Explanation
Use the past simple passive when the action is important, but the doer is not important.
Say "The room was cleaned yesterday." Here "The room" is the thing that received the action. "Was" shows past time, and "cleaned" is the past participle. The word "yesterday" tells us when it happened. If you want to say who did it, add "by": "The room was cleaned by the staff." In Japanese, this often sounds like "部屋が掃除された". English needs the be verb, so do not leave it out.
動作そのものが大事で、だれがしたかはあまり大事でないときに、過去の受け身を使います。
たとえば "The room was cleaned yesterday." です。ここでは "The room" が動作を受ける側です。"Was" が過去を表し、"cleaned" が過去分詞です。"yesterday" は、いつ起きたかを示しています。だれがしたかを言いたいときは "by" を足して、"The room was cleaned by the staff." と言えます。日本語では「部屋が掃除された」のように言います。英語では be 動詞が必要なので、そこを省かないことが大切です。
Examples
- The room was cleaned yesterday. その部屋は昨日掃除されました。
- My bike was repaired last week. 私の自転車は先週修理されました。
- Was the letter sent this morning? その手紙は今朝送られましたか。
- The cake wasn't made by me. そのケーキは私が作ったのではありません。
- Our dog was shampooed last Wednesday. うちの犬は先週の水曜日にシャンプーしました。
- Our house was built in 1980. 私たちの家は1980年に建てられました。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often forget the be verb or use the base verb after it.
Wrong: "The room cleaned yesterday." or "The room was clean yesterday."
Right: "The room was cleaned yesterday."
Also remember to use "was" with singular subjects and "were" with plural subjects.
日本人学習者は、be動詞を抜かしたり、be動詞のあとに原形を置いたりしがちです。
誤り: "The room cleaned yesterday." や "The room was clean yesterday."
正しくは "The room was cleaned yesterday." です。
また、主語が単数なら "was"、複数なら "were" を使うことも忘れないでください。