Lesson 33 Don’t be too passive

ポイント
The passive voice (受身形) presents lots of chances for confusing mistakes. Why does Hiro confuse John here?

ダイアログ
John: Hiro, you’ve finally arrived! What took you so long?
Hiro: I broke down. My car is needed a new engine.
John: What is needed?

解説
Hiro makes a common and very confusing mistake: putting 名詞 directly after 受動態構文. Some verbs take both 直接目的語 and 間接目的語 (“I was sent / delivered / given a birthday card”). But in most 受動態構文, a noun must come before the verb that defines it, not after. So Hiro should say, “A new engine is needed for my car.” I hope no more explanation is needed.