<p>'给..照相' means 'take a picture of ..', so your sentence means 'can you take a picture of me'. </p>

<p>The verbatim translation for 'do [something] for [someone]' is '为..做..', but in your scenario (asking stranger for help), it is more common to say '帮..做..' (help [someone] do [something]), so 'can you take a picture of her for me' would be '你能帮我给她照相吗？'</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-25T04:22:38.820Z
2014-11-25T04:22:38.820Z
NS.X.
<p>As an experienced tourist in China, I know the sentence:你能不能给我（们）相的照吗？</p>

<p>Although it gives the desired result-- someone taking a picture of me, for me, with my own camera-- I am not sure of the exact corresponding English translation.</p>

<p>Does it mean:<br>
A)     Can you take a picture <em>for</em> me?<br>
    Or,<br>
B)     Can you take a picture <em>of</em> me?</p>

<p>And how can I distinguish between the  two, or add a second object like "Can you take of picture of her for me?"</p>

<grammar><mandarin><preposition>
Take a picture of me/for me (which preposition better translates)?
# Take a picture of me/for me (which preposition better translates)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-25)

As an experienced tourist in China, I know the sentence:你能不能给我（们）相的照吗？

Although it gives the desired result-- someone taking a picture of me, for me, with my own camera-- I am not sure of the exact corresponding English translation.

Does it mean:  
A) Can you take a picture *for* me?  
Or,  
B) Can you take a picture *of* me?

And how can I distinguish between the two, or add a second object like "Can you take of picture of her for me?"

**Tags:** grammar, mandarin, preposition


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-11-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

'给..照相' means 'take a picture of ..', so your sentence means 'can you take a picture of me'.

The verbatim translation for 'do [something] for [someone]' is '为..做..', but in your scenario (asking stranger for help), it is more common to say '帮..做..' (help [someone] do [something]), so 'can you take a picture of her for me' would be '你能帮我给她照相吗？'


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