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Your example "probably made to wait (= the subject was/will be probably made to wait)" is passive, as Mike-san pointed out. された/される is coming from here.I don't understand where the された is coming from in this 待たされただろう。(from Mike). What conjugation is this?
に indicates the target the letter is sent to, so the first sentence is interpreted as "A letter was written for Tanaka (by someone)". によって is used to indicate the writer instead of に in this case, i.e, 手紙が田中さんによって書かれました。 "A letter was written by Tanaka".I am also having trouble defining just what the passive form is.
For example, what's the difference between these two sentences?
手紙が田中さんに書かれました。
田中さんが手紙を書きました。
The only thing I can think of is that it's less direct? The first one moreso reporting passively that he wrote a letter. And the second stating a blunt fact that he wrote a letter? Confusing. What would the meaning be if I changed the first sentence to 手紙が田中さんに書きました。?
Where did you get it from?Am I also right in saying that passive ... is usually encouraged in literature, unlike in English?
So you would suggest generally using だろう in most cases, rather than using the volitional form to express presumption?This usage is a bit classical, so ~だろう is far more commonly used in modern Japanese (e.g. 明日は雨が降るだろう).
に indicates the target the letter is sent to, so the first sentence is interpreted as "A letter was written for Tanaka (by someone)".
The passive sentence has several functions, for instance It can hide the agent, or it can connect clauses without changing the subject.
Where did you get it from?
Yes, except in some set phrases or proverbs.So you would suggest generally using だろう in most cases, rather than using the volitional form to express presumption?
That explanation is indeed in this forum, but I have to say that's wrong. See the following thread about the ambigouity of what に indicates in a kind of passive sentences/clauses.The lesson here states 'by' Tanaka. Passive Forms
"手紙が田中さんに書かれました。
Tegami ga Tanaka-san ni kakaremashita.
The letter was written by Mr. Tanaka."
"No need to mention" might be more appropriate than "to hide". As you can see in your example sentence "I was made to wait", this causative passive sentence is valid without stating the causer also in English, unlike the causative active sentence "(the subject) made me wait", isn't it? This is one of the functions of the passive voice.So I could hide the agent by omitting 田中さん?
That explanation is indeed in this forum, but I have to say that's wrong. See the following thread about the ambigouity of what に indicates in a kind of passive sentences/clauses.
https://jref.com/threads/許されて-よくなっていた-来さえしたら.53521/#post-732577
Yeah I checked with my Japanese friend yesterday and she confirmed that it was a mistake. I'll definitely take a look at this link though.
Thanks for all the help.
I bet Toritoribe-san would be glad to have you consider him your Japanese friend as well. He's exceptionally nice about things like that.
what kind of form is that ?待たされた
Your original is passive, don't forget.
what kind of form is that ?
shouldn't causative-passive form is 待たせられた
Japanese verb conjugation - Wikipediawhat kind of form is that ?
shouldn't causative-passive form is 待たせられた
I always think "classical form origin" is more appropriate than the terms such like "shortened", "contracted" or "abbreviation"
http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/116051/m0u/す/す
[補説]中世以降、下一段化して、現代語の「せる」となる。
食べれる is called ら抜き言葉. That's not "due to difficulty in pronunciation", but "to distinguish potential form and passive form". In fact, ら is never omitted in passive forms.I read something particularly interesting on that page. So it's not just me that finds られる difficult to pronounce? Making the rolled r sound consecutively in this way is kind of difficult for me. Is this common? And are there shortened versions for potential verbs? (食べられる・食べれる)
I always think "classical form origin" is more appropriate than the terms such like "shortened", "contracted" or "abbreviation"
http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/116051/m0u/す/
食べれる is called ら抜き言葉. That's not "due to difficulty in pronunciation", but "to distinguish potential form and passive form". In fact, ら is never omitted in passive forms.
ら抜き言葉 is indeed used widely in colloquial conversations, but is considered grammatically wrong. I recommend learners not to use it.
Here's an old thread of the same topic. See the reaction of Ashi-san, who is also a native Japanese speaker, in his post.
~emasu & ~raremasu