The complement of company
The complement of company indicates the person or inanimate being with which one finds in a specific circumstance or with whom one does or undergoes an action. The complement of company is introduced by the prepositions 跟 (gēn) “with”, 和 (hé) “and/ together with”.
Here are a few examples:
我不跟他说了。
Wǒ bù gēn tā shuō le.
I no longer speak with him.
我不和他说了。
Wǒ bù hé tā shuō le.
I no longer speak with him.
我不跟/和他说。
Wǒ bù gēn/hé tā shuō.
I don’t speak with him.
请跟我来。
Qǐng gēn wǒ lái.
Please, come with me.
他跟中国朋友练习说中文。
Tā gēn Zhōngguó péngyou liànxí shuō zhōngwén.
He practices speaking Chinese with Chinese friends.
他和我妈妈开玩笑。
Tā hé wǒ māma kāi wán xiào.
He jokes with my mom.
我喜欢和她吃中国菜。
Wǒ xǐhuan hé tā chī Zhōngguó cài
I like to eat Chinese food with her.
The complement of company can be underscored with force by having it followed by 一起 (yīqǐ)“together”.
Here are a few examples:
我和她在一起。
Wǒ hé tā zài yīqǐ.
We are together.
我跟她一起去看电影。
Wǒ gēn tā yīqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng.
I go to watch the film together with her.
我跟我的朋友一起去看比赛。
Wǒ gēn wǒ de péngyou yīqǐ qù kàn bǐsài.
I go to see the game with my friends.
老师和学生一起喝茶。
Lǎoshī hé xuésheng yīqǐ hē chá.
The professor and students drink tea together.
跟 (gēn) “with” if followed by the particle 着 (zhe), becomes a verb, translatable as “to follow” (also with a figurative value).
Here are a few examples:
你在前面，我跟着你！
Nǐ zài qiánmian, wǒ gēnzhe nǐ.
You go first, I’ll follow you!
我妈妈很难过，我跟着她痛苦。
Wǒ māma hěn nánguò, wǒ gēnzhe tā tòngkǔ.
My mom is sad, and I’m sad for her (literally “I follow her in pain”).
我跟着音乐跳舞。
Wǒ gēnzhe yīnyuè tiào wǔ.
I dance to the rhythm of the music (literally “I dance following the music”).
我在都灵大学跟着毛文学汉语。
Wǒ zài dūlíng dàxué gēnzhe Máo Wén xué hànyǔ.
At the University of Turin I study Chinese with Mao Wen (literally “I study Chinese following Mao Wen”).
月亮跟着地球转。
Yuèliang gēnzhe dìqiú zhuǎn.
The moon orbits around the Earth (literally “the moon turns following the Earth”).
跟着感觉走。
Gēnzhe gǎnjué zǒu.
Walk according to your emotions.
A frequently used structure, which is close to the use of 跟着 (gēnzhe), is the following:
“随着 (suízhe) … 的 (de) …” = together with.
Here are two examples:
随着时间的推移，情况会改善。
Suízhe shíjiān de tuīyí, qíngkuàng huì gǎishàn.
With the passage of time, the situation will get better.
随着年龄的增长，她的皱纹加深了。
Suízhe niánlíng de zēngzhǎng, tā de zhòuwén jiāshēn le.
With the advancement of age, her wrinkles became deeper.
The complement of means or tools
The complement of means indicates the means of transport that one takes; the complement of tools indicates, on the other hand, the object used to carry out a particular action.
In Chinese, the complement of means changes on the basis of the role or position that someone assumes in “taking a means of transportation”.
坐 (zuò) “to sit”: is used for transportation where you need to be seated as passengers: train, plane, Ship and car. 坐 is also used when taking an elevator.
骑 (qí) “to mount, to ride”: is used to take mountable transportation such as bicycles, motorbikes, scooters, horse.
