When you work for a company, or do other sorts of physical (and even mental) activities for another party, you're likely to use the Chinese preposition 为 (wèi), which is often translated into English as "for," a translation which is often unnatural or unnecessary, depending on the particular phrase. The super common Mao-era phrase, 为人民服务 ("serve the people"), doesn't need the word "for" in English, for example.
Don't confuse this preposition with 为了, which is a bit different.
Tag: Chinese Grammar
Chinese Grammar learning: 来
The word 来 (lái) can be used to connect two verb phrases, relating the actions to each other. It can be translated as "in order to" or "so that" and it can help in explaining reasoning.
Chinese Grammar learning:对 + Noun⋯⋯
When using 对 (duì) as a preposition, it is used to indicate "to" or "towards" a object or target. As with all prepositions, some care should be taken when using this particle, as usage of 对 doesn't always totally "make sense" or correspond to English at all.
Chinese Grammar learning: 那么……
Are you looking for another way to use 那么? Then, take a look at this article! Structure When expressing "Then…", you can use "那么" (nàme) in order to begin a judgment or result from previous context. An example of this in English would be "Then, what should we do?"
Context + 那么 + Result
Chinese Grammar learning: 再说……
Structure Just add 再说 to the beginning of the second clause of your sentence. Remember that both statements should be related to each other!
Clause 1 , 再说 + Clause 2
Chinese Grammar learning: 像 + items + 之类的; items + 之类的 + Noun.
之类的 can be translated as "and so on" or "and stuff like that." As in English, this grammar point is used to continue a list without explicitly mentioning further items within it.
Chinese Grammar learning: 要不…
要不 (yào bù) can have a number of meanings depending on how it is. 要不 as to mark possible choices
Chinese Grammar learning: 还有…..
"还有" (háiyǒu) is used to express "In addition…" in a conversation. It is introducing new information to the topic the speaker(s) is/are talking about. While it's not the most challenging grammar structure, an important thing to keep in mind is that 还有 starts a completely new sentence or clause.
Chinese Grammar learning: ……,不过……
Structure Just like its counterparts, "不过" is a conjunction that comes between two distinct clauses.
Clause 1, 不过 + Clause 2
Chinese Grammar learning: 通过/用 + Verb Phrase 1 + 来 + Verb Phrase 2
The word 来 (lái) can be used to connect two verb phrases, relating the actions to each other. It can be translated as "in order to" or "so that" and it can help in explaining reasoning.