# HSK 4 Grammar: Pivotal Sentences with 收/选 and 做/当/为 (兼语句) | HSKReady Canonical: https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-4-pivotal-sentences-2-g061 Language: en Content ID: web-grammar-hsk-4-g061 HSK levels: 4 Updated: 2026-10-23T04:56:37.688Z Scope: published website educational content; full vocabulary, question bank and mock exams remain in the app. Learn how to form HSK 4 pivotal sentences expressing titles, roles, and acceptance using 主语+收/选+宾语1+做/当/为+宾语2 with clear examples and contrasts. Grammar [HSK 4 · Sentence types › Special sentence patterns › Pivotal sentences 2](https://hskready.app/en/grammar/hsk-4#hsk-4-g061) # HSK 4 Pivotal Sentences for Designation and Roles: 收/选 + Object 1 + 做/当/为 + Object 2 This lesson explains the HSK Level 4 pivotal sentence pattern (兼语句) used to express accepting someone into a relationship or selecting someone for a role or title: Subject + 收/选 + Object 1 + 做/当/为 + Object 2. Subject 收 / 选 Object 1 (Person) 做 / 当 / 为 Object 2 (Role / Title) Example sentence 那位老医生决定收小王做徒弟。 Nà wèi lǎo yīshēng juédìng shōu Xiǎo Wáng zuò túdì. That senior doctor decided to take Xiao Wang on as an apprentice. Uses 收 + Object 1 + 做 + Object 2 to describe accepting someone into a mentor-apprentice relationship. A common mistake × 大家选当班长了小李。 Dàjiā xuǎn dāng bānzhǎng le Xiǎo Lǐ. (Incorrect: Everyone elected as class monitor Xiao Li.) For this intended pivotal sentence, put 小李 between 选了 and 当班长: 大家选了小李当班长. Corrected example: 大家选了小李当班长。 **Read the full explanation and examples** ## What Is a Designation Pivotal Sentence? In the HSK Level 4 syllabus, pivotal sentences (兼语句) expand beyond basic requests to include patterns that assign titles, roles, or recognized statuses (表称谓或认定义). This specific structure allows you to state who accepts or selects a person, who that person is, and what role or title they take on within a single smooth clause. Subject 收 / 选 Object 1 (Person) 做 / 当 / 为 Object 2 (Role / Title) Object 1 is the object of 收 or 选 and the understood subject of 做, 当 or 为. In this basic pattern, it comes between the two verb phrases: 选了小李当班长. This describes the order of the constituents, not a ban on aspect particles or suitable modifiers. ## Choosing the First Verb: 收 vs. 选 Although both verbs lead into a new role for Object 1, they describe two distinct social actions. Choosing between them depends on whether the subject is taking someone in or picking someone out of a group. - 收 (shōu) means to accept, take in, or admit someone. It is typically used when a senior person, mentor, or family accepts someone into a personal, academic, or professional relationship—such as taking on an apprentice, a student, an assistant, or an adopted child. - 选 (xuǎn) means to choose, select, or elect. It is used when a group, organization, or individual picks someone from candidates to hold a position, office, or representative role—such as electing a class monitor, choosing a team captain, or appointing a representative. 那位老医生决定收小王做徒弟。 Nà wèi lǎo yīshēng juédìng shōu Xiǎo Wáng zuò túdì. That senior doctor decided to take Xiao Wang on as an apprentice. Uses 收 + Object 1 + 做 + Object 2 to describe accepting someone into a mentor-apprentice relationship. 李教授今年没有收新研究生当助手。 Lǐ jiàoshòu jīnnián méiyǒu shōu xīn yánjiūshēng dāng zhùshǒu. Professor Li did not take in any new graduate students as assistants this year. Shows negation with 没有 placed before the first verb 收, paired with 当 + Object 2 for an academic work role. Notice in the second example above how negation works in this pattern: negative adverbs like 没有 (méiyǒu) or 不 (bù) are placed before the first verb (收 or 选), because the decision to accept or select controls the entire event. ## Choosing the Second Verb: 做, 当, or 为 The second verb links Object 1 to the role, title, or relationship expressed by Object 2. In English, this link is often translated with the preposition as or to be, but in Chinese it is a verb slot filled by 做 (zuò), 当 (dāng), or 为 (wéi). - 做 (zuò) and 当 (dāng) are versatile and common in both everyday speech and standard writing. 做 works comfortably with personal relationships (such as apprentice or friend) as well as jobs and duties. 