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The Passive Voice Theory
· The person who performs an action in a passive sentence is called the agent, introduced by by. The agent may or may not be mentioned. My purse was found by one of the cleaners. · An object which causes something to happen is called an instrument, introduced by with. He was hit on the head with a hammer.
Prepositions/particles
The train was packed with commuters.
Dave was hit by a branch. (an accident) Dave was hit with a branch. (a person hit him with one)
The furniture was covered in dust. The living room had been decorated with flowery wallpaper.
Somebody broke into our house. Our house was broken into.
A note was handed to the minister. A slice of cake was cut for him.
Permission was refused him.
My boss made me work hard. I was made to work hard by my boss.
Reasons to use passive
Jack won the prize. (focus on Jack) The prize was won by Jack. (focus on the prize)
My wallet has been taken.
Bicycles are widely used in the city instead of public transport.
Linda has been arrested! (we assume by the police)
I was advised to obtain a visa in advance.
It has been decided to reduce all salaries by 10%.
Then the packets are packed into boxes of twenty-four.
Helen was surprised by all the messages of sympathy that she received.
Transformation
I was handed a note. A note was handed to me.
They explained the procedure to him. The procedure was explained to him.
We elected Jim class representative. Everyone considered him a failure. When these are made passive, the complement goes directly after the verb. Jim was elected class representative. He was considered a failure.
wish somebody good luck bear somebody ill will earn somebody a fortune/reputation
e.g. drive is transitive because one can drive something (a car). However, a few transitive verbs may not be used in the passive. These include: become, fit (be the right size), get, have, lack, let, like, resemble, suit.
e.g. fall is intransitive, you cannot 'fall something'. Therefore it is not possible to say The tree was fallen. Instead the sentence must be active The tree fell.
Martha talked me into buying a bike. I was talked into buying a bike. He takes after his father. – no passive
My parents let me do what I wanted. (= active) l was allowed to dowhat I wanted. But we can use let in the passive in phrases like. The dog was let loose. I was badly let down.
Constructions
Have/get something done
I've just had/got my car serviced. I have/get it done every winter.
We had/got our car broken into last month.
I'll have/get the menu brought to you.
i) there is a feeling that something must be done. I really must get (have) my hair cut. ii) there is a feeling of eventually managing to do something. I eventually got (had) the car fixed at the Fast Service garage. iii) in orders and imperatives. Get your hair cut!
Martin got arrested at a football match.
Your hair needs cutting. The walls want painting.
Reporting
The criminal is thought to be in hiding in the London area.
Smith is believed to have left England last week.
People thought Sue had paid too much. Sue was thought to have paid too much. The police thought that the thief was still in the house. The thief was thought to still be in the house.
Everyone knows the portrait was painted by an Italian. The portrait is known to have been painted by an Italian.
Past and present continuous infinitives are also used. Mary is thought to be living in Scotland. The driver is thought to have been doing a U-turn.
Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. They ought to be treated fairly.
They seemedto have disappeared.
Aren’t you afraid of being seen as a righteous crusader? Having been declared insane, he was confined to four months in a prison hospital.
We don't mention or even imply an agent. Verbs that allow us to change the subject to 'the thing affected by the action' without using the passive are called 'ergative' verbs. By changing the subject of the sentence in this way, the active transitive verb becomes intransitive: The dog opened the door. (active) The door was opened by the dog. (passive) The door opened. (ergative - as if the door opened by itself)
break, improve, dry, open, close, crease, wash out), ‘cooking process’ (cook, boil, simmer), ‘beginning. continuation, end’ (begin, finish, continue), as well as a number of other verbs (sell, photograph, unfold, etc.) This model photographs well! This type of fabric creases easily. The pig roasted so slowly! The car stopped and the door opened. Date: 2015-12-17; view: 2426
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