被 — Agentless passive: the affected thing is the subject; 被 sits before the verb with no doer named.

grammar → 被

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

被 grammar point · tier 1 · agentless passive 被+V (it gets done, no doer named)

· bèi

Agentless passive: the affected thing is the subject; 被 sits before the verb with no doer named.

Hook inherited from 被.

Agentless passive

框 · Frame

[patient-subj] 被 [verb + result]

觸 · Trigger

Something happened to a thing and you do not name, or do not know, who did it.

序 · The move

1put the affected thing first, as the subjectis this the thing the action lands on, not the one doing it?

2被, then straight to the verb — no doer slotam I leaving the agent out on purpose?

3verb + its result, never bareis there a real outcome (開、走、見)?

例 · Examples

1盒子box被passive marker打開open (verb + result)了change of state。

The box got opened.

界 · Boundary

被 (with agent)

Agent named: 盒子被弟弟打開了 puts the doer between 被 and the verb. Agentless: 盒子被打開了 drops it — 被 sits straight against the verb.

把

把 is active disposal: the actor is the subject and acts on a definite object. 被 here flips it — the thing acted upon is the subject, and the actor is gone.

bare verb: 盒子被打 → 盒子被打開了

empty doer slot kept open: 盒子被被打開 → 盒子被打開了

actor as subject: 盒子打開了弟弟 → 盒子被打開了

English 'was opened' drops the agent freely, so learners reach for 被 even where Mandarin would rather use a plain topic-comment (盒子打開了). 被 leans toward the adverse or noteworthy.