Ugh...verb problems...

[The Incarnation ポケモン]

とらわれる <---- Dictionaries only list とる, とれる, and とらえる, so I'm assuming とらわれる isn't the dictionary form of any verb. But I can't find any rules for conjugation that explain how the "wa" gets in there from any of the dictionary forms. Help?

 

[Zhen Lin]

If you cannot find a verb ending in -areru in a dictionary, then chances are that it's just a plain passive. The basic verb is the part before -areru.

torawareru is an unusual one in that the basic form is not torau as one would expect, but instead toraeru. (The regular passive, toraerareru also exists.)

Anyway - torawareru, from the EXCEED Japanese-English dictionary.

 

[The Incarnation ポケモン]

Ah, thanks a bunch! That cleared it up! I was really confused because based off the rules, I kept expecting to find "torau" or some other root + "u" class 1 verb, but the closest I could ever find to that was "toraeru", which looked like a class 2.

 

[Murgatroyd]

Looks like more of a dictionary problem than a verb problem. 3 out of my 3 J-E dictionaries have entries for とらわれる. What dictionaries are you using?

 

[The Incarnation ポケモン]

Are those online dictionaries? I used two J-E E-J print dictionaries, one published by Random House and intended for native English speakers, and one published by New Horizon and intended for native Japanese speakers. I did get some entries by searching online translators, but they didn't tell me a whole lot.

 

[Murgatroyd]

I have a print version of Kenkyusha's (4th edition) and an electronic dictionary which includes the Genius Japanese-English dictionary. Both are designed for Japanese speakers. I also have one of the many computer programs that use the EDICT dictionary file.