{"id":8022,"date":"2016-11-21T08:23:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T08:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=8022"},"modified":"2022-05-04T02:53:03","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T02:53:03","slug":"unmarked-passive-sentence-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/unmarked-passive-sentence-in-chinese.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201c\u65e9\u996d\u5403\u5b8c\u4e86\u201d(The breakfast has been eaten) – Learn All About the Unmarked Passive Sentence in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Passive sentences make up a big and important part of modern Chinese. There are generally two types: Marked Passive Sentences and Unmarked Passive Sentences. We have talked about Marked Passive Sentences<\/a>, as for Unmarked Passive Sentences, some learners may feel unsure about this kind of sentence structure and why it is important. Here are several reasons why this is worth studying and learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. In China, people use Unmarked Passive Sentence more often than Marked Passive Sentences, according to a research conducted by Wang Huai. If you are studying Chinese now, you must have heard people say things like: \u201c\u996d\u505a\u597d\u4e86\u201d(F\u00e0n zu\u00f2 h\u01ceo le)\uff0c\u201c\u4f5c\u4e1a\u5199\u5b8c\u4e86\u201d(Zu\u00f2y\u00e8 xi\u011b w\u00e1n le ) ,\u201c\u65e9\u996d\u5403\u5b8c\u4e86\u3002\u201d\uff08Z\u01ceof\u00e0n ch\u012b w\u00e1n le.\uff09 These sentences may sound strange since the more common Chinese sentence order<\/a> is \u201cSubject+Verb+Object\u201dinstead of \u201cObject + Verb\u201d, as shown in these examples. In truth, they are all Unmarked Passive Sentences, though shown in affirmative forms.<\/li>
  2. You may find most textbooks won\u2019t specifically mention Unmarked Passive Sentences, and that\u2019s because they are distributed into specific parts of the book to teach you how to use it in daily life and to help you understand them through context. This is because Unmarked Passive Sentences are difficult to explain systematically, as there are many limits to its usage, which make it harder for learners to understand it clearly.<\/li>
  3. Unmarked Passive Sentences have several functions in Mandarin: First, to emphasize the Patient\/Noun. Second, to save time and to make the conversation more economical. Third, to continue, change and insert the topic being brought up. Fourth, to establish a new topic easily. For learners, using Unmarked Passive Sentences can help you sound like a native speaker since you will be applying this sentence structure to typical expressions naturally.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Basic Structures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    So, we\u2019re back to the question: \u2018What is an Unmarked Passive Sentence?\u2019 It is a type of passive sentence without obvious marks to indicate the Agent, and the Noun\/Patient ,which is often in the first place of the whole sentence, cannot be disregarded in the sentence. However, the Agent, which is also known and inanimate in most situations, can be omitted depending on the context. Usually this pattern shows in an affirmative form, but implies a passive meaning. In fact, this has something to do with the natural Chinese thinking pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This has two basic forms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Noun(patient)+Verb+(other elements)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     E.g. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f5c\u4e1a\u505a\u4e86\u3002\uff08Zu\u00f2y\u00e8 zu\u00f2 le.\uff09\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>
    Homework was finished.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u65e9\u996d\u5403\u5b8c\u4e86\u3002 (Z\u01ceof\u00e0n ch\u012b w\u00e1n le.)<\/em>
    The breakfast has been finished.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8fd9\u5f20\u684c\u5b50\u64e6\u5f97\u5f88\u5e72\u51c0\u3002\u00a0 (Zh\u00e8 zh\u0101n\u0261 zhu\u014dzi c\u0101de h\u011bn \u0261\u0101njin\u0261.)<\/em>
    This table was swept clean.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u9c7c\u6c64\u559d\u4e86\u4e24\u7897\u3002(Y\u00fat\u0101n\u0261 h\u0113le li\u01cen\u0261 w\u01cen.)<\/em>
    Two bowls of fish soup has been drunk. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The verb can also carry additional words like \u201c\u5df2\u7ecf\u201d(y\u01d0j\u012bn\u0261), \u201c\u521a\u521a\u201d(\u0261\u0101n\u0261\u0261\u0101n\u0261), \u201c\u80fd\u201d(n\u00e9n\u0261), \u201c\u53ef\u4ee5\u201d(k\u00e9y\u01d0) and so on. When this is the case, it is allowed for there to be no other elements connected to the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    E.g. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8fd9\u4e2a\u82f9\u679c\u80fd\u5403\u3002(Zh\u00e8 \u0261e p\u00edn\u0261\u0261u\u01d2 n\u00e9n\u0261 ch\u012b.)<\/em>
    This apple can be eaten.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8fd9\u4ef6\u4e8b\u53ef\u4ee5\u89e3\u51b3\u3002(Zh\u00e8ji\u00e0nsh\u00ec k\u00e9y\u01d0 ji\u011bju\u00e9.)<\/em>
    The problem can be solved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why is there no Noun connected to the given verb? There may be two possible reasons: one is the agent is known by speakers, so there is no need to say it clearly; the other is there is no specific Noun or Agent to refer to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Noun(patient)+Noun(agent)+Verb+(other elements)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    E.g. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4e66\u5f1f\u5f1f\u501f\u8d70\u4e86\u3002(Sh\u016b d\u00ecdi ji\u00e8 z\u01d2u le.)<\/em>
    The book was borrowed by young brother.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8fd9\u4e2a\u95ee\u9898\u6211\u4eec\u89e3\u51b3\u3002(Zh\u00e8\u0261e w\u00e8nt\u00ed w\u01d2men ji\u011bju\u00e9.)<\/em>
    This problem will be solved by us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u300a\u54c8\u59c6\u96f7\u7279\u300b\u6211\u8bfb\u8fc7\u3002(\u300aH\u0101m\u01d4 L\u00e9it\u00e8\u300bw\u01d2 d\u00fa \u0261u\u00f2.)<\/em>
    “Hamlet” I\u2019ve read.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In this structure, there is an Agent here. The doer of the action is shown a bit, but there are no specific marks to indicate this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The relationship between the Passive Structure and the Active Structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    For better understanding, let us consider the Passive Structure\u2019s \u2018Noun(patient)+Noun(agent)+Verb\u2019 and \u2018Noun(patient)+Verb\u2019 form when they are transferred to the Active Structure\u2019s \u2018Noun(agent)+Verb+Noun(patient)\u2019. In Passive Structures, we just place the \u2018Noun\/Patient\u2019 before the \u2018Verb\u2019 for stressing the Patient, and sometimes omit the \u2018Agent\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    E.g.  Passive Structure <\/em>\u00e0<\/em> Active Structure<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n