以…為例grammar point · tier 2 · take X as an example (以…為例)
Take a named instance X and put it forward as the example that backs a general claim.
字源 FORM what the parts do
以 is grammar's quiet tool: take, by means of. 為 (read wéi) is a hand leading an elephant to work — to make X into, to count X as. 例 stands a person (亻) next to 列, which lends the sound liè and draws bones laid out in a row — one case picked out of the row. X drops into the gap; 以 takes it, 為例 counts it as the case that stands for the whole.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A wide claim hangs in the air. One case is pulled out of the crowd and held up in front of it, made to carry the whole.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
[general claim], 以 [specific instance X] 為例, [X bears out the claim]
觸 · Trigger
A broad statement is on the table and you reach for one concrete case to prove it.
序 · The move
1State the general claim first.Is there a whole that the example will stand for?
2Drop the one named instance into the gap: 以 X 為例.Is X a specific case, not another general statement?
3Follow with the clause showing X bears the claim out.Does the example actually demonstrate the claim it was raised for?
例 · Examples
1臺北的交通很方便，以take / by means of捷運MRT, metro為例as the example，附近的景點都到得了can be reached。
Taipei's transit is convenient; take the MRT as an example, all the nearby sights are within reach.
例如 simply precedes a case or a list (one of several). 以…為例 grips one named instance and frames it as THE example carrying a stated claim — the claim comes first, the instance is bracketed.
以…為主 / 以…為主題
Same 以…為… frame, different filler in the Y slot: 為主 makes X the main thing, 為例 makes X the demonstrating case. The slot decides the meaning.
✗ 以例為捷運 → ✓ 以捷運為例 (X, the instance, goes in the gap; 例 stays fixed in the Y slot)
✗ 比如為例 → ✓ 以…為例 (don't stack two example-markers; pick one frame)
✗ 以交通方便為例 → ✓ 以捷運為例 (the slot takes a concrete case, not a restatement of the claim)
English 'for example' floats freely and needs no object. 以…為例 is a closed bracket: the instance must sit inside, between 以 and 為例, never after it.