06. the Passive

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CHAPTER 6

THE PASSIVE

In the active voice the subject of the verb is the doer of the action:

The children ate everything in the fridge.

In the passive the action is done to the subject, which is the affected.

All the food in the fridge was eaten.

Passive constructions occur frequently enough not as an alternative to the active ones but with their

own distinctive uses.

The passive is formed with the verb beand a past participle ( ! "# ! $%&. 'ules applying to the use

of tenses in the active apply in the passive too. or e)ample, an action in progress now will be in present

progressive in the passive:

We are dealingwith your problem.

Your problem is being dealtwith.

The passive occurs only with transitive verbs. ome verbs (blow, thicken, crash into, dry, sink, fill,

increaseetc.& can be used both transitively and intransitively:

The house soldwell.

The house was soldyesterday.

*ith such verbs we can change the subject of the sentence without using the passive. These verbs are

called +ergative+ verbs.

Theyfilled the ditch with water.

The ditchwas filled with water.

The ditch filledwith water.

$erbs liegiveandbring can have two objects and consequently two passive forms:

-.Mother hasalwaysgivenme good advice.

-.a.I havealways been givengood advice by mother.

-.b. ood advice hasalways been givento me by mother.

"ecause we are more interested in people or animals than things, personal subjects tend to be more

common than impersonal ones. any state verbs cannot be used in the passive, even when they aretransitive:

!e loves Italian pi""a(active voice only&.

$erbs lie measurewhich can be state or dynamic can only be passive in their dynamic sense:

This piece of land measures #,$$$ acres. (state&

This piece of land has been measured. (dynamic&

/nly present and past usually have progressive forms:

The thieves are being questionedby the police.

They were being victimisedby their employers.0owever, modals with progressive passive sometimes occur:

They may be being%uestioned at this moment.

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Transitive constructions with the pattern verb ! adverb particle can be used in the passive:

The meeting was put off.

/nly a few verbs of the type verb ! particle ! preposition can be used in the passive:

The old rules have been done away with.

Passive constructions are common after verbs followed by the &ing form, such as en'oy, like, and

remember,

Most people don(t like being criticised.

*e can use the passive (2ingform only& after conjunctions such as onand after:

)n*After being toldthe weather forecast she called off the trip.

3 few active verbs sometimes have a passive meaning,

This surface cleanseasilyreally means 4it can be easily cleaned5.

3 small number of verbs are used more frequently in the passive than in the active: be born, be

married, be obliged.

!e is not obligedto come over whenever you want.

3dverbs of manner can occur before or after the participle:

This piece has beenbadlyplayedby the orchestra.

#nglish uses the passive where other #uropean languages use refle)ive verbs lie burn myself, hurt

myself+

im was hurtin a car crash last month.

*e do not normally use the passive when responding immediately:

-What(s the matter -I(ve burnt*cut*hurt myself.*e often use abbreviated passive constructions when e)pressing wishes:

I(d like it /to be0 repaired,

or preferences:

I like it /to be0 boiled.

Uses of the passive

Spontaneous and deliberate . In fluent #nglish passives occur naturally and spontaneously

without a conscious change from active to passive:

1ome was not builtin a day.

The passive is sometimes chosen when the speaer does not wish to involve himself in actions,

opinions or statements of fact of which he is not completely certain:

Thousands of books are publishedevery year and very few become best sellers.

For focus. *e use the passive when we wish to focus on a happening which is more important to

us than who or what causes the happening 6 or when there is simply no need to mention the doer:

My car has been stolen.

2harles I was beheadedin 3456.

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To avoid vague words as subjects. *e always prefer the passive to avoid a vague word as

subject (someone, people, a person&.

After his lecture, he was askedto answer some %uestions.

The passive may be avoided when we wish to mae what is described as personal:

Mother was operated onlast week.

The passive is used in #nglish where other languages might prefer an indefinite pronoun subject lie

one. In a formal conte)t we would avoid one:

The application has to be signedpersonally.

The passive is obligatory in notices lie 7nglish 8poken, 9oans Arranged, 8hoes 1epaired. uch

notices are normally abbreviated:7 /is0 8p.

To avoid the change of subject. *e use passive in order to avoid the use of more subjects

in a sentence:

The :rime Ministerwas welcomed

at the airport andasked

/our reporters asked him0 a lot of

%uestions.

The use of by/with + agent

An agent is a 4doer5, that is the person or thing that performs the action indicated by the verb. ;y!

agent is only necessary when the speaer wishes to say (or the hearer has to now& who or what is

responsible for the event in question. Information can be given by means of phrases other than by! agent:

This castle was builtof stone*before the


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- *e manage to arrange something eventually in our own advantage. 'efle)ive pronouns can be use

in such constructions:

8hegoteventually electedafter all the efforts she had made.

- In imperatives, commands or insults:

et dressed> et washed> et lost>

- omething (often unfavourable& happens beyond our control:

Wegotdelayedbecause of the heavy snowfall.

any words such as broken, interested, shut, worriedcan be used either as adjectives or as past

participles in passive constructions. If the word is an adjective it cannot be used with by! agent and cannot

be transposed into a sentence in the active.

8he was worriedabout her sick child. (adjective&

8he was worriedby mos%uitoes. (passive&

The passive with verbs of saying and believing

Some passive constructions also have the role of implying cautiousness. Thus we have,

-.It! passive ! that2clause with verbs lie agree, allege, arrange, assume, believe, consider, decide,

declare, discover, e?pect, fear, feel, find, hope, imagine, know, observe, presume, prove, report, say, show,

suggest, suppose, think, understand.

