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I understand that the sentence means something like "This disease was eradicated 30 years ago", but I have no idea what role does 被 have in it?

Is the sentence okay if we remove it? Does it convey any special meaning when present?

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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

被 + verb = passive form

根除 = eradicate

被根除 = be eradicated

Some verbs have active form with passive meaning, 根除 is one of them. So it's fine to remove 被 from this sentence.

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That "active form with passive meaning" part doesn't sound confusing at all! :) – dr Hannibal Lecter Aug 12 '12 at 11:26
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@drHannibalLecter, I should've used some examples in English, like 'sell' in 'The book sells good' is an active form with passive meaning. :) – NS.X. Aug 12 '12 at 19:00
Well, that makes sense now. Is there a fixed number of Chinese verbs which can have this form with 被, or you can "convert" any verb that fits the sentence? – dr Hannibal Lecter Aug 12 '12 at 19:19
@NS.X. I prefer to think of this as an example of an ergative verb. en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ergative_verb There are many ergative verbs in Chinese, just like in English. Another example would be 打敗 (to defeat someone, or to lose). – deutschZuid Aug 12 '12 at 21:47
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@JamesJiao Found a thesis on this very subject. ling.sinica.edu.tw/files/publication/j2002_3_06_1607.pdf – NS.X. Aug 12 '12 at 22:50
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up vote 1 down vote

被 is the passive voice. It is the "was" in "the disease was eradicated.

But it is not the usual "was" in the sense of 是, which is a "state" verb.

Instead, the implication of 被 is, "was done."

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