JLPT N3 Grammar - Passive form AND passive + te iru


I picked up the 日本語総まとめ book and I don't quite understand their explanation of
passive.

The book says that passive can be used when you mention a fact without a
subject. However, in the example (below), to me the subject is the entrance
ceremony.

> 入学式は、このホールで行われます。
>
> 昔は、その考えが正しいと思われていた。

Can anyone offer a clearer explanation of this and also the usage of the te-
iru conjugation with passive?




What you have read in your textbook is equally true in English, too.

>   * 入学式は、このホールで行われます。  
>  The entrance ceremony will be held in this hall ( _by us_ ).
>   * 昔は、その考えが正しいと思われていた。  
>  In the past, it was thought ( _by people_ ) that the idea was correct.
>

The original (active) versions of these sentences are:

>   * このホールで入学式を行います。 (omitted subject = 我々 (we))  
>  _We_ will hold the entrance ceremony in this hall.
>   * 昔は、人々はその考えが正しいと思っていた。 (subject = 人々 (people))  
>  In the past, _people_ thought the idea was correct.
>

The book's explanation means you can omit the subject of the **original**
(active) sentence once it has been turned to passive. See how "we (us)" and
"people" can be omitted in the passive versions.

～(ら)れている is simply the combination of passive and ている (e.g., 今、私は見られている = "I
am being seen now."; そのCDはもう発売されている = "The CD has already been released."). If
you're not sure why you need ている in the second example, see the following
questions.

  * [思っている/言っている with third person subject?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/6538/5010)
  * [Difference between volitional +と思う and volitional+ と思っている](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/40145/5010)




What you have read in your textbook is equally true in English, too.

>   * 入学式は、このホールで行われます。  
>  The entrance ceremony will be held in this hall ( _by us_ ).
>   * 昔は、その考えが正しいと思われていた。  
>  In the past, it was thought ( _by people_ ) that the idea was correct.
>

The original (active) versions of these sentences are:

>   * このホールで入学式を行います。 (omitted subject = 我々 (we))  
>  _We_ will hold the entrance ceremony in this hall.
>   * 昔は、人々はその考えが正しいと思っていた。 (subject = 人々 (people))  
>  In the past, _people_ thought the idea was correct.
>

The book's explanation means you can omit the subject of the **original**
(active) sentence once it has been turned to passive. See how "we (us)" and
"people" can be omitted in the passive versions.

～(ら)れている is simply the combination of passive and ている (e.g., 今、私は見られている = "I
am being seen now."; そのCDはもう発売されている = "The CD has already been released."). If
you're not sure why you need ている in the second example, see the following
questions.

  * [思っている/言っている with third person subject?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/6538/5010)
  * [Difference between volitional +と思う and volitional+ と思っている](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/40145/5010)

