Discussion of 向

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Some people are confused about the difference between 向 and 对：
1. One of the meanings of 向 is "in the direction of, towards". When it is used to denote directions, the prepositional phrase led by 向 can either appear before a verb as an adverbial (向前看) or after a verb as it's complement (走向他的房间). 对 cannot be used to denote directions.
2. Both 对 and 向 can be used before a noun to denote the indirect object of a verb with the meaning of expression, e.g. 对他说/向他说 (say to him).

lisaC

In this post, we discuss these three prepositions: 朝, 向 and 往.

朝, 向 and 往 all indicate the direction and subject of an action, but they are used in different ways.
1. When 朝, 向 and 往 indicate the direction of an action, there are two possible structures:
1a. Prepositional Phrase led by 朝/向/往 Verb:
the following word/phrase usually indicates location or place. To give a few examples, these words/phrases can be 前, 后, 上边, 右面, 屋子里, 北京, etc.
Examples: 朝前看, 向后退, 往屋子里走, 向北京开进, etc.
2a. Verb Prepositional Phrase led by 向/往.
* Note that 朝 cannot be used in this structure 2a.
** Not all verbs can be used in this second structure with 向/往:
Verb Prepositional Phrase led by 往: the verbs are usually limited to 开, 送, 寄, 运, 飞, 赶, 通, 迁, 带, 派, 逃, etc.; the word/phrase following 往 is usually the final destination of the action.
E.g. 飞往北京, 赶往事故现场, 开往仓库, etc.
Verb Prepositional Phrase led by 向: the word/phrase following 向 is usually a purpose, an object or a destination.
E.g. 走向胜利, 流向大海, 奔向未来, 飞向蓝天, etc.

2. When indicating the subject of an action, only 朝 and/or 向 can be used. 往 cannot be used in this way. The following word/phrase usually indicates a person or in another case, it can be a word/phrase that is a collective group. E.g. 我,你,他们,张老师,公司,学院,组织, etc. And it depends on what kind of action:
2a. When the verb indicates a tangible, physical action, both 朝 and 向 can be used.
E.g. 朝他点头，向他点头
2b. When the verb indicates a more abstract action, only 向 can be used. There are two groups of verbs:
Group 1: verbs that have the meaning “to get/obtain from…“: 学习, 请教, 打听, 借, 要, 请假，etc.
E.g. 向老师学习，向同学借书
Group 2: verbs that have the meaning “to express“: 说, 表示, 解释, 汇报, etc.
E.g. 向获奖人员表示祝贺，向领导汇报，向他解释

lisaC

In this post, we compare these three prepositions: 给, 对 and 向.

给 (prep) is used to introduce the party receiving or issuing an action. The many different ways in which 给 (prep) is used are summarized here:
1. Used to introduce the party that receives something. The phrase lead by 给 “给+noun/pronoun” can be placed either before or after the action. Please note that #1 is the only usage where the phrase lead by 给 can be placed flexibly in this way: E.g. 给朋友打个电话/打个电话给朋友；给你写封信/写封信给你
2. Used to introduce the party that benefits or suffers from an action. E.g.
老师给我解释清楚了。The teacher explained it clearly to me.
别把屋子给我搞得乱七八糟。Don’t mess up the room (coz I suffer from the consequence).
3. Used to introduce the party that’s at the receiving end of an action, e.g. talk, speak, apologize, greet, etc.In #3, 给 can be replaced by 向 or 对. E.g.
给/对/向国旗行礼 salute the national flag
给/对/向同学道歉 apologize to the classmate
给/对/向大家说说你的看法 tell everyone your thoughts
4. Used to introduce the party that is the doer of the action. E.g.
瓶子给妹妹打碎了。The bottle was broken by (my) younger sister.

For differences between 对 (prep) and 向 (prep), please visit the discussion page of either these two prepositions.

lisaC

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