Look at these three sentences, all saying "the car is parked there":
A. 車はあそこに止まっている。
B. 車はあそこに止めてある。
C. 車はあそこに止められている。
Translated into English they're almost identical, but in Japanese the nuance is worlds apart. Understanding this distinction means mastering modern Japanese's most common passive form.
The Real Difference Between Three Ways to Say "Parked"
A. Intransitive + ている → Simply describing a state
車はあそこに止まっている。 → The car is parked there.
Just describing what you see — no concern for who parked it or why. Like taking a photo.
B. Transitive + てある → Emphasizing "someone did this"
車はあそこに止めてある。 → The car has been parked there (by someone).
Implication: someone intentionally parked it, and the resulting state remains. Like telling a friend "I've already parked the car."
C. Transitive + passive + ている → Thing as subject in passive
車はあそこに止められている。 → The car has been parked there (by someone).
This is intransitivized passive — using a thing as the subject, implying someone performed the action without specifying who. You could ask: parked by whom?
| Expression | Perspective | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| 止まっている | Seeing a state | The car is there (nothing to do with me) |
| 止めてある | Someone did something | Someone deliberately parked it (result remains) |
| 止められている | Something was done to it | The car was parked (implies someone did it) |
Why Does Japanese Need "Intransitivization"?
You might ask: if there's already the intransitive verb 止まる, why use a passive form?
Three reasons:
1. Some transitive verbs have no corresponding intransitive verb
Not every transitive verb in Japanese has a paired intransitive verb. When you want to use a thing as the subject but there's no intransitive verb available, passive fills the role.
-
この洗剤はみんなに使われているようだ。 → This detergent seems to be used by everyone.
使う has no corresponding intransitive verb. Want 洗剤 as the subject? Passive is the only option.
2. Avoiding mention of people — more indirect, more objective
Japanese culture tends to avoid naming names or assigning blame. Passive with a thing as subject lets you hide "who did it."
-
来月、運動会が行われることになった。 → A sports day will be held next month.
Compare active: 来月、学校が運動会を行うことになった。 → The school will hold a sports day next month.
The passive version sounds more like a news report — objective and neutral.
3. Describing objective facts, systems, rules
Academic, news, and official texts heavily use this type of passive:
-
この法律は1950年に制定された。 → This law was enacted in 1950.
-
調査の結果が公表された。 → The survey results have been published.
Passive in Modifiers: Modify a Thing = Use Passive
This is a very practical rule:
Transitive verb modifying a thing → use passive form
Transitive verb modifying a person → use active form
| What's Modified | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Modifying a person | 使用している社員が多い | Many employees are using (it) |
| Modifying a thing | 使用されている機械 | The machine being used |
Why? Because a machine can't "use" itself — it must "be used." When modifying things, passive is the logical choice.
- 世界中で読まれている本 → A book read worldwide
- 多くの人に愛されている曲 → A song loved by many
- 最近発売された商品 → A recently released product
Adversative Passive vs Intransitivization: Same Passive, Different Meaning
Don't confuse them — transitive verb passive isn't always intransitivization; it can also be adversative:
Intransitivization (thing as subject, objective):
- 車はあそこに止められている。 → The car is parked there.
Adversative passive (person as subject, resentful):
- （私は）車をあそこに止められた。 → Someone parked their car there (and it's causing me trouble).
The key: Is the subject a person or a thing?
| Intransitivization | Adversative Passive | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Thing/event | Person |
| Nuance | Objective description | Resentment |
| Purpose | Substitute for missing intransitive | Express adversity |
Self-Test
Q1. 「新しいビルがこの場所に建てられた。」Intransitivization or adversative?
Show answer
Intransitivization. The subject is 新しいビル (a thing) — objectively describing "a new building was built here."
Q2. 「駐車場に知らない車を止められて、出られなくなった。」
Show answer
Adversative passive. The subject is "I" (omitted) — "Someone parked an unknown car in the parking lot, and now I can't get out."
Q3. Rewrite using passive with この曲 as the subject: 「世界中の人がこの曲を聴いている。」
Show answer
この曲は世界中の人に聴かれている。 Intransitivization — using a thing as the subject to objectively describe this song being listened to worldwide.
Summary
- Transitive verb + passive = intransitive function — modern Japanese's most common passive form
- Three use cases: no corresponding intransitive verb, avoiding mention of people, describing objective facts
- When modifying things, transitive verbs should use passive form
- Distinguishing intransitivization vs adversative: Is the subject a thing (objective) or a person (adversative)?