Learn Hardcore Chinese: mén bèi tā guān shàng le, wǒ zài wàimiàn děng le yíhuìr. - The door was closed by her; I waited outside for a while.

被 (bèi) marks a passive construction: the grammatical subject receives the action. 门被她关上了 literally means “The door was closed by her.”
The agent (她) after 被 is optional. You can omit it if it’s obvious or unimportant: 门被关上了.
It is not required. You could also say:
- 门关上了 (mén guānshàng le) — “The door closed/is closed.” (no agent mentioned)
- 她把门关上了 (tā bǎ mén guānshàng le) — active with 把, focusing on the door being affected.

Does 被 sound negative, like something unfortunate happened?

Historically, 被 often implied an adverse outcome, but in modern usage it can be neutral, especially in written or formal contexts.
If you want to emphasize the “undesirable” feel colloquially, many speakers add 给 (gěi): 门被她给关上了 (mén bèi tā gěi guānshàng le). That can feel more “ugh, it got done to me/us.”

How else can I say this in active voice?

她把门关上了，我在外面等了一会儿。 (tā bǎ mén guānshàng le, wǒ zài wàimiàn děng le yíhuìr.)
她关上了门，我在外面等了一会儿。 (tā guānshàng le mén, wǒ zài wàimiàn děng le yíhuìr.)
The 把 version highlights the effect on the object; the plain SVO version is more neutral.

Why is 上 in 关上? Isn’t 关 enough?

上 here is a resultative complement, indicating the result is achieved: “closed up/shut.”
Nuances:
- 关 (guān) = to close/turn off (general).
- 关上 (guānshàng) = to shut closed (result is “shut”). Best for doors, windows, drawers.
- 关掉 (guāndiào) = to turn off (power/devices: lights, TV).
- Other common patterns with 上: 合上 (héshàng, close a book/eyes), 锁上 (suǒshàng, lock), 拉上 (lāshàng, pull closed e.g., curtains).

Is 门被她关了 also correct? What’s the difference from 关上了?

门被她关了 is grammatical and often fine. It states the action happened.
关上了 emphasizes the resulting state “shut/closed” more explicitly. With doors/windows, 关上了 is very idiomatic.
For devices, 关掉了 is usually better than 关上了.

Where does 了 go with 关上? Why not 关了上?

The perfective 了 follows the whole verb-complement unit: 关上了 (not 关了上).
In the second clause, 了 follows the verb when used with a duration: 等了（一会儿）.
So: 门被她关上了 and 等了一会儿 are the correct placements.

Why are there two instances of 了 in the sentence?

Each clause has its own completed action:
- 关上了: the closing occurred (completed event).
- 等了: the waiting occurred for a span of time (completed event).
This is normal. Chinese often marks completion per clause. It’s not the “forbidden double 了” learners worry about.

Can I omit either 了?

Omitting the first: 门被她关上 (…guānshàng) is usually not used as a standalone past fact. You’d either say 门被她关上了 (completed) or use a descriptive pattern like 门是她关上的 (mén shì tā guānshang de) to emphasize who did it.
Omitting the second: 我在外面等一会儿 usually means “I’ll wait outside for a bit” (request/future), not a past narration. In the past narrative, keep 了 with a duration.

Is 在 here the progressive marker (“be doing”)? It looks like 我在…等…

Here 在 is a preposition meaning “at/in” marking location: 在外面 = “outside.”
Progressive 在 would come right before the verb phrase (often with 着/呢/正在). You could say:
- Ongoing: 我正在外面等 / 我在外面等着呢 (I’m waiting outside).
- Completed (original sentence): 我在外面等了… (I waited outside…).

Do I need 在 before 外面? Can I say 我外面等了一会儿?

Use 在 with location nouns: 我在外面等了一会儿 sounds natural.
Without 在, 我外面等了 is awkward in standard Mandarin. If you move the place to modify the noun, that’s different (e.g., 外面的门).

外面 vs 外边 vs 外头 — any difference?

All mean “outside” and are largely interchangeable.
Nuance/register:
- 外面 (wàimiàn) — most neutral/common.
- 外边 (wàibian) — very common in the north; slightly more colloquial.
- 外头 (wàitóu) — also colloquial/regional flavor.

How do I pronounce 一会儿? Why is 一 pronounced yí here?

一会儿 is pronounced yíhuìr:
- 一 changes tone to yí (2nd tone) before a 4th-tone syllable (会 huì).
- 儿 (r) is the “erhua” ending, common in the north.
Taiwan Mandarin typically says yíhuì (no erhua).
Meaning here is “for a while” (duration).

What’s the difference between 等一会儿, 等一下, and 等会儿?

等一会儿 (děng yíhuìr): wait for a little while (slightly longer/looser than 一下).
等一下 (děng yíxià): wait a moment (very short; also politely softens a request).
等会儿 (děng huìr): can mean “in a bit/later” (time in the future) or “wait a bit,” depending on context. With 了 and duration sense, you usually use 等了一会儿.

Could I emphasize cause and effect with a connector instead of a comma?

Yes. For explicit causality:
- 门被她关上了，所以我在外面等了一会儿。 (…so I waited…)
- 门被她关上了，于是我在外面等了一会儿。 (…so then I waited…)
A comma between clauses often suffices in Chinese to show sequential actions.

How would I emphasize that it was she (and not someone else) who closed the door?

Use the 是…的 focus construction on the first clause:
- 门是她关上的，我在外面等了一会儿。 (mén shì tā guānshang de…) — “It was she who closed the door…”
This highlights the agent (她) as the focus of clarification.

Could I say 门给她关上了 or 门让她给关上了?

Colloquial northern speech uses 给 (sometimes with 让) in passive-like constructions:
- 门给她关上了 / 门让她给关上了 — both are heard in speech.
They are informal; 被 is the standard written/passive marker.