Passive and Disposal Constructions in Cantonese

In Brief

Cantonese normally forms a spoken passive as receiver + 俾 + agent + verb phrase: 我俾佢呃咗 “I was cheated by them.” In more formal writing, 被 can replace 俾 and can appear without a named agent. Disposal constructions do the opposite job: 將 or a spoken 攞/拎…去/嚟 pattern places a specific object before the action and highlights what happens to it.

Overview

A passive presents the person or thing affected by an action as the starting point of the sentence. Compare English “Someone stole the car” with “The car was stolen.” Cantonese can make the same change, but it does not build the passive with a form of “be.” In everyday speech, the central marker is 俾 bei2. The more formal marker 被 bei6 belongs mainly to Standard Written Chinese and formal speech.

A disposal construction presents an object before the main action in order to show how it is handled, moved, changed, completed, or otherwise affected. Here, “object” simply means the person or thing that the action is done to. The marker 將 zoeng1 is common in instructions, formal speech, and writing. Everyday Cantonese often expresses the same practical idea with 攞 lo2 or 拎 ling1 “take,” followed by the object and a directional verb such as 去 heoi3 “away/to there” or 嚟 lai4 “toward here.”

At B2, the challenge is not merely recognizing the markers. You need to choose a pattern that fits the register, keep the participants in the right order, and decide whether a passive or an active sentence sounds more natural. English uses passives freely in neutral contexts. Cantonese passives, especially spoken ones with 俾, often suggest that something unwanted happened, although context can produce neutral or favorable readings.

How It Works

The spoken passive with 俾

The basic order is:

affected subject + 俾 + agent + verb phrase

• 我俾佢打咗一拳。 — I was punched by him/her.
• 佢俾老闆炒咗魷魚。 — He/She was fired by the boss.

The agent is the person or thing that performs the action. In 我俾佢打咗一拳, 我 is affected, 佢 is the agent, and 打咗一拳 is the action. This differs sharply from English: the agent comes immediately after 俾, not in a final “by…” phrase.

Role	Cantonese form	What it does
Affected subject	我	person affected by the punch
Passive marker	俾	introduces the passive agent
Agent	佢	person who punches
Verb phrase	打咗一拳	completed action and its details

The verb itself does not change. Aspect markers and complements stay with the verb:

• 偷咗 — stole / has stolen
• 整爛咗 — made broken; damaged
• 拎走咗 — took away
• 鬧緊 — is scolding

The passive marker does not tell you when the action happens. Time words and aspect markers do that, just as they do in active sentences.

What if the agent is unknown?

Spoken Cantonese commonly uses 人 jan4 as a nonspecific agent:

• 我部電話俾人偷咗。 — My phone was stolen.
• 道門俾人整爛咗。 — The door was damaged by someone.

English can simply omit “by someone.” In a colloquial 俾 passive, using 人 is often the safest natural choice when the agent is unknown or unimportant. Do not confuse this passive use with the ordinary verb 俾 “give” or its causative meaning “let”; the words around it reveal the structure.

The formal passive with 被

The pattern with 被 bei6 is similar:

affected subject + 被 + (agent) + verb phrase

• 部車被人偷咗。 — The car was stolen.
• 申請被拒絕。 — The application was rejected.

被 is strongly associated with formal speech, news reports, notices, and Standard Written Chinese. Unlike colloquial 俾, it readily appears without an explicit agent, as in 申請被拒絕. A Cantonese speaker reading written Chinese may pronounce 被 as bei6, but that does not make the whole sentence colloquial Cantonese.

Marker	Typical register	Treatment of agent	Example
俾 bei2	everyday spoken Cantonese	usually stated; 人 is common when unknown	我俾人呃咗。
被 bei6	formal speech and writing	may be stated or omitted	文件被刪除。

Why passives often sound unfavorable

With 俾, the affected subject commonly suffers a loss, accident, criticism, interruption, or other unwelcome event:

• 俾人呃 — be cheated
• 俾雨淋濕 — get soaked by rain
• 俾老闆鬧 — be scolded by the boss

This is a tendency, not an absolute grammatical rule. A favorable passive is possible when the context supports it, particularly in formal language: 佢被選為主席 “He/She was elected chairperson.” In ordinary conversation, however, an active version often sounds less marked: 大家選咗佢做主席 “Everyone elected him/her chairperson.”

The disposal construction with 將

The core order is:

subject + 將 + specific object + verb phrase

In commands, the subject is often left unstated:

• 將啲嘢放喺度。 — Put the things here.
• 請將表格交去辦事處。 — Please submit the form to the office.

