被……所……: written passive with an agent
【高89】被动句 / special sentence patterns
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
被 + agent + 所 + verb is a formal passive: the agent is required (even a bare 人) and the verb follows 所 directly, usually with no 了 or complement: 这是我第一次感到自己被一个人所吸引 (it is the first time I have felt drawn to someone). It usually says that one is attracted, moved, deceived, swayed or held back by something: 被同情所左右, 被表面现象所迷惑.
It is the counterpart of 为……所…… (hsk5-g21), with the same meaning and the same written tone, and you meet it mostly in essays, fiction and pleadings. The everyday passive remains 被 / 叫 / 让 (hsk3-g27, hsk4-g27); neither 让 nor 叫 combines with 所.
Negation and modal verbs go before 被: 不能被同情所左右, 不会被表面现象所迷惑.
Examples
这是我第一次感到自己被一个人所吸引。
Zhè shì wǒ dì yī cì gǎndào zìjǐ bèi yí ge rén suǒ xīyǐn.It is the first time I have felt drawn to someone.
没想到，他竟然会被一个小学生所欺骗。
Méi xiǎngdào, tā jìngrán huì bèi yí ge xiǎoxuéshēng suǒ qīpiàn.Who would have thought he would be taken in by a primary-school pupil?
她被这个故事所感动，当场流下了眼泪。
Tā bèi zhège gùshi suǒ gǎndòng, dāngchǎng liúxià le yǎnlèi.Moved by the story, she burst into tears on the spot.
我们不能被表面的现象所迷惑，要看到问题的本质。
Wǒmen bù néng bèi biǎomiàn de xiànxiàng suǒ míhuò, yào kàndào wèntí de běnzhì.We must not be misled by surface appearances; we have to see the heart of the problem.
法庭认定事实，不能被同情所左右。
Fǎtíng rèndìng shìshí, bù néng bèi tóngqíng suǒ zuǒyòu.A court finds the facts; it cannot be swayed by sympathy.
年轻人不应该被别人的评价所束缚，要走自己的路。
Niánqīngrén bù yīnggāi bèi biérén de píngjià suǒ shùfù, yào zǒu zìjǐ de lù.Young people should not be held back by other people's opinions; they should follow their own road.
Common mistakes
✗ 他被所骗了。 → ✓ 他被人所骗。 (the agent is required, even a bare 人).
✗ 他被老师所批评了三次。 → ✓ 他被老师批评了三次。 (if the verb has to carry 了 or a complement, prefer the plain 被).
✗ 我的手机被小偷所偷了。 → ✓ 我的手机被小偷偷了。 (for an everyday mishap use the plain 被; 被……所 says one is attracted, moved, deceived or influenced).