受Voice and politeness
Things done to you
The passive shows what happened to someone. In Japanese, it also describes being affected by things, often unpleasantly.
Making it
Every verb has one
They then behave like group 2 verbs. In group 2, this is the same as the “can” form, so context tells them apart.
| Group | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | final -u becomes -areru | 書く → 書かれる, 読む → 読まれる, 言う → 言われる |
| Group 2 | drop る, add られる | 食べる → 食べられる, 見る → 見られる |
| Irregular | する → される, 来る → 来られる |
The straightforward kind
Active to passive
The teacher praised the student.
The student was praised by the teacher.
The doer takes に.
In use
Common passives
I was bitten by a dog.
This song was written a hundred years ago.
The doer can be left out when it's unknown or unimportant.
This book was written by Natsume Soseki.
によって is for formal writing.
I had my name called by the teacher.
Suffering from it
The “affected” passive
English doesn't have this, so it often comes across as “on me”, or “and it annoyed me”.
I got rained on.
This works even with verbs that take no object.
My friend showed up, so I couldn't study.
You're affected by it, usually badly.
I had my foot stepped on on the train.
A part of you can stay as the object.
Respect
Also used for polite speech
The teacher has already gone out.
It shows respect for the teacher, but it's less polite than お~になる.
The president will speak.
Check yourself
How is it being used?
Your turn
が or に?
I was chased by a dog.
Say it yourself
A terrible day
Tell a friend your day: you got rained on, had your foot stepped on in the train, and got scolded by your boss.
Automatic feedback on your own answers is coming to Premium.