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 .

  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 in the 把 (bǎ) sentence and use it as the 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!