Passive sentences with 被 — Chinese grammar (HSK 3)

Subject + 被 + (Agent) + Verb + Result

被 (bèi) makes a passive sentence: the thing affected comes first, then 被, then who did it (optional), then the verb with a result. It is used mostly for things that happened to someone, often unwelcome ones, so it is rarer than the English passive. As with 把, the verb needs a result or 了 after it.

Examples

我的自行车被人骑走了。 Wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi rén qí zǒu le.	My bike was ridden away by someone.
蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。 Dàngāo bèi dìdi chī wán le.	The cake was eaten up by my younger brother.
他被老师叫到办公室去了。 Tā bèi lǎoshī jiào dào bàngōngshì qù le.	He was called to the office by the teacher.

Tip: Do not use 被 for neutral English passives like "the book was written in 2000"; Chinese would just use an active sentence.