を見つかる？

T

The7thSamurai

Master of the Universe

4 Feb 2005

765

27

• 1 Nov 2007

• #1

Hey everyone,

I can't understand why this sentence uses 見つかる as a transitive verb...

今朝は危ないところだった。机でコンピューターゲームをやっているところを、上司に見つかりそうになった

Shouldn't it be ～を上司に見つけられそうになった? I.e. the passive form of the transitive verb 見つける?

 

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 1 Nov 2007

• #2

For some reason, 見つかりそう sounds right. There might be a nuanced difference in meaning, like shifting the emphasis slightly. Although both make sense, when there's a transitivity pair, the second form seems more common than a conjugation of the first; 見つけられそう seems overly complicated.

 

Elizabeth

先輩

22 Apr 2003

9,839

135

• 1 Nov 2007

• #3

nice gaijin said:

For some reason, 見つかりそう sounds right. There might be a nuanced difference in meaning, like shifting the emphasis slightly. Although both make sense, when there's a transitivity pair, the second form seems more common than a conjugation of the first; 見つけられそう seems overly complicated.

Click to expand...

見つかりそう is fine. I'm wondering why it's marked with an を not が but simply too tired now to give it much thought.

 

orochi

便利屋

1 May 2004

692

25

• 1 Nov 2007

• #4

For the same reason you'd say:

警察に捕まった。
I got nabbed by the cops.

 

JimmySeal

Tubthumper

5 Mar 2006

1,516

78

• 1 Nov 2007

• #5

Still, the を in this sentence should probably be が, but I can't say that with complete certainty.