The object normally refers to something identifiable in the context: 啲嘢 “the things,” 份表格 “the form,” or 呢個檔案 “this file.” The remainder of the sentence should say what happens to that object. This often includes a destination, result, complement, or completion marker.

Pattern	Structure	Main use
placement	將 + object + 放喺 + place	put an object somewhere
transfer	將 + object + 交俾 + recipient	hand an object to someone
change/result	將 + object + verb + result	bring about a result
completion	將 + object + verb + 完/好	finish dealing with it

For example, 我將份報告改好咗 means “I finished correcting the report.” The sentence is not merely about correcting; it highlights the report and its resulting state.

Spoken disposal with 攞 or 拎

In conversation, speakers frequently use a serial-verb pattern—a sequence of verbs sharing one subject—with 攞 or 拎 “take/hold”:

subject + 攞/拎 + object + 去/嚟 + action or destination

• 拎本書去還俾佢。 — Take the book and return it to him/her.
• 攞張櫈嚟坐。 — Bring a chair over to sit on.
• 拎啲衫入去間房。 — Take the clothes into the room.

Here 去 marks movement away from the speaker or toward another location, while 嚟 marks movement toward the speaker or the current reference point. These are not interchangeable ornaments: choose them from the speaker’s point of view.

攞 and 拎 overlap considerably. Both can mean “take” in these patterns; individual and regional preferences vary. 拎 often focuses naturally on carrying or taking an item, while 攞 has a broad “take/get/use” range. Learners do not need to force a rigid distinction in every sentence.

Passive and disposal are not the same operation

The two constructions put an affected item near the front, but their viewpoints differ:

Construction	Structure	Focus
Passive	部電話 + 俾人 + 偷咗	what happened to the phone
Disposal	我 + 將部電話 + 交咗俾警察	what I deliberately did with the phone

A passive suppresses or backgrounds the doer and highlights the affected participant. A disposal construction keeps an active doer and highlights the handling or outcome of the object.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	English	Note
我俾佢打咗一拳。	I was punched by him/her.	Spoken passive; named agent
佢俾老闆炒咗魷魚。	He/She was fired by the boss.	炒魷魚 is the colloquial expression “fire from a job”
我部電話俾人偷咗。	My phone was stolen.	人 stands for an unknown agent
啲文件俾風吹走咗。	The documents were blown away by the wind.	The agent can be a force, not only a person
我尋日俾雨淋濕晒。	I got completely soaked by the rain yesterday.	Result 淋濕 plus 晒 “completely”
部車被人偷咗。	The car was stolen.	被 gives the sentence a written/formal flavor
申請被拒絕。	The application was rejected.	Formal agentless passive
佢被選為主席。	He/She was elected chairperson.	A nonnegative passive in formal language
將啲嘢放喺度。	Put the things here.	Command with omitted subject
請將電話校做靜音。	Please set your phone to silent.	Formal instruction; clear resulting setting
我將份報告改好咗。	I finished correcting the report.	The result 好 matters
你將鎖匙交俾邊個？	Who did you give the key to?	Question about the recipient
拎本書去還俾佢。	Take the book and return it to him/her.	Spoken pattern with movement away
攞張櫈嚟坐啦。	Bring a chair over and sit down.	嚟 points toward the current location
幫我拎啲箱入去。	Help me take the boxes inside.	Natural spoken handling-and-direction pattern

Common Mistakes

Copying English “be + past participle”

• Wrong: 我係打咗俾佢。 (intended: “I was hit by him/her.”)
• Right: 我俾佢打咗。
• Why: Cantonese does not form the passive with 係 “be.” Use 俾 before the agent, and leave the verb in its ordinary form.

Putting the agent after the verb

• Wrong: 我俾打咗佢。
• Right: 我俾佢打咗。
• Why: In a 俾 passive, the agent belongs between 俾 and the verb. English “by him/her” word order cannot be copied.

Dropping an unknown agent too freely after 俾

• Awkward: 我部電話俾偷咗。
• Natural: 我部電話俾人偷咗。
• Why: Colloquial Cantonese commonly supplies 人 when the agent is unknown. Formal 被 is more comfortable without one: 電話被偷。

Using 被 as if it were ordinary casual speech

• Overly formal in conversation: 我被佢鬧咗。
• Natural spoken version: 我俾佢鬧咗。
• Why: The grammar is understandable, but 被 usually sounds written or deliberately formal. Match the marker to the setting.

