Chinese Grammar Core Course — Unit 16
Unit 16
被: affected subject and passive meaning
被 foregrounds the person or thing affected, often when the result matters or is unwelcome. Chinese also frequently leaves the agent unstated.
These structures change what the listener notices first: a handled object, an affected subject, a route, a recipient, or a purpose. Keep the result visible.
Do not translate word by word. First identify the main verb, then attach time, place, negation, or aspect in the order shown by the pattern.
Pattern to hear
我跟朋友从家走到学校。
Meaning in context: I walk from home to school with a friend.
How to use it
被 foregrounds the person or thing affected, often when the result matters or is unwelcome. Chinese also frequently leaves the agent unstated.
手机被他拿走了。
These structures change what the listener notices first: a handled object, an affected subject, a route, a recipient, or a purpose. Keep the result visible.
Do not translate word by word. First identify the main verb, then attach time, place, negation, or aspect in the order shown by the pattern.
Self-check
- How to use it
- Look for the participant whose result matters most: the handled object, affected subject, route, recipient, or purpose.
- Build it yourself
- Give a practical instruction, report an unwanted result, and describe a trip with a purpose.
- Self-check
- Does every 把 sentence state what happened to the object?
Contrast and decision
For English speakers, the main adjustment is not basic SVO order but keeping time, place, aspect markers, and complements in their Chinese positions.
What to notice: 被: affected subject and passive meaning
More examples to read aloud
- 给老师写信。
- 对我来说很难。
- 从北京来。
Read the pattern, cover the translation, and rebuild the sentence from its meaning. Return to the detailed articles for exceptions and nuance.
Build it yourself
Describe something that was lost, borrowed, or solved.
把受到影响的物品放在句首。
Check the answer only after you have said or written your version.
Self-check
Model and reason
被 foregrounds the person or thing affected, often when the result matters or is unwelcome. Chinese also frequently leaves the agent unstated.
我的自行车被朋友借走了。
Read the pattern, cover the translation, and rebuild the sentence from its meaning. Return to the detailed articles for exceptions and nuance.