被/让/叫 passives look interchangeable but follow different rules about subjects, agents, and complements. HSK 4 tests exactly the differences. Part of the 15 high-frequency HSK 4 traps collection.
P0 audit
3. 让 / 叫 passive must have an explicit subject (the receiver)
In 让/叫 passives, the receiver of the action — the subject — cannot be dropped. Unlike 被字句, which sometimes tolerates a missing subject in context, 让 and 叫 require both the receiver and the agent to be visible.
✗ 让妈妈罚了。 — Subject missing. Who got punished?
✓ 弟弟让妈妈罚了。 Dìdi ràng māma fá le. — "Little brother got punished by mom." Receiver explicit.
✗ 叫狗咬了。 — Receiver missing.
✓ 他的腿叫狗咬了。 Tā de tuǐ jiào gǒu yǎo le. — "His leg got bitten by a dog."
Why: 让/叫 are colloquial/spoken passives. Without the receiver, the listener cannot tell who the action lands on. HSK 4 writing (Q86-95 排词成句) tests this — if 让/叫 + agent are in the word card, you must place the receiver before 让/叫.
The same characters 让 and 叫 form both passive sentences (受事 receiver) and causative pivotal sentences (兼语句 — "tell someone to do something"). Context decides which.
Causative (兼语句): 妈妈叫我写作业。 Māma jiào wǒ xiě zuòyè. — "Mom told me to do homework." 妈妈 is the actor, I do the action.
Passive (被动句): 我叫妈妈骂了。 Wǒ jiào māma mà le. — "I got scolded by mom." I am the receiver, 妈妈 does the action.
HSK 4 quick test: Ask "is S₁ the actor or the receiver?" If S₁ is the actor (妈妈 told me) → causative pivotal. If S₁ is the receiver (I got scolded) → passive. Reading Part 3 (Q66-85) hides one in a passage and asks who did what — read the result clause to confirm.
5. Passive verbs need a directional or result complement
A passive verb cannot end on a bare intransitive verb. 走 (to leave) is intransitive — you cannot say someone "got left." HSK 4 passives need a directional complement (走/来/去/掉) or a result complement (完/好/到) attached.
✗ 我喜欢的杯子被人先走了。 — 走 is intransitive; "got left" makes no sense as a passive event.
✓ 我喜欢的杯子被人先买走了。 Wǒ xǐhuān de bēizi bèi rén xiān mǎi zǒu le. — "My favorite cup got bought (and taken away) by someone first." 买 is the verb, 走 is the directional complement showing the cup is gone.
Pattern: 被 + agent + V + complement (了). Common completers: V+走 / V+掉 / V+完 / V+好 / V+到. Without one, the passive sentence doesn't reach a result and feels incomplete.
In 兼语句 (causative pivotal), S₁ is the actor and tells S₂ to do something: 妈妈 told me to buy groceries. Compare with passive 我叫妈妈骂了 where 我 is the receiver. Context decides — read the result clause.
Passive verbs need a directional or result complement (走 / 掉 / 完 / 好 / 到). 走 alone is intransitive — you cannot "be left." 买走 = bought + taken away, which is what passive 被 needs. The third option is incomplete.
