視点をそろえる (shiten o soroeru) — keeping one viewpoint
Not 「友達がわたしに電話した」 but 「友達が電話してきた」 — tell it through 'my' eyes.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
The exam asks 'which form?' in the middle of a paragraph — check whose eyes the passage is written through and the answer appears.
Meaning
- A Japanese writer usually looks at things from one place (視点) — their own side.
- In Nepali 'my friend phoned me', 'the boss praised me' are perfectly fine, but in Japanese 「友達がわたしに電話した」「課長がわたしを褒めた」 sound a little off; 「友達が電話してきた」「わたしは課長に褒められた」 put the story back where it belongs.
- There is no new grammar in this lesson — it uses forms from N4 to N2 as tools for not moving the camera.
How to attach
- ① Someone's action comes toward me: 〜てくる (訪ねてくる・言ってくる); it moves away from me: 〜ていく.
- ② Someone does something to me: make 'me' the subject and use the passive.
- ③ For a favour, use 〜てくれる／〜てもらう and make the person closer to me the subject (me > family > my company > another company).
- ④ Focus on a change or result: intransitive (高まった・できあがった); focus on responsibility or a mistake: transitive (車をぶつけた).
- ⑤ Causative = forcing, allowing, or 'it happened through my carelessness' (野菜を腐らせてしまった); causative-passive = I was made to, or a feeling welled up by itself (考えさせられた).
Watch out
But in shop services and neutral notices 〜てあげる／〜てもらう don't fit — 「割引いたします」「補助金が出された」.
Also
In work mail and stories, the same rule tells you who did what to whom even when no subject is written.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
先週、国の友達が突然アパートを訪ねてきた。
せんしゅう、くにのともだちがとつぜんアパートをたずねてきた。
Last week a friend from home suddenly came to visit me at my apartment.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) With just 訪ねた, you can't tell whose home it was → 「〜てきた」 says the action came "toward me" → so it's clear it's my apartment.
入社して三か月、わたしは課長に仕事ぶりを認められた。
にゅうしゃしてさんかげつ、わたしはかちょうにしごとぶりをみとめられた。
Three months after joining the company, I won my section chief's recognition for my work.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 課長がわたしを認めた is also grammatical, but the passage is "my" story → so keep "I" as the subject and use 受身: わたしは + 課長に + 認められた.
新人のころ、毎朝大きな声であいさつの練習をさせられた。
しんじんのころ、まいあさおおきなこえであいさつのれんしゅうをさせられた。
When I was new, I was made to practice greetings in a loud voice every morning.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 練習する → 使役 させる (make someone do) → adding 受身 gives させられた = I was made to do it → the subject stays "I", so it doesn't even need to be written.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「昨日の夜、国の母が電話を＿。」 — which is natural from 'my' viewpoint?
💡 Hint: Which way did the call travel?
Mum's call came toward me → 「かけてきた」. Plain かけた leaves the receiver unclear, かけていった points the wrong way, and かけてあげた moves the viewpoint to Mum doing a favour.
Shop notice: 「本日に限り、全商品を10％＿。」 — fill the blank.
💡 Hint: Favour forms don't fit a service.
Using 〜てあげる for a shop service sounds like doing the customer a favour. The polite neutral 「割引いたします」 is right.
'This film made me think deeply about family' — 「この映画を見て、家族の大切さを深く＿。」
💡 Hint: Subject 'me', and the feeling came by itself.
Causative-passive 「考えさせられた」 = the film made me think; it welled up by itself. 考えさせた means I made someone think, 考えた loses the 'made me' feeling, 考えられた is unnatural here.
Your score: /3