復習２：視点と条件Unit II Assessment
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Use basic respectful and humble forms, including お/ご〜になる and お/ご〜する, in practical service, email, and introduction contexts.
- Form and interpret direct and indirect passive sentences, including agent marking with に, and distinguish active from passive viewpoint.
- Form and use potential forms with control, and use causative forms and 〜させてください to express permission, agency, and requests.
- Choose confidently among と, ば, たら, and なら, and use もし and 場合 appropriately.
- Integrate keigo, passive, causative, and conditional forms together in a single connected account.
- Read and listen to formal notices, procedures, and short narratives that combine these systems, extracting key information accurately.
- Complete a cumulative assessment demonstrating Unit II control across listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Communication Scenario
Emma has been asked to represent her volunteer group at a short meeting with the community center's director. Before the meeting, she needs to write a polite email confirming the appointment, and during the meeting she may be asked about a recent incident at the front desk, about what she is and is not permitted to do as a volunteer, and about what she would recommend under certain conditions. Afterward, she needs to explain to a new volunteer what happened, what the director allowed her to do, and what to do if similar situations come up again. This chapter's Unit II Performance Task asks you to bring together formal language, passive description, ability and permission, and conditional advice in one connected set of tasks.
- The speaker or writer uses basic keigo appropriately when addressing someone of higher status or in a formal service context.
- The speaker or writer describes events from a passive viewpoint when the affected person, rather than the agent, is the natural focus.
- The speaker or writer expresses ability, permission, and requests for permission using potential and causative forms.
- The speaker or writer selects the conditional form, and uses もし or 場合, appropriate to each situation.
Cumulative Vocabulary Review
This chapter reviews and recombines vocabulary from Chapters 6 through 9: emails and service encounters, incidents and notices, skills and permissions, and conditions and procedures. No new vocabulary is introduced in this chapter; all items below are assessed for productive control.
| Source Chapter | Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch. 6 | 訪問 | ほうもん | visit |
| Ch. 6 | 返事 | へんじ | reply |
| Ch. 7 | 発見 | はっけん | discovery |
| Ch. 7 | 対応 | たいおう | response; handling |
| Ch. 8 | 許可 | きょか | permission |
| Ch. 8 | 責任 | せきにん | responsibility |
| Ch. 9 | 条件 | じょうけん | condition |
| Ch. 9 | 場合 | ばあい | case; situation |
These items recur throughout this chapter's model dialogue, reading passages, and assessment tasks, combined with Unit II grammar systems rather than presented as an isolated list.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose four words from the table above and write one sentence with each that uses a keigo form, a passive form, a potential or causative form, or a conditional form from this unit.
Script and Kanji Review
This chapter assesses the kanji introduced across Chapters 6 through 9, with furigana reduced according to the Furigana / Reading-Support Matrix. Furigana remains available for names and any unscheduled readings.
The reading and listening passages in this chapter present formal notices and short narratives with furigana reduced on all previously consolidated kanji from Chapters 6 through 9. Only names, unfamiliar loanwords, and any character not yet scheduled in this volume receive furigana here.
Before beginning the reading and listening tasks, review the four kanji cards above and check each reading without covering the furigana, then confirm your answer.
れんしゅう — Practice: Write the readings for 訪問, 発見, 許可, and 場合 from memory. Then write one sentence using 場合 together with a keigo form.
Pronunciation and Listening Check
Formal keigo phrases often carry a slightly more deliberate rhythm than plain-style conversation, while conditional endings such as ば and たら require the same careful mora timing practiced in Chapter 9. This chapter's listening passages combine both, so pay attention to keeping formal phrases like いたします and よろしくお願いいたします clearly and evenly paced, without rushing through the conditional endings that may appear nearby.
- お伺いします (おうかがいします): each mora should remain distinct; do not compress おう into a single short vowel.
- 確認していただければ: a longer formal phrase ending in ば; keep the final ば short and clear rather than lengthening it for emphasis.
Practice reading the Model Dialogue aloud, maintaining even mora timing across both the formal phrases and the conditional endings.
Grammar Review: Keigo, Passive, Potential/Causative, Conditionals
This chapter reviews and integrates the four major grammar systems developed in Unit II. No new grammar is introduced; the goal is confident, combined control of systems that were each introduced separately in Chapters 6 through 9.
Basic keigo review
Purpose: to address someone of higher status, or to speak in a formal service or institutional context, using respectful forms for the other person's actions and humble forms for the speaker's own actions.