当 leans slightly toward serving in an official role, function, or post (such as monitor, captain, or assistant). - 为 is read wéi here, with the sense “be/serve as”, and often suits formal designation. In 选他为代表, keep the selected person 他 before 为代表. Related compact expressions such as 选为代表 occur in other sentence frames; they do not invalidate this basic pivotal order. 全班同学都同意选林林当班长。 Quán bān tóngxué dōu tóngyì xuǎn Línlín dāng bānzhǎng. All the classmates in the class agreed to elect Linlin as class monitor. Uses 选 + Object 1 + 当 + Object 2 for electing someone to a student leadership post. 公司董事会正式选张经理为新的部门负责人。 Gōngsī dǒngshìhuì zhèngshì xuǎn Zhāng jīnglǐ wéi xīn de bùmén fùzérén. The company board of directors formally selected Manager Zhang as the new department head. Uses 为 (wéi) as the second verb in a formal workplace appointment. 你们打算选谁做这次比赛的队长？ Nǐmen dǎsuàn xuǎn shuí zuò zhè cì bǐsài de duìzhǎng? Who do you plan to choose as the team captain for this competition? Places the interrogative pronoun 谁 in the Object 1 pivot slot while keeping normal statement word order. As shown in the question above, when you want to ask who is being chosen for a role, the question word 谁 (shuí) simply goes into the Object 1 slot without changing the word order of the sentence. ## Important Contrasts and Common Mistakes Learners should keep two boundaries in mind when using this pattern. First, do not confuse this designation pattern with causative pivotal sentences that use 让 (ràng) or 使 (shǐ) to make someone perform a general action, or evaluative pivotal sentences that use 表扬 (biǎoyáng) or 批评 (pīpíng) to praise or criticize someone for doing something. In the 收/选 pattern, the second part of the predicate specifically assigns a status, title, or relationship (Object 2) via 做, 当, or 为. For the basic pivotal sentence, put the selected or accepted person before the role phrase: 大家选了小李当班长. Here 了 follows 选 and presents that selection as realized. Do not move 小李 after 当班长. This is a guide to this construction, not a rule that every modal or aspect particle in a larger sentence must attach to the first verb. × 大家选当班长了小李。 Dàjiā xuǎn dāng bānzhǎng le Xiǎo Lǐ. (Incorrect: Everyone elected as class monitor Xiao Li.) For this intended pivotal sentence, put 小李 between 选了 and 当班长: 大家选了小李当班长. Corrected example: 大家选了小李当班长。 大家选了小李当班长。 Dàjiā xuǎn le Xiǎo Lǐ dāng bānzhǎng. Everyone elected Xiao Li as class monitor. 小李 is both the person selected and the person who will serve as class monitor. Check who is doing the accepting/selecting, who receives the role, and which role is assigned. In the basic pattern, place that person after 收/选 and before 做/当/为, allowing appropriate particles such as 选了小李当班长. ## Frequently asked questions **Which tone is used for 为 in this sentence pattern?** In this pattern, 为 is pronounced in the second tone (wéi) because it functions as a verb meaning to be or to serve as, rather than the fourth-tone preposition wèi meaning for. **Is there a strict difference between 做 and 当 in this structure?** In many role-assignment sentences, 做 and 当 are interchangeable. However, 当 is mostly used for concrete positions, posts, or duties (like monitor, captain, or assistant), whereas 做 can also comfortably describe personal relationships or broader identities. **Where does 了 go when talking about a completed selection or acceptance?** To present a particular selection as realized, 了 can follow the first verb: 大家选了小李当班长. Sentence-final 了 can instead mark a new situation: 现在选小李当班长了. These are context-sensitive aspect or discourse meanings, not a general past-tense marker. **Source**[hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com · PDF page 396](https://hsk.cn-bj.ufileos.com/3.0/%E6%96%B0%E7%89%88HSK%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95%E5%A4%A7%E7%BA%B21219.pdf#page=396) ## Continue in the app Full mock exams are available in HSKReady. [![Download on the App Store](https://hskready.app/download-on-app-store-black.svg)Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6791916440?l=en)[![Get it on Google Play](https://hskready.app/get-it-on-google-play.svg)Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.curiolab.hskready&hl=en) [HSKReady App](https://hskready.app/en/app)