教/問/罰/偷
Verbs That Put the Person First
In Cantonese, while the verb 畀 (bei2, "to give") often puts the 'thing' first, a specific group of verbs including 教 (gaau3, "to teach"), 問 (man6, "to ask"), 罰 (fat6, "to fine"), and 偷 (tau1, "to steal") follow a strict Person + Thing order.
How It Works
This pattern covers ditransitive verbs (verbs with two objects). While learners often overgeneralize the word order of 畀 (bei2), these four verbs are strictly 'Person-First':
- 教 (gaau3): To teach someone something.
- 問 (man6): To ask someone something.
- 罰 (fat6): To fine/punish someone (an amount/penalty).
- 偷 (tau1): To steal something from someone.
When using 咗 (zo2, perfective) or 過 (gwo3, experiential), the particle attaches to the verb before the person. For example: 罰咗佢五百蚊 (fat6 zo2 keoi5 ng5 baak3 man1) - 'Fined him 500 dollars'.
Note that for 偷 (tau1), the person is the 'source' of the theft. Even though it looks like a possessive phrase in English ('stole my camera'), in Cantonese, the person is the indirect object of the verb.
Examples (5)
- 佢教過好多人鋼琴。
She has taught many people the piano.
Word by Word: She teach [experiential] many people piano.
The person (many people) comes before the thing (piano). The particle 過 (gwo3) stays with the verb.
- 我想問你一個問題。
I want to ask you a question.
Word by Word: I want ask you one [classifier] question.
The person (you) must follow the verb 問 (man6) immediately.
- 差人罰咗佢五百蚊。
The police fined him five hundred dollars.
Word by Word: Police fine [perfective] him five hundred dollars.
The person being fined (him) comes before the amount (500 dollars).
- 佢偷咗我部相機。
He stole my camera.
Word by Word: He steal [perfective] me [classifier] camera.
In Cantonese, this literally means 'He stole [from] me a camera'. The person (me) is the source object.
- 老師教我哋廣東話。
The teacher teaches us Cantonese.
Word by Word: Teacher teach us Cantonese.
A simple demonstration of the Person (us) + Thing (Cantonese) order.
Common Mistakes
Using the 'Thing-First' order (copying the verb 'to give').
我問一個問題你。我問你一個問題。While 畀 (bei2) allows the thing to come first, 問 (man6) does not. You must ask the person first.
Adding a preposition like 'with' or 'to' before the person.
我想同你問問題。我想問你問題。Learners often try to use 同 (tung4, 'with/to') because of English or Mandarin influence. In Cantonese, these verbs take the person directly as an object.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand verbs like 'teach', 'ask', 'fine', and 'steal' in Cantonese, you need to be familiar with how Cantonese handles sentences with two objects (a person and a thing). You should also be comfortable with basic pronouns and general word order to see how these verbs specifically prioritize the person involved in the action.
Related Patterns
- 畀Give
The most common double-object verb, which uniquely prefers the 'Thing-First' order, unlike the verbs in this lesson.
Level 1 - Word Order Basics
Understanding the fundamental Subject-Verb-Object structure of Cantonese.
Foundations - 咗Perfective Aspect
The perfective aspect marker often used with these verbs to indicate completed actions like 'fined' or 'stole'.
Level 1 - 過（經驗）Experiential Aspect
The experiential marker used to say someone has 'ever' taught or asked something.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice 教/問/罰/偷 in Bubblegum
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