Verb Forms Japanese Grammar Lessons

受身＋によって uses noun + によって to name the agent (doer) of a passive action, especially in formal, written, or report-style Japanese. It is most natural with institutions, companies, governments, inventions, and natural forces, and it only works when the verb is already passive. In everyday talk about a personal doer, agent に is usually preferred; many passives also omit the agent entirely.

In a causative sentence, に marks the causee—the person who is made or allowed to perform the action—while the causative verb remains the predicate. With a transitive base verb, the directed person normally takes に so the original object can keep を; with some intransitive bases, に often frames permission, allowance, or assigning an action. Learners meet this layout at N4 once they know causative forms, and it is easy to confuse with passive agent に or with nearby causee を.

In a causative sentence, を can mark the person who is made to perform the action (the causee). This pattern is especially common when the base verb is intransitive, or when the sentence does not also need a separate direct object with を. You will meet it at N4 when talking about control, instructions, training, and directed actions such as making someone stand, run, sit, or go to bed.

短縮使役受身 is the shortened causative-passive surface for many godan verbs: Take the same あ-row shape used before ない, then add される, as in 行かされる “(I) am made to go.” It packages the “be made / forced to do” meaning in a compact form that is common in everyday narrative, often with an adversative or imposed feel for the person who had to act. Learners usually meet it around N4 as an enrichment voice form, after causative and passive, and should keep the long twin 〜せられる and plain passive 〜れる / 〜られる as recognition contrasts rather than as this lesson’s main target.

～へん is a casual Kansai dialect ending that marks verb negation, roughly matching standard plain ～ない in everyday meaning. You will mainly meet it in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and nearby spoken Japanese, plus regional media and comedy. Treat it as enrichment recognition: Understand it when you hear it, but keep standard ～ない and ～ません for careful speech, writing, and exams.

～とる is a spoken or dialect surface that carries the same broad aspect readings as standard ている and ておる: an action in progress, a continuing state or habit, or a resulting state after a change. Learners mainly meet it in casual talk, regional speech, and media that imitate dialect; for ordinary standard Japanese production, ている or polite ています remains the safer default. This enrichment lesson trains recognition and controlled mapping: Hear verb te-form plus とる, recover the ている / ておる meaning, and avoid treating ～とる as formal written or exam Japanese.