Deep End
← Grammar guides

Level Advanced Chinese · HSK 5–6

Formal Frames and Prepositions: 以…为, 于, 将, 加以, 凭, 鉴于, 就…而言, 至于 and 使

Formal Chinese is built from a fairly small set of frames that recur in every report, contract, news story and academic paper. They often have a spoken equivalent that does the same job with more words or simpler verbs. Learning them as frames (with their slots) is far easier than learning them as isolated words.

以…为…, 视为 and 由…组成

以 A 为 B (yǐ A wéi B) means 'take A as B': 以…为主 (mainly …), 以…为例 (take … as an example), 以…为中心 (centred on …). 为 here is wéi.

视为 (shìwéi) means 'regard as': 被视为 (be regarded as). Spoken equivalents are 看作, 当作 and 当成.

由 A 组成 / 构成 (yóu … zǔchéng / gòuchéng) means 'made up of A'. 分为 (fēnwéi) means 'divided into'.

  • 这家餐厅以川菜为主。

    Zhè jiā cāntīng yǐ chuāncài wéi zhǔ.

    This restaurant mainly serves Sichuan food.

  • 委员会由七名专家组成。

    Wěiyuánhuì yóu qī míng zhuānjiā zǔchéng.

    The committee is made up of seven experts.

  • 他被视为这个领域最重要的学者。

    Tā bèi shìwéi zhège lǐngyù zuì zhòngyào de xuézhě.

    He is regarded as the most important scholar in the field.

于 and 将

于 (yú) is a written preposition with several meanings: 'at, in, on' (会议于明天举行, the meeting will be held tomorrow), 'from' (毕业于北京大学, graduated from Peking University), 'than' (大于, greater than), 'to' (有利于, beneficial to). For time and place it can come before the verb, as in 会议于明天举行; in the other meanings it follows the verb or adjective (毕业于, 大于, 有利于), where spoken Chinese would use a different word or order (在北京大学毕业, 比…大).

将 (jiāng) has two written meanings: 'will, is going to' (会议将于下周召开) and the written 把 (将文件发送给我, send me the file).

  • 他1998年毕业于清华大学。

    Tā yī jiǔ jiǔ bā nián bìyè yú Qīnghuá Dàxué.

    He graduated from Tsinghua University in 1998.

  • 请将表格填好后交给前台。

    Qǐng jiāng biǎogé tiánhǎo hòu jiāo gěi qiántái.

    Please fill in the form and hand it to reception.

进行, 加以, 予以 and 给予

These formal verbs take another verb (two syllables) as their object: 进行调查 (carry out an investigation), 加以分析 (subject to analysis), 予以批准 (grant approval), 给予帮助 (give help). They make a sentence sound official. The verb that follows can't take an object of its own: 对问题进行讨论, not 进行讨论问题.

  • 警方正在对事故原因进行调查。

    Jǐngfāng zhèngzài duì shìgù yuányīn jìnxíng diàochá.

    The police are investigating the cause of the accident.

  • 对于困难家庭，政府将给予一定的补助。

    Duìyú kùnnan jiātíng, zhèngfǔ jiāng jǐyǔ yídìng de bǔzhù.

    The government will give some financial support to families in difficulty.

凭, 趁, 鉴于, 就…而言, 至于 and 使 / 令

凭 (píng) means 'by virtue of, on the strength of': 凭票入场 (admission by ticket). 趁 (chèn) means 'taking advantage of (while it lasts)': 趁热吃 (eat it while it's hot). 依照 and 依据 mean 'in accordance with'.

鉴于 (jiànyú, in view of), 本着 (běnzhe, in the spirit of) and 基于 (jīyú, based on) open formal sentences. 就…而言 (jiù … ér yán) and 对…而言 mean 'as far as … is concerned'; 在…看来 means 'in the view of'. 至于 (zhìyú) means 'as for' and changes topic.

使 (shǐ) and 令 (lìng) are the written versions of causative 让: 使人感到… (makes people feel…). The subject is usually a thing or event.

  • 趁年轻，多去看看世界。

    Chèn niánqīng, duō qù kànkan shìjiè.

    See the world while you're young.

  • 鉴于目前的情况，会议推迟举行。

    Jiànyú mùqián de qíngkuàng, huìyì tuīchí jǔxíng.

    In view of the current situation, the meeting has been postponed.

  • 就价格而言，这款手机很有优势。

    Jiù jiàgé ér yán, zhè kuǎn shǒujī hěn yǒu yōushì.

    In terms of price, this phone has a clear advantage.

  • 这次失败使他认识到了自己的不足。

    Zhè cì shībài shǐ tā rènshi dàole zìjǐ de bùzú.

    This failure made him realise his own shortcomings.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我们进行讨论这个问题。

    ✓我们对这个问题进行讨论。

    Wǒmen duì zhège wèntí jìnxíng tǎolùn.

    After 进行 / 加以, the verb takes no object. Move the object forward with 对.

  • ✗我在北京大学毕业。

    ✓我毕业于北京大学。

    Wǒ bìyè yú Běijīng Dàxué.

    毕业 takes 于 after it (or speech says 我是北京大学毕业的). 在…毕业 is heard in casual speech, but in formal writing it reads as loose; 毕业于 is the standard written form.

  • ✗至于价格很便宜。

    ✓至于价格，我们可以再商量。

    Zhìyú jiàgé, wǒmen kěyǐ zài shāngliang.

    至于 introduces a new topic, followed by a comma and a comment about it.

Questions learners ask

Should I use these frames in conversation?

Mostly no. 趁, 凭 and 至于 are fine in speech. 予以, 鉴于 and 于 belong in writing and formal speeches.

Is 将 'will' the same as 会?

Close. 将 is written and announces something planned; 会 is spoken and also expresses likelihood.

Practice this in lessons

The Advanced Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

Practice this in lessons →

Related grammar guides