被 Passive Sentences, with and without the Doer
Use 被 to say what happened to something, with or without saying who did it, and use 叫 and 让 for the same idea in casual speech.
Pattern
subject + 被 (+ doer) + verb + 了 / complement; subject + 叫/让 + doer + verb + 了 / complement
被 puts the thing that was affected first; the verb still needs 了 or a result after it.
我的手机被弟弟拿走了。
When to use 被 Passive Sentences, with and without the Doer
In a 被 sentence the subject is the person or thing the action happened to, and 被 + doer comes before the verb: 我的手机被弟弟拿走了 “my phone was taken by my little brother”. When you report what happened, the verb is followed by 了, a result or a direction, not left bare. 被 sentences most often report something unwanted or unexpected.
桌子上的蛋糕被小狗吃了。
The cake on the table got eaten by the puppy.
他被老师叫到办公室去了。
He was called to the office by the teacher.
我的自行车被同学骑走了。
A classmate rode off on my bike.
我的钱包被偷了。
My wallet was stolen.
Common traps
- 叫 and 让 need the doer: say 我的伞叫人借走了, not 我的伞叫借走了. Only 被 can be used without one.
- Put 没 before 被: 我的书没被拿走, not 我的书被没拿走.
- Don’t end on a bare verb: say 蛋糕被他吃了 or 蛋糕被他吃完了, not 蛋糕被他吃.
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