Ready to level up your Mandarin skills? Once you’ve mastered the basic subject-verb-object (SVO) grammar pattern, it’s time to get to grips with more advanced sentence structures so you can sound more fluent.
Don’t panic – more advanced doesn’t always mean more difficult!
Two of the more important structures you need to know after SVO are the 把 (bǎ) and 被 (bèi) structures. While they might seem tricky at first because they work a little differently from English sentence structures, the more you use them, the more you’ll get the hang of them.
Let’s break them down.
把 (bǎ) structure: taking control
把 is used when a subject performs an action that has a clear result or influence on an object. It takes the object from its usual place after the verb and puts it before the verb, which emphasises what the subject ‘did to it’.
The sentence structure often looks like this:
Subject + 把 + object + verb + complement
The ‘complement’ is a must-have for completing the sentence: you can’t end a 把 sentence with a verb by itself, because the complement’s job is to show the result of the verb.
For example:
乌云把太阳遮住 (wūyún bǎ tàiyáng zhē zhù) – dark clouds covered the sun
你把这个句子写错了 (nǐ bǎ zhège jùzǐ xiě cuòle) – you wrote this sentence wrong
他把牛奶从冰箱里拿出来 (tā bǎ niúnǎi cóng bīngxiāng lǐ ná chūlái) – he took the milk out of the fridge
被 (bèi) structure: the passive voice
被 is used when the subject of the sentence is the receiver of an action, not the doer. It highlights what happened to someone or something. It’s often used in negative situations (for example, when something’s been broken or stolen), but it can also be used neutrally.
In English, active vs passive voice looks like this.
Active: Someone stole my phone
Passive: My phone was stolen (by someone)
Passive voice highlights the subject that had something done to it rather than the ‘doer’ of the action. It can be thought of as something happening ‘by’ something or someone else.
The structure often appears as:
Subject (receiver of action) + 被 + doer of action (if known) + verb + complement
For example:
车被爸爸开走了 (chē bèi bàba kāi zǒule) – the car was driven away by my father
窗户被风吹开了 (chuānghù bèi fēng chuī kāile) – the window was blown open by the wind
我的钱包被偷了 (wǒ de qiánbāo bèi tōule) – my wallet was stolen (the thief was unknown, so the ‘doer’ is left out here)
Should I use 把 or 被?
Both words are used to show the result of the action. But they’re like two sides of the same coin, and can often describe the same event from different perspectives:
Using 把 structure: 我把蛋糕吃掉了 (wǒ bǎ dàngāo chī diàole) – I ate the cake
Using 被 structure: 蛋糕被我吃掉了 (dàngāo bèi wǒ chī diàole) – the cake was eaten by me
Mastering 把 and 被 can be a real game-changer for expressing yourself when you speak Mandarin. They let you communicate actions with more nuance, making your Chinese sound smoother. With a little practice, you’ll soon be able to use both without even thinking about it.
If you want to learn more about Chinese grammar and start putting it into practice, the best way to do so is by surrounding yourself with the language. Discover why immersion learning is the fastest way to learn, and check out our fantastic range of homestay learning destinations across China and Taiwan.