乘 (chéng) or 乘坐 (chéngzuò) “to take”: can substitute 坐 (zuò). In classic Chinese, 乘 (chéng) was the carriage that was used by people of high rank for getting around.
搭 (dā) “to travel with”: used mainly in the written form, this is used when taking heavier forms of transportation: plane, cruise ship.
开 (kāi) “to drive”: used with transportation where we are the drivers.
Here are a few examples:
他坐地铁去北京语言大学。
Tā zuò dìtiě qù běijīng yǔyán dàxué.
He takes the subway to go to the Beijing Languages and Cultures University.
我在重庆平时乘轻轨。
Wǒ zài Chóngqìng píngshí chéng qīngguǐ.
In Chongqing I often take the metro.
我的朋友在北京骑自行车去大学。
Wǒ de péngyou zài běijīng qí zìxíngchē qù dàxué.
In Beijing, my friend rides a bike to go to the university.
你骑过马吗？
Nǐ qí guo mǎ ma?
Have you ever gone on horseback?
我乘飞机去中国。
Wǒ chéng fēijī qù Zhōngguó.
I go to China by plane.
为了接他们，我开了车去机场。
Wèi le jiē tāmen, wǒ kāi le chē qù jīchǎng.
To welcome them I went to the airport by car.
The complement of tools are introduced by 用 (yòng) “to use”.
Here are a few examples:
我用筷子吃饭，你呢？我用刀叉吃饭。
Wǒ yòng kuàizi chīfàn, nǐ ne? Wǒ yòng dāochā chīfàn.
I eat with chopsticks, you? I eat with silverware.
我用中文说话。
Wǒ yòng zhōngwén shuōhuà.
I speak in Chinese.
我用英文问他路。
Wǒ yòng yīngwén wèn tā lù.
I ask him road directions in English.
为了做练习，请你用钢笔。
Wèi le zuò liànxí, qǐng nǐ yòng gāngbǐ.
Please use a pen for doing the exercises.
老师用意大利语教我们中文。
Lǎoshī yòng yìdàlì yǔ jiāo wǒmen zhōngwén.
The professor teaches is Chinese in Italian.
The complement of topic
To demarcate an area in Chinese you use two prepositions: 对 (duì) or 对于 (duìyú) “of, towards, in, at, as far as”.
Here are a few examples:
我老师对篮球感兴趣。
Wǒ lǎoshī duì lánqiú gǎn xìngqù.
My professor is into basketball.
那个老师对汉语语法不太了解。
Nà ge lǎoshī duì hànyǔ yǔfǎ bù tài liǎojiě.
That professor doesn’t understand much Chinese grammar.
他对我的建议不感兴趣。
Tā duì wǒ de jiànyì bù gǎn xìngqù.
They’re not interested in my advice.
这个是你对中国人的看法吗？
Zhè ge shì nǐ duì zhōngguó rén de kànfǎ ma?
Is this your idea of the Chinese?
对 (duì) can introduce the person or thing that the action refers to:
他对别人很客气。
Tā duì biéren hěn kèqi.
He’s very nice towards others.
他对我说他昨天没吃。
Tā duì wǒ shuō tā zuótiān méi chī.
He told me yesterday that he didn’t eat.
她对我微笑了。
Tā duì wǒ wēixiào le.
She smiled at me.
According to me…
对我来说 (duì wǒ lái shuō)
对我说来 (duì wǒ shuō lái)
对我来看 (duì wǒ lái kàn)
对我而言 (duì wǒ ér yán) (very formal, mostly used in written form)
From the point of view of… / as far as…
对 Someone 来说
对 Someone 说来
对 Someone 说来
对 Someone 而言
The complement of topic is introduced by 关于 (guānyú) “as far as, about, on” when dealing with a new topic; 至于 (zhìyú) “concerning that” when introducing an already existing topic in the context; 由于(yóuyú) “due to, because of” introduces the reason why something is done.
Here are a few examples:
关于那个题目我一无所知。
Guānyú nà ge tímù wǒ yī wú suǒ zhī.