It is saidthere will be an early spring.

1. There! passive ! to be! complement with verbs lie acknowledge, allege, believe, consider, fear,

feel, know, presume, report, say, suppose, think, understand.

There is saidto be a new election this year.

%. ubject other than it! passive ! to2infinitive, with a few verbs lie acknowledge, allege, believe,

consider, declare, know, recognise, report, say, suppose, think, understand.

He is consideredto be a genius in Mathematics.

/ther verbs besides beare possible:

@r. =icholson is saidto know everything about this disease.

8upposehas two different meanings in:

!e is supposedto be at work at the moment.

a0 :eople think he is at work.

b0 It is his duty to be at work.

There! bealso combines withsuppose:

There is supposedto be a plane to 9os Angeles at 5 p. m.

To change an active clause into a passive one we have to:

a& replace the active verb phrase by the passive one 8be (at the tense in the active& ! past participle

(of the main verb&9b& mae the object of the active clause the subject of the passive clause

c& mae the subject of the active clause the agent of the passive clause, when needed by the conte)t.

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#)cept for a few cases, all active sentences with a noun phrase or pronoun object can be made passive

having four different basic patterns:

3ctive Passive

-. $ / $ (passive& by agent:The detective was murdered by the butler.

1. $ / $ $ (passive& $ by agent:

!e was persuaded to leave by the police.

%. $ / / $ (passive& / by agent:

I was given this watch by my father.

7. $ / > $ (passive& > by agent:

!e was considered a genius /by his wife0.

Some typical contexts for the passive

ormal notices and announcements:

2andidates are requiredto present their identity cards.

=ournalistic language:

Many people have been questionedbut the mystery is getting deeper

0eadlines, advertisements, notices, etc.:

ennedy assassinatedB

cientific writing (in descriptions of processes&:

The mi?ture is boiledin a recipient until it melts.

The causative

*e form the causative with have! nounCpronoun ! the past participle of the main verb:

I have'ust hadmy shoes mended.

et can be used in place of havesometimes with a slightly different meaning. There are instances

where the past participle can be omitted:I had a tooth out yesterday /pulled out0.

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In contrast to the passive we use the causative to stress the fact that we are causing someone else to

perform a service for us. *e often use it with verbs lie build, clean, decorate, deliver, develop /a film0,

mend, photocopy, press, print, repair, service. *e do not normally use the active voice (I(m servicing my

car& to mean that someone else is doing it. Aor can we say EI want to cut my hairF when we mean EI want to

have my hair cut.F

The causative with verbs lie coach, instruct, prepare, teach, traincan refer to things we cause to be

done to other people.

3ctive I am teaching you 7nglish /myself0.

Passive You are being taught 7nglish.

>ausative I(m having you taught 7nglish.

This construction is used in the sense of 4e)perience5:

When he got up to speak, the minister hadeggs thrownat him,

or of 4allow5:

I refused to havemy house usedas a hotel,

or to describe a present result of a past action:

We now havethe claim solved.

etis stronger than haveand contains a stronger idea of action by the subject:

I mustgetthis car servicedsoon,

and also implies a difficulty. et with an object before to2infinitive conveys the idea of 4persuade5 or

4manage to5:

I finallygotthe car to be serviced.

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33. Rewrite the sentences in the passive. Omit the agent where possible.

-. omeone has swept the pavement.

The pavement has been swept.

1. People spend a lot of money on presents at >hristmas time.

%. Is Tom maing a new hen houseH

7. *ho told you about thisH

;. They made her study harder this semester.

D. =ane showed me some paintings that she bought from the e)hibition.

. The teacher is going to teach his students a new chemistry lesson.

J. They may not buy that old house after all.

K. People generally mae fun of stupid fellows.

-L. y husband wals the dog twice a day.

34. Rewrite the following sentences as shown in the example.

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-. It is said that this bridge is the longest in the world.

This bridge is said to be the longest in the world.

1. 0e is nown to mae a lot of trouble wherever he goes.

%. They were reported to have sold a lot of stocs.

7. he is e)pected to have another baby.

;. It is said that they were e)pelled from the country.

D. 0e is rumoured to have run away with another woman.

. It is forecast that strong winds will be blowing ne)t month.

J. The company is said to have big losses.

K. It is believed that the ship san very close to the rench shores.

-L. he is widely believed to have won the competition by using drugs.

35. Write in the active the following sentences.-. I was told that my T$ set would be repaired in two days but it hasn+t been delivered yet.

They told me that they would repair my TB set in two days but they havenCt delivered it yet.

1. =ill was allowed to go on that trip, but was told that she was e)pected bac as soon as possible as she was

needed at her office.

%. 0e had been told how that machinery was to be handled but in the end he was helped by the foreman to

have that device started.

7. The house had been painted before it was bought by the new owners who were brought to view it first by

my friend.

;. he had been given every possible advice but she got trapped by villains in the tropical jungle.

D. ost of the plants were grown with great care but were destroyed by the bad weather we had this winter.

. y friend was offered several jobs but she preferred to be sent to wor overseas.

J. It is said that new drugs against 0I$ have been discovered but nothing has been put on maret yet.

K. Paula was taen to hospital after she had been injured by a speeding car.

-L. This novel was written while its author was held in custody by the local police.

36. Rewrite the sentences using causative