Active? Passive? Causative? Causative-Passive? edited on Sat 15 March

pic courtesy of: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-PlTGfR03bqstoxo69slbrUdpsLc-?cq=1&tag=causative#void(0);


I've always had loads of confusion when it comes to the understanding of the passive, causative and causative-passive forms, so i'm gonna try explaining wat i understand with the help of the table above :D

First up, we have 3 key people here, Satou　「さとう」, Suzuki 「すずき」, and Yoshida [よしだ].

I also rearranged the order of the particles to show a clearer comparison than in the graphic. So before we get to the understanding of the following forms, we need to see how the Active form of a sentence is like. Taking the first sentence,


1. Suzuki GA Yoshida WO oshimashita. (active voice)
Suzuki pushed Yoshida.

Now, this transitive verb 'oshimashita' is the past tense form which comes from its dictionary form 'osu', which means 'to push [something]'. Wat we're interested in this sentence is WHO pushed who, i.e the SUBJECT of the sentence. Thus very clearly, we see Suzuki (marked with particle GA) as both the Subject AND Agent of the transitive action verb 'to push'. So Suzuki is the MAIN emphasis of the sentence.

Note: In active transitive verb sentences, GA marks the subject AND agent of the action. WO marks the object of the transitive verb.

Proceeding with the next sentence, passive form.


2. Yoshida GA Suzuki NI osaremashita. (passive voice)
Yoshida was pushed by Suzuki.

Now comparing the difference in the 2 sentences, wat do we see? The form of the verb has changed, the subject has changed, and the agent and object have also been marked with different particles. The emphasis has totally changed!

NOW, who we are interested in, is no longer Suzuki but Yoshida. In a passive sentence, we are interested in who was the recipient of the action. I.e, we are interested in WHO GOT PUSHED? Thus, we mark this person with the subject particle GA. Therefore, Yoshida both Subject AND Recipient/Object of the passive action is marked with GA.

The subject is pushed by the agent of the transitive action verb. Notice also, dat now Suzuki is no longer the main emphasis (thus he is no longer the subject of the sentence) BUT he remains the agent of the action marked with particle NI.

Notes: In passive sentences as such, agent of the action is marked with NI. Emphasis is placed on the person receiving the action of the agent.



Now this is the really interesting part of the blog entry. Let's now look at a totally different kind of sentence.. the causative form. Here, a NEW person is introduced into the fold - Satou~

3. Satou GA Suzuki NI Yoshida WO osasemashita. (causative form)
Satou MADE/(caused) Suzuki push Yoshida.

WHOA.. the verb form has changed again! And now we also see a 2nd agent involved here. In this causative sentence, the emphasis is WHO made who push who? Hahah! Interesting? Read on..

Thus we have marked Satou as the subject AND agent of the causative sentence with the subject particle GA. He is the empahsis of the entire causative sentence.

We then mark with particle NI the person who was made to do the dirty job of pushing someone else, in this case Suzuki, otherwise known as the VICTIM of the causative action.

Lastly the RECIPIENT (very different from the victim) of the action, on whom the action was dealt against, is marked with the object particle WO.

Notes: In a causative sentence like this, there are 3 elements. Who forced the action, who was made to carry out the action, and lastly who was the direct receiver of dat action carried out.
Also, you can compare it with the Active sentence and see dat in both cases, Suzuki did the pushing and Yoshida was the person pushed. However, there is one additional element in the causative which shows the nuance of Satou instigating Suzuki to push Yoshida.



And now the finale of it all.. the causative-passive! As you can guess, it is causative plus passive form fused together. ANd this is also a tough grammatical expression even for native Japanese speakers. So if u really cant get it, no problem. Just take consolation in the fact dat there are some Japanese who dun really get it too :D


4. Suzuki GA Satou NI Yoshida WO osaseraremashita. (causative-passive form)
Suzuki WAS MADE BY Satou to push Yoshida.

Compare this with the causative sentence above and you can guess by now where we are headed to :D It has an uncanny parallel to the causative sentence wat the passive has to the active sentence rite? Hence, the term causative-passive.

Now causative-passive sentences differ from causative sentences obviously. The most distinct difference being the subject or emphasis of the sentence. The same goes with passive sentences. In passive sentences, we merely know who was pushed by who, but in a causative sentence, we see who was made by whom to push who :)

NOw, the emphasis shifts from Satou back to Suzuki. Suzuki is now both Subject AND Victim marked with GA, while Satou remains the agent of the causative-passive verb marked with NI.

Yoshida as always, remains RECIPIENT of the causative-passive verb action, and is marked with WO. If you now compare this with the passive sentence, i'm sure you can pick out the difference :D

Wat's more, in causative-passive sentences, there is an added nuance of negativity on the part of the subject. I.e the subject feels 'victimised'. Passive sentences can also have such connotations :)



Okie, there it is, my understanding of these 4 really intriguing sentences :) I know it messes up the brains quite a bit :) But dat's why it's interesting to study! hahah! Alrite yea, i'm a abit sick up here (points to head)...

To sum up, let's just use the subjects with their verbs in active, passive, causative and causative-passive forms.

1. Suzuki GA oshimashita. (active voice)
lit. "Suzuki pushed (something or someone)."

2. Yoshida GA osaremashita. (passive voice)
lit. "Yoshida was pushed (by something or someone)."

3. Satou GA osasemashita. (causative voice)
lit. "Satou caused (something/someone) to push (something/someone)."

4. Suzuki GA osaseraremashita. (causative-passive voice)
lit. "Suzuki was caused/made (by something/someone) to push (something/someone)."

Yatta!!