Causative 把 Sentences in Chinese
把字句表致使
A causative 把 sentence presents an event or entity as causing a salient change in an affected participant. The subject need not act intentionally and may be inanimate, as in noise waking someone. The phrase after 把 identifies what undergoes the result, and the predicate must state a concrete outcome or effect.
Published August 2, 2026
Reviewed August 2, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Causer + 把 + Affected Participant + Verb + Result
Read the structure
A causative 把 sentence presents an event or entity as causing a salient change in an affected participant. The subject need not act intentionally and may be inanimate, as in noise waking someone. The phrase after 把 identifies what undergoes the result, and the predicate must state a concrete outcome or effect. Keep the model Causer + 把 + Affected Participant + Verb + Result visible while you compare each sentence.
这双鞋把我的脚磨破了。
These shoes rubbed my feet raw.
Choose the right context
Present an inanimate cause producing an affected result. Highlight what person or thing undergoes the change. State a clear result after the action verb.
外面的声音把我吵醒了。
The noise outside woke me up.
Respect the boundary
Do not omit the affected participant after 把. Do not place 把 after its affected noun phrase. Do not use a bare activity predicate without a bounded result in this pattern.
外面的声音我把吵醒了。
(The outside noise me ba woke.)
Repair the pattern
把 follows the affected participant: 把 must precede the affected participant 我, followed by the result predicate 吵醒了. The affected participant after 把 is missing: 把 requires its affected noun phrase immediately after it; the result predicate follows that phrase.
外面的声音把我吵醒了。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
这双鞋把我的脚磨破了。
These shoes rubbed my feet raw.
这
Causer
This part occupies the Causer position in the model pattern.
双
把
This part occupies the 把 position in the model pattern.
鞋
Affected Participant
This part occupies the Affected Participant position in the model pattern.
把
Verb
This part occupies the Verb position in the model pattern.
我的
Result
This part occupies the Result position in the model pattern.
脚
Causer
This part occupies the Causer position in the model pattern.
磨破
把
This part occupies the 把 position in the model pattern.
了
Affected Participant
This part occupies the Affected Participant position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
这双鞋把我的脚磨破了。
These shoes rubbed my feet raw.
外面的声音把我吵醒了。
The noise outside woke me up.
这个消息把妈妈感动得哭了。
This news moved Mom to tears.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Present an inanimate cause producing an affected result.
- Highlight what person or thing undergoes the change.
- State a clear result after the action verb.
Do not use it when
- Do not omit the affected participant after 把.
- Do not place 把 after its affected noun phrase.
- Do not use a bare activity predicate without a bounded result in this pattern.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
外面的声音我把吵醒了。
外面的声音把我吵醒了。
把 follows the affected participant
把 must precede the affected participant 我, followed by the result predicate 吵醒了.
这双鞋把磨破了脚。
这双鞋把我的脚磨破了。
The affected participant after 把 is missing
把 requires its affected noun phrase immediately after it; the result predicate follows that phrase.
外面的声音我把吵醒了。
把 must precede the affected participant 我, followed by the result predicate 吵醒了.
这双鞋把磨破了脚。
把 requires its affected noun phrase immediately after it; the result predicate follows that phrase.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 把字句表致使.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 把字句表致使. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Causative 把 Sentences Questions
Must the subject intentionally cause the result?
No. The subject can be an inanimate cause, such as shoes, noise, news, or anger.
Why does the predicate need a result?
把 foregrounds how an affected participant is disposed of or changed, so a bounded effect makes the construction complete.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, Level 6 item 【六40】, PDF p. 239
Places causative 把 sentences at Level 6 with inanimate-causer and affected-participant examples.
Official source现代汉语语法课程讲义
包头师范学院 · 包头师范学院 · 2024
Locator: 把字句 section and 兼语句 causative section
Explains the preverbal affected object and the causative relation between participants and result.
Official sourceLaoshi Chinese Grammar Reference
Laoshi editorial team · Laoshi · 2026
Locator: 把 sentences with inanimate subjects, cause-result examples
Shows inanimate subjects causing human affected results in the 把 construction.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Continue learning
把The 把 (bǎ) Sentence
The causative subtype preserves the ordinary 把 order while allowing an inanimate event-causing subject.
Easy to confuse
把+施事+动词+了Causative Loss 把 Construction
Compare broad causative 把 with the narrower marked loss construction containing an agent after 把.
Compare
让/叫让 / 叫: Make Someone Do
让 and 叫 explicitly introduce a caused participant, while causative 把 foregrounds the affected result.
Learn first
完/到/见Result Complements (完/到/见)
A concrete result completes the change undergone by the participant introduced after 把.
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Easy to confuse
Compare broad causative 把 with the narrower marked loss construction containing an agent after 把.