I don’t know anything about that subject.
我想买一些关于汉语语法的书。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī xiē guānyú hànyǔ yǔfǎ de shū.
I want to buy books on Chinese grammar.
关于我们的讨论，我已经做了决定了。
Guānyú wǒmen de tǎolùn, wǒ yǐjing zuò le juédìng le.
As far as our discussion, I already made a decision.
你说的那两件事情，第一件，我赞成；至于第二件，我还要考虑。
Nǐ shuō de nà liǎng jiàn shìqing, dì yī jiàn, wǒ zànchéng; zhìyú dìèr jiàn, wǒ yào kǎolǜ.
Of the two things you’re talking about, I agree on the first one; as far as the second one, I still have to think about it.
至于我对你说了的事情，你不要管。
Zhìyú wǒ duì nǐ shuō le de shìqing, nǐ bù yào guǎn.
Don’t worry about what I told you (literally it would be “regarding what I told you, don’t take note of it”).
由于各种各样因素，原来的计划取消了。
Yóuyú gè zhǒng gè yàng yīnsù, yuánlái de jìhuà qǔxiāo le.
Because of all sorts of factors, the original plan was cancelled.
There are still two very important constructions that deserve to be studied:
论到 (lùndào)／提到 (tídào) “speaking of”
论到 (lùndào) and 提到 (tídào) introduce the theme. The translations in this case are suitable for reflecting the Chinese structure, but only to clarify the explanation.
Here are a few examples:
论到足球，我一窍不通。
Lùndào zúqiú, wǒ yī qiào bù tōng.
Speaking of soccer, I’m completely ignorant.
论到篮球，我都知道。
Lùndào lánqiú, wǒ dōu zhīdào.
Speaking of basketball, I know everything.
提到日本漫画，你有什么看法？
Tídào rìběn mànhuà, nǐ yǒu shénme kànfǎ?
Speaking of Japanese Manga, do you have any idea?
Directions
To express the direction toward which someone wants to go, or where one is headed, we need to use specific prepositions:
往 (wǎng)
朝 (cháo) “Toward, to”
向 (xiàng)
往 (wǎng), which in classic Chinese had the meaning of “to go”, is used to introduce places toward where one is headed. It is therefore used with motion verbs:
她往前走。
Tā wǎng qián zǒu.
She goes ahead.
飞机往天上飞。
Fēijī wǎng tiān shàng fēi.
The plane flies toward the sky.
往右拐。
Wǎng yòu guǎi.
Turn to the right.
往左转。
Wǎng zuǒ zhuǎn.
Turn to the left.
朝 (cháo), which in classic Chinese had the meaning of “being turned toward the emperor”, is mainly used for cardinal points (east, west, north and south) and with the direction toward up or down.
朝 (cháo) “toward / to” 北 (běi) “north”
朝 (cháo) “toward / to “ 西 (xī) “west”
朝 (cháo) “toward / to “ 东 (dōng) “east”
朝 (cháo) “toward / to” 南 (nán) “south”
我朝上去。
Wǒ cháo shàng qù.
I come up.
我朝下来。
Wǒ cháo xià lái.
I go down.
向 (xiàng) is interchangeable with 往 (wǎng) and with 朝 (cháo). 向 (xiàng) can also be used to introduce a person involved in the action of the verb.
我向爸爸借了汽车。
Wǒ xiàng bàba jiè le qìchē.
I made my dad lend me his car (literally it would be “I toward my dad asked for the loan of his car”).
我们要向别人学习。
Wǒmen yào xiàng biéren xuéxí.
We have to learn from others (literally it would be “we have to toward others learn”).
你要向老师请教。
Nǐ yào xiàng lǎoshī qǐngjiào.
I have to ask the professor’s advice (literally it would be “you have to toward the professor ask advice”).
Photo Credits: 
樂 “joy” chop by Joybot
