lit. I grasp overcoat hang at

 guà zài yC jià clothes-hanger on) I hung my

 5 shang. (location) overcoat on the clothes-hanger.

 Wnmen bk (lit. we grasp gift present give her)

 lmwù sòng We presented the gift to her.

 5 gLi tA. (dative)

 Tamen bk (lit. they grasp room sweep p

 ! wezi dksko de clean-clean p) They swept the

 gAngAnjìngjìng room clean.

5 de. (manner)

Note: Reduplicated adjectival complements are usually followed by
de.

 Ta bk wn qì de huà (lit. she grasp me anger p words

 dDu shuD bù chElái all speak not out-come p)

 le. (consequential She made me so angry that

 5 state) I could not speak a word.

Bk and bèi construc-tions

162 III Sentences

20.1.2 Le and zhe as complements in bk sentences

The aspect markers
le and D zhe may also be used as complements in
bk sentences.

(1)
Le (indicating completed action with verbs which have an inherent meaning of result):

 !"5 Ta bk chá (lit. she grasp tea drink asp) hble. She drank up/ynished the tea.

 !"5 Shéi bk mén (lit. who grasp door lock asp) sunle? Who has locked the door?

(2) D Zhe (indicating persistence in an imperative sentence):

 !D5 Qmng bk (lit. please grasp lamp hold asp) dbng názhe. Please hold the lamp.

 D5 Bk cài (lit. grasp dishes keep asp) Keep liúzhe. the food. (i.e. don]t throw it away

or eat it)

20.1.3 Bk and resultative complements

One type of complement regularly used with
bk is the resultative complement beginning with
chéng,
zuò or
wéi all meaning [become], [act as]:

 Zuòjia bK zìjm (lit. writer grasp self write p

 ! xil de gùshì story translate become French)

 ! f anyì chéng The writer translated his/her

 5 Fkwén. own story into French.

 ! Ta bK wn dàng (lit. s/he grasp me regard

 ! zuò zuì hko de become most good p friend) S/he

5 péngyou. regarded me as her best friend.

20.1.4 Nòng and Gko in bk sentences

Nòng and
gko are two versatile colloquial verbs meaning loosely [to handle] which feature regularly in
bk sentences:

 !(
) Wn bk hézi (gli) (lit. I grasp box handle break p)

 5 nòng pò le. I broke the box.

 !(
) Bié bk jcqì (gli) (lit. don]t grasp machine handle

 5 gKo huài le. bad p) Don]t damage the machine.

163 20.1.5 Negative bk sentences

In negative
bk sentences, the negator must precede
bk:

 ! Ycnyuèjia hái (lit. musician still not-have grasp

(
)
méi(yNu) bK tade his song record become record)

 ! gbqo guàn chéng The musician has not yet recorded

 !5 chàngpiàn. his song.

 ! Bié bK huapíng (lit. don]t grasp vase bump fall-over)

5 pèng dko. Don]t knock the vase over.

 ! Ta cóng bù bK (lit. he always not grasp quilt

fold-
 !5 bèizi dié hko. good) He never folds up [his] quilt properly.

Note:
Bù with
bk is comparatively rare, occurring normally with verbs indicating habitual action or sometimes intention. It also occurs in composite sentences (see 24.3).

20.1.6 Bk and modal verbs

Modal verbs may come before
bk:

 Wn néng bK (lit. I can grasp window hit open p)

 chuanghu dk May I open the window?

 9 kai ma?

 ! Nm kLyM bK (lit. you can grasp tool collect

up-
 gdngjù shdu come p) You can put the tools

 5 qmlái le. away [now].

The negator
bù generally precedes the modal verb in a
bk construc-tion, though it may occasionally come after it if required by meaning:

 Ta bù kLn (lit. she not willing grasp dictionary

 bk cídikn jiè lend give him) She was not willing to

 5 gli ta. lend her dictionary to him.

 ! Nm néng bù (lit. you can not grasp litter dump at

 ! bk lajc dào here p) Can you not tip [your] litter

 9 zài zhèr ma? here?

20.1.7 Bk and indefinite reference

We have emphasised in this section that the object of the coverb
bk must be of deynite reference. This is certainly true, particularly in

Bk and bèi construc-tions

164 III Sentences

narrative or descriptive sentences. Sometimes even when the object is indeynite in form, it is still of deynite reference in meaning:

 ! Ta bk yc tiáo (lit. she grasp one mw good de

 ! hkohkode skirt tear-break p) She tore a nice

 5 qúnzi sc pò le. skirt into pieces.

This deynite reference would of course have been made clearer if the speaker had said:

 !/ Ta bk nàme/ (lit. she grasp like-that/like-this one

 ! zhème yc tiáo mw good de skirt tear-break p)

 ! hkohkode She tore a nice skirt like that/like

 5 qúnzi sc pò le. this into pieces.

However, where
bk is followed by a noun in a generic sense, it is to be understood as of indeynite (i.e. generic) reference. A sentence like this tends to sound more argumentative:

(
) Ta (lkoshì) bk (lit. she (always) grasp money hide

 ! qián cáng zài cv:in/at pillow below) She always

 5 zhlntou xià. hides her money under the pillow.

(
) Tamen (jìngrán) (lit. they contrary-to-expectation

 ! bk she bln fàng grasp books place cv:in/at

 !5 zài bcngxiang li. refrigerator inside) They even put books in the fridge.

 ! Bié bk péngyou (lit. don]t grasp friend regard

 !5 dàngchéng become enemy) Don]t regard dírén. your friends as enemies.

In document 20125311147206509 (Page 174-179)