<p><strong>和 = 跟 = 与</strong> = and/along with. 和 has the most uses; 跟 is used in causal conservation, and the use of 与 is rare, especially in speech, but in older literature, lyrics, or formal writing.</p>
<ul>
<li>今天我<strong>和/跟/与</strong>一个员工练习中文. - Today I practiced Chinese with an employee.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>给</strong> means &quot;give; provide&quot; - 今天我给员工們上了一課 (Today I gave/provide a lesson to the employees, or Today I taught the employees a lesson.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-07T19:08:39.187Z
Ok this makes sense, however, I'm unaware of this usage of **上了** to mean teaching or providing. Can you explain a little further on this? I'm aware of `上班` to be a verb to Work, and `上学` to be the same for going to school, but seeing `上` by itself threw me off. Thank you.
Adrift
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-07T19:44:28.893Z
It is topic specific. Wife (a teacher): "我要給學生去上課了" - I've to go **teach** (the students/class) now = I've to go to class (**to teach**) now.  Me: "我要去上班了" - I've to go **work** now = I've to go to the office [**to work**] now. Son: "我要去上學/課了" = I'm going to school/class [**to learn**] now. The words in [ ] are redundant but represent the actions depending on the status of the speaker. Teacher - to teach; Worker - to work; Student - [to the place to learn/be taught]. 了 means you did that (in the past); the action is completed (taught vs teach)..
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-07T16:55:56.897Z
2023-07-07T20:03:08.257Z
2023-07-07T20:03:08.257Z
r13
<p>Change employee for him to make life easier.</p>
<p>Today I practised Chinese with him.<br />
今天我和他一起练习汉语。</p>
<p>Colloquial:
Me and him practised Chinese together today.<br />
Him and I practised Chinese together today.</p>
<p>But you probably wouldn't say:</p>
<p>*Me practised Chinese today.<br />
*Him practised Chinese today.</p>
<p>Prepositional phrases are often called complements in Western Grammar. Complements add information. Complements may be omitted. In my opinion [和他一起] is just that, information about the practise.</p>
<p>今天我练习汉语。<br />
今天我[和他一起]练习汉语。<br />
今天他[和我一起]练习汉语。</p>
<p>I suppose, below, you could call &quot;我和他&quot; a double subject, but then, if they are both the subject, who did they meet?</p>
<p>我和他见面。</p>
<p>Extend that:
我和他是在90年代遇见的。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-08T01:14:59.427Z
2023-07-08T01:14:59.427Z
Pedroski
<p>In English, if I wanted to say: &quot;<strong>Today I practiced Chinese with an employee</strong>&quot; the other subject (employee) can properly come last in the sentence. Of course I can also say &quot;<strong>Me and an employee practiced Chinese today</strong>.</p>
<p>However, my understanding in Chinese is that subjects typically appear in the beginning. So I would assume Chinese version is &quot;<strong>今天我和一个员工练习中文</strong>.&quot; -- or something like that. Is this indeed true?</p>
<p>And which of these are most common to combine subjects? <strong>和</strong>, <strong>跟</strong>, <strong>给</strong>, <strong>与</strong></p>
<p>Can someone help explain proper usage of speaking when multiple subjects appear in sentence?</p>

<mandarin>
Understanding how natives speak with multiple subjects (Mandarin)
# Understanding how natives speak with multiple subjects (Mandarin)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-07-07)

In English, if I wanted to say: "**Today I practiced Chinese with an employee**" the other subject (employee) can properly come last in the sentence. Of course I can also say "**Me and an employee practiced Chinese today**.

However, my understanding in Chinese is that subjects typically appear in the beginning. So I would assume Chinese version is "**今天我和一个员工练习中文**." -- or something like that. Is this indeed true?

And which of these are most common to combine subjects? **和**, **跟**, **给**, **与**

Can someone help explain proper usage of speaking when multiple subjects appear in sentence?

**Tags:** mandarin


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-07-07. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

**和 = 跟 = 与** = and/along with. 和 has the most uses; 跟 is used in causal conservation, and the use of 与 is rare, especially in speech, but in older literature, lyrics, or formal writing.

* 今天我**和/跟/与**一个员工练习中文. - Today I practiced Chinese with an employee.

**给** means "give; provide" - 今天我给员工們上了一課 (Today I gave/provide a lesson to the employees, or Today I taught the employees a lesson.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ok this makes sense, however, I'm unaware of this usage of **上了** to mean teaching or providing. Can you explain a little further on this? I'm aware of `上班` to be a verb to Work, and `上学` to be the same for going to school, but seeing `上` by itself threw me off. Thank you.  
> **username_1**: It is topic specific. Wife (a teacher): "我要給學生去上課了" - I've to go **teach** (the students/class) now = I've to go to class (**to teach**) now.  Me: "我要去上班了" - I've to go **work** now = I've to go to the office [**to work**] now. Son: "我要去上學/課了" = I'm going to school/class [**to learn**] now. The words in [ ] are redundant but represent the actions depending on the status of the speaker. Teacher - to teach; Worker - to work; Student - [to the place to learn/be taught]. 了 means you did that (in the past); the action is completed (taught vs teach)..  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-07-08. Score: 1

Change employee for him to make life easier.

Today I practised Chinese with him.  
今天我和他一起练习汉语。

Colloquial:
Me and him practised Chinese together today.  
Him and I practised Chinese together today.

But you probably wouldn't say:

\*Me practised Chinese today.  
\*Him practised Chinese today.

Prepositional phrases are often called complements in Western Grammar. Complements add information. Complements may be omitted. In my opinion [和他一起] is just that, information about the practise.

今天我练习汉语。  
今天我[和他一起]练习汉语。  
今天他[和我一起]练习汉语。

I suppose, below, you could call "我和他" a double subject, but then, if they are both the subject, who did they meet?

我和他见面。

Extend that:
我和他是在90年代遇见的。


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