About the 为…所… (Wéi…suǒ…) phrase construction
Another difficult grammar point in HSK5 is the 为…所… (Wèi…suǒ…) phrase construction. Let’s go over this.
How to use 为…所… (Wéi…suǒ…)
First, please notice the pronunciation of “为” here is not “wèi” but “wéi”, and it indicates a difference in meaning.
Different from “为 wèi” which is often translated into “for” or “for the sake of”, “为 wéi” can be translated as “to be”. That’s why “成为” means “become, turn to be”, and “作为” means “as; being”.
As for “所“, like we have mentioned in another grammar article, it does not have a specific meaning but always works as a emphasis, and it will always be placed before a verb.
The complete structure is “A 为 B 所 + verb”, and it is equivalent to ” A 被 B + verb + resultative complement”.
For example:
- 希望这些人才都能为我所用。(I hope these talents can be used by me.)
- 小王是为大家所认可的优秀员工。(Xiao Wang is recognized by everyone as an excellent employee.)
- 即使不能为他人所理解，我还是会坚持自己的选择。(Even if I cannot be understood by others, I will stick to my choice.)
There are some differences between “为…所…” and “被”:
- “为…所…” is very formal and it will be used more often in written language, but “被” is very common and daily.
- “被” structure indicates the subject is innocent or passive, and the word after “被” can be omitted. But “为…所…” always emphasizes the word after “为” that you can never omit it.
- There is no resultative complement in “为…所…” structure.
We hope that clarifies the 为…所… (Wéi…suǒ…) phrase construction in Chinese for you!
