The Passive in Mandarin

 

Passive structure, 被动结构, 被动句式, 被动语态

In Mandarin, the Passive is usually made using  (OR: , , , 受)

 

 

 

Actor

Action

Receiver

 

 

 

男孩

吃了

热狗

The boy ate the hot-dog.

 

 

The boy

ate

the hot-dog

 

Receiver

 

Actor

Action

 

 

热狗

男孩

吃了

 

The hot-dog was eaten by the boy.

热狗

 

了。

 

The hot-dog was eaten.

 

In English, Passive = be + V3

be is in the same tense as the original verb:

The boy           ate the hot-dog.            

                                   Tense: Past Simple                     Verb: eat (eat, ate, eaten)

The hot-dog    was                                     eaten.

People             are building a bridge on the Yangtze River

                                   Tense – Present Continuous.  Verb: build (build, built, built)

A bridge          is being                            built on the Yangtze River.

长江上一座桥正在被修建。