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I'm trying to better grasp the passive voice in Japanese based on these four
sentences. So far I can tell that the first sentence is direct passive and the
second and third one indirect passive.

>   1. 私はお姉ちゃんに食べられた。
>

  1. This implies that I was eaten by my sister quite literally.

>   2. 私はお姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた。
>

  2. By having a direct object this implies that MY cake was eaten and not me.

>   3. お姉ちゃんに私のケーキを食べられた
>

  3. Now this is where I was questioning myself if this even acceptable to say. I know the second sentence is the more natural one but I wanted to know if this one is correct or does not make any sense.

>   4. 私のケーキはお姉ちゃんに食べられた。
>

  4. And lastly there is this sentence that is bugging me since I think it has the same meaning as the second one. Only that it is in direct passive form.

Any help clearing the differences will be appreciated.
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2022-08-30T07:23:05.850
96048
2022-08-30T13:13:29.237
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question
grammar nuances passive-voice
Is it wrong to say お姉ちゃんに私のケーキを食べられた instead of 私はお姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた ? (Passive voice)
1 is a cannibalism, as you say.

2 is the so-called 迷惑の受け身 (see
[this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/50432/45489) for example). In
English, it is usually rendered as _I had my cake eaten by my sister_.

Practically 3 means the same, but due to its meaning (and because it is
clearly a 迷惑の受け身 here), it is obvious that it is MY cake, which makes 私の sound
redundant. What is more natural about 3 than 2 is that it has the subject
omitted. So all in all お姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた is the most natural.

As for 4, the subject is 私のケーキ and the sentence literally corresponds to _My
cake was eaten by my sister_. It is fine, but perhaps less natural because
inanimate subjects are less frequent in Japanese (I believe). Also, it does
not have the connotation of being harmed (or at least less than 2 and 3).
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2022-08-30T12:28:03.877
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answer
The third sentence is fine.

>   3. お姉ちゃんに私のケーキを食べられた。
>

I would say it’s more natural than the second as a standalone sentence.

>   2. 私はお姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた。
>

私は stands out in this sentence as if you are contrasting your situation with
someone else’s.

> 弟はお兄ちゃんに殴られて、私はお姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた。

If no such contrast is intended, you should remove 私 altogether.

> お姉ちゃんにケーキを食べられた。

Unless context suggests otherwise, you, as the speaker, are still understood
as the “sufferer.”

The difference from #3 is simply that this sentence is less specific about the
cake belonging to you. It could be that your sister ate a cake you had kept
aside for your mother.

The following sentence is also perfectly fine.

> お姉ちゃんにお母さんのケーキを食べられた。

The cake belonged to your mother, but you are the one “suffering” from your
sister eating it.

The fourth sentence is also correct.

>   4. 私のケーキはお姉ちゃんに食べられた。
>

However, it is a statement about your cake (私のケーキ) the way #2 is a statement
about yourself (私). It sounds like you are contrasting your cake with
something else.

> 弟のケーキはまだあるけど、私のケーキはお姉ちゃんに食べられた。

In any case, you are the "sufferer."
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answer