Hello, we are currently learning the grammar structure: にもかかわらず (Although/In spite of) and I came accross this sentence:
テレビの普及にもかかわらず、日本人は新聞がよく読ま れている。
(In spite of television being widespread, Japanese people often read the newspaper.)
My question is, why is 読む turned into 読まれ (Passive)? I thought passive voice was used when the object is the topic of the sentence (that is, when you need to say "was" eg. was written, was discovered etc.)? Can the sentence be written as:
テレビの普及にもかかわらず、日本人は新聞がよく読ん でいる。 ??
Or does 「にもかかわらず」 need passive voice to work properly?
Thank you
テレビの普及にもかかわらず、日本人は新聞がよく読ま れている。
(In spite of television being widespread, Japanese people often read the newspaper.)
My question is, why is 読む turned into 読まれ (Passive)? I thought passive voice was used when the object is the topic of the sentence (that is, when you need to say "was" eg. was written, was discovered etc.)? Can the sentence be written as:
テレビの普及にもかかわらず、日本人は新聞がよく読ん でいる。 ??
Or does 「にもかかわらず」 need passive voice to work properly?
Thank you