<p>Edit:</p>
<p>According to 現代漢語八百詞 (p.630), 有 (which means “possess”) is a verb that can follow a monosyllabic verb to form a tightly-bound term. In linguistic terms, it is called a <strong>serial verb compound</strong>.</p>
<p>桌上有一卷书 (there is a book on the table)</p>
<p>桌上摆有一卷书 (there is a book placed on the table) - <em>摆 explains how the book is situated on the table -- it laid/ sits there</em></p>
<p>More example:</p>
<p>庭中有几棵树 (There are several trees in the courtyard)</p>
<p>庭中种有几棵树 (There are several trees planted in the courtyard) - <em>種 explains how the trees are situated in the courtyard -- they grow there</em></p>
<p>車上有四人 (There are four people in the car)</p>
<p>車上坐有四人 (There are four people sitting in the car)</p>
<p>屋中有一百袋大米 (There are a hundred bags of rice in the house)</p>
<p>屋中堆有一百袋大米 (There are a hundred bags of rice piled up in the house)</p>
<p>手中有一把七尺長刀 (Have a seven-foot-long knife in hand)</p>
<p>手中持有一把七尺長刀 (Have a seven-foot-long knife holding in hand)</p>
<p>Different verbs can work with 有 in the above sentences. e.g. 庭中横放有几棵树, 车上躺有四人, 屋中藏有一百袋大米; 手中握有一把七尺长刀</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T14:56:22.800Z
If `車上有四人 -> 車上**坐**有四人` and `四人在車上 -> 四人**坐**在車上 `, do you think it would it be correct to regard 有 as syntactically comparable to 在, from a strictly grammatical point of view? I find it enlightening to see 有 behave like what's variously described as a co-verb or light verb, i.e. a weak/base verb that can be liberally qualified by another _independent_ verb to become a complex predicate.
Sanchuan
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2021-01-05T15:14:28.513Z
@Sanchuan Quote: *"regard 有 as syntactically comparable to 在"* 車上坐有四人 = 有四人坐在車上. The relationship  between 有 (there are) and 坐 (sit)  doesn't seem similar to 坐 and 在 where 坐 is verb and 在 is a preposition;
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T16:01:31.833Z
Their behaviour does seem awfully similar though: `在+车上, (坐)有+四人` = `有+四人, (坐)在+车上`. We probably shouldn't rush to force 在 into a different grammatical category just because it's mostly translated as a preposition in _English_.
Sanchuan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T16:57:10.393Z
@Sanchuan I think 車上坐有四人 look similar to 車上坐著四人, but they are syntactically different  -- 有 indicates the existence of the object; 著 indicates the continuous  state of the verb
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T14:02:34.600Z
2021-01-06T04:17:36.330Z
2021-01-06T04:17:36.330Z
Tang Ho
<p>摆有 is not a single word but rather a simple construct of two separate words 摆 and 有.</p>
<p>It be could argued that a case could be made to treat it as a single word, but this distinction doesn't really make much of a difference semantically.</p>
<p>Your question indicates that you already have a fairly good handle of the way the grammar works. For instance, 放有, like you mentioned also works in a similar way to 摆有.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-02T19:53:44.360Z
Thank you for your answer. I've come to think much the same, though I'm still at a loss as to how to think of this kind of loose V+有 pairings from a grammatical point of view. They don't behave like your typical "serial verb construction" (if that category is of any use in the first place...).
Sanchuan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-05T14:18:16.800Z
2022-09-02T05:47:42.220Z
2022-09-02T05:47:42.220Z
Mou某
<blockquote>
<p>桌上摆有一卷书</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(source: example sentence in a publicly available flashcard deck - no other context provided).</p>
<p>None of the 40+ dictionaries I consulted carry this lemma, and google offers precious little too.</p>
<p>I would have used 摆着 (or 放着) in that context; is 有 a typo for 着 or is 摆有 (and perhaps 放有) a legitimate word? If so, is it dialectal? Can you think of any other such -有 constructions, aside from normal dictionary words like 拥有, 持有, etc. ?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>

<meaning><mandarin><vocabulary><word>
Is 摆有 one word or two? If two, what's their grammatical relationship?
# Is 摆有 one word or two? If two, what's their grammatical relationship?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-01-05)

> 桌上摆有一卷书

(source: example sentence in a publicly available flashcard deck - no other context provided).

None of the 40+ dictionaries I consulted carry this lemma, and google offers precious little too.

I would have used 摆着 (or 放着) in that context; is 有 a typo for 着 or is 摆有 (and perhaps 放有) a legitimate word? If so, is it dialectal? Can you think of any other such -有 constructions, aside from normal dictionary words like 拥有, 持有, etc. ?

Thank you.

**Tags:** meaning, mandarin, vocabulary, word


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-01-05. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Edit:

According to 現代漢語八百詞 (p.630), 有 (which means “possess”) is a verb that can follow a monosyllabic verb to form a tightly-bound term. In linguistic terms, it is called a **serial verb compound**.

桌上有一卷书 (there is a book on the table)

桌上摆有一卷书 (there is a book placed on the table) - *摆 explains how the book is situated on the table -- it laid/ sits there*

More example:

庭中有几棵树 (There are several trees in the courtyard)

庭中种有几棵树 (There are several trees planted in the courtyard) - *種 explains how the trees are situated in the courtyard -- they grow there*

車上有四人 (There are four people in the car)

車上坐有四人 (There are four people sitting in the car)

屋中有一百袋大米 (There are a hundred bags of rice in the house)

屋中堆有一百袋大米 (There are a hundred bags of rice piled up in the house)

手中有一把七尺長刀 (Have a seven-foot-long knife in hand)

手中持有一把七尺長刀 (Have a seven-foot-long knife holding in hand)

Different verbs can work with 有 in the above sentences. e.g. 庭中横放有几棵树, 车上躺有四人, 屋中藏有一百袋大米; 手中握有一把七尺长刀

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: If `車上有四人 -> 車上**坐**有四人` and `四人在車上 -> 四人**坐**在車上 `, do you think it would it be correct to regard 有 as syntactically comparable to 在, from a strictly grammatical point of view? I find it enlightening to see 有 behave like what's variously described as a co-verb or light verb, i.e. a weak/base verb that can be liberally qualified by another _independent_ verb to become a complex predicate.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Quote: *"regard 有 as syntactically comparable to 在"* 車上坐有四人 = 有四人坐在車上. The relationship  between 有 (there are) and 坐 (sit)  doesn't seem similar to 坐 and 在 where 坐 is verb and 在 is a preposition;  
> **username_0**: Their behaviour does seem awfully similar though: `在+车上, (坐)有+四人` = `有+四人, (坐)在+车上`. We probably shouldn't rush to force 在 into a different grammatical category just because it's mostly translated as a preposition in _English_.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I think 車上坐有四人 look similar to 車上坐著四人, but they are syntactically different  -- 有 indicates the existence of the object; 著 indicates the continuous  state of the verb  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-05. Score: 0

摆有 is not a single word but rather a simple construct of two separate words 摆 and 有.

It be could argued that a case could be made to treat it as a single word, but this distinction doesn't really make much of a difference semantically.

Your question indicates that you already have a fairly good handle of the way the grammar works. For instance, 放有, like you mentioned also works in a similar way to 摆有.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your answer. I've come to think much the same, though I'm still at a loss as to how to think of this kind of loose V+有 pairings from a grammatical point of view. They don't behave like your typical "serial verb construction" (if that category is of any use in the first place...).  

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