- 部長はもう帰られました。The department head has already gone home.respectful form (お/ご〜になる pattern or equivalent) for another person's action
- 私がご案内いたします。I will show you the way.humble form (ご〜いたす pattern) for the speaker's own action
Review: respectful language raises the person being discussed, while humble language lowers the speaker's own action to show respect toward the listener or a third party; both work together within the same conversation.
Passive and perspective review
Purpose: to describe an event from the viewpoint of the person affected, rather than the person acting, especially for incidents, notices, and experiences.
- プリンターが担当者に修理されました。The printer was repaired by the person in charge.direct passive; focus on the printer rather than the repairer
- 急に雨に降られて、困りました。I was troubled by it suddenly raining on me.indirect (affected) passive; expresses personal inconvenience
Review: choosing the passive shifts the sentence's focus onto the person affected; the agent, marked with に, is optional and often omitted when not important to the message.
Potential and causative review
Purpose: to express ability, to request permission to perform an action, and to describe who causes or allows an action to happen.
- この機械は簡単に使えます。This machine can be used easily.potential form describing ability or capability
- 今日は早く帰らせてください。Please let me go home early today.causative + ください requesting permission
Review: potential forms describe what is possible; 〜させてください specifically requests permission for the speaker's own action, and is distinct from a plain request directed at someone else.
Conditional review
Purpose: to choose accurately among と, ば, たら, and なら, and to use もし and 場合 to mark a hypothesis or a formal case.
- 何か問題があった場合は、担当者にご連絡いただければと思います。If there is any problem, I would be grateful if you could contact the person in charge.場合 for a formal case, combined with ば and a keigo-adjacent request pattern
- もし許可がいただけたら、早めに帰らせていただきます。If I could receive permission, I would like to go home early.もし + たら combined with a humble causative-based request
Review: the four conditionals, もし, and 場合 combine naturally with keigo, passive, and causative forms; nothing about combining these systems changes each system's individual rule.
Grammar Review Practice
- Rewrite 部長は明日来ます。 using a respectful form appropriate for referring to a superior's action.
- Rewrite 雨が私を困らせました。 as a natural passive sentence describing personal inconvenience (「雨に降られて、困りました」 pattern).
- Complete 今日は早く＿＿＿＿＿ください。 with the correct causative + request form meaning "please let me go home early."
- Choose the best conditional for: プリンターが故障する[と/ば/たら/なら]、すぐに担当者に知らせてください。 and explain your choice.
- Write one sentence combining a conditional with 場合 and a basic keigo form, describing a formal workplace procedure.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Emma meets briefly with the community center's director, 田中さん, to discuss a recent incident at the front desk.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What happened to Emma last week that troubled her?
- What does the director suggest Emma do if a similar case happens again?
- What does Emma ask permission to do if she cannot decide something on her own?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — Identify the system. Read five sentences provided by your instructor or partner and identify which Unit II system each uses: keigo, passive, potential, causative, or a conditional.
タスク２ — Formal email draft. Write a short formal email confirming an appointment, using at least one respectful form, one humble form, and one conditional expression such as 場合 or もし.
タスク３ — Passive-viewpoint retelling. Retell a short incident (real or invented) from the passive viewpoint of the person affected, then retell the same incident from the active viewpoint, and compare the effect.
タスク４ — Permission role-play. With a partner, practice a short exchange in which one person requests permission using 〜させてください and the other person grants or limits the permission.
タスク５ — Combined account. Using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar Review, outline a short account that combines keigo, passive description, potential or causative, and a conditional.
Listening Assessment
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a clear, moderate pace.
きくタスク — A volunteer coordinator's formal announcement
皆さん、いつもありがとうございます。先週、受付で予約のないお客様に訪問された件についてご報告いたします。今後、同じような場合は、まずマニュアルを確認していただければ、たいてい対応できます。もし判断できない場合は、担当者にご連絡させていただいても構いません。急に困った状況になったら、決して一人で対応しようとしないで、すぐに近くのスタッフに声をかけてください。ご協力いただければ、幸いです。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Identify (1) what happened last week at the front desk, (2) what volunteers should do if a similar case happens again, (3) what a volunteer should do if they cannot decide, (4) what a volunteer should do if suddenly troubled, and (5) one example each of keigo, passive, and a conditional form used in the announcement.
This script combines basic keigo, passive description, causative-based permission language, and conditional forms in a realistic formal-announcement context, assessing Unit II listening comprehension cumulatively.
