对……来说 vs 拿……来说

对……来说 vs 拿……来说

对……来说

1. It’s often used at the beginning of a sentence which means “as far as … be concerned”. The part between is a person or a type of people, and the following clause indicates a situation that is suitable for them.

对 + somebody + 来说，……

e.g.

对学生来说，最重要的就是学习。(Duì xuéshēng lái shuō, zuì zhòngyào de jiùshì xuéxí.) For students, the most important thing is to learn.

对很多外国人来说，汉语最难的部分是汉字。(Duì hěnduō wàiguó rén lái shuō, hànyǔ zuì nán de bùfèn shì hànzì.) For many foreigners, the hardest part of Chinese is the Chinese characters.

对老年人来说，身体健康比什么都重要。(Duì lǎonián rén lái shuō, shēntǐ jiànkāng bǐ shénme dōu zhòngyào.) For the elderly, good health is more important than anything else.

Note that it emphasizes considering a problem from somebody’s perspective. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean this is how they feel.

对 + something + 来说，……

对 + verb + something + 来说，……

e.g.

对学校来说，保证学生的学习是首要任务。(Duì xuéxiào lái shuō, bǎozhèng xuéshēng de xuéxí shì shǒuyào rènwù.) Ensuring student learning is a top priority for schools.

对一个家庭来说，团团圆圆就是最好的。(Duì yīgè jiātíng lái shuō, tuántuán yuán yuán jiùshì zuì hǎo de.) Reunion is the best thing for a family.

对学习语言来说，足够的练习很重要。(Duì xuéxí yǔyán lái shuō, zúgòu de liànxí hěn zhòngyào.) Adequate practice is important for learning a language.

 

拿……来说

拿……来说 indicates a generalized statement or phenomenon, which is usually presented first and then illustrated by examples. “to take …… as an example”

拿 + somebody / something + 来说，……

e.g.

我还是更喜欢住在大城市。拿看病来说，大城市的好医院和好医生比小城市多很多，也方便很多。(Wǒ háishì gèng xǐhuān zhù zài dà chéngshì. Ná kànbìng lái shuō, dà chéngshì de hǎo yīyuàn hé hǎo yīshēng bǐ xiǎo chéngshì duō hěnduō, yě fāngbiàn hěnduō.) I still prefer to live in a big city. For medical treatment, big cities have many more good hospitals and good doctors than small cities, and it is also much more convenient.

学生还是要好好读书。拿找工作来说，好学校毕业的学生一般更容易找到好工作。(Xuéshēng huán shì yào hǎo hǎo dúshū. Ná zhǎo gōngzuò lái shuō, hǎo xuéxiào bìyè de xuéshēng yībān gèng róngyì zhǎodào hǎo gōngzuò.) Students should still study hard. Take job hunting, for example, students who graduate from good schools are generally more likely to find good jobs.

饮食对于体重的影响很大。拿我来说，这个月没吃零食，已经瘦了5斤了。(Yǐnshí duìyú tǐzhòng de yǐngxiǎng hěn dà. Ná wǒ lái shuō, zhège yuè méi chī língshí, yǐjīng shòule 5 jīnle.) Diet has a huge impact on weight. Take me as an example, I have lost 5 pounds without eating snacks this month.