I62: Passive, potential, particle problems

[andycarmenjapanese8100]

サボっているところを先生に見られた。
I was seen skipping class by the teacher.（→passive）

Why is "o" used here rather than "ni"? If the sentence was "sabotte iru toki ni sensei ni mirareta" then "ni" would be used, and "tokoro" and "toki" mean the same thing in those two sentences.

7. 村上アグネス: うん、入社早々大きな仕事を任されちゃって、全然終わらないん
だ。
8. 橋本雄介: そうか、大変だなあ。でも、すぐに大事な仕事を任されるなんて、
期待されてるね。

7. AGUNESU: Un, nyūsha sōsō ōki na shigoto o makasare chatte, zenzen
owaranai n da.
8. YŪSUKE: Sō ka, taihen da nā. Demo, sugu ni daiji na shigoto o makasareru
nante, kitaisarete ru ne.

7. AGNES: Well, I was given a huge project immediately after joining the
company. And I can't seem to finish it.
8. YUSUKE: Wow, that sounds tough. But they must have a lot of faith in you for
them to give you such a huge project.

From the PDF:



It clearly states that "makasareru" and "kitai sareru" in the dialogue is potential form rather than passive.

However, they both look like passive to me. I can't understand how they could be potential. Can somebody explain them to me?

10. 橋本雄介: いや、また週末にでも食事にどうかなあ、と思って。
10. YŪSUKE: Iya, mata shūmatsu ni demo shokuji ni dō ka nā, to omotte.
10. YUSUKE: Well. I thought we could do dinner this weekend.

There are lots of different particles here and most of them don't seem to be necessary. Why not just "ni"? What are the "de" and "mo" doing?

[mmmason8967]

サボっているところを先生に見られた。
I was seen skipping class by the teacher.（→passive）

Why is "o" used here rather than "ni"? If the sentence was "sabotte iru toki ni sensei ni mirareta" then "ni" would be used, and "tokoro" and "toki" mean the same thing in those two sentences.

I think that tokoro is a kind of abstract place rather than a point in time (which toki is). There's a rough equivalent in English when you're talking about, say, a film. For example, talking about Easy Rider you might say "I like the bit where they ride through Monument Valley", treating that point in the film as if it was a place.

So sabotte iru tokoro is marked with wo because it's a "place" and it's the direct object of miru.

でも、すぐに大事な仕事を任されるなんて、期待されてるね。
Demo, sugu ni daiji na shigoto o makasareru nante, kitaisarete ru ne.
But they must have a lot of faith in you for them to give you such a huge project.

[The PDF] clearly states that "makasareru" and "kitai sareru" in the dialogue is potential form rather than passive.

However, they both look like passive to me. I can't understand how they could be potential. Can somebody explain them to me?

As far as I can see, it could be either...
Potential: "But if they can give you important work straight away, it means they feel they can trust you, doesn't it."
Passive: "But if you're given important work straight away, it means you are thought to be capable, doesn't it."

マイケル

[community.japanese]

andycarmenjapanese8100 san,

konnichiwa.

任される and 期待されてる form すぐに大事な仕事を任されるなんて、期待されてるね are both passive forms.
The sentence is actually アグネスは会社からすぐに大事な仕事を任されるなんて、期待されてるね.　The first part is omitted because it’s obvious.

Yuki 　由紀
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