Sentence pattern · Band 3
被: it happened to me
A 被 B + 动词 + 了
被 flips the camera onto the victim: the phone was grabbed, by the little brother, and carried off. The doer walks in between 被 and the verb, or vanishes entirely when nobody will confess. Much of the energy here is bad news; Mandarin saves its passive for complaints, thefts, and rained-on picnics.
Hear it in a sentence
Mistakes people make
Like its cousin 把 the 被 sentence needs its verdict; the action must land somewhere.
The one it happened to stands before 被; the doer stands between 被 and the verb.
Words in this pattern
Quick answers
What does 被字句 mean?
被 flips the camera onto the victim: the phone was grabbed, by the little brother, and carried off. The doer walks in between 被 and the verb, or vanishes entirely when nobody will confess. Much of the energy here is bad news; Mandarin saves its passive for complaints, thefts, and rained-on picnics.
How do you build it?
A 被 B + 动词 + 了
What is the most common mistake?
手机被弟弟拿。 → 手机被弟弟拿走了。
Like its cousin 把 the 被 sentence needs its verdict; the action must land somewhere.
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