Activities: What is the causative-passive form in Japanese?

Exercise 1: Causative-passive practice

Let’s review how to make the causative-passive form of verbs first; then we’ll practice turning causative sentences into causative-passive sentences. Ready?

Part 1: Fill in the blanks

For the u-verb, write the short passive-causative form.

	u-verb	ru-verb	Irregular	Irregular
Dictionary form	泳ぐ oyogu to swim	覚える oboeru to memorize	持って来る motte kuru to bring	残業する zangyō suru to work overtime
Causative form	泳がせる oyogaseru		持って来させる motte kosaseru
Causative- passive form	(short form)

Part 2: Complete the sentences

First, complete each causative sentence using one of the verbs above, and its English translation. Then rewrite the sentence from the viewpoint of the underlined person or people. You may need to change the form of verbs according to the context.

金曜日なのに社長は社員に８時まで。
Kin’yōbi nanoni shachō wa shain ni hachi ji made ... .
Even though it’s Friday, the president made the employees until 8:00.
Now, rewrite from the point of view of 社員[shain](company employees).
金曜日なのに社員は　。
Kin’yōbi nanoni shain wa ... .
Even though it’s Friday, the employees .
テストとして、体育の先生は生徒たちに２５メートル。
Tesuto to shite, tai’iku no sensei wa seitotachi ni nijūgo mētoru ... .
For the test, the gym teacher the students 25 meters.
Now, rewrite from the point of view of 生徒たち[seitotachi](students).
テストとして、生徒たちは　。
Tesuto to shite, seitotachi wa ... .
For the test, the students .
田中先生は私たちに漢字を１００個。
Tanaka sensei wa watashitachi ni kanji o hyakko ... .
Tanaka sensei us 100 kanji.
Now, rewrite from the point of view of 私たち[watashitachi](us).
私たちは　。
Watashitachi wa ... .
We .
ジョンはパーティーの客に自分たちの飲み物を　。
Jon wa pātii no kyaku ni jibuntachi no nomimono o ... .
John the party guests their own drinks.
Now, rewrite from the point of view of パーティーの客[pātii no kyaku](party guests).
パーティーの客は　。
Pātii no kyaku wa ... .
The party guests .

Exercise 2: The class reunion

It's Zoom class reunion time for Mango Japanese language school! After exchanging the latest news, some of you have started sharing childhood memories, and the topic turned to how strict and unfair your parents were back then. Let’s help each of your friends complete their sentences in Japanese, using causative-passive sentences! We have verbs listed in Word Bank. You can use each verb only once. Don’t forget to change its form as needed! For u-verbs, let’s use the short form.

Word Bank

通う
kayou
to attend
習う
narau
to learn;
to take lessons

替える
kaeru
to change
食べる
taberu
to eat

捨てる
suteru
to throw out;
to discard
勉強する
naraubenkyō suru
to study

In the following conversation, everyone knows that the “causer” is their parents. So we can omit the “by my parents” part.

Jun Hie:
僕は夏休みも毎日。
Boku wa natsuyasumi mo mainichi ... .
I was made to everyday even during the summer break.
Maria:
私はやりたくないのにバレエを。
Watashi wa yaritakunai noni barē o ... .
I was made to ballet even though I didn’t want to.
Fred:
俺なんか、妹といっしょにアイリッシュダンス教室に。
Ore nanka, imōto to issho ni airisshu dansu kyōshitsu ni ... .
As for me, I was made to Irish dance classes with my younger sister.
Keira:
私はきらいなにんじんを毎日　。
Watashi wa kiraina ninjin o mainichi ... .
Everyday, I was made to carrots, which I dislike.
Bob:
僕は大事にしていた漫画の本を　！
Boku wa daiji ni shiteita manga no hon o ... !
I was made to my cherished comic books!
Mina:
私？双子の弟のおむつを。
Watashi? Futago no otōto no omutsu o ... .
Me? I was made to the diapers for my twin younger brothers.
You!
Can you share your own childhood grudge against any of your family members? Try to come up with a short causative-passive sentence!
Here’s just one example. The correct answer is up to you!
私は毎日日記をつけさせられた。
Watashi wa mainichi nikki o tsukesaserareta.
I was made to keep a diary every day.
Your turn!

Exercise 3: Dialogue

Read each situation and short dialogue and fill in the blank by choosing the most appropriate option. When the translation is not given, we have provided the definitions of each word.