The passive voice in Mandarin is important for everyday talks. It uses the word 被 (bèi). This helps people pay attention to the action or the person affected, rather than just who did it. Let’s break down how to use passive voice in conversations:

1. Passive Voice Structure:

A typical passive sentence in Mandarin looks like this:

• Subject + 被 + Doer + Action + (Extra Info)

Example:

• 我的书被他借走了。(Wǒ de shū bèi tā jiè zǒu le.)
  "My book was borrowed by him."

2. When to Use It:

The passive voice is useful when we don’t know who did something, it doesn’t matter, or when we want to focus on the action itself.

Examples:

• Unknown Doer:
  • 这个问题被解决了。(Zhège wèntí bèi jiějué le.)
    "This problem was solved."
• Highlighting the result:
  • 菜被吃完了。(Cài bèi chī wán le.)
    "The food has been eaten."

3. Adding Extra Meaning:

You can add more information to the result or direction in passive sentences.

Result Example:

• 这件衣服被洗干净了。(Zhè jiàn yīfú bèi xǐ gānjìng le.)
  "This piece of clothing has been cleaned."

Direction Example:

• 这封信被邮寄到了。(Zhè fēng xìn bèi yóujì dào le.)
  "This letter was mailed."

4. Understanding Modal Verbs:

Knowing modal verbs like 能 (néng), 会 (huì), and 要 (yào) is important when making passive sentences.

• 能 means ability:
  例如：这本书能被借到。(Zhè běn shū néng bèi jiè dào.)
  "This book can be borrowed."

• 会 means something is likely or certain:
  例如：明天这个问题会被解决。(Míngtiān zhège wèntí huì bèi jiějué.)
  "This problem will be solved tomorrow."

• 要 means something is necessary:
  例如：这个报告要被完成。(Zhège bàogào yào bèi wánchéng.)
  "This report needs to be finished."

5. Different Sentence Structures:

Using different ways to make sentences can improve your speaking. You can mix topic-comment style with passive voice.

Example:

• 这件事，我觉得被误解了。(Zhè jiàn shì, wǒ juéde bèi wùjiě le.)
  "This matter, I feel it was misunderstood."

When you learn these points, you can use the passive voice in Mandarin easily. This will help you express your ideas more clearly!