Alexander Graham Bell Telephone

British inventor who went to live Apparatus with which people can

in Canada and then in the USA. talk to each other over long distances

Bell invented the telephone. The telephone was invented by Bell.

Now let’s compare these two sentences from the examples:

Bell invented the telephone. The telephonewas invented by Bell.

The two sentences have the same meaning, but they are about different
things. The subject of one sentence is Bell, and the subject of the other is the
telephone. The subject is the starting-point of the sentence, the person or
thing we are talking about. In both of these sentences the subject is old
information, something already mentioned.

The new information comes at the end of the sentence. We say Bell invented
the telephone because we are talking about Bell, and the new information is
that he invented the telephone.

When the subject is the person or thing doing the action (the agent), then we
use an active verb (invented). When the subject is not the agent, then the
verb is passive (was invented).

Compare:

Active (about Bell): Passive (about the telephone)

Bell invented the telephone. The telephone was invented by Bell.

Subject & agent Subject Agent

The subject of the passive sentence is the same as the object of the active
sentence (the telephone). It is not the agent. It is the thing that the action is
directed at.

B. We often prefer to put longer and ‘heavier’ expressions at the end of a
sentence, and this can be another reason for choosing a passive structure.
Compare:

Mary’s bahaviour annoyed me.

(Or: I was annoyed byMary’s behaviour.)

I was annoyed by Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do.

The first sentence can easily be active or passive. But if the second sentence
was active, the subject would be very long (Mary wanting to tell
everybody else what to do annoyed me). In this case, a passive structure is
more natural.

C. Passive structures are also used when we want to talk about an action, but
we are not interested in saying who (or what) did it.

Those pyramids were built around A.D.400.

D. Passives are very common in scientific writing, and other kinds of
expression where we are most interested in events and processes: in things
that happen. We see it especially in textbooks and reports. We use it to
describe activities in industries, science and technology, and also for official
rules:

Bananas are exported to the USA.
The liquid is heated to boiling point.

Payment can be made at any post office.
These gates will be locked at 9.00 pm.

The passive is often used in news reports:

A number of political prisoners have been released.

Negotiations will be held in London next week.

7. The Passive is Used:

A. When it is not necessary to mention the doer of the action as it is obvious
who he is/was/will be:

The streets are swept every day. You will be X-rayed.

B. When we don’t know, or don’t know exactly, or have forgotten who did the
action:

The minister was murdered. I’ve been told that...

C. When there is an ‘empty’ subject of an active verb such as you, one, they,
peopleor someone:

Active Passive

You/One should check the details. The details should be checked.

They’re increasing the rents. The rents are being increased.

People use this footpath every day. This footpath is used every day.

Someone took my purse. My purse was taken.

The passive form is more usual here, though in colloquial speech we can use
the ‘empty’ subject and the active verb.

D. When we are more interested in the action than the person who does it:

The house next door has been bought (by a Mr Jones).

If, however, we know Mr Jones, we would use the active:

Your father’s friend, Mr Jones, has bought the house next door.

E. The passive may be used to avoid an awkward or ungrammatical sentence.
This is usually done by avoiding a change of subject. So the sentence When
he arrived home a detective arrested him would be better expressed When
he arrived home he was arrested (by a detective).

F. The passive is sometimes preferred for psychological reasons. The speaker
may know who performed the action but wish to avoid giving the name.
Tom, who suspects Bill of opening his letters, may say tactfully:

This letter has been opened! instead of You’ve opened this letter!

8. Passive Sentences with or without by:

A. In a passive sentence, when we want to say who or what did the action, we
use by:

We were stopped by the police.

The paper was all blown away by the wind.

In a passive sentence we mention the agent, the person or thing doing the
action, only if it is important. We do not mention the agent when:

1. the agent does not add any new information:

The money was stolen.

The men were arrested last night.

We do not need to say that the money was stolen by a thief or that the men
were arrested by the police.

2. the agent is not important:

Oil has been discovered in Bavaria.

Who discovered the oil is less important than the fact that it is there.

3. it is difficult to say who the agent is:

This kind of jacket is considered very smart.

A number of attempts have been made to find the Loch Ness monster.

B. We can give other details about the action. For example, when we want to say
when or where something happens, we can use in, toor at:

The telephone was invented in 1876.

The visitors will be driven to the airport.

The concerts are held at the university.

C. After some past participles which are used like adjectives (to describe a state
of mind, not an action), other prepositions are used instead of by to introduce
the agent. Compare:

She was frightened by a mouse that ran into the room.

I’ve always been terribly frightened of spiders.

D. Withis used when we talk about an instrument which helps the agent to do
an action.

He was shot with a revolver.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1328