把 + Object + Verb + Complement
This is the full 把 sentence: subject grabs an object with 把, then says exactly what the verb did to it via a complement — 关上 (closed it shut), 写完 (wrote it finished), 放在桌子上 (put it on the table). The complement is the whole reason for using 把: it tells you the result, direction, location, or extent of what happened to the object. Without a complement, the sentence falls apart.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 把 [OBJECT] [VERB] [COMPLEMENT]
bǎ [OBJECT] [VERB] [COMPLEMENT]
How to Think About It
Picture the 把 sentence as a small story in three beats: who did it, what they grabbed, and what state that thing ended up in. The complement is the third beat — it's mandatory because 把 promises a change. 关 alone is just 'close,' but 关上 is 'closed shut' — that 'shut' is the complement, and that's what 把 demands. No complement, no 把 sentence.
Examples
她把房间打扫干净了。
Tā bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo gānjìng le.
She cleaned the room (until it was clean).
请把书放在书架上。
Qǐng bǎ shū fàng zài shūjià shàng.
Please put the book on the shelf.
我把名字写错了。
Wǒ bǎ míngzi xiě cuò le.
I wrote the name wrong.
Common Mistake
Learners end the 把 sentence with a bare verb, forgetting the complement. 把 only works when the verb tells you exactly what state the object ended up in.
我把作业写。
我把作业写完了。
Don't Confuse With
Subject + Verb + Object + Complement
Plain SVO with a complement (我吃完饭了) works for simple cases. Switch to 把 when the object is specific and you want to spotlight what happened to it.
把 + Object + Verb (no complement)
A bare-verb 把 sentence is incomplete in modern Mandarin. If a learner resource shows one, treat it as a typo — add 了, 完, 在, or a direction word.
被 + Agent + Verb + Complement
Same disposal idea, opposite spotlight: 被 puts the object first as subject and names who did it. Use 把 when you want the actor in front; use 被 when the object's experience matters.
Practice
Fill in the blank: 他把杯子打___了。 (broken)
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破
Fill in the blank: 请___车停在那边。
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把
Arrange: 关 / 上 / 我 / 把 / 门 / 了
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我把门关上了。
Translate to Chinese: She put the keys in her bag.
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她把钥匙放在包里了。
Write a sentence with 把 + object + verb + complement about something you finished today.
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我把这本书看完了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 6 Fluentide episodes: