▎對, duì, (Prep), towards

 

Function The preposition 對 means ‘to, towards’, introducing the target of the verb. It can combine with either action or state verbs.

(1) With action verbs.

1 陳主任對小明說明了辦公室的工作環境。

Chén zhǔrèn duì Xiǎomíng shuōmíngle bàngōngshì de gōngzuò huánjìng.

Director Chen explained the office environment here to Xiaoming.

2 李小姐對他說：「對不起，我不知道你是美國人。」

Lǐ xiǎojiě duì tā shuō: ‘Duìbùqǐ, wǒ bù zhīdào nǐ shì Měiguó rén.’

Miss Li said to him, ‘Sorry, I didn’t know you were an American.’

3 他一看見我，就對我笑。

Tā yí kànjiàn wǒ, jiù duì wǒ xiào.

He always smiles at me whenever he sees me.

(2) With state verbs.

1 他對台北的交通情形很了解。

Tā duì Táiběi de jiāotōng qíngxíng hěn liǎojiě.

He understands the traffic situation (i.e., what the traffic is like) in Taipei well.

2 王主任對老師很客氣。

Wáng zhǔrèn duì lǎoshī hěn kèqì.

Director Wang is courteous to teachers.

3 張先生對這個事很關心。

Zhāng xiānshēng duì zhè ge shì hěn guānxīn.

Mr. Zhang is concerned about this matter.

 

Structures

Negation：The negation appears before 對, a preposition.

1 你別對他說我找工作的事。

Nǐ bié duì tā shuō wǒ zhǎo gōngzuò de shì.

Don’t say anything to him about my job search.

2 小明沒對他說「對不起」。

Xiǎomíng méi duì tā shuō ‘duìbùqǐ’.

Xiaoming did not say ‘sorry’ to him.

3 黃主任沒對我說明鐘點費的事。

Huáng zhǔrèn méi duì wǒ shuōmíng zhōngdiǎnfèi de shì.

Director Huang didn’t explain (give any details about) the hourly pay.

Questions：

1 醫生對你說了什麼？

Yīshēng duì nǐ shuōle shénme?

What did the doctor say to you?

2 你是不是對小明說了你要去看電腦展？

Nǐ shìbúshì duì Xiǎomíng shuōle nǐ yào qù kàn diànnǎo zhǎn?

Did you tell Xiaoming that you were going to the computer exhibition?

3 你的房東對你好不好？

Nǐ de fángdōng duì nǐ hǎo bù hǎo?

Does your landlord treat you well? (i.e., Is he nice to you?)

 

Usage

The prepositions 對duì, 跟gēn and 給gěi all refer to the target of verbs, greatly overlapping in meanings. It is important to remember which verbs go with which prepositions.

 

	說shuō ‘speak’	說明shuōmíng ‘explain’	介紹jièshào ‘introduce’	笑xiào ‘smile’
跟gēn	✓	✓	✓	✓
給gěi		✓	✓
對duì	✓	✓		✓

(1) 給gěi：

1 白小姐昨天給我介紹了一家綠島的旅館。

Bái xiǎojiě zuótiān gěi wǒ jièshàole yì jiā Lǜdǎo de lǚguǎn.

Yesterday, Miss Bai told me about a hotel on Green Island.

2 房東早上給美美打了電話，告訴她得付房租了。

Fángdōng zǎoshang gěi Měiměi dǎle diànhuà, gàosù tā děi fù fángzū le.

The landlord called Meimei this morning to tell her to pay rent.

(2) 跟gēn：

1 我跟他說明了臺灣人吃飯的習慣。

Wǒ gēn tā shuōmíngle Táiwān rén chīfàn de xíguàn.

I explained Taiwanese dining customs to him.

2 小高跟老師說明天不能來上課。

Xiǎo Gāo gēn lǎoshī shuō míngtiān bù néng lái shàngkè.

Xiao Gao mentioned to his teacher that he can’t come to class tomorrow.

(3) 對duì：

1 他對我說他沒打過工。

Tā duì wǒ shuō tā méi dǎguò gōng.

He told me that he has never worked part-time.

2 我對老闆說明為什麼昨天沒來上班。

Wǒ duì lǎobǎn shuōmíng wèishénme zuótiān méi lái shàngbān.

I explained to my boss why I didn’t come to work yesterday.