Coverb + Verb: 用筷子吃饭 | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

Where English uses a preposition — "eat with chopsticks," "talk to a friend," "phone for mom" — Chinese uses a coverb (called 介词, jiècí, or 前置词). A coverb is a word that began life as a full verb but now mostly does prepositional work: it takes an object and, together with that object, forms a phrase that sits in front of the main verb. So "eat with chopsticks" is literally 用筷子吃饭 ("use-chopsticks eat-food"), and "chat with a friend" is 跟朋友聊天 ("with-friend chat"). The label "coverb" ("co-" = alongside) captures the idea: it's a helper verb riding in front of the real one. This construction grew directly out of the serial verb pattern — the first verb bleached into a preposition-like function.

The coverb slot: always before the main verb

The rule that catches every English speaker: the coverb phrase comes before the main verb, never after it. English attaches its "with / to / for" phrase after the verb; Chinese front-loads it.

中国人用筷子吃饭。

Zhōngguó rén yòng kuàizi chī fàn

Chinese people eat with chopsticks. (neutral) — 用筷子 (coverb phrase) sits in front of 吃饭.

晚上我给妈妈打电话。

wǎnshang wǒ gěi māma dǎ diànhuà

In the evening I phone my mom. (informal) — 给妈妈 ('to mom') precedes the action 打电话.

我想跟你商量一件事。

wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ shāngliang yí jiàn shì

I'd like to talk something over with you. (neutral) — 跟你 ('with you') before 商量.

Picture the frame as [Subject] + [coverb + its object] + [main verb + its object]. The coverb phrase is like an adverbial setting the stage, and in Chinese the stage is always set before the action.

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Rule of thumb: in Chinese, the circumstances come before the verb — who you do it with, what you use, where, for whom. If an English preposition phrase ("with X," "for Y," "at Z") answers "under what circumstances," it moves in front of the Chinese verb as a coverb phrase.

The common coverbs

These five are the ones you'll use daily. Each was — and often still is — a real verb, which is why they behave half like verbs (see below).

Coverb	Role (≈ English)	Example	Meaning
用 (yòng)	with / using (instrument)	用筷子吃	eat with chopsticks
跟 (gēn)	with / to (a person)	跟他说	speak with/to him
给 (gěi)	for / to (recipient)	给我买	buy (it) for me
对 (duì)	toward / to (facing)	对我笑	smile at me
在 (zài)	at / in (location)	在家工作	work at home

她对我笑了笑，什么也没说。

tā duì wǒ xiào le xiào, shénme yě méi shuō

She smiled at me and said nothing. (neutral) — 对我 ('toward me') sets the direction of 笑.

疫情期间我一直在家工作。

yìqíng qījiān wǒ yìzhí zài jiā gōngzuò

During the pandemic I worked from home the whole time. (neutral) — 在家 ('at home') precedes 工作.

你能不能给我买一杯咖啡？

nǐ néng bu néng gěi wǒ mǎi yì bēi kāfēi?

Could you buy me a coffee? (informal) — 给我 ('for me') comes before 买.

The full inventory of coverbs — 从 (from), 到 (to a destination), 离 (distant from), 为 (for the sake of), 比 (compared to), 往 (toward), and more — has its own dedicated group. Start with the coverbs overview once these five feel comfortable.

Coverbs are still half-verb

Because a coverb is a bleached verb, it keeps a couple of verb-like habits — and these tell you exactly where negation goes: on the coverb, not on the main verb. Negating "I don't talk to him" attaches 不 to 跟, not to 说话.

他生气了，不跟我说话。

tā shēngqì le, bù gēn wǒ shuōhuà

He's angry and won't talk to me. (informal) — 不 negates the coverb 跟, giving 'not with me' = 'won't talk to me.'

这件事我没跟他商量。

zhè jiàn shì wǒ méi gēn tā shāngliang

I didn't discuss this with him. (neutral) — past negation 没 also lands on the coverb 跟.

A few coverbs (especially 在, 给) can even stand alone as full verbs elsewhere — 我在家 ("I'm at home," 在 = "be at"), 给我 ("give me," 给 = "give"). Whether a word is functioning as verb or coverb is decided by whether another verb follows it; 给 in particular is worth studying on the 给: verb vs coverb page.

Common Mistakes

1. Placing the coverb phrase after the main verb (English word order). The circumstance phrase must lead.

❌ 我吃饭用筷子。

Wrong order — the instrument phrase can't trail the verb; it's 用筷子吃饭.

✅ 我用筷子吃饭。

wǒ yòng kuàizi chī fàn

I eat with chopsticks. — coverb phrase first.

2. Omitting the coverb altogether. You can't just place two nouns around a verb; the relationship needs a coverb to mark it.

❌ 我他说话。

Incorrect — 'I' and 'him' need a coverb (跟/和) to link them: 我跟他说话.

✅ 我跟他说话。

wǒ gēn tā shuōhuà

I'm talking with him. — 跟 marks the person you speak with.

3. Negating the main verb instead of the coverb. 不/没 attaches to the coverb.

❌ 我跟他不说话。

Awkward/marked — standard negation goes on the coverb: 我不跟他说话.

✅ 我不跟他说话。

wǒ bù gēn tā shuōhuà

I'm not speaking to him. — 不 on the coverb 跟.

4. Using 对 where 跟 is needed for two-way interaction. 对 faces a target one-directionally (对我笑); a mutual exchange like discussing takes 跟/和.

❌ 我想对你商量一件事。

Wrong coverb — discussing is mutual, so it needs 跟/和, not one-directional 对.

✅ 我想跟你商量一件事。

wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ shāngliang yí jiàn shì

I want to talk something over with you. — 跟 for two-way interaction.

Key Takeaways

A coverb (介词) is a verb-derived word that takes an object and forms a phrase before the main verb, doing the job of an English preposition.
The everyday five: 用 (with/using), 跟 (with/to a person), 给 (for/to a recipient), 对 (toward/facing), 在 (at/in).
Chinese front-loads the circumstance: 用筷子吃饭 = "with-chopsticks eat," never *吃饭用筷子.
Since a coverb is half-verb, negation (不/没) attaches to the coverb, not the main verb: 不跟我说话.
The full coverb inventory (从/到/离/为/比…) lives in the coverbs group.

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