HSK 3 · Lesson 5把沙发搬上去 Carry the sofa upstairs

Moving and cleaning: the 把 construction — “do something to an object”: 把沙发搬上去, 把衣服放在…, 把灯关上; floors with 层; 用 “with”; 洗澡.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Moving house

A
我们下个周末搬家。
Wǒmen xià ge zhōumò bānjiā.
We’re moving house next weekend.
B
新房子在几层？
Xīn fángzi zài jǐ céng?
Which floor is the new flat on?
A
十二层，有电梯。你能帮我把沙发搬上去吗？
Shí’èr céng, yǒu diàntī. Nǐ néng bāng wǒ bǎ shāfā bān shangqu ma?
The twelfth, and there’s a lift. Can you help me carry the sofa up?
B
没问题。冰箱和洗衣机放在哪儿？
Méi wèntí. Bīngxiāng hé xǐyījī fàng zài nǎr?
No problem. Where do the fridge and the washing machine go?
A
把冰箱放在小屋子里，把洗衣机放在卫生间里。
Bǎ bīngxiāng fàng zài xiǎo wūzi li, bǎ xǐyījī fàng zài wèishēngjiān li.
Put the fridge in the small room and the washing machine in the bathroom.

Cleaning

A
屋子太脏了，我们打扫一下吧。
Wūzi tài zāng le, wǒmen dǎsǎo yíxià ba.
The room is really dirty — let’s clean up.
B
好，你扫地，我把衣服放到洗衣机里。
Hǎo, nǐ sǎo dì, wǒ bǎ yīfu fàngdào xǐyījī li.
OK, you sweep the floor and I’ll put the clothes in the washing machine.
A
打扫完了，屋子干净多了！我去洗个澡。
Dǎsǎo wán le, wūzi gānjìng duō le! Wǒ qù xǐ ge zǎo.
All done — the room is much cleaner! I’ll go and have a shower.
B
洗完澡别忘了把卫生间的灯关上。
Xǐwán zǎo bié wàngle bǎ wèishēngjiān de dēng guānshang.
Don’t forget to switch off the bathroom light after your shower.
A
好。邻居说楼梯的灯坏了。
Hǎo. Línjū shuō lóutī de dēng huài le.
OK. The neighbours say the stairway light is broken.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 把 — “do something to an object”

Subject + 把 + object + verb + result / destination

把 moves the object forward to say what was done to it and where it ended up: 把沙发搬上去 “carry the sofa up”, 把灯关上 “switch off the light”, 把屋子打扫干净 “clean the room thoroughly”. Three rules: 1) the object is definite (this one, known), 2) the verb must have a “tail” — a result, direction or place (a bare “把灯关” is wrong), 3) negatives and 能 / 要 go before 把: 我没把灯关上.

请把门关上。
Qǐng bǎ mén guānshang.
Please close the door.
我没把手机带来。
Wǒ méi bǎ shǒujī dàilai.
I didn’t bring my phone.

2. 把 + 放在 / 放到 / 给 — “where, to whom”

When the object is moved, the place follows the verb with 在 or 到: 把冰箱放在小屋子里 “put the fridge in the small room”, 把衣服放到洗衣机里. When it goes to someone, use 给: 把书给我 “give me the book”, 把照片发给他 “send him the photo”.

把书放在桌子上。
Bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang.
Put the book on the table.
请把那张照片给我。
Qǐng bǎ nà zhāng zhàopiàn gěi wǒ.
Please give me that photo.

3. Floors: 层; 用 “with”

层 is “floor, layer”: 他家在十二层, 这个楼有三十层. People also say 楼: 三楼 “the third floor”. 用 means “use, with”: 用筷子吃饭 “eat with chopsticks”, 用洗衣机洗衣服, 用电 “use electricity”, 没电了 “the battery is dead”.

他家在十二层。
Tā jiā zài shí’èr céng.
He lives on the twelfth floor.
我的手机没电了。
Wǒ de shǒujī méi diàn le.
My phone battery is dead.

4. 洗澡, 刷牙 and other everyday verbs

洗澡 “have a bath / shower” is separable: 洗个澡, 洗完澡 (not “洗澡完”). 刷牙 “brush your teeth”, 扫地 “sweep the floor”, 打扫 “clean (a room)”: 打扫房间, 把屋子打扫干净.

我每天早上洗澡。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎoshang xǐzǎo.
I shower every morning.
洗完澡再刷牙。
Xǐwán zǎo zài shuā yá.
Brush your teeth after your shower.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    请把门关上。 Qǐng bǎ mén guānshang. — Please close the door.

  2. Answer
    把书放在桌子上。 Bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang. — Put the book on the table.

  3. Answer
    他家在十二层。 Tā jiā zài shí’èr céng. — He lives on the twelfth floor.

  4. Answer
    屋子太脏了。 Wūzi tài zāng le. — The room is really dirty.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “Switch off the light”

    Answer
    把灯关上。
  2. “I didn’t switch off the light”

    Answer
    我没把灯关上。
  3. 把衣服放___洗衣机里。

    Answer
    到
  4. “I’ll go and have a shower”: 我去洗个___。

    Answer
    澡

3. Build the sentence

  1. Please close the door.

    Answer
    请把门关上。 Qǐng bǎ mén guānshang.
  2. Put the book on the table.

    Answer
    把书放在桌子上。 Bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang.
  3. We cleaned the room thoroughly.

    Answer
    我们把屋子打扫干净了。 Wǒmen bǎ wūzi dǎsǎo gānjìng le.
  4. Can you help me carry the sofa up?

    Answer
    你能帮我把沙发搬上去吗？ Nǐ néng bāng wǒ bǎ shāfā bān shangqu ma?

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你能帮我搬家吗？
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ bānjiā ma?
Can you help me move house?
B
可以。什么时候？
Kěyǐ. Shénme shíhou?
Sure. When?
A
这个星期六。新房子在八层。
Zhège xīngqīliù. Xīn fángzi zài bā céng.
This Saturday. The new flat is on the eighth floor.
B
有电梯吗？
Yǒu diàntī ma?
Is there a lift?
A
有。沙发放在哪儿呢？
Yǒu. Shāfā fàng zài nǎr ne?
Yes. Where shall we put the sofa?
B
把沙发放在大屋子里吧。
Bǎ shāfā fàng zài dà wūzi li ba.
Let’s put the sofa in the big room.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Put the phone on the table.
    Answer
    把手机放在桌子上。
  2. Please switch off the air conditioner.
    Answer
    请把空调关上。/ 请把空调关了。
  3. He lives on the third floor.
    Answer
    他住在三层。/ 他住在三楼。

💡 Did you know?: Housing estates, 小区

Most city dwellers in China live in 小区 — gated housing estates of high-rise blocks with a shared courtyard, guards at the gate and their own little shops. Buildings often have 20–30 floors, with a lift in every entrance. Parcels and food deliveries are often left at the estate gate.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).