Speaking Assessment
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick transformation prompts
- 「部長は帰ります」を、尊敬語を使った文にしてください。
- 「雨が私を困らせました」を、受け身の文にしてください。
- 「早く帰りたいです」を、させてくださいを使ったお願いの文にしてください。
コミュニケーションタスク — Formal meeting role-play
With a partner, role-play a short formal meeting in which one person reports an incident using passive description and asks for permission, and the other person, playing a supervisor, responds with basic keigo and gives conditional advice using 場合 or もし. Switch roles and repeat with a different incident.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: A rehearsed formal report
Prepare and record a thirty-to-sixty-second spoken report describing a real or invented workplace incident, including at least one keigo phrase, one passive-viewpoint sentence, one potential or causative expression, and one conditional sentence. Listen back and check your pronunciation of formal phrases and conditional endings together.
Reading Assessment
Read the following short formal notice, then answer the questions below.
お知らせ — Notice to New Volunteers Regarding Visitor Procedures
先日、予約のないお客様に訪問された際、対応に困ったという報告がございました。今後、同じような場合は、まずマニュアルをご確認いただければと思います。判断できない場合は、担当者にご連絡させていただいて構いません。もし急に困った状況になったら、一人で対応しようとせず、近くのスタッフに声をかけてください。皆様のご協力に感謝いたします。
This notice combines basic keigo, passive description, causative-based permission language, and conditional forms in a realistic formal notice, assessing Unit II reading comprehension cumulatively.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What incident does the notice describe?
- What should a volunteer do if a similar case happens again?
- What should a volunteer do if they cannot decide on their own?
- Identify one example each of keigo, passive, and a conditional form used in the notice.
Writing Assessment
In this assessment you will draft the written portion of your Unit II Performance Task: a short formal account combining keigo, passive description, potential or causative forms, and conditionals.
- Choose a real or invented formal setting: a workplace, a volunteer role, a school, or an institutional context.
- Describe an incident from a passive viewpoint, using at least one direct or indirect passive sentence.
- Request or grant permission using at least one potential or causative expression, such as 〜させてください.
- Give conditional advice or a procedure using at least one conditional form and 場合 or もし.
- Address the reader appropriately using at least one respectful and one humble form.
- Revise your draft using the checklist below.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My account includes at least one respectful form and one humble form used appropriately.
- My account includes at least one passive sentence describing an affected viewpoint.
- My account includes at least one potential or causative expression.
- My account includes at least one conditional form matched to its correct nuance, and 場合 or もし where appropriate.
- I did not mix plain and formal register inconsistently within the same account.
- I checked this unit's kanji readings without relying on furigana where possible.
Culture and Communication
Formal workplace and volunteer notices in many Japanese institutional settings often describe an incident using passive or neutral phrasing rather than directly naming who was at fault, and follow with clear, procedural advice for the future. Recognizing this pattern helps learners understand why passive description and conditional procedural language appear together so often in real notices, reports, and manuals.
The degree of keigo used in a given workplace, organization, or region can vary considerably depending on industry norms, company culture, and individual relationships. The basic keigo patterns taught in this unit represent a broadly reliable, moderate level of formality rather than the single correct level for every institution.
Many languages offer speakers a choice between an active voice, which foregrounds who performed an action, and a passive or similar construction, which foregrounds who was affected by it, though the specific forms and typical uses differ from language to language. Comparing how your own language handles this choice can help clarify why Japanese speakers often prefer the passive viewpoint for incidents and notices.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *先週、来客に訪問された。でも、対応できますよ。 mixing a plain-style narration with a suddenly polite ending, producing an inconsistent register.
Correction: 先週、来客に訪問されました。でも、対応できますよ。 — keep register consistent throughout a single formal account rather than switching between plain and polite forms without reason.
Error: *田中さんに早く帰らせてください。 intended as a request for Tanaka-san to go home early, incorrectly using させてください, which requests permission for the speaker's own action.
Correction: 田中さんに早く帰っていただけますか。 — use させてください only to request permission for your own action; use a request form such as 〜ていただけますか when asking someone else to do something.
Error: *何か問題があるなら、ご連絡ください。 used as an opening statement with no prior mention of a problem, when なら is more natural responding to an already-raised topic, even in formal contexts.
Correction: もし何か問題がありましたら、ご連絡ください。 — use もし with a たら-based or equivalent formal conditional to introduce a new hypothetical case, reserving なら for responding to something already mentioned or assumed.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Use 訪問, 発見, 許可, 責任, and 場合 each in one original sentence combining a keigo, passive, potential/causative, or conditional form.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write the readings for all four review kanji words in the Script and Kanji Review section from memory, then check them against that section.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Complete the five Grammar Review Practice items above, if you have not already done so.
