▎幫, bāng, (Prep), on behalf of

 

Function 幫 introduces the beneficiary of an action.

1 請幫我微波包子。

Qǐng bāng wǒ wéibō bāozi.

Please microwave the baozi for me.

2 請幫我買一杯咖啡。

Qǐng bāng wǒ mǎi yì bēi kāfēi.

Please buy a cup of coffee for me.

3 請幫我照相。

Qǐng bāng wǒ zhàoxiàng.

Please take a picture for me.

 

Structures

Negation：The negation marker 不 is placed before the preposition 幫, not before the verb.

1 他不幫我微波包子。／（＊他幫我不微波包子。）

Tā bù bāng wǒ wéibō bāozi .

He won’t microwave the baozi for me.

2 姐姐不幫弟弟買咖啡。／（＊姐姐幫弟弟不買咖啡。）

Jiějie bù bāng dìdi mǎi kāfēi.

Sister won’t buy coffee for her brother.

3 王先生不幫我照相。／（＊王先生幫我不照相。）

Wáng xiānshēng bù bāng wǒ zhàoxiàng.

Mr. Wang would not take a picture for me.

Questions：

1 你說！你幫不幫他買手機？

Nǐ shuō! Nǐ bāng bù bāng tā mǎi shǒujī?

Say it! Are you going to buy a cell phone on his behalf?

2 他幫你照相嗎？

Tā bāng nǐ zhàoxiàng ma?

Did he take a photo for you?

3 誰能幫我微波包子？

Shéi néng bāng wǒ wéibō bāozi?

Who can microwave a baozi for me?