Discussion of 对/對 [duì] to, at, towards, with regard to, concerning to; versus, in comparison with

Discussion of 对/對

To include posts you need to register at trainchinese.com

Some people are confused about the difference between 对 and 向：
1. 对 can be used to denote "way of treating". E.g. 对身体好 (be good to one's health), 对你好 (be good to you). 向 cannot be used in this way.
2. Both 对 and 向 can be used before a noun to denote the indirect object of a verb with the meaning of expression, e.g. 对他说/向他说 (say to him).

lisaC

Regarding the difference between 对于 and 对, please note that:
1. 对于 can be replaced by 对:
Example 1. 对于他来说，他已经达到了目的。 [phr] For him, he has already achieved the purpose.
---> We can also say: 对他来说，他已经达到了目的。
2. 对 has two usages which 对于 does not have.
- When 对 indicates the how one person treats another person, 对于 cannot replace 对: Example. 她对小孩不够耐心。 [ta1 dui4 xiao3 hai2 bu2 gou4 nai4 xin1] , (phr) She is not patient enough with children.
- When 对 indicates the target of an action, 对于 cannot replace 对: Example. 我对你有好感 [phr] I have a favourable impression of you

lisaC

In this post, we compare these three prepositions: 给, 对 and 向.

给 (prep) is used to introduce the party receiving or issuing an action. The many different ways in which 给 (prep) is used are summarized here:
1. Used to introduce the party that receives something. The phrase lead by 给 “给+noun/pronoun” can be placed either before or after the action. Please note that #1 is the only usage where the phrase lead by 给 can be placed flexibly in this way: E.g. 给朋友打个电话/打个电话给朋友；给你写封信/写封信给你
2. Used to introduce the party that benefits or suffers from an action. E.g.
老师给我解释清楚了。The teacher explained it clearly to me.
别把屋子给我搞得乱七八糟。Don’t mess up the room (coz I suffer from the consequence).
3. Used to introduce the party that’s at the receiving end of an action, e.g. talk, speak, apologize, greet, etc.In #3, 给 can be replaced by 向 or 对. E.g.
给/对/向国旗行礼 salute the national flag
给/对/向同学道歉 apologize to the classmate
给/对/向大家说说你的看法 tell everyone your thoughts
4. Used to introduce the party that is the doer of the action. E.g.
瓶子给妹妹打碎了。The bottle was broken by (my) younger sister.

For differences between 对 (prep) and 向 (prep), please visit the discussion page of either these two prepositions.

lisaC

You you can select to receive personal notifications on the app or via email for important contributions to words that you are learning in the account settings .