2

I came across this sentence on Tatoeba:

新しい毛布が貧民に配られた。
New blankets were distributed to the poor.

My question is, why doesn't this mean "distributed by the poor"? Why doesn't に here specify the agent with the passive verb 配られる?

hikobae_
  • 339
  • 2
  • 8
  • 1
    I'm confused by folks are downvoting this question. This seems like a perfectly legit question. Why do folks not like it? – A.Ellett Oct 29 '21 at 20:51
  • @A.Ellett Don't votes to close the question automatically give it a downvote? – istrasci Oct 29 '21 at 20:52
  • @istrasci They do? I've never noticed that before. If they do, that doesn't make much sense to me. I've looked at several others that have been closed. Some that were closed do have downvotes, but not all of them. – A.Ellett Oct 29 '21 at 20:53
  • It was downvoted for a while before anyone commented here. – flowsnake Oct 29 '21 at 21:03
  • I don't understand the downvotes either, but I find the upvotes equally puzzling. Votes are not a tool to balance out or cancel out other votes that you don't agree with. I haven't voted on this question and probably will just withhold my vote. – Eddie Kal Oct 29 '21 at 21:20
  • @istrasci No, only _spam_ and _abusive_ flags do that. – Eddie Kal Oct 29 '21 at 21:21

0 Answers0