跟 (gēn) vs 和 (hé)

跟 (gēn) vs 和 (hé)

As conjunction.

跟 and 和 both indicate an equal, coordinating relation. They often connect two words or phrases, which mean “and” or “with” in English.

A 跟/和 B

Note that A and B are often nouns or pronouns, and they can exchange without any meaning change. The whole phrase often functions as a subject or object.

e.g.

我跟/和爷爷在家里喝茶。(Wǒ gēn/hé yéyé zài jiālǐ hē chá.) I have tea at home with grandpa.

昨天学校只有一个老师跟/和两个学生。(Zuótiān xuéxiào zhǐyǒu yīgè lǎoshī gēn/hé liǎng gè xuéshēng.) There was only one teacher and two students in the school yesterday.

我的朋友跟/和我都是亚洲人。(Wǒ de péngyǒu gēn/hé wǒ dū shì yàzhōu rén.) My friends and I are all Asian.

我知道这本书的名字跟/和价格。(Wǒ zhīdào zhè běn shū de míngzì gēn/hé jiàgé.) I know the name and price of this book.

Typical mistake: as a conjunction, 跟 and 和 can’t connect clauses or sentences.

e.g.

X 我喜欢我的学校，和我喜欢我的老师。(Wǒ xǐhuān wǒ de xuéxiào, hé wǒ xǐhuān wǒ de lǎoshī.) I like my school, and I like my teachers.

X 我经常学习中文跟打篮球。(Wǒ jīngcháng xuéxí zhōngwén gēn dǎ lánqiú.) I often learn Chinese and play basketball.

Differences

跟 usually only connects two words, but 和 can connect two or more words. In this case, 和 needs to be put before the last coordinating element.

e.g.

X 我喜欢吃鸡蛋、牛奶跟面条。 (Wǒ xǐhuān chī jīdàn, niúnǎi gēn miàntiáo.) I like to eat eggs, milk and noodles.

X 我喜欢吃鸡蛋和牛奶和面条。(Wǒ xǐhuān chī jīdàn hé niúnǎi hé miàntiáo.) I like to eat eggs and milk and noodles.

√ 我喜欢鸡蛋跟牛奶。(Wǒ xǐhuān jīdàn gēn niúnǎi.) I like eggs and milk.

√ 我喜欢吃鸡蛋、牛奶和面条。(Wǒ xǐhuān chī jīdàn, niúnǎi hé miàntiáo.) I like to eat eggs, milk and noodles.

 

X 你能告诉我他的名字、电话跟公司吗？(Nǐ néng gàosù wǒ tā de míngzì, diànhuà gēn gōngsī ma?) Can you tell me his name, phone number and company?

X 你能告诉我他的名字和电话和公司吗？(Nǐ néng gàosù wǒ tā de míngzì hé diànhuà hé gōngsī ma?)

√ 你能告诉我他的名字跟电话吗？(Nǐ néng gàosù wǒ tā de míngzì gēn diànhuà ma?) Can you tell me his name and phone number?

√ 你能告诉我他的名字、电话和公司吗？(Nǐ néng gàosù wǒ tā de míngzì, diànhuà hé gōngsī ma?) Can you tell me his name, phone number and company?

As a preposition.

跟 and 和 both introduce the target of an action. They are often put before the verb or verb phrase as adverbial.

A + 跟/和 + noun / pronoun + verb / verb phrase

e.g.

你跟她说一下这件事。(Nǐ gēn tā shuō yīxià zhè jiàn shì.) You tell her about it.

校长正在和家长介绍老师。(Xiàozhǎng zhèngzài hé jiāzhǎng jièshào lǎoshī.) The principal is introducing the teacher to the parents.

我常常跟孩子们去公园玩。(Wǒ chángcháng gēn háizimen qù gōngyuán wán.) I often go to the park with the kids to play.

我不喜欢和孩子一起吃饭。(Wǒ bù xǐhuān hé háizi yīqǐ chīfàn.) I don’t like to eat with children.

The negator “不” or “没” needs to be put before “跟” or “和”.

e.g.

你不跟他们一起吃饭吗？(Nǐ bù gēn tāmen yīqǐ chīfàn ma?) Don’t you eat with them?

我没和医生说这件事。(Wǒ méi hé yīshēng shuō zhè jiàn shì.) I didn’t tell the doctor about it.