Imagine this happened: Kobayashi dropped the cup.
Japanese can describe this in five different ways, each with a different perspective:
| Form | Japanese | English | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain | 小林がコップを落とした。 | Kobayashi dropped the cup. | Simple statement |
| General passive | コップが小林に落とされた。 | The cup was dropped by Kobayashi. | Thing as subject, objective |
| Adversative passive | （私は）小林にコップを落とされた。 | Kobayashi dropped my cup (I'm annoyed). | Person as subject, resentful |
| Causative | （私は）小林にコップを落とさせた。 | I made Kobayashi drop the cup. | I gave the order |
| Causative-passive | （私は）小林にコップを落とさせられた。 | I was forced by Kobayashi to drop the cup. | I was compelled |
How to Choose: Find the Subject First
The right form depends on who the subject is and what the feeling is:
- Subject is a thing → general passive
- Subject is a person + neutral → plain form
- Subject is a person + resentful → adversative passive
- Subject is the commander → causative
- Subject is the one being compelled → causative-passive
The Most Common Mistake: Inconsistent Subjects
Consider this: "After hearing what he said, it gave me a huge shock."
❌ Wrong: 彼の話を聞いて、私をびっくりさせた。
Why wrong? "Heard what he said" has "I" as subject, but "gave me a shock" switches to "his words" as subject. In Japanese, subjects must stay consistent.
✅ Correct: 彼の話を聞いて、びっくりさせられた。
Subject stays as "I" throughout — I heard, I was shocked.
Another example:
| Situation | A phone rang late at night and scared me. |
|---|---|
| ❌ | 深夜に電話が鳴って、私をびっくりさせた。 |
| ✅ | 深夜に電話が鳴って、びっくりさせられた。 |
Iron rule: The subject of causative-passive = the doer = the victim. Must be consistent throughout.
If you insist on causative, change the subject to "the sound":
- 深夜における電話の鳴りが私をびっくりさせた。 → The phone ringing late at night shocked me. (Causative: the sound is the subject)
Causative-Passive Subjects Must Be People
Causative-passive expresses being "forced," and only people can be forced.
- ✅ 私は毎日残業させられている。 → I'm forced to work overtime every day.
- ❌ A refrigerator "forced to be opened 20 times" — objects don't feel coercion.
So when the subject is a thing, don't use causative-passive:
高速道路が開通して、この辺りは便利になった。
Plain intransitive is fine — "highway" and "this area" are both things.
Practice
Q1. 「電気が発明＿＿、人間の生活が大きく変わった。」Fill in:
A. して B. されて C. させて D. させられて
Show answer
B. されて. 「発明する」is transitive, thing (electricity) as subject → passive. Can't use causative-passive (D) because "electricity" isn't a person.
Q2. Why can't「彼の不用意な発言が会場の空気を悪くした」use causative-passive?
Show answer
The subject is「発言」(a remark) — a thing, not a person. Things can't be "forced." The transitivized form (悪くする) works here.
Q3. What's wrong with「彼の話を聞いて、私をびっくりさせた」?
Show answer
Inconsistent subjects. Correct: 彼の話を聞いて、びっくりさせられた。 (Subject stays as "I")
Summary
- The same event can be expressed in five voice forms — the key is subject and nuance
- Decision order: find the subject → choose the voice
- Japanese subjects must be consistent throughout the sentence — the biggest difference from many other languages
- Causative-passive subjects must be people (things can't be "forced")