Bei Sentences
Bei Sentences (被字句) are a key way to express the passive in modern Mandarin Chinese. In passive sentences, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence, and what would have been the subject of the normal (active voice) sentence, the "doer" of the action, becomes the agent, and may or may not be indicated.
What they are
For the sake of clarity, let's give some English examples:
- The boy ate the hot dog. (normal sentence in the active voice; note that "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate")
- The hot dog was eaten by the boy. (the same sentence in the passive voice; "the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the agent)
- The hot dog was eaten. (also in the passive voice, but with the agent omitted)
Now let's see those same sentences in Chinese:
- 男孩 吃 了 热狗。
- 热狗 被 男孩 吃 了。
- 热狗 被 吃 了。
Why use them?
Passive sentences are used for several main reasons:
- To indicate that one has been adversely affected.
- 我被开除了。 I have been fired.
- 我的热狗被吃了。 My hot dog has been eaten.
- To shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action.
- 我的老师肯定不会被开除。 My teacher will definitely not be fired.
- 只有这些很难吃的热狗还没有被吃掉。 Only these really bad-tasting hot dogs haven't been eaten yet.
- To avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons.
- 我被开除了。 I have been fired.
- 我的热狗被吃了。 My hot dog has been eaten.
