Passive without

Exercises

Other terminology: Passive in English not in Chinese / Notional passive

1. When should I use this construction?

When you want to describe how something is dealt with or disposed of without mentioning the agent (a noun which carries out the action)

fàn chī wán le zìxiĕ cuò le

. .

MEAL EAT FINISH LE CHARACTER WRITE WRONG LE

The meal has been eaten. The character has been misswritten.

2. Are there any differences between the sentences above and sentences with : 饭被吃完了 and 字被写错了?

Yes, there are some differences. The sentences without have less sense of a passive voice than the ones with .

饭吃完了and字写错了can be used as the first clause of "verb,..." sentences as in 饭吃完了就睡觉. As soon as (he) finishes (his) meal, (he) goes to bed. 字写错了就哭. As soon as (he) makes a mistake in writing characters, (he) cries.

They can also be used in emphatic sentences as in (我们)饭吃完了,可是还没喝酒呢. We have finished the MEAL, but we haven't drunk the wine yet.

3. What do I need to form a sentence like this?

The following elements can be used for this construction:

1. Resultative complements

2. Directional complements

3. Potential complements

4. Complement of degree (the construction)

5. Time measures and action measures

Topics verb + other elements type of elements

shū

BOOK

xiĕ wán le

WRITE FINISHLE

Resultative complement

The book has been completed.

zhuōzi

桌子

TABLE

bān jìn qù le

MOVE IN (AWAY) LE

Directional complement

The table has been moved in.

kùzi

裤子

TROUSERS

zhăo bu dào le

FIND NOT ATTAIN LE

Potential complement

The trousers cannot be found.

CHARACTER

xiĕ de zhēn piàoliang

WRITE DE REALLY BEAUTIFUL

Complement of degree

The character has been beautifully written.

LESSON

shàng le yí ge xiăoshí

了一 小时

LAST LE ONE GE HOUR

Time measure

The lesson lasted for an hour.

kèwén

课文

TEXT

niàn le yí biàn

READ LE ONE TIME

Action measure

The text was read through once.

4. Are there any other constructions in the passive voice, apart from , , , sentences and notional passives?

Yes, the ... construction can also be used as passive to describe how something is done by somebody without mentioning the result of the action. In other words a simple verb is used in the... construction. is often followed by . In these constructions the agents (the nouns which carry out the actions) should not be omitted,

s. () agent v.

zhè bĕn shū

THIS BEN BOOK

shi yóu

()

IS (BY)

lĭ lăoshī

老师

LI TEACHER

xiĕ

WRITE

de

DE

This book was written by Mr. Li.

fàn

MEAL

shi

IS

HE

zuò

COOK

de

DE

The meal is cooked by him.

5. What is the difference between sentences and ... sentences?

The differences are that the verbs in sentences need other elements, but those in ... sentences don't, and that the agents in sentences can be omitted, but they cannot be omitted in ...sentences.

It is important to identify what kind of passive sentence it is before you start to translate the sentence into Chinese. You should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is it a passive without the agent? (Notional passive)

2. Does it just tell you that the action is done by somebody? (...)

3. Does it tell you the degree of the action and the agent? ( )

Exercises

You can submit your work online here

Click here to view the answers

Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1. The picture is hanging too low, and it can't be seen.

2. That letter was written by Mr. Ding.

3. That car has only been driven for two months: it is an almost new car.

4. The TV. in my room has been taken upstairs.

5. The shop door is open. We can all go in.

6. These characters are written by a very famous Chinese artist.

Can the following sentences be changed into the sentences?

1. 这些瓷器都是景德镇出的.

2. 那本书写得太好了.

3. 饭作得太多了.

4. 你的字写得真不清楚.

5. 那课课文我们才念了一遍.