把 — moving the object in front of the verb
把 moves a specific object in front of the verb to focus on what was done to it: 请把门关上。 — Please close the door. The verb can never stand bare — it needs 了, a complement, or a direction attached.
Structure
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Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + 了/complement
把门关上, 把作业做完了.
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Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + 给 + Person
把书给我 — hand it over.
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Subject + 没/不 + 把 + Object + Verb…
Negation goes before 把, never after it.
How it works
A 把 sentence is about what happened to a thing. Normal order asks "what did you do?"; 把 order asks "and the door — what became of it?" That is why it dominates instructions and requests: 请把门关上。 把手机放在桌子上。
Rule 1 — the object must be specific. Both speakers know which thing is meant. 把那本书给我 is fine; 把一本书给我 is not, because "a book, any book" cannot be disposed of.
Rule 2 — the verb can never be bare. Something must follow it showing the outcome: a result complement (关上, 做完, 吃光), a direction (拿出来), a destination (放在桌子上), a recipient (给我), or at minimum 了. 我把门关 is not a sentence.
Rule 3 — negation and time words go before 把. 我没把作业做完。 Not 我把作业没做完.
Some verbs never take 把 because they do not change anything: 是, 有, 知道, 喜欢, 看见. If nothing is affected, there is nothing to dispose of.
Examples
Quick drill — 5 questions
Five fill-in-the-gap questions built from the example sentences above. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that the pattern has actually landed.
Choose the word that belongs in the gap:
Common mistakes
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 我把门关。 | 我把门关上了。 | The verb needs a result. A bare verb after 把 is never grammatical. |
| 我把一本书给他。 | 我把那本书给他。 | 把 requires a specific, known object — 一本书 is indefinite. |
| 我把作业没做完。 | 我没把作业做完。 | Negation goes in front of 把, together with time words. |
把 sentences — frequently asked questions
What does 把 do in a Chinese sentence?
It moves a specific object in front of the verb so the sentence is about what happened to that object: 请把门关上 (please close the door). The structure is Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + result.
When must I use 把?
Whenever you say what was done to a definite thing and the verb carries a result, a direction or a destination — especially in requests and instructions. 把手机放在桌子上 is far more natural than trying to phrase it without 把.
Why can't the verb stand alone in a 把 sentence?
Because 把 promises an outcome for the object, so the sentence has to deliver one. 我把门关 is incomplete; 我把门关上了 (I closed the door) is correct. A result complement, a direction, a destination, a recipient or at least 了 must follow the verb.
Which verbs cannot be used with 把?
Verbs that do not change anything: 是, 有, 知道, 喜欢, 看见, 觉得. There is no disposal to report, so the construction has nothing to do.
Next, learn
Put it to work
Drill the vocabulary for this level on the HSK 3 word list, rebuild scrambled sentences in the Sentence Builder, read graded stories that use this pattern in the story library, or follow a step-by-step route through the whole site in Guided Learning Paths.