Difference between revisions of "Using "bei" sentences"

Line 11: Line 11:
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
*男孩 吃 了 <strong>热狗</strong> 。<span class="expl">normal sentence in the active voice; note that "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate"</span><span class="pinyin"> Nánhái chī le <strong>règǒu</strong> .</span><span class="trans">The boy ate the hot dog.</span>
+
*男孩 吃 了 <strong>热狗</strong> 。<span class="expl">active voice sentence: "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate"</span><span class="pinyin"> Nánhái chī le <strong>règǒu</strong> .</span><span class="trans">The boy ate the hot dog.</span>
 
*<strong>热狗</strong> <em>被</em> 男孩 吃 了 。<span class="expl">"the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the "doer"</span><span class="pinyin"><strong>Règǒu</strong> <em>bèi</em> nánhái chī le.</span><span class="trans">The hot dog was eaten by the boy. </span>
 
*<strong>热狗</strong> <em>被</em> 男孩 吃 了 。<span class="expl">"the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the "doer"</span><span class="pinyin"><strong>Règǒu</strong> <em>bèi</em> nánhái chī le.</span><span class="trans">The hot dog was eaten by the boy. </span>
 
*<strong>热狗</strong> <em>被</em> 吃 了 。<span class="expl">passive voice with the "doer" omitted</span><span class="pinyin"><strong>Règǒu</strong> <em>bèi</em> chī le.</span><span class="trans">The hot dog was eaten.</span>
 
*<strong>热狗</strong> <em>被</em> 吃 了 。<span class="expl">passive voice with the "doer" omitted</span><span class="pinyin"><strong>Règǒu</strong> <em>bèi</em> chī le.</span><span class="trans">The hot dog was eaten.</span>
Line 19: Line 19:
 
== Why use them? ==
 
== Why use them? ==
  
Passive sentences are used for several main reasons:
+
First, passive sentences indicate that one has been negatively affected. For example:
 
 
<ol>
 
<li>To indicate that one has been negatively affected. For example:
 
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
 
*<span class="liju">他 <em>被</em> 打 了 。</span><span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bèi</em> dǎ le.</span><span class="trans">He was beaten.</span>
 
*<span class="liju">他 <em>被</em> 打 了 。</span><span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bèi</em> dǎ le.</span><span class="trans">He was beaten.</span>
</div></li>
+
</div>
  
<li>To shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action. For example:
+
Second, passive sentences shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action. For example:
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
 
*<span class="liju">你 <em>被</em> 公司 炒鱿鱼 了 ?</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>bèi</em> gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?</span><span class="trans">You got fired by the company?</span>
 
*<span class="liju">你 <em>被</em> 公司 炒鱿鱼 了 ?</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>bèi</em> gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?</span><span class="trans">You got fired by the company?</span>
</div></li>
+
</div>
  
<li>To avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons. For example:
+
Third, passive sentences allow one to avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons. For example:
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
 
*<span class="liju">我 的 手机 <em>被</em> 偷 了 。</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ de shǒujī <em>bèi</em> tōu le.</span><span class="trans">My cell phone got stolen.</span>
 
*<span class="liju">我 的 手机 <em>被</em> 偷 了 。</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ de shǒujī <em>bèi</em> tōu le.</span><span class="trans">My cell phone got stolen.</span>
</div></li>
+
</div>
</ol>
 
  
 
== How to Use 被 Sentences ==
 
== How to Use 被 Sentences ==

Revision as of 09:58, 28 November 2018

Chinese-grammar-wiki-bei4.jpg

被 (bèi) sentences, which are called 被字句 (bèizìjù) in Chinese, are a key way to express the passive voice in modern Mandarin Chinese. In passive sentences, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the "doer" of the action, which would have been the subject of the normal (active voice) sentence, becomes secondary and may or may not be mentioned in the passive sentence.

What is a 被 sentence?

被 (bèi) sentences are simply sentences which use a passive verb and the word 被. 被 sentences are not the only way to create the passive verb form in Chinese, but they are the most common and definitely the type to tackle first.

For the sake of clarity, take these sentences for example:

  • 男孩 吃 了 热狗active voice sentence: "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate" Nánhái chī le règǒu .The boy ate the hot dog.
  • 热狗 男孩 吃 了 。"the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the "doer"Règǒu bèi nánhái chī le.The hot dog was eaten by the boy.
  • 热狗 吃 了 。passive voice with the "doer" omittedRègǒu bèi chī le.The hot dog was eaten.

