3 · Sentence patterns
The passive with bèi
the marked passive
Bèi puts the one who undergoes an action first and the doer after bèi, and it usually reports something unwelcome.
The 被 sentence starts with the person or thing something happens to, then 被, then the doer, then the verb: 我的自行车被人偷了, “my bike was stolen by somebody”. If the doer is unknown or does not matter, it can be left out: 我的自行车被偷了.
English uses the passive for neutral facts all the time — “the house was built last year”, “the book is well written”. Chinese does not. 被 grew out of a verb meaning “to suffer, to undergo”, and it still most often reports something that happened to somebody against their will: stolen, broken, scolded, caught in the rain, cheated. For a neutral fact Chinese uses an active sentence or simply puts the thing first with no marker at all.
Like 把, a 被 sentence needs something after the verb — 了, a result, a direction: 被雨淋湿了, 被风吹走了. Negation and modal verbs stand before 被: 他没被批评, 别被他骗了.
The unlucky colouring is a strong habit, not a law. In news and formal writing 被 is spreading into neutral and even happy sentences, and with verbs of choosing, naming and inviting it has always been at home: 被选为, “was elected as”, 被邀请, “was invited”. In everyday speech, though, a learner who uses 被 wherever English has a passive will sound as if everything were a small disaster.
The form
| with the doer | 我的钱包被小偷偷了。 |
| without the doer | 我的钱包被偷了。 |
| negative | 他没被老师批评。 |
| a warning | 别被他骗了。 |
| the active version | 小偷偷了我的钱包。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The one who undergoes the action comes first, then 被 and the doer, then the verb.
杯子被猫打破了。The glass was broken by the cat.
The doer can be left out when it is unknown or does not matter.
我的自行车被偷了。My bike has been stolen.
The verb needs something after it: 了, a result or a direction.
衣服被雨淋湿了。The clothes got soaked by the rain.
Negation and modal verbs go before 被.
这件事还没被发现。This has not been discovered yet.
Most 被 sentences report something unwelcome; a neutral fact is better said actively.
他被老板批评了一顿。He got a telling-off from the boss.
A closer look
Why bèi sounds unlucky
In older Chinese 被 was a full verb: “to cover”, and from there “to be subjected to, to suffer”. A sentence like 他被打了 was once close to “he suffered a beating”. That history is why the word still carries the feeling of something undergone rather than something neutral.
Two other routes cover what 被 leaves out. In everyday speech 让 and 叫 take its place, and for a thing that obviously cannot act — a meal, a letter, a house — no marker is needed at all: 饭做好了, “the meal is ready”. Both are the subject of the next topic.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is one of choosing, rating or inviting (选, 评, 邀请)
被 is perfectly neutral and may report good news.
她被邀请参加会议。She was invited to take part in the meeting.
These verbs describe something that is always done to a person by others, so the passive is their natural shape.
How to spot it
- 被
- 被…了
- 没被
- 被人
Example sentences
我的手机被弟弟弄坏了。My phone got broken by my little brother.
他被车撞了，不过没事。He was hit by a car, but he is all right.
蛋糕被孩子们吃光了。The cake was eaten up by the children.
我今天被雨淋了。I got caught in the rain today.
那封信已经被寄走了。That letter has already been sent off.
他被选为班长了。He has been chosen as class monitor.
8 more example sentences
窗户被风吹开了。The window was blown open by the wind.
我的伞被人拿走了。Somebody has taken my umbrella.
小王被狗咬了一口。Xiao Wang got bitten by a dog.
他的秘密被妹妹发现了。His secret was found out by his younger sister.
我差点儿被他骗了。I was very nearly taken in by him.
桌子上的水果被谁吃了？Who has eaten the fruit that was on the table?
这个问题从来没有被解决过。This problem has never been solved.
孩子被雷声吓醒了。The child was woken up with a fright by the thunder.
Worth knowing (1)
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Bèi rén: by somebody
When the doer is unknown, speech often keeps a placeholder rather than dropping it: 被人, “by somebody”. It sounds more natural in conversation than a bare 被.
我的车被人撞了。Somebody has run into my car.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
“This book is well written” is a passive in English, but nothing bad has happened to the book, and Chinese needs no marker: the book simply stands first and the verb follows. 被 here would make the writing sound like an accident that befell it.
Bèi tells what happened to somebody, usually against their will; for a neutral fact, say it actively.
Your turn
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