What are the differences between the 被 (bèi) structure and 把 (bǎ) structure in Mandarin Chinese?

Although you might think that the passive voice 被 (bèi) structure and the 把 (bǎ) structure are similar, there are some important differences between the two. Take a look at both structures below:

• The 被 (bèi) structure uses the passive voice, and it emphasizes the action or the result of the action that is carried out by the agentNo definition set for agentLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..

  自行车被我哥哥卖了。

  (Zìxíngchē bèi wǒ gēge mài le.)

  The bike was sold by my older brother.

• The 把 (bǎ) structure, which is a variation of the “subject + verb + object” structure, is in the active voice and the verb in the sentence plays an important role. What's more, the 把  (bǎ) structure focuses on the changes to the direct object (可乐 in the following sentence).

  我把可乐喝完了。

  (Wǒ bǎ kělè hē wán le.)

  I finished my coke.

Let’s explore more!

Most of the time, a 把 (bǎ) sentence can be changed into a 被 (bèi) sentence. All we need to do is take the direct objectNo definition set for direct objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in the 把 (bǎ) sentence and use it as the subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in the 被 (bèi) sentence and then take the subject in the 把 (bǎ) sentence and use it as the agent in the 被 (bèi) sentence.

Let's try to turn the following 把 (bǎ) sentences into 被 (bèi) sentences:

• Example 1:

  我把房间收拾干净了。

  (Wǒ bǎ fángjiān shōushi gānjìng le.)

  I cleaned up the room.

  the object here is 房间 (fángjiān, “room”)

  ⇩

  房间被我收拾干净了。

  (Fángjiān bèi wǒ shōushi gānjìng le. )

  The room was cleaned up by me.

• Example 2:

  他们没把电脑修好。

  (Tāmen méi bǎ diànnǎo xiū hǎo. )

  They did not fix the computer.

  the object here is 电脑 (diànnǎo, “computer")

  ⇩

  电脑没被他们修好。

  (Diànnǎo méi bèi tāmen xiū hǎo.)

  The computer was not fixed by them.

How about we try to turn a 被 (bèi) sentence to a 把 (bǎ) sentence?

• Example 1:

  桌子被他们搬进来了。

  (Zhuōzi bèi tāmen bān jìnlái le. )

  The table was moved in by them.

  ⇩

  他们把桌子搬进来了。

  (Tāmen bǎ zhuōzi bān jìnlái le. )

  They moved in the table.

• Example 2:

  信被你寄走了吗？

  (Xìn bèi nǐ jì zǒu le ma? )

  Has the letter been sent away by you?

  ⇩

  你把信寄走了吗？

  (Nǐ bǎ xìn jì zǒu le ma? )

  Have you sent away the letter?

In the following situations, a 把 (bǎ) sentence cannot be turned into a 被 (bèi) structure, and vice versa:

• When an imperative sentence is used with a 把 (bǎ) sentence, it cannot be turned into a 被 (bèi) sentence. For example:

  O 请你把我的外衣拿来。

  (Qǐng nǐ bǎ wǒde wàiyī nálái.)

  Please bring my coat over here.

  X 我的外衣请被你拿来。

  Wǒde wàiyī qǐng bèi nǐ nálái.

• You cannot form the passive voice when the (resulting) subject of the passive structure won’t be an agent and the verb is a mental verb, like 想 (xiǎng, want to) , 愿意 (yuànyì, be willing to), and so on.

  O我不想把我的鞋扔了。

  (Wǒ bùxiǎng bǎ wǒde xié rēng le. )

  I don’t want to throw away my shoes.

  The object here 我的鞋 (wǒde xié, my shoes) will become the subject of the passive structure and, since shoes cannot "want," a passive voice cannot be constructed, so this 把  (bǎ) sentence cannot be turned into a 被 (bèi) sentence.

  X我的鞋不想被我扔了。

  (Wǒde xié bùxiǎng bèi wǒ rēng le. )

  My shoes don’t want to be thrown away by me.

  Check this one out too:

  你愿意现在把晚饭吃了吗？

  (Nǐ yuànyì xiànzài bǎ wǎnfàn chī le ma? )

  Are you willing to have dinner now?

  X晚饭愿意现在被你吃吗？

  (Wǎnfàn yuànyì xiànzài bèi nǐ chī ma?)

  Is dinner willing to be eaten by you now?

  But with modal verbs, like 能 (néng, can), 可以 (kěyǐ, be allowed to), and 该 (gāi, should), a 把 (bǎ) sentence can be turned into a 被 (bèi) structure and vice versa, because these verbs function like a helping verb. Look at this sentence:

  O老板该把他开除掉。

  (Lǎobǎn gāi bǎ tā kāichú diào.)

  The boss should fire him.

  The subject here is 老板 (lǎobǎn, “the boss”), and a boss can/should fire someone, so it is possible to transfer this to a 被 (bèi) sentence.

  ⇩

  O他该被老板开除掉。

  (Tā gāi bèi lǎobǎn kāichú diào. )

  He should be fired by the boss.

So, if there are modal verbs a 把 (bǎ) sentence can be transferred to a 被 (bèi) structure and vice versa. If there are mental verbs 想 (xiǎng, want to), 愿意 (yuànyì, be willing to), and so on, a 把 (bǎ) sentence cannot be transferred to a 被 (bèi) structure and vice versa.

As a final point, the 被 (bèi) structure tends to be used more in adverse events or situations, whereas the 把 (bǎ) structure does not. Please note that this does not mean that the 被 (bèi) structure is only used in bad situations.

In Mandarin Chinese, the 被 (bèi) structure and the 把 (bǎ) structure have a similar sentence pattern, but they are used for different purposes: a passive voice 被 (bèi) sentence emphasizes the action that an agent carries out, while the active voice 把 (bǎ) structure focuses on the changes on the direct object.

• A 把  (bǎ) structure can be turned into a 被 (bèi) structure and vice versa most of the time.

• Watch out for a couple of exceptions when these two sentence patterns are not interchangeable:

  • Imperative sentences in a 把 (bǎ) structure cannot be turned into a 被 (bèi) structure.

  • Sentences with mental verbs, like 想 (xiǎng, want to) , 愿意 (yuànyì, be willing to), and so on and non-agent objects cannot be turned into a 被 (bèi) structure

That's all! Check out these exercises to practice the differences between the 把 (bǎ) and 被 (bèi) structures and to see how much you have learned!