Advanced uses of "bei"

Using 被 with 给

Structure

Receiver + 被 + Doer + 给 + Verb Phrase＋了

Examples

• 他 被 警察 给 抓 了。He got caught by the police.
• 这 个 老外 的 钱包 被 小偷 给 偷 了。This foreigner's wallet got stolen by a thief.
• 他 的 家 被 大火 给 烧 了。His home got burned by the fire.
• 我 的 iPad 被 老师 给 拿 走了。My iPad was taken away from me by my teacher.
• 我们 都 被 他 的 样子 给 吓 坏了。We all got so scared by the way he looks.

Using 被 with 所

这种句型非常书面语，是从古代汉语"为…所…"演化来的，"为…所…"更加正式。这种格式里，"被"后面一定要有宾语，动词多是双音节的，而且动词后通常没有其他句子成分。这种句式的作用在于强调the doer。

Structure

Receiver + 被 + Doer + 所 + Verb Phrase

Examples

• 我 深深 地 被 他 的 话 所 打动 了。I got deeply touched by what he said.
• 他 深深 地被 她 的 美 所 吸引 了。He got deeply attracted by her beauty.
• 他 做 的 事情 经常 不 被 家人 所 理解。What he does is not often understood by his family.
• 这 种 政策 是 不 被 人们 所 接受 的。This kind of policy is not accepted by the pubic.
• 这 种 行为 是 不 被 学校 所 允许 的。This kind of behavior is not allowed by the school.

Modern usage of 被

In recent years, special uses of 被 have popped up online. These uses occur with verbs which don't normally ever use 被, in order to emphasize a lack of control over the action, often including some kind of foul play or underlying statistical falsification.

Examples included

• 被 和谐 to be harmonized)
• 被 自杀 to be suicided)
• 被 就业 to be employed)
• 被 代表 to be represented)
• 被 潜规则 to be (forced to) follow the potential rules)

Other ways to form the passive

被 is not the only way to form the passive in Mandarin Chinese. The prepositions 让 and 叫 are also used in passive constructions, although 被 is more common. For more information, see Causative verbs.

See also

• Passive verbs with "shou"
• Ba sentence
• Result complement
• Direction complement