Why use them?

First, passive sentences indicate that one has been negatively affected. For example:

  • 打 了 。bèi dǎ le.He was beaten.

Second, passive sentences shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action. For example:

  • 公司 炒鱿鱼 了 ?bèi gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?You got fired by the company?

Third, passive sentences allow one to avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons. For example:

  • 我 的 手机 偷 了 。Wǒ de shǒujī bèi tōu le.My cell phone got stolen.

How to Use 被 Sentences

Normal use of 被 has a few preconditions:

  1. The verb to be used with 被 needs to have an object (this will become the new subject of the 被 sentence). Verbs that take objects are called transitive verbs.
  2. If you're going to state who the verb was done by (the "doer"), then the subject doing the original action must be known.
  3. The verb can't be too simple (for example, a one-character verb like 吃). Put simply, something needs to come after the verb. That "something" can be a particle like 了, a complement, or sometimes even an additional object.

We're using the most basic 被 sentence pattern as an example, so that it will be easier for you to understand well:

Structure

Subj. + 被 (+ Doer) + Verb + 了

Examples

被 sentences with a doer:

  • bèi piàn le.I was deceived by him.
  • 警察bèi jǐngchá zhuā le.He was caught by the police.
  • 父母bèi fùmǔle.He was scolded by his parents.

被 sentences without a doer:

  • 我 的 车 Wǒ de chē bèi zhuàng le.My car was hit.
  • 他们 做 的 坏事 发现 Tāmen zuò de huàishì bèi fāxiàn le.The bad things they've done were discovered.
  • 文件 Wénjiàn bèi shān le.The files were deleted.

Common Errors

  • 咖啡 我 喝 。Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē.
  • 咖啡 我 喝 Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē le.The coffee was drunk by me.
  • 咖啡 我 喝 完 了Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē wán le.The coffee was finished by me.
  • 打 。bèi dǎ.
  • bèile.He was beaten.
  • 伤 了bèishāng le.He was beaten and wounded.

Forming 被 Sentences

Negating 被 Sentences

There's just one other complication. What if you want to make a sentence in the negative? To negate a 被 sentence, you need to insert 没 or 没有 (past) directly in front of 被. For the present and future, use 不.

Some examples:
Doer Negative Subject Verb Phrase
没有 打伤
炒鱿鱼
她 的 想法 父母 理解

Question Forms of 被 Sentences

You can make 被 sentences into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Mandarin:

  • With a question particle
  • With a question word
  • With positive-negative verbs

Some examples:

  • 那些 书 走 了 吗 ?Nàxiē shū bèi jiè zǒu le ma?Have those books been borrowed?
  • 谁 打 bèi shéi dǎ de?Who was he beaten by?
  • 你 是不是 公司 炒鱿鱼 Nǐ shì bu shì bèi gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?Did you get fired by the company or not?

被 Sentences with Aspect Particles

The particles 了 and 过 can both be used with 被 constructions, while 着 cannot. 着 indicates an action is "ongoing," which is not appropriate for a 被 construction, which should refer to an already complete action.

Some examples:
Subject Object Verb Aspect particle
老师
我 的 车
男朋友

被 Sentences with Complements

Both Result complements and Direction complements work well in 被 sentences.

Some examples:

  • 花瓶 了 。Huāpíng bèi shuāi suì le.The vase was broken into pieces.
  • 那个人 车 撞 了 。Nàge rén bèi chē zhuàng le.That man got hit and killed by a car.
  • 那个 男人 警察 赶 出去 了 。Nàge nánrén bèi jǐngchá gǎn chūqù le.The man was kicked out by the policeman.
  • 孩子 他 父母 送 回去 了 。Háizi bèi tā fùmǔ sòng huíqù le.The child was sent back by his parents.

Adverbs in 被 Sentences

What if you want to include adverbs in your 被 sentence? Where should those go? They go in the same place as the negative adverb 没有, above. (Frequently you'll see the word "adverbial" or "adverbial adjunct" used in this case, because some words in Chinese, such as time words, act like adverbs but are technically nouns.) In the following example we'll use the adverb 刚, which is used to express that something just recently happened.

Some examples:
Subject Adv. Doer Verb Phrase
刚才 同学
我们 老师
你 的 手机
小偷 终于 抓住

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites