ぶんぽう (Grammar) |
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The causative-passive form of a verb combines the causative and passive forms. The causative-passive form can be derived from the dictionary form as follows.
(a) る-verbs:Drop the final る from the dictionary form and add させられる.
(b) う-verbs:Change the final -u sound of the dictionary form to the corresponding -a sound and add される. If the dictionary form ends in う, change う to わ and add される.
(c) Irregular verbs:The causative-passives of the irregular verbs are:
Note that regardless of the original verb types, all causative-passive forms conjugate as the る-verb.
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In Lesson 24, we learned that the causative can express either “make” (“make/force someone to do something”) or “let” (“let/allow someone to do something”). In causative-passive sentences, however, the causative normally has the “make” meaning. A causative-passive sentence describes a situation from the perspective of the person who is made to do something. This person becomes the subject of the sentence, while the person who makes them perform the action (the Agent) is marked by に. With a transitive verb, the basic structure is: Compare this with the structures of the "make" causative sentences introduced in Lesson 24: Example sentences:
Notice how the perspective changes:
Recall that in a “make” causative sentence with an intransitive verb, the Causee is normally marked by を: Example sentences:
As we learned in Lesson 24, some intransitive verbs already use Nを to mark a route, place of movement, or place of departure. In such cases, the Causee in the causative sentence is marked by に rather than を.
Again, in the corresponding causative-passive sentence, the Causee becomes the subject and the Agent is marked by に:
Causative vs. Causative-Passive The basic relationship can therefore be summarized as follows:
The causative-passive thus describes essentially the same event as the “make” causative, but from the perspective of the person who is made to perform the action. One additional point: Causative-passive sentences very often carry a sense that the Causee performs the action against their will or unwillingly. For example:
That nuance is central to Keiko's complaint in Dialogue 1. |
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In Lesson 19, we learned how to describe what will happen if a certain condition is met using the conditional pattern /Pred-1 たら、Pred-2/.
In this lesson, we will learn the /pred-1ても、pred-2/ pattern. Unlike …たら, which presents Pred-1 as a condition for Pred-2, …ても indicates that Pred-2 holds regardless of the condition expressed by Pred-1. The English translation of …ても differs depending on whether the sentence describes a hypothetical situation or an actual situation. (a) …ても meaning “even if”When the sentence describes a situation that has not yet occurred or is hypothetical, …ても is usually translated as “even if.” It indicates that the situation in Pred-2 will hold regardless of whether the condition in Pred-1 occurs.
Thus, …ても emphasizes that the condition expressed by Pred-1 does not change the result expressed by Pred-2. Negative Forms Pred-1 in the /Pred-1 ても、Pred-2/ pattern can also be negative. In this case, use the negative て-form + も.
(b) …ても meaning “even though”When the sentence describes what actually happens or happened, …ても can be translated as “even though” or “although.” In this use, Pred-1 expresses an actual situation from which one might normally expect a different result, but Pred-2 states what actually occurs despite that situation.
In both uses, the basic meaning of …ても is the same: the situation in Pred-1 does not prevent or change the situation in Pred-2.
(c) …ても vs. …のにIn Lesson 23, we learned the /Pred-1 のに、Pred-2/ pattern, which expresses an unexpected contrast between two situations and can often be translated as “although,” “even though,” or “despite the fact that.” Both …ても and …のに can correspond to English “even though” in some contexts, but there are important differences between them. 1. Requests, Desires, and Inferences The main clause (Pred-2) of a ...のに sentence normally describes a factual situation. Therefore, ...のに is generally not used when Pred-2 expresses a request or command, desire or intention, or similar non-factual meaning.The …ても pattern does not have this restriction.
2. Speaker’s Emotional Reaction When …のに describes a result that is contrary to expectation, it often conveys the speaker’s emotional reaction, such as surprise, dissatisfaction, regret, or disappointment.…ても can describe a similar contrast, but its basic meaning is that the result holds regardless of the condition. It does not inherently emphasize the speaker’s emotional reaction as strongly as …のに. Compare:
Thus, …のに focuses more strongly on the unexpected contrast, whereas …ても focuses on the fact that Pred-1 does not prevent or change the result in Pred-2. 3. Two or More Alternative Conditions The …ても pattern can be used with two or more alternatives to express “whether X or Y” or “regardless of which.” …のに cannot be used in this way.
The two alternatives can be affirmative and negative:
4. Question Word + ...ても — “No Matter...” The ...ても pattern can also be combined with question words such as 何, だれ, いつ, どこ, and どちら to express the meaning “no matter what/who/when/where/which.” ...のに cannot be used in this pattern.
This use also occurs with nouns and question words followed directly by でも:
In expressions such as 何でも, だれでも, いつでも, どこでも, でも conveys the same basic idea of “regardless of which possibility.” |
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We have already learned that の can refer to a thing or nominalize an action:
こと can also follow a predicate to create a noun phrase representing a fact, state, action, or activity:
In this lesson, we will learn several important expressions that use こと: …ことになる, …ことにする, and …ことにしている. 1. …ことになる — “It Has Been Decided That...”The /V (plain) + ことになる/ pattern indicates that something has been decided or arranged. The decision is generally understood to have been made by circumstances or by someone other than the speaker, rather than by the speaker alone.
Both affirmative and negative verb forms can occur before ことになる.
The …ことになっている form indicates an established rule, arrangement, schedule, or expectation.
2. ...ことにする — “Decide to...”The /V (plain) + ことにする/ pattern indicates that the subject makes a decision to do or not to do something. Both affirmative and negative verb forms can occur before ことにする.
Compare …ことになる and …ことにする:
3. ...ことにしている — “Make It a Practice/Rule to...” The /V (plain non-past) + ことにしている/ pattern indicates that someone has made a decision about what to do or not to do and continues to follow that decision. It is therefore commonly used to describe a personal rule, routine, or habitual practice.
Compare:
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方（かた） can be attached to the stem of a verb to form a noun meaning “how to do...” or “the way of doing....”
Nする VerbsWith Nする verbs, N + の
仕方
is commonly used.
Thus, 仕方 functions much like V-stem + 方 with Nする verbs. Particles before V-stem + 方When a phrase containing a particle comes before V-stem + 方, some particles change because the entire expression becomes a noun phrase. In particular, the direct-object particle を is normally replaced by の:
The same pattern occurs with Nする verbs:
Destination and Goal When a destination is marked by に in the original sentence, に cannot normally be followed directly by の in this pattern. Instead, へ + の can be used.
Negative “How to...”English can use expressions such as “how not to do something.” Japanese does not normally form a corresponding negative ...方 expression. Instead, the idea is usually expressed using another structure, such as an embedded question.
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We have learned that /Time + まで/ indicates that an activity or state continues up to a certain point in time (“until”). In contrast, /Time + までに/ indicates that an event occurs or is completed by a certain point in time (“by”).
Thus, the basic contrast is:
V-dictionary form + まで — “Until V Happens”A verb can also occur before まで. The /V-dictionary form + まで/ pattern indicates that an activity or state continues until the event expressed by V takes place.
V-dictionary form + までに — “By the Time V Happens”Similarly, the /V-dictionary form + までに/ pattern indicates that an event occurs or is completed before or by the time the event expressed by V takes place.
Here, the event before までに functions as a deadline: the event in the main clause occurs or is completed before that point is reached. Non-Past Form before まで／までにWhen a verb occurs immediately before まで or までに, it normally appears in the non-past form, even when the entire sentence describes a past event.
The non-past form 終わる／帰る does not mean that these events are in the future. Rather, the verb before まで／までに identifies the endpoint or deadline relative to the event in the main clause. The tense of the entire sentence is determined by the main predicate:
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In Lesson 24, we learned Vなさい, a relatively polite form used to give commands, often by someone in a position of authority, such as a parent or teacher. Japanese also has a plain imperative verb form, which expresses a command more directly and forcefully. How to form the plain imperativeFor る-verbs, drop the final る and add ろ. An alternative ending よ is also possible, but it is less common in ordinary conversation. For う-verbs, change the final “u” sound to the corresponding “e” sound.
Plain imperatives in quoted speechThe plain imperative is commonly used when reporting or quoting a command. For example:
Using the plain imperative directlyThe plain imperative can also be used directly:
When addressed directly to another person, this form can sound very forceful, rough, or aggressive, depending on the verb, situation, and relationship between the speakers. For this reason, learners should be cautious about using it in ordinary conversation. However, plain imperatives are common in situations where strong, short commands are expected—for example, in sports, emergencies, military-style language, fictional dialogue, and expressions of encouragement such as がんばれ！ 🌸 Cultural Note: …よ in Commands and SongsThe …よ imperative of る-verbs and せよ for する are less common than …ろ forms in everyday speech, but they often appear in written language, slogans, dramatic expressions, and song lyrics. They can give a command a formal, literary, or dramatic tone. A well-known example from Attack on Titan (『進撃の巨人』) is:
Here, 捧げよ is the imperative form of the る-verb 捧げる. Be careful not to confuse this imperative …よ with the sentence-final particle よ. The particle よ can also follow an imperative form, including an う-verb imperative:
Here, 行け is the imperative form of the う-verb 行く, and よ is a sentence-final particle. Thus, 行けよ does not contain the …よ imperative ending found in 捧げよ. Expressions such as 行けよ！ are also familiar from dramatic dialogue and anime/song lyrics, including Gundam-related songs. Compare:
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