4 · Sentence patterns
Passives with ràng, jiào and gěi
the spoken passive and the passive without a marker
In speech ràng and jiào often stand where bèi would, gěi can stand before the verb, and many passives need no marker at all.
In everyday conversation 让 and 叫 do the work of 被: 我的车让人撞了, 他叫狗咬了. They sound more relaxed than 被, which belongs to both speech and writing. There is one firm difference: after 让 and 叫 the doer must be named, even if only as 人, “somebody”. 被撞了 is fine; 让撞了 is not.
The word 给 plays two parts here. On its own, directly before the verb, it can mark a passive in speech, and then the doer may be dropped: 杯子给打碎了, “the glass got smashed”. And it can be added before the verb in a sentence that already has 被, 让 or 叫: 钱包让小偷给偷了. That second 给 adds no meaning, only a spoken flavour of “and it happened to me”.
The most common passive of all has no marker. When the thing at the head of the sentence obviously cannot do the action — a meal cannot cook, a letter cannot post itself — Chinese simply puts it first and lets the verb follow: 饭做好了, “the meal is ready”, 信寄出去了, “the letter has been sent”, 票卖完了, “the tickets are sold out”. This is the normal Chinese answer to the neutral English passive.
So there are three registers to choose from. In writing and in careful speech, 被; in conversation about a mishap, 让 or 叫, often with 给; and for a plain result, no marker. The mistake English speakers make is to reach for a marker every time English has a passive — a Chinese ear then hears a complaint where none was meant.
The form
| bèi, written or spoken | 我的车被人撞了。 |
| ràng, spoken | 我的车让人撞了。 |
| jiào, spoken | 我的车叫人撞了。 |
| gěi before the verb | 我的车让人给撞了。 |
| no marker | 饭做好了。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
After 让 and 叫 the doer must be named, even if only as 人.
我的自行车让人骑走了。Somebody has ridden off on my bike.
给 directly before the verb can mark a spoken passive on its own, without a doer.
杯子给打碎了。The glass got smashed.
给 can also be added before the verb in a sentence with 被, 让 or 叫, without changing the meaning.
我的钱包让小偷给偷了。My wallet got stolen by a pickpocket.
A thing that obviously cannot act can stand first with no marker at all.
信已经寄出去了。The letter has already been sent off.
Neutral English passives — sold, finished, built, repaired — are usually unmarked in Chinese.
那套房子已经卖出去了。That flat has already been sold.
A closer look
Why ràng and jiào can mean two things
让 and 叫 are also the everyday words for “let” and “make somebody do” (妈妈让我回家, “Mum told me to come home”). A sentence with a person after them can therefore lean either way, and context decides. The passive reading needs a finished result after the verb — 了, a complement — and usually the speaker as the one who suffers it.
Where the two readings could really be confused, 被 removes the doubt, because in modern Chinese grammar it has no other job. That is one reason writing prefers it: a page cannot rely on tone of voice to show which meaning is meant.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the subject is a person or an animal that could itself do the action
the unmarked passive is not possible; a marker is needed.
他被打了。He was beaten up.
With no marker the sentence would be read as active: 他打了 means “he hit (someone)”, not “he was hit”.
How to spot it
- 让
- 叫
- 给
- 让…给
- 叫…给
Example sentences
我的蛋糕叫弟弟吃了。My cake was eaten by my little brother.
钥匙让我弄丢了。I have gone and lost the keys.
他让雨给淋透了。He got soaked through by the rain.
作业写完了，可以出去玩儿了。The homework is done — you can go out and play now.
问题已经解决了。The problem has already been solved.
我的手机给摔坏了。My phone got broken when it was dropped.
8 more example sentences
衣服叫风刮跑了。The washing was blown away by the wind.
我的书让同学借走了。A classmate has borrowed my book.
那块玻璃给打碎了。That pane of glass got smashed.
饭做好了，快来吃吧。Dinner is ready — come and eat.
票都卖完了。The tickets are all sold out.
这条路去年就修好了。This road was already repaired last year.
小猫叫孩子们给吓跑了。The kitten was scared off by the children.
邮件发出去了吗？Has the email been sent?
Worth knowing (1)
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Gěi in a bǎ sentence
The same spoken 给 turns up before the verb in 把 sentences too. It adds no meaning, only the feeling that something went wrong or slipped away: 把这件事给忘了, “clean forgot about it”.
对不起，我把这件事给忘了。Sorry, I clean forgot about it.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Having learned that 被 can drop the doer, learners drop it after 让 and 叫 too. Those two need a noun after them; if the doer is unknown, say 人, or use 被 or 给, which can stand alone.
Ràng and jiào need a doer after them; when nothing could have acted, leave the marker out.
Your turn
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