Pivotal Sentence (兼语句)

The pivotal sentence (兼语句) is a structure where a single noun phrase plays a dual role: it is the object of the first verb and simultaneously the subject of the second verb. The "pivot" is this shared noun. Common verbs that create pivotal sentences include 请 (invite/ask), 让 (let/make), 叫 (tell/ask), 派 (send/dispatch), and 使 (cause/make).

For example, in 老师让我回答问题, the word 我 is the object of 让 (the teacher lets me) and the subject of 回答 (I answer the question). This creates a seamless, compact sentence that would require two clauses in English: "The teacher had me answer the question."

Pivotal sentences are extremely common in Chinese and are used constantly in daily speech. They are especially frequent with causative verbs (让, 叫, 使, 令) and request verbs (请, 求, 邀请). Recognizing this pattern helps learners understand Chinese sentence structure and avoid awkwardly splitting sentences that should be pivotal.