Passive & Causative

Introduction

The passive and causative forms transform who does what in a sentence. The passive lets you describe being affected by actions, while the causative expresses making or letting someone do something.

These forms are used far more frequently in Japanese than their English equivalents.

Themes

All Japanese Grammar Basic in This Chapter (9)

1. ～られる (passive) られる Indicates the passive voice, where the subject is affected by an action performed by someone or something else. The agent of the action i...
2. ～られる (potential) られる Expresses ability or possibility, indicating that someone can do something or that something is possible. It is the potential form of Gro...
3. ～させる (causative) させる Expresses causing or allowing someone to do something, or causing something to change its state. It can convey both coercion and permissi...
4. ～あげる (giving a thing) あげる Indicates giving something to a person who is not a member of the giver's in-group, or to someone of equal or lower social status. The gi...
5. ～てあげる (doing a favour) てあげる Indicates doing something as a favour for someone who is not a member of the giver's in-group. The action is performed from the doer's pe...
6. 呉れる・くれる (receiving a thing) くれる Indicates that someone gives something to the speaker or to someone in the speaker's in-group. The speaker is the recipient or empathises...
7. ～てくれる (receiving a favour) てくれる Indicates that someone does something as a favour for the speaker or for someone the speaker empathises with. It expresses the speaker's ...
8. ～もらう (receiving a thing) もらう Indicates that the speaker or someone the speaker empathises with receives something from another person. The focus is on the act of rece...
9. ～てもらう (receiving a favour) てもらう Indicates that the speaker or someone the speaker empathises with receives a beneficial action from another person. It emphasises that th...