Notional Passive without 被 in Chinese
意念被动句
A Mandarin sentence can have passive meaning without 被 when an affected object is established as the topic and the predicate reports what has happened to it. The agent is normally absent, and a result or completion marker makes the affected outcome clear. This pattern is especially common in notices and concise reports.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Affected Topic + Transitive Verb + Result / 了
Read the structure
A Mandarin sentence can have passive meaning without 被 when an affected object is established as the topic and the predicate reports what has happened to it. The agent is normally absent, and a result or completion marker makes the affected outcome clear. This pattern is especially common in notices and concise reports. Keep the model Affected Topic + Transitive Verb + Result / 了 visible while you compare each sentence.
桌上的蛋糕吃光了。
The cake on the table has been eaten up.
Choose the right context
Report exhaustion of an item: 蛋糕吃光了。 Describe damage to a known object: 衣服穿破了。 Announce that stock is gone: 车票卖完了。
这件衣服穿破了。
This item of clothing has been worn out.
Respect the boundary
Do not add an overt agent directly before the verb without a passive marker or other structure. Do not use an unbounded verb that leaves the affected result unclear. Do not interpret every topic-first transitive clause as passive; context must establish the topic as affected.
桌上的蛋糕吃了光。
(The cake on the table was eat-le-up.)
Repair the pattern
了 splits the verb from its result complement: 吃光 is the resultative predicate; 了 follows the complete unit rather than splitting it. 了 splits another resultative predicate: 卖完 is the intact affected-result predicate, followed by 了.
桌上的蛋糕吃光了。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
桌上的蛋糕吃光了。
The cake on the table has been eaten up.
桌上
Affected Topic
This part occupies the Affected Topic position in the model pattern.
的
Transitive Verb
This part occupies the Transitive Verb position in the model pattern.
蛋糕
Result / 了
This part occupies the Result / 了 position in the model pattern.
吃光
Affected Topic
This part occupies the Affected Topic position in the model pattern.
了
Transitive Verb
This part occupies the Transitive Verb position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
桌上的蛋糕吃光了。
The cake on the table has been eaten up.
这件衣服穿破了。
This item of clothing has been worn out.
今天的车票已经卖完了。
Today's tickets have already sold out.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Report exhaustion of an item: 蛋糕吃光了。
- Describe damage to a known object: 衣服穿破了。
- Announce that stock is gone: 车票卖完了。
Do not use it when
- Do not add an overt agent directly before the verb without a passive marker or other structure.
- Do not use an unbounded verb that leaves the affected result unclear.
- Do not interpret every topic-first transitive clause as passive; context must establish the topic as affected.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
桌上的蛋糕吃了光。
桌上的蛋糕吃光了。
了 splits the verb from its result complement
吃光 is the resultative predicate; 了 follows the complete unit rather than splitting it.
今天的车票已经卖了完。
今天的车票已经卖完了。
了 splits another resultative predicate
卖完 is the intact affected-result predicate, followed by 了.
桌上的蛋糕吃了光。
吃光 is the resultative predicate; 了 follows the complete unit rather than splitting it.
今天的车票已经卖了完。
卖完 is the intact affected-result predicate, followed by 了.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 意念被动句.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 意念被动句. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Notional Passive without 被 Questions
How can a sentence be passive without 被?
The affected object is the topic, the agent is omitted, and the predicate clearly reports a completed result affecting that topic.
Can I mention the agent in this pattern?
The markerless pattern normally omits it. Use a marked passive such as 被 + agent when the agent must be expressed.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, Level 5 grammar inventory, item 五40 (A.5.5.1), PDF page 228: 被动句3，意念被动句
Supports placement in HSK 5; it does not independently establish the usage explanation.
Official sourceChinese: A Comprehensive Grammar, 2nd ed.
Yip and Rimmington · Routledge · 2016
Locator: Chapter 13, section 13.2, notional passive sentences, pages 244-250; Google Books body preview pages PA244-PA249
Defines notional passives as topic-comment sentences with no formal passive marker, where the topic is directly affected and the predicate foregrounds the result.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
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