Formal Passive Voice: 为...所... (wéi...suǒ...) – "To Be [V-ed] by..."

Pattern

• Subject + 为 + Agent + 所 + Verb

Usage

• The classical passive construction {Subject} + 为 + {Agent} + 所 + {Verb} is ubiquitous in journalistic, legal, and academic writing at the HSK 7-9 level: (1) It elevates the conversational 被 passive into a dignified, literary register (e.g., 他的精神为世人所敬仰 - his spirit is revered by the world; 为大多数人所接受 - accepted by the majority); (2) Unlike the ordinary 被 sentence where the agent can be left unmentioned (他被打伤了), the agent in 为...所... is strictly mandatory and can never be omitted; (3) The verb after 所 is typically a disyllabic abstract or formal verb (敬仰, 喜爱, 知晓, 接受, 理解, 关注), and aspect markers like 了, 着, 过 are strictly prohibited after this verb.

Examples

1. 1

   他的精神为世人所敬仰。

   Tā de jīngshén wéi shìrén suǒ jìngyǎng.

   His noble spirit is deeply revered by people throughout the world.

2. 2

   这种观点已不为多数人所接受。

   Zhè zhǒng guāndiǎn yǐ bù wéi duōshù rén suǒ jiēshòu.

   This viewpoint is no longer accepted by the majority of people.

3. 3

   中华文化为越来越多的外国人所喜爱。

   Zhōnghuá wénhuà wéi yuèláiyuè duō de wàiguórén suǒ xǐ'ài.

   Chinese culture has come to be embraced and loved by more and more foreigners.

4. 4