Discussion of 让/讓 [ràng] by

Discussion of 让/讓

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These prepositions, 被, 叫, 让 and 给 can all indicate the passive voice. How are they different?

1. 叫 and 让 are used in spoken Chinese. In serious and formal situations, we use 被 instead of 叫 or 让.

2. When 叫 and 让 are followed by a noun that refers to a person, the meaning may be confused with their verb meanings; 被 doesn't have this issue. For example this sentence below has three possible translations:
E.g. 我让他说了几句。 I asked him to say a few words; I allowed him to say a few words; I was criticized by him.

3.被 and 给 may be placed directly before the verb predicate without mentioning the doer of the action (E.g. 1 and 2). Other prepositions, 叫 and 让 do not have this unique usage. 叫 and 让 must have objects (E.g. 3 and 4).
E.g. 1 他被(我们公司)录用了。 [phr] He is hired by our company.
E.g. 2 他给叫走了。 [phr] He was called away.
E.g. 3 我的钱包让小偷偷走了。 [phr] My wallet was stolen by a thief.
E.g. 4 路上，他的衣服叫雨给淋湿了。 [phr] On the way, his clothes became wet from the rain.

lisaC

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I am still not sure of this word. Can someone give me another example of it in a sentence? Thanks in advance.

lilolyl

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