Lessons 1, 3, 5, 9: Introducing a subject or topic: 对于, 拿……来说, 对……来说, 至于

Explanation

Structure

1. 1
   对于+N，……

   Used before nouns; seldom combined with verbs or adverbs. Any sentence with 对于 can be changed to 对, but not vice versa.

   • 对于这个问题，大家都很感兴趣。

     Duìyú zhège wèntí, dàjiā dōu hěn gǎn xìngqù.

     Everyone is very interested in this issue.

   • 说实话，对于将来要做什么，我还没想好。

     Shuō shíhuà, duìyú jiānglái yào zuò shénme, wǒ hái méi xiǎnghǎo.

     To be honest, as for what I'll do in the future, I still haven't thought it through.

   • 对于工作，他是很认真的。

     Duìyú gōngzuò, tā shì hěn rènzhēn de.

     He is very serious about his work.

   • 多跟中国人谈话，对于提高汉语听说能力非常有帮助。

     Duō gēn Zhōngguórén tánhuà, duìyú tígāo Hànyǔ tīngshuō nénglì fēicháng yǒu bāngzhù.

     Talking a lot with Chinese people is very helpful for improving your Chinese listening and speaking.

   • 朋友们对我很热情。

     Péngyoumen duì wǒ hěn rèqíng.

     My friends are very warm to me. (This sentence uses only 对, not 对于)

2. 2
   拿+Nnoun+来说

   Raises a topic or an aspect to discuss; the verb is limited to 说, 看, 讲, 比, 比较, 分析…

   • 就拿首都北京来说吧，就和全国大部分地区一样，都有春夏秋冬四个季节。

     Jiù ná shǒudū Běijīng lái shuō ba, jiù hé quánguó dà bùfen dìqū yíyàng, dōu yǒu chūn xià qiū dōng sì ge jìjié.

     Take the capital Beijing, for example: like most parts of the country, it has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

   • 汉语的一些语法对于外国学习者是比较难的，拿“了”和“把”字句的用法来说，很多人虽然学了，但是还是不知道怎么用。

     Hànyǔ de yìxiē yǔfǎ duìyú wàiguó xuéxízhě shì bǐjiào nán de, ná “le” hé “bǎ” zìjù de yòngfǎ lái shuō, hěn duō rén suīrán xué le, dànshì háishi bù zhīdào zěnme yòng.

     Some Chinese grammar is quite difficult for foreigners; take the usage of “了” and the “把” sentence, for example: many people have studied them but still don't know how to use them.

   • 拿人民生活水平来说，提高还是很快的。

     Ná rénmín shēnghuó shuǐpíng lái shuō, tígāo háishi hěn kuài de.

     Take people's standard of living, for example: it is still rising quite fast.

3. 3
   对+người/việc+来说，+kết luận

   Looking from the standpoint of a person or thing and then giving a conclusion; you can also say 对……说来.

   • 对她来说，幸福就是看到儿子的笑脸。

     Duì tā lái shuō, xìngfú jiù shì kàndào érzi de xiàoliǎn.

     To her, happiness is seeing her son smile.

   • 对我来说，这里已经成了第二家乡。

     Duì wǒ lái shuō, zhèlǐ yǐjīng chéng le dì èr jiāxiāng.

     To me, this place has become a second home.

   • 对一个老师来说，教好自己的学生是最重要的。

     Duì yí ge lǎoshī lái shuō, jiāohǎo zìjǐ de xuésheng shì zuì zhòngyào de.

     For a teacher, teaching their students well is the most important thing.

   • 对正在挨饿的人来说，如果让他吃饱饭，他可能就会感到很幸福。

     Duì zhèngzài áiè de rén lái shuō, rúguǒ ràng tā chībǎo fàn, tā kěnéng jiù huì gǎndào hěn xìngfú.

     For someone who is hungry, if you feed them until full, they may feel very happy.

4. 4
   …+至于+N / V+…

   Placed at the start of a sentence or clause to turn to another topic; what follows 至于 is the new topic.

   • 我知道这是四川菜，至于怎么做的，我就不知道了。

     Wǒ zhīdào zhè shì Sìchuān cài, zhìyú zěnme zuò de, wǒ jiù bù zhīdào le.

     I know this is a Sichuan dish, but as for how it's made, I don't know.

   • 听说她病了，至于什么病，可能玛丽清楚，你去问问玛丽吧。

     Tīngshuō tā bìng le, zhìyú shénme bìng, kěnéng Mǎlì qīngchu, nǐ qù wènwen Mǎlì ba.

     I heard she is sick; as for what illness she has, Mary may know, so go ask Mary.

   • 他平淡地说：“这些书都是你用得着的，至于钱，以后再说吧。”

     Tā píngdàn de shuō: “Zhèxiē shū dōu shì nǐ yòngdezháo de, zhìyú qián, yǐhòu zàishuō ba.”

     He said calmly: “These books are all things you'll need; as for the money, we'll talk about it later.”

   • 这只是我的一点儿意见，至于你们接受不接受，那我就不管了。

     Zhè zhǐshì wǒ de yìdiǎnr yìjiàn, zhìyú nǐmen jiēshòu bu jiēshòu, nà wǒ jiù bù guǎn le.

     This is just a little of my opinion; as for whether you accept it or not, I won't concern myself with that.