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VOICE
The distinction between active and passive can only be made with verbs that are transitive, that is verbs that can be followed by an object. The passive is very important in English. Probably quite 0 per cent of the passive sentences spoken or written are of the type replacing the indefinite pronoun or the reflexive in other languages.
The choice between active and passive construction often depends on what has already been said, or on what the listener already knows.
In the passive, the auxiliary BE is added to the verb phrase, followed by the -ed participle; but this does not necessarily refer to a past time.
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For example washes is washed
Has washed has been washed
May be washing may be being washed.
In the following chart we can illustrate how an active sentence becomes a passive one
a)ACTIVE Bob mailed the package
b)PASSIVE The package was mailed by Bob a) and b) have the same meaning.
S V O
c) Bob mailed the package.
S V “by-phrase”
The package was mailed by Bob.
In c) The Object of an active sentence becomes the Subject of a passive sentence.
S V O
d) Bob mailed the package.
S V “by-phrase”
The package was mailed by Bob
In d) The subject of an active sentence is the object of by in the “by-phrase” in a passive sentence.
e)ACTIVE The teacher corrects our homework.
f)PASSIVE Our homework is corrected by the teacher
g)ACTIVE Mr. Lee will teach this class.
h)PASSIVE This class will be taught by Mr.Lee.
Form of all passive verbs
BE +PAST PARTICIPLE BE can be in any of its forms am, is, are, was, were, has been, have been, will be, etc.
The past participle follows BE. For regular verbs, the past participle ends in ed (e,g. Mailed, corrected). Some past participles are
Irregular (e.g., taught).
At the clause level the change from active to passive has some results
a) The Active Subject, if retained, becomes the Passive Agent.
b) The Active Object becomes the Passive Subject.
c) The preposition BY is added before the agent, if it is necessary.
In the active, the person or thing does the action. For example
Mum cooked the dinner last night.
In the passive the action is done to the subject. For example
Dinner was cooked last night.
USES OF THE PASSIVE
#61656; Spontaneous use and deliberate use of the passive
In spoken English passive occurs naturally and spontaneously, without a conscious change from active to passive. For example
Medicine is said to be complicated.
The goal was made by the payer number ten.
But, the passive is sometimes deliberately used, when speakers do not want to take responsibility to actions, opinions, or statements of facts of which they are not completely certain (they do not now the identity of the agent of the action) or because the agent is unimportant or obvious from the context, and it is also used for scientific or technical writing . For example
The exam has been postponed.
The work will be finished by the end of the week.
#61656; The passive for focus
We use the passive when the action is more important than the agent or when the agent is simply not necessary. For example
My purse was stolen.
The important thing is the fact that it was stolen, not who stole it.
#61656; Avoiding vague words as subjects
The passive is always preferred in order to avoid using vague words like “someone”, “person”, “thing”, etc. We can say
I was asked about the exam.
I was told to go to the faculty.
The passive is obligatory in notices, such as
News given
Windows broken.
Words said.
This are abbreviated News are given
#61656; The use of “by”, etc. + agent after a passive.
The agent is the person or thing that does or performs the action. This construction tells us who or what did something. It is used when the speaker wants to emphasise the agent or when the hearer has to know who or what did the action. Examples
Dinner was cooked by me.
The paint was damaged by the light.
By + agent can be used with verbs like built, compose, damaged, destroy, discover, invent, make, wreck.
#61656; “Get” + past participle
Get is often used instead of BE in colloquial English. For example
I went out for running, and I got tired.
-Things that we do to ourselves
I got dressed in five minutes.
-We manage to do things in our own favour (Reflexive pronouns are often used)
She got passed after a long time of study.
I got myself dinner made.
-When something happens beyond our control
We got stopped by the police.
#61656; The passive compared with adjectival past participles
Words such as broken, interested, shut, worried, can be used as adjectives or past participles. The distinction can be noticed in
I was worried about the exam.
I was worried by the children all day.
If the word is an adjective, it can not be used with By + agent, and can not be turned to the active.
#61656; The passive with verbs of saying and believing
We have to be sure in some statements like “Mary was gossiping about you.”
If we have to be careful when we talk, we use a passive construction. For example
It is said that prices will keep on increasing.
We use IF + PASSIVE + THAT-CLAUSE with verbs like agree, allege, arrange, assume, believe, consider, decide, declare, discover, expect, fear, etc. .
