Relative and passive and how to parse sentences

Question

Is a relative possible with the passive form?

誰もが残された時間を、駆け抜けて、過ぎていく。

Is this indirect passive? How would I make 誰もが残された時間 not relative?

誰もが残された時間

誰もが時間を残された

I also would like to add another question because it seems I am lost. I thought in Japanese what comes before a verb refers to it, then that verb modifies a noun that comes after it.

For example:

僕が彼にくれたペンで書いた手紙をメールで彼女に届いた。

[[僕が彼にくれた]ペンで書いた]手紙をメールで彼女に届いた。

In this example 僕が彼にくれた modifies ペン and 僕が彼にくれたペンで書いた modifies 手紙. Am I wrong?

I really do not understand what modifies what in Japanese apparently -- my previous idea doesn't work with sentences like the original example. Could somebody explain this to me?

Answer 1

It's 誰もが駆け抜けて過ぎていく ("everyone rushes away and goes past"), and 残された時間 ("time left") is where it happens. 誰もが時間を残された makes little sense unless 迷惑の受け身 is intended, and the noun clause 誰もが残された時間 also makes little or no sense to me. The normal way to say "time left for everyone" is 誰もに残された時間. (eg 私に残された時間は少ない。 = There is little time left for me.)

As for the other question, first, 手紙を届いた is ungrammatical because 届く is intransitive. 届ける is the transitive counterpart. 僕が彼にくれた sounds strange too, and this part should be either 僕が彼にあげたペン (the pen I gave to him) or 彼が僕にくれたペン (the pen he gave to me). Oh, and you should use 郵便 instead of メール, because メール usually refers to emails.

彼が僕にくれたペンで書いた手紙を郵便で彼女に届けた。

Now this sentence is simple to me. As you suggest, 彼に僕にくれた modifies ペン and 彼が僕にくれたペンで書いた modifies 手紙.