Passive or Impersonal Written Patterns
无主句 / 书面被动表达
How it works
In formal written Chinese, many sentences are expressed without an explicit subject, or with impersonal passive-like phrasing. These structures are common in notices, reports, rules, academic writing, and formal explanation.
They are useful when:
the doer is unimportant
the doer is unknown
the sentence should sound objective
the focus is on process, regulation, or result rather than person
Example sentences
经研究决定，本次活动延期举行，具体时间另行通知。
After consideration, it has been decided to postpone this event. The revised schedule will be announced separately.
如发现材料不实，将依法追究相关责任。
If any information in the materials is found to be false, those responsible will be held accountable under the law.
问题一经确认，必须立即采取措施，以防影响进一步扩大。
Once the problem is confirmed, measures must be taken immediately to prevent the impact from expanding further.
Key point
These structures create objectivity and formality and are extremely common in high-level written Chinese.