How to use "to" and "for"?

[website]

Ni hao,

I should know this by now, but I just want to double-check.

How do you use the words "to" and "for" in Putonghua? For example, how do you say:

-Give this to him. (Gei ta zhege??? Do I need to say "to"? I never do.)

-We wave TO our neighbors.

-Where are you going TO now? (Xianzai ni qu nar???)

-Who is this coffin for?

-Is this for me? (Zhege wode ma???)

-Are you for or against slavery?

It seems words like "to" and "for" aren't really used in Chinese

much.

[To Whom It May Concern]

Hi I am new to the forums....but in regard to your comment...

'to' and 'for' are not used in chinese because there are no specific words for them. When translated into English then to and for are added so the sentence makes sense...hope this helps!

[benotnobody]

Hey TWIMC! Nice to see you posting. (I don't think you can use images in your sig, so you're in no danger of having it removed!)

Regarding website's question... I'm not completely sure on this, as I am in no way an expert at Chinese (maybe skylee?) but in some of your examples, an expression for the word "to" may not be needed. eg: 这是谁的[coffin]? If I may have a short grammar rant:

When using "to" as a preposition (I assume you're not asking about infinitives as well, because these aren't translated in Chinese) to indicate a directed movement， it probably doesn't need to be translated.

e.g: 我要去商店。 I want to go [to] the shops.

(With the "Give this to him", it could be translated as "Give him this," thus making the whole "to" thing unnecessary. Indeed it is written as 给他这个。)

When "to" is used with some verbs, e.g to make "speak to", it is sometimes translated as 和：

eg: 他没有和我讲话。 He didn't speak to me. Literally, he hasn't with me spoken, if that makes sense.

When "to" is used to mean "for the purpose of," if you catch my drift, you can say 为了：

为了那个目的 To that end.

Concerning the word "for", you can use 为 much as in my previous one (for the purpose of). If you're specifying who will receive something, you can also use 为 or 给。

In your question about the "for/against" thingy, I honestly don't have a clue. I'm sorry.

In fact, I just realised that this probably didn't even answer your question. What a waste of space!

[roddy]

[Admin bit]Re: Signatures

[/Admin bit]

Roddy

[benotnobody]

.....ok..... I guess I stand corrected!

Continuing on website's topic, when discussing for/against, "for" is translated as 赞成。Example: 你赞成还是反对他的建议？ (Are you for or against his suggestion?)

When it is necessary to translate "to" to indicate the direction of a movement, common translations are 向 and 往。 Example: 向右转 （To turn to the right.)

Again, I suspect this isn't extremely helpful, but I hope it assists you in some way.