The character ? ba has several meanings:

• a measure word for things which have a handle or which can be held in the hand
• to hold
• to contain
• a marker for direct object

Marker for Direct Object

The particle ? ba is used before a noun to show that that noun is the object of the sentence. For example:

Ta ba wo de beizi da pò le.
?????????｡
He broke my cup.

Object = wo de beizi (my cup)

When using the particle ? ba, the sentence structure is:

SUBJECT ? NOUN VERB.

This means roughly: The subject takes the noun and does something with it.

So the example above could be translated: He took my cup and broke it.

Using the ? Ba Particle

When using the particle ? ba, the verb must be a Functive verb which takes objects – a transitive verb. The object must be a specific object or person.

The particle ? ba can be used in the following types of sentences:

• completed actions
• actions with durations
• motion verbs lengthened with qù ? or lái ?
• duplicated functive verbs
• verbs which are suffixed with zài ?, dào ?, or gei ?
• verbs which take both direct and indirect objects

Examples of the ? Ba Particle

Qing ba chá ná jìn qù.
Please take the tea in.
(trad) ??????｡
(simp) ??????｡

Tamen ba jiu dou dài lái le.
They all brought wine.
(trad) ????????｡
(simp) ????????｡

Háizi bùhuì ba tángguo ná xia lai.
The children are not allowed to bring candy.
(trad) ??????????｡
(simp) ??????????｡

Qing ni bié ba mén kai kai.
Please don’t leave the door open.
(trad) ???????｡
(simp) ???????｡

Ni keyi ba qián gei ta.
You can give the money to him.
(trad) ???????｡
(simp) ???????｡