Using 將 without saying what happens to the object

• Incomplete: 我將份功課做。
• Better: 我將份功課做完咗。
• Why: A 將 construction normally presents a meaningful handling, destination, completion, or result. If there is no such focus, ordinary order is often better: 我做功課。

Choosing 去 and 嚟 from the object’s viewpoint

• Wrong in a “bring it to me” situation: 拎本書去俾我。
• Right: 拎本書嚟俾我。
• Why: 嚟 indicates motion toward the speaker or reference point; 去 indicates motion away from it.

Usage Notes

Active sentences are often the neutral choice

English writing encourages passives such as “The meeting was canceled” or “The problem was solved.” Cantonese often prefers an active clause when the doer is known or easily expressed: 公司取消咗個會議 “The company canceled the meeting.” A passive is useful when the affected item is already the topic, when the agent is unknown, or when the unwanted effect matters most.

俾 has several jobs

Compare the structures carefully:

• 俾本書我。 — Give me the book. (main verb “give”)
• 俾我試吓。 — Let me try. (permission/causative)
• 我俾佢呃咗。 — I was cheated by him/her. (passive)

Position and meaning identify the function. In the passive, something affected comes before 俾 and an agent-action sequence follows it.

將 is not the everyday answer to every object

A basic active sentence remains perfectly normal: 我關咗門 “I closed the door.” 我將門關好咗 gives more prominence to dealing with the door and to the result “properly closed.” In spontaneous speech, topic-comment order may also do the job: 道門，我關咗喇 “As for the door, I’ve closed it.”

Written and spoken forms can mix by context

Not every sentence belongs entirely to one register. A spoken announcement may use 將 because it sounds clear and official; an informal message may quote wording with 被. Judge the whole situation rather than labeling a marker “spoken only” or “written only.” Still, 俾 is the default passive marker to produce in casual Cantonese, while 被 is the form to expect in formal texts.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Retained objects and fuller verb phrases

A passive verb phrase can contain material after the verb:

• 我俾佢打咗一拳。 — The verb is followed by 一拳, the number of blows.
• 佢俾老闆炒咗魷魚。 — 炒魷魚 functions as a fixed expression meaning “fire.”

Do not assume that a passive verb must stand alone. Complements, quantities, idiomatic objects, aspect markers, and directional elements can remain inside the verb phrase if the resulting Cantonese expression is natural.

Adversity is a pragmatic effect, not a translation rule

The negative flavor of 俾 comes from frequent use in unpleasant situations, not from a rule that every sentence must describe harm. Context and vocabulary can override it. Formal 被 is broader and appears in neutral administrative descriptions and positive honors. When producing a positive everyday sentence, however, check whether an active construction would sound simpler and more idiomatic.

將, topic fronting, and ordinary SVO offer different emphasis

Consider three ways to discuss the same report:

• 我改好咗份報告。 — I finished correcting the report. Neutral active order.
• 我將份報告改好咗。 — I dealt with the report and got it corrected. Disposal/result focus.
• 份報告，我改好咗喇。 — As for the report, I’ve corrected it. Topic-comment focus.

These are not mechanical substitutes. The first reports an action, the second packages the object with its outcome, and the third links the sentence to an established conversation topic.

Directional disposal can become a chain of actions

Spoken Cantonese readily chains handling, direction, and purpose:

你拎呢份文件去樓下交俾陳小姐。 — Take this document downstairs and give it to Ms. Chan.

The sequence follows the real-world progression: take the document, move away/downstairs, then hand it over. Building such chains is often more natural than translating an English sentence one preposition at a time.

Practice Tips

1. Reverse active and passive pairs. Start with 有人偷咗我部電話 and change it to 我部電話俾人偷咗. Say aloud which noun is the agent and which is affected.
2. Practice register in pairs. Rewrite a casual passive with 俾 as a news-style sentence with 被, then decide whether the agent can be omitted: 公司拒絕咗申請 → 申請被拒絕.
3. Stage real object movements. With items around you, say instructions using 將 and then a conversational 攞/拎 pattern: 將本書放喺枱面; 拎本書嚟俾我. Physically moving the object helps fix 去 versus 嚟.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: 俾 as Give and Passive Marker — introduces the core meanings of 俾 and the basic spoken passive.
• Useful foundation: Completed Action 咗 — explains the aspect marker that frequently appears in passive and disposal sentences.
• Useful foundation: Directional Complements — develops the contrast between 嚟, 去, 入, 出, 上, and 落.
• Related B2 pattern: Topic-Comment Structure — offers another way to place an established object or topic first.
• Related B2 pattern: Causative Constructions — distinguishes passive 俾 from 俾 meaning “let” and other ways to express causation.