Causative vs. Causative-Passives

3 comments

1. 1. My wife makes me take out the trash.

   2. I am made to take out the trash but my wife.

   Just like in English the difference is about the focus of the sentence.

2. The causative may have a negative meaning depending on the context.
   You use the causative passive when you really want to put an empasis on how miserable your wife making you take the trash out makes you.

3. Change the word “passive” to “receptive”.

   For example:
   ・犬を食べさせる is causative, I make/let the dog eat; I feed the dog.

   ・人を食べられた is receptive, somone received being eaten, got eaten.

   ・この子が怪我をさせられた is causative receptive, this child was caused to receive an injury (by someone or something).

   Now your example:
   ・家内は私にゴミを出させる – [My wife] makes me take out the trash, she causes me to do it.

   ・私は家内にゴミを出させられる – [ I ] recieve (the chore of) taking out the trash from my wife. I am caused to recieve taking out the trash.

   Notice the change in focus I marked with brackets [ ], these are caused by the は particle pointing to different topics. There is a difference in saying 私は and 家内は。It has a comparative quality.

   For example, if you say「キチンはきれい」in someone’s house, it sounds like you’re saying “Your kitchen is the only place in your house that is clean”. The は particle can be comparative like this.

   Another way to think of it is the answer to two different questions.

   1. “Why are you taking out the trash at this hour?” 家内は My wife is making me do it.

   2. “Who takes out the trash in your guys’ households?” 私は As for me, my wife makes me do it, as opposed to how it works for Taro-kun, who makes his kids do it.