Minna no Nihongo Lesson 37 Grammar

Minna no Nihongo Lesson 37 Grammar

1. Passive verbs

How to make passive verbs

		Passive verbs
		polite form	plain form
I	かきます	かかれます	かかれる
II	ほめます	ほめられます	ほめられる
III	きます します	こられます されます	こられる される

All passive verbs are Group II verbs; they conjugate into the dictionary form, ない-form, て-form, etc.

e.g. かかれる, かかれ(ない), かかれて

2. N₁ (person₁)は N₂ (person₂)に V passive

When a person (person₂)’s action is directed to another person (peson₁), person₁ can state it from his/her side by using this sentence pattern. In this case, person₁ becomes the topic of the sentence, person₂ is marked with に, and a passive verb is used.

先生はわたしを褒めました。
My teacher praised me.

わたしは先生に褒められました。
I was praised by my teacher.

母はわたしに買い物を頼みました。
My mother asked me to go shopping.

わたしは母に買い物を頼まれました。
I was asked to go shopping by my mother.

Something that moves (animals, cars, etc.) can replace person₂ in this sentence pattern.

わたしは犬にかまれました。
I was bitten by a dog.

 

3. N₁ (person₁)は N₂ (person₂)にN₃を V passive

When a person (person₂)’s action is directed to an object belonging to another person (person ₁), and person₁ feels annoyed or troubled, person₁ uses this sentence pattern to express his/her feelings.

弟がわたしのパソコンを壊しました。
My brother broke my personal computer.

わたしは弟にパソコンを壊されました。(*)
I had my personal computer broken by my brother.

Like in sentence pattern 2 above, an animate object or something that moves can replace person₂.

わたしは犬に手をかまれました。
I had my hand bitten by a dog.

[Note 1] In this sentence pattern, the topic of the sentence is not the object (N₃) of the verb but person₁ (N₁), who feel annoyed or troubled by what person₂ does to the object belonging to him/her. Thusわたしのパソコンはおとうとにこわされました is not correct. You should use sentence (*) shown above instead.

[Note 2] As this sentence pattern is used when person₁ is troubled by what person₂ does, it cannot be used when person₁ is grateful for what person₂ does. ～てもらいますis used instead.

わたしは友達に自転車を修理してもらいました。
I had my bicycle repaired by my friend.

ｘ わたしは友達に自転車を修理されました。

 

4. N (thing) が／はV passive

When you need not mention the person who does the action denoted by a verb, you can make the object of the verb the subject of the sentence. In this case, a passive verb is used.

フランスで昔の日本の絵が発見されました。
An old Japanese picture has been discovered in France.

日本の車は世界中へ輸出されています。
Japanese cars are exported all over the world.

会議は神戸で開かれました。
The assembly was held in Kobe.

 

5. N₁ はN₂ (person) によってV passive

When something is created or discovered, and it is stated using a passive verb, the person who created or discovered it is indicated by によってinstead ofに. Verbs like かきます, はつめいします, はっけんします, etc., are used in this sentence pattern.

「源氏物語」は紫式部によって書かれました。
“The Tale of Genji” was written by Murasaki Shikibu.

電話はベルによって発明されました。
The telephone was invented by Bell.

6. Nから／ Nでつくります

When something is made from a raw material, the material is marked withから. When it is obvious to the eye that something is made of a particular material, the material is marked with で.

ビールは麦から造られます。
Beer is made from barley.

昔 日本の家は木で造られました。
Japanese houses were made of wood in the past.

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