Converting Verbs To Passive Form
“I once knew a man who said death is always smiling at all of us. All a man can do is smile back.” – Maximus
The first step is to learn how to convert verbs from regular form (either ます or dictionary) to passive form. Passive form is pretty simple to get to as long as you know your dictionary form pretty well, which I believe you do, if you’ve been keeping up with your Anki decks.
You know how there are two types of verbs? Group 1 and Group 2 (and I suppose the exceptions group too, though it’s tiny)? As with a lot of verb forms, both groups have their own set of rules for conversion. They are:
Group 1:
v.dict.neg → stem → +れる
Best way is to look at an example.
出さない → 出さ → 出される
なおさない → なおさ → なおされる
So, we’re changing the Group 1 verb to negative dictionary form – then, we take the stem of it (everything up to the “a” sound), and then add れる to it. This won’t tell you how to use passive form (not yet anyways), but you have to learn how to convert the verbs before you can use them.
Group 2:
v.stem → +られる
たべる → たべ → たべられる
あつめる → あつめ → あつめられる
With Group 2 verbs it’s easier. You just go down to stem form and add られる to it. Notice how there’s an extra ら in the れる (unlike group 1)? Group 1′s negative form takes care of the “a” sound needed to convert things over to passive form. Group 2 does not have this, so you add the ら into the られる. It’s an important but subtle difference that will take some time to master. Lots of little progress over a long period of time will be the key to getting these down.
Exceptions
There’s always the exceptions. The usuals are present.
来る（くる） → 来られる（こられる）
する → される
You’ll have to memorize these if you want to learn them (and trust me, you do!). Make sure to add these two measly bits of information to your brain before moving on, and also make sure you have a pretty good idea of how to deal with Group 1 and Group 2 verbs as well. You’ll be needing that information right… about… now!