把 sentence
Reach for the 把 sentence whenever you want to describe how an action handles, moves, changes, or finishes something specific. Mandarin moves the object out from after the verb and parks it after 把, then attaches a result, direction, or completion marker to the verb. 'He drank the soup' is fine as 他喝了汤, but 'he drank the soup all up' practically demands 他把汤喝完了 — because now there's a result the verb needs to carry. Use it for placement, transformation, finishing off, removing, or otherwise disposing of a definite object.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 把 [DEFINITE OBJECT] [VERB] [RESULT/COMPLEMENT]
bǎ [OBJECT] [VERB]...
How to Think About It
Frontloading the object before the verb gives Chinese room to attach a result onto the verb — 'took the X and did Y to it.' Two hard requirements: the object must be a SPECIFIC thing (definite, known to both speakers — 这本书, 他的钱), and the verb cannot stand bare. It needs a 了, a complement (完, 好, 干净), or a directional ending (起来, 出去). If your verb has no result attached, the 把 sentence is grammatically broken.
Examples
他把作业写完了。
Tā bǎ zuòyè xiěwán le.
He finished writing the homework.
请你把门关上。
Qǐng nǐ bǎ mén guānshàng.
Please close the door.
她把那杯咖啡喝光了。
Tā bǎ nà bēi kāfēi hēguāng le.
She drank that cup of coffee all up.
Common Mistake
Learners use 把 with indefinite objects ('I drank a tea') copying English word order. Chinese 把 requires the object to be definite — a specific, known thing. For indefinite objects, use plain SVO instead.
我把一杯茶喝完了。
我把那杯茶喝完了。
Don't Confuse With
被 + Verb + Result
Use 被 when the receiver is the subject (passive). 把 keeps the doer as subject and spotlights what happened to the object.
Subject + Verb + Object
Use plain SVO when there's no specific result to spotlight. Switch to 把 only when you want to highlight a definite change to a definite object.
将 + Object + Verb + Result
Same pattern, formal register. Use 将 in writing, contracts, and news scripts; 把 in speech.
Practice
Fill in the blank: 我 ___ 信寄出去了。
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把
Fill in the blank: 他把杯子洗 ___ 了。 (clean)
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干净
Arrange: 你 / 把 / 桌子 / 上 / 钥匙 / 放在
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你把钥匙放在桌子上。
Translate: They moved the boxes out of the room.
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他们把箱子搬出房间了。
Describe something you did to a specific object today using 把.
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我把屋子打扫干净了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 3 Fluentide episodes: