所

[redpixel]

hey!

i don't really understand how the 所 passive voice construction works.

for example, in the following sentence (from 桥梁 chinese textbook):

"如果说过去我是被那些中国的神气传说所吸引的话，。。。"

what difference does the 所 make? ie. how is 被什么什么吸引 and 被什么什么所吸引 different?

i also don't understand the 所。。。的 construction, i'm guessing this is different from in the example above. for example: (the text is talking about independent movies)

"它的影像所呈现出的残酷诗意"

how would this best be translated into english? something like: "its pictures brutal atmosphere which is displayed"?

thanks in advance

/martin

[adrian440]

I came across this the other day in my book. It says:

"所 is mostly used in the written language in the form "所＋verb＋（的）" which is used as a modifier of a noun or as a substitute for a noun.

e.g. 我所认识的这几个朋友都是很好的人。

这几个演员都是大家所熟悉的。

Hope this helps, its from lesson 76 from the book 汉语教程（一年级第三册上） published by 北京语言大学。

[againstwind]

"所 is mostly used in the written language in the form "所＋verb＋（的）" which is used as a modifier of a noun or as a substitute for a noun.

I think adrian440 has indicated the point.

Let's analyse your example:

如果说过去我是被那些中国的神奇传说所吸引的话

(Consider the red section as a clause in this extract sentence.)

过去(time Adverb ) 我(subjective) 是(verb) 被那些中国的神奇传说所吸引(objective)

And [是(verb) 被那些中国的神奇传说所吸引(objective)] → th predicate

In this sentence, 是 is like a link verb 'be' which connects two sections have the same part of speech. Because 我 is a pronoun, the section after 是 have to be nominal too.

So I think the difference between 被什么什么吸引 and 被什么什么所吸引 should be:

被什么什么吸引 ... be attracted by...

被什么什么所吸引 It is ... that attracts (me, him,her...)

And "它的影像所呈现出的残酷诗意"

My translation (maybe odd): the cruel poetry shown through its pictures

[redpixel]

ok, thanks to both of you for your replies, that clears it up a bit

it's hard with those small words where the difference isn't very clear, i guess you just have to read a lot to get used to it

is there any actual difference in meaning between the 2 phrases:

我所认识的这几个朋友都是很好的人 and

我认识的这几个朋友都是很好的人?

[Jose]

I don't think there is any difference in meaning between your two sentences, but I am also a learner. My understanding is that 所 can be put in front of any verb in a relative clause. This makes it sound more formal, and it can balance the rhythm of the sentence to have nice two-syllable blocks, which is often an important consideration in written Chinese. So, if my understanding is correct, the choice between 所 Verb 的 and plain Verb 的 is stylistic rather than semantic.

For example:

我支持工黨。 = I support the Labour Party.

我 (所) 支持的政黨是工黨。 = The party that I support is the Labour Party.

Note that this use of 所 is taken from classical Chinese, where 的 is not used. The classical usage without 的 is still to be found in some common expressions like 如你所知 ("as you know", literally "like what you know").

[againstwind]

So, if my understanding is correct, the choice between 所 Verb 的 and plain Verb 的 is stylistic rather than semantic.

I feel your understand is very reasonable.

On the usage of 所 in classical Chinese, refer to this one please (maybe helpful):

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/1319-translation0&highlight=%E6%89%80%E4%BB%A5

[Guest Da Xiong Mao]

The only difference between "被....Verb " and "被....所+Verb" is that the latter is mostly used in the written,formal speech.

"被....所+Verb" (or "为....所+Verb") was used in ancient chinese to express passive voice.