Detailed Grammatical Breakdown of 「苦しめられている」
Detailed Grammatical Breakdown of 「苦しめられている」
Thank you for the clarification. Let’s properly analyze 「苦しめられている」 as:
苦しめる (kurushimeru) + られる (rareru) + て (te) + いる (iru)
Here’s the complete linguistic breakdown in English:
1. 苦しめる (kurushimeru)
Part of Speech: Transitive Verb (他動詞)
- Dictionary Form: 苦しめる
- Verb Type: Ichidan (一段) verb (also called “ru-verb”)
- Meaning:
- “to torment/to make someone suffer” (transitive)
- Contrast with intransitive 苦しむ (“to suffer”)
Conjugation (基本形):
| Form | Japanese | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Negative | 苦しめない | “does not torment” |
| Polite (-ます) | 苦しめます | “torments” (polite) |
| Te-form | 苦しめて | “torment and…” (connective) |
| Potential | 苦しめられる | “can torment” (same as passive) |
| Causative | 苦しめさせる | “make someone torment” |
2. られる (rareru)
Part of Speech: Auxiliary Verb (助動詞)
- Attaches to: The imperfective (未然形) form of verbs
- For 一段 verbs: Remove る → 苦しめ + られる
- For 五段 verbs: Change to -a stem (e.g., 書く → 書かれる)
Four Functions of られる:
- Passive Voice (受身)
- 苦しめる → 苦しめられる (“to be tormented”)
- Example: 彼は上司に苦しめられる (“He is tormented by his boss”)
- Potential (可能)
- 苦しめられる can also mean “can torment” (ambiguous without context)
- Spontaneous (自発)
- Rare with this verb, but seen in phrases like 思い出される (“comes to mind naturally”)
- Honorific (尊敬語)
- Not used with 苦しめる (inappropriate for respectful language)
3. て (te)
Part of Speech: Conjunctive Particle (接続助詞)
- Function:
- Connects the verb to auxiliary verbs (e.g., いる、ある、おく)
- Forms requests (苦しめてください = “Please torment…”)
- Shows sequential actions (苦しめて泣かせる = “Torment and make cry”)
Formation Rules:
- 一段 verbs: 苦しめる → 苦しめて
- 五段 verbs: Depends on ending (e.g., 書く → 書いて、話す → 話して)
4. いる (iru)
Part of Speech: Auxiliary Verb (補助動詞)
- Original Meaning: “to exist” (for animate objects)
- Grammatical Function:
- Progressive Aspect (進行形):
- 苦しめられている = “is being tormented” (current ongoing action)
- Resultant State (結果の状態):
- 窓が開いている = “The window is open” (result of action)
Conjugation:
| Form | Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Present | いる | “is/are doing” |
| Negative | いない | “is not doing” |
| Past | いた | “was doing” |
| Past Negative | いなかった | “was not doing” |
Full Construction Flow
- 苦しめる (Transitive verb: “to torment”)
- + られる (Passive auxiliary: “to be tormented”)
- + て (Connective particle)
- + いる (Progressive auxiliary: “is being”)
Final Meaning:
「苦しめられている」 = “is being tormented” (by someone/something)
Example Sentences
- 彼らは不当な扱いに苦しめられている。
Karera wa futō na atsukai ni kurushimerarete iru.
“They are being tormented by unfair treatment.” - その村は長い干ばつに苦しめられてきた。
Sono mura wa nagai kanbatsu ni kurushimerarete kita.
“The village has been suffering from a long drought.”
Key Takeaways
- 苦しめる is transitive (“to make someone suffer”), unlike intransitive 苦しむ (“to suffer”).
- られる here marks passive voice, not potential. Context is crucial!
- ている indicates ongoing action or current state.
