Introduction
帮忙 (bāngmáng), 游泳 (yóuyǒng), 跳舞 (tiàowǔ) and 跑步 (pǎobù) look like single words, but each is already a verb plus its own object — literally "help a favour", "swim a swim". That is why they come apart: 帮我的忙 (bāng wǒ de máng) — help me.
Overview
Structure: Verb + (modifier) + Object — the two halves separate
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 我游泳。(Wǒ yóuyǒng.) | I swim. |
| Split by a possessor | 你能帮我的忙吗？(Nǐ néng bāng wǒ de máng ma?) | Can you give me a hand? |
| Split by a duration | 我游了一个小时泳。(Wǒ yóu le yí ge xiǎoshí yǒng.) | I swam for an hour. |
| Verb repeated instead | 我游泳游了一个小时。(Wǒ yóuyǒng yóu le yí ge xiǎoshí.) | I swam for an hour. |
| Split by 了 | 我跳了舞。(Wǒ tiào le wǔ.) | I danced. |
A separable verb cannot take another object:
- ❌ 我帮忙你。(Wǒ bāngmáng nǐ.) — 忙 is already the object; there is no room for 你.
- ✓ 我帮你的忙。(Wǒ bāng nǐ de máng.) — put the person inside, as a possessor.
- ✓ 我帮你。(Wǒ bāng nǐ.) — or drop the 忙 and use 帮 (bāng) on its own.
- The same trap catches 见面 (jiànmiàn): ❌ 我见面他 (wǒ jiànmiàn tā) ✓ 我跟他见面 (wǒ gēn tā jiànmiàn).
Examples
你能帮我的忙吗？
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ de máng ma?
Could you give me a hand?
我每天早上跑步。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎoshang pǎobù.
I go running every morning.
我游了一个小时泳。
Wǒ yóu le yí ge xiǎoshí yǒng.
I swam for an hour.
昨天我们跳舞跳到很晚。
Zuótiān wǒmen tiàowǔ tiào dào hěn wǎn.
We danced until late last night.
我明天跟他见面。
Wǒ míngtiān gēn tā jiànmiàn.
I'm meeting him tomorrow.
他跑了半个小时步。
Tā pǎo le bàn ge xiǎoshí bù.
He ran for half an hour.
Usage Notes
- Two ways to add a duration, both correct: split the word — 游了一个小时泳 (yóu le yí ge xiǎoshí yǒng) — or repeat the verb — 游泳游了一个小时 (yóuyǒng yóu le yí ge xiǎoshí).
- 了 (le)、过 (guo) and a measure word all go inside: 跳了舞 (tiào le wǔ)，游过泳 (yóuguo yǒng)，跳了三次舞 (tiào le sān cì wǔ).
- To double a separable verb, only the first half repeats: 跳跳舞 (tiàotiao wǔ)，帮帮忙 (bāngbang máng).
- The common ones at this level are 帮忙 (bāngmáng)、游泳 (yóuyǒng)、跳舞 (tiàowǔ)、跑步 (pǎobù)、见面 (jiànmiàn)、睡觉 (shuìjiào)、说话 (shuōhuà)、上班 (shàngbān).
- Dictionaries write them as one word, so there is no way to spot them except by learning which ones behave this way.