替: Acting on Someone's Behalf in Chinese
替
替 introduces the person on whose behalf the subject performs an action. The prepositional phrase 替 + person comes before the verb phrase, while the subject remains the actual performer. It is not a passive marker and does not mean that the following person performed the action. A 给 phrase may instead identify a recipient.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 替 + Person + Verb phrase
Read the structure
替 introduces the person on whose behalf the subject performs an action. The prepositional phrase 替 + person comes before the verb phrase, while the subject remains the actual performer. It is not a passive marker and does not mean that the following person performed the action. A 给 phrase may instead identify a recipient. Keep the model Subject + 替 + Person + Verb phrase visible while you compare each sentence.
明天请你替我上课。
Please teach my class for me tomorrow.
Choose the right context
Offer to perform a task for someone. Explain that one person substitutes for another. Mark the beneficiary before an action verb.
我替妈妈买菜。
I buy groceries for my mother.
Respect the boundary
Do not put 替 after the main verb. Do not omit the person whose place is taken. Do not use 替 to mark the agent of a passive sentence.
我买菜替妈妈。
(I buy groceries for mother.)
Repair the pattern
The 替 phrase follows the verb: A beneficiary prepositional phrase precedes the verb phrase it modifies. The beneficiary is omitted: 替 requires the person represented before the action: 替我上课.
我替妈妈买菜。
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.
明天请你替我上课。
Please teach my class for me tomorrow.
明天
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
请
替
This part occupies the 替 position in the model pattern.
你
Person
This part occupies the Person position in the model pattern.
替
Verb phrase
This part occupies the Verb phrase position in the model pattern.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
上课
替
This part occupies the 替 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.
明天请你替我上课。
Please teach my class for me tomorrow.
我替妈妈买菜。
I buy groceries for my mother.
他替同事回答了问题。
He answered the question on his colleague's behalf.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Offer to perform a task for someone.
- Explain that one person substitutes for another.
- Mark the beneficiary before an action verb.
Do not use it when
- Do not put 替 after the main verb.
- Do not omit the person whose place is taken.
- Do not use 替 to mark the agent of a passive sentence.
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.
我买菜替妈妈。
我替妈妈买菜。
The 替 phrase follows the verb
A beneficiary prepositional phrase precedes the verb phrase it modifies.
明天请你替上课。
明天请你替我上课。
The beneficiary is omitted
替 requires the person represented before the action: 替我上课.
我买菜替妈妈。
A beneficiary prepositional phrase precedes the verb phrase it modifies.
明天请你替上课。
替 requires the person represented before the action: 替我上课.
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 替.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 替. 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
替: Acting on Someone's Behalf Questions
Who performs the action in a 替 sentence?
The subject performs it. The person after 替 is the beneficiary or person being replaced.
Where does 替 + person go?
It normally comes after the subject and before the main verb phrase.
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: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 4 item 【四16】, 介词：替 (printed p. 207)
Supports placement in HSK 4; it does not independently establish the usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 14, §14.2.6, prepositions indicating the beneficiary of an action
Defines 替 as ‘for, on behalf of’ and places 替 + beneficiary before the action.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Compare
跟跟 for Doing Something Together
Compare this lesson with 跟 introducing a companion in an action; both belong to participants introduced around an action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
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对……对: Directing an Attitude or Action
Compare this lesson with 对 introducing the target of an attitude or action; both belong to participants introduced around an action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
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当着当着: In Someone's Presence
Compare this lesson with 当着 introducing people in whose presence an action occurs; both belong to participants introduced around an action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
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地点Place Word Placement
Continue with the reviewed follow-up lesson to apply this pattern inside a broader, explicitly connected grammar construction.
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