SOME TYPICAL CONTEXT FOR THE PASSIVE
#61558; Formal notices and announcements
Students are asked to be punctual.
Competitors are required to bring their documents.
#61558; Press reports
Here the agent is not known or unnecessary.
The car crash was terrible. Many people are feared to be dead.
#61558; Scientific writing (to describe process)
Once water is boiled, it is put in a cold container.
PASSIVE WITH DIFERENTS VERB FORMS
The tenses and the rules for their use, are the same as for the active verb-forms. However, future progressive and perfect progressive passive tenses are very uncommon.
Present simple English is spoken here.
Present progressive Excuse the mess The house is being painted.
Past simple I wasn’t invited, but I’ve come anyway
Past progressive I felt as if I was being watched.
Present perfect Has Mary been told?
(Present perfect progressive) How long has the research been being done?
Past perfect I knew why I had been chosen.
Past perfect progressive I wonder how long I d been being followed.
Future You ll be told in advance.
Future progressive You ll be being told in the near future.
Future perfect Everything will have been done by the 6th.
Future perfect progressive By the next Christmas, that bridge will have being built for three years.
Going to structure Who’s going to be invited?
Modal structures He ought to be shot.
You might have been hurt.
PASSIVE VOICE AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF VERBS AND COMPLEMENTATION
#61607; BY + AGENT
In sentences like the trouble was caused by your mother, the part of the sentence introduced by by is called the agent. The agent in a passive sentence is the same person or thing as the subject of an active sentence. Compare
I was shocked by her attitude. Her attitude shocked me.
After some past participles which are used as adjectives, other prepositions are used instead of by to introduce the agent. For example
We were worried about (or by ) her silence.
I was exited at (or by ) the prospect of going abroad.
Are you frightened of spiders?
#61607; VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS
Many verbs, such as give, show, lend, can be followed by two objects, which usually refer to a person and a thing.
She gave her sister the car.
When this verbs are used in the passive, there are two possibilities
Her sister was given the car.
The car was given to her sister.
Most of them in such cases the person becomes the subject of the passive verb.
I ve just been sent a whole lot of information.
You were lent ten thousands pounds last year.
We were shown all the different ways of making whisky.
#61607; SENTENCES WITH OBJEC COMPLEMENT
After some verbs, the direct object can be followed by an “object complement” a noun or adjective describes the object.
Queen Victoria considered him a genius.
They elected him president
We regarded him as an expert.
Most people saw him as a sort of clown.
This sentences can become a passive.
He was considered a genius.
He was elected president.
He was regarded as an expert.
#61607; SENTENCES WITH CLAUSE OBJECTS.
The object of a sentence can be a clause.
People believed that witches communicated with the devil.
Nobody knew whether there was gold left in the mine.
Passive sentences can be made with that- or whether-clause as subjects . IT is usually used as an introductory subject.
It was Believed that witches communicated with the devil.
#61607; VERBS WITH OBJECTS + INFINITIVE
Many verbs can be followed by an object and an infinitive.
She asked me to send a stamped addressed enveloped.
I consider Moriarty to be dangerous.
Sentences like these cannot usually be made passive.
#61607; VERBS WHICH CANNOT BE USED IN THE PASSIVE
Not all verbs can be used in the passive . Intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive since they do not have an object, there is nothing to act as the subject of a passive verb. But some verbs that are monotransitive and therefore take an Object as complementation, cannot be turned into its passive equivalents. These are called “middle verbs”. Some examples are fit, have, lack, resemble, suit.
They have a nice house. (But not a nice house is had...)
#61607; PERFECTIVE VERBS
This verbs refer to actions that produce a finished result. For example cut, built, pack, close, are perfective verbs; feel, live, speak, and run are not.
Perfectives, in the passive, can have two meanings they can refer to the action, or they can describe the result. Consider the sentence
The theatre was closed.
Compare It was closed by the police on the orders of the mayor
When I got to the theatre I found that it was closed.
Viviana C. Pereyra Carreras
Bibliography
#616; “Longman English Grammar” , (L.G. Alexander)
pp. 41-46
#616; “Longman English Grammar Practice” (L.G. Alexander)
p.18
#616; “Fundamentals of English Grammar, nd Edition”. (Betty Schrampfer Azar)
pp. 76-8
#616; “Living English Structure”, (W. Stannard Allen)
pp. 68-77
#616; “Student’s Grammar of the English Language” (Sidney Greenbaum, Randolph Quirk)
pp.44-46
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