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HSK 2.0 Level 3+ HSK 3.0 Level 3+ 7 min read

Separable Verbs 放假, 见面, 结婚, 洗澡

Split verbs like 见面 and 放假 correctly: put 了, 过 or a number in the middle, and add the person with 跟.

Pattern

verb part + 了/过/个/number + object part (见了面, 放七天假); 跟 + person + 见面/结婚

见面 already has its object, so another person goes in front with 跟, and 了, 过 or a number go in the middle.

昨天我跟老同学见了面。

When to use Separable Verbs 放假, 见面, 结婚, 洗澡

见面, 放假, 结婚 and 洗澡 are each a verb plus its own object: 见 “see” + 面 “face”, 洗 “wash” + 澡 “bath”. Because the object is already inside, they cannot take another object after them: say 跟他见面, not 见面他. Words like 了, 过, 个 or a time amount go between the two parts: 见了面, 洗个澡, 放三天假.

我们明天在学校门口见面吧。

Let’s meet at the school gate tomorrow.

我哥哥下个月结婚。

My older brother is getting married next month.

我每天晚上洗澡。

I take a shower every evening.

春节我们放了七天假。

We had seven days off for Spring Festival.

Common traps

  • Say 我跟他见面, not 我见面他: the person goes before the verb with 跟.
  • Say 我们见过面, not 我们见面过: 过 goes after the verb part, inside the word.
  • Say 我们放了三天假, not 我们放假了三天: the length of time goes in the middle.

Targeted drill

Practice this exact pattern before moving on.

昨天我跟他 。

I met him yesterday. Put the completion marker inside the separable verb
Fill in the missing piece, then press Enter

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