2. Explain, in your own words, the difference between a plain request and a causative-based permission request such as させてください, and give one original example of each in context.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at the notice in the Reading Assessment section. Write two sentences summarizing the recommended procedure and the permission-related advice, using at least one keigo form and one conditional form of your own.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your combined account of keigo, passive description, potential/causative forms, and conditionals, following the Writing Assessment steps, as part of the Unit II Performance Task below.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. Present your rehearsed formal report and complete the formal meeting role-play task, as part of the Unit II Performance Task below.
Unit II Performance Task
パフォーマンスタスク
視点と条件 — Integrating keigo, passive, causative, and conditionals
Prepare an account of a formal workplace, volunteer, or institutional situation described in the Communication Scenario, or one of your own choosing. Complete all four components below.
- Written account: Write a short formal account of at least six sentences that includes at least one respectful form, one humble form, one passive sentence, one potential or causative expression, and one conditional form combined with 場合 or もし.
- Spoken report: With a partner, instructor, or recording, perform a thirty-to-sixty-second spoken account of the same situation, using at least one keigo form, one passive sentence, and one conditional form.
- Formal meeting role-play: With a partner or instructor, perform the formal meeting role-play, asking and answering at least two questions that require keigo, passive, potential/causative, or conditional responses.
- Peer or self-audit: Exchange your written account with a partner, or review your own after a break, and check specifically for consistent register, correct passive formation, correct causative-based permission requests, and appropriate conditional choice.
Assessment focus: accurate and consistent use of basic keigo; correct formation and use of direct and indirect passive; correct potential and causative forms, including 〜させてください; appropriate choice among と, ば, たら, and なら with もし and 場合; and comprehensible, accurate pronunciation across formal and conditional forms together.
Answer Key
Cumulative Vocabulary and Script Review
Open-ended; check readings and sentences against the Cumulative Vocabulary Review table and the Script and Kanji Review section above.
Grammar Review Practice
- Model answer: 部長は明日来られます。 (or an equivalent respectful pattern such as いらっしゃいます, if introduced and accepted by the instructor.)
- Model answer: 雨に降られて、困りました。
- Model answer: 今日は早く帰らせてください。
- Model answer: プリンターが故障したら、すぐに担当者に知らせてください。 (たら is most natural here because the sentence contains a direct request in the result clause; と is not appropriate with a request.)
- Model answer: 何か問題があった場合は、担当者にご連絡いただければと思います。
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Emma was suddenly visited by a guest without a reservation and had trouble handling it.
- The director suggests that Emma first check the manual, since that will usually allow her to handle a similar case.
- Emma asks permission to contact the director directly if she cannot decide something on her own.
Listening Assessment — Model summary
Last week, a volunteer was suddenly visited by a guest without a reservation at the front desk. Going forward, if a similar case happens, volunteers should first check the manual, since that usually allows them to handle it. If a volunteer cannot decide something, they may contact the person in charge directly. If a volunteer suddenly finds themselves in a difficult situation, they should not try to handle it alone and should immediately ask a nearby staff member for help.
Reading Assessment — Comprehension
- A volunteer had trouble handling a visitor who arrived without a reservation.
- If a similar case happens again, volunteers should first check the manual.
- If a volunteer cannot decide something on their own, they may contact the person in charge.
- A keigo example is ご確認いただければ; a passive example is 訪問された; a conditional example is 場合は or もし急に困った状況になったら.
Chapter Review — Sections A and B
Open-ended; check against the Cumulative Vocabulary Review and Script and Kanji Review sections above.
Chapter Review — Section C
Open-ended for item 1; see Grammar Review Practice guidance above. For item 2, a correct explanation notes that a plain request such as 〜てください directs another person to perform an action, while させてください requests permission for the speaker's own action, and the two forms are not interchangeable.
Chapter Review — Section D
Model answer: 同じような場合は、まずマニュアルをご確認いただければと思います。判断できない場合は、担当者にご連絡させていただいても構いません。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Sections E and F, and Unit II Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate the written account against the Writing Assessment checklist above, and evaluate the spoken report, formal meeting role-play, and peer or self-audit against the assessment focus listed under the Unit II Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can use basic respectful and humble language in practical formal contexts, describe events from a passive viewpoint, express ability and request permission with potential and causative forms, and choose confidently among と, ば, たら, and なら, もし, and 場合, combining all of these systems within a single connected account. This completes Unit II, 視点と条件, and prepares you to move into reading articles, giving presentations, writing formal documents, and reading narratives in Unit III, 情報と表現.