Ch 26 · Lesson 17Mandarin · Chapter 26 · Lesson 17 · Grammar primer
让: passive, or let?
The verb needs a result, or reads as let again: vs . goes before the marker, and a negative is clearest with .
The short version
No result, no passive:
。Wǒ de qián ràng tā názǒu le.
Why?Hide
A (ràng) passive needs a result on the verb, as (bèi) does. Without one, (ràng) reads as its day job: (wǒ de qián ràng tā ná) is 'let him take my money'. For a negative, (méi bèi) is clearest, because (méi ràng) can also be heard as 'didn't let'.
The verb needs a result, and 没 (méi) goes first
The rules of (bèi) carry over. The verb needs a result or (le); without one, (ràng) slips back to "let":
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ de qián ràng tā ná. | Let him take my money |
。 | Wǒ de qián ràng tā názǒu le. | He took my money (passive) |
To say it did not happen, (méi) goes before the passive word and the final (le) drops. Use (bèi) for this: (méi ràng) can be a passive too, but it can also be heard as "didn't let":
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ de qián méi bèi tā názǒu. | He didn't take my money |
。 | Wǒ de qián méi ràng tā názǒu. | He didn't take it, or I didn't let him |
Passive or day job?
All three words are busy elsewhere, which is why the same string can be read two ways:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Tā ràng wǒ zǒu. | He let me go |
。 | Māma jiào wǒ huíjiā. | Mum told me to come home |
。 | Wǒ gěi tā yì běn shū. | I give him a book |
Two questions settle almost every case:
- Could the thing at the front do the verb? Money cannot take anything, so in
(wǒ de qián ràng tā názǒu le) the money is the one affected: passive. - Does the verb end in a result?
(názǒu le) does; the bare(zǒu) of(tā ràng wǒ zǒu) does not.
The other side of (ràng) is on causatives.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
。 | 。 | (ràng) needs a doer |
。 | 。 | (méi) goes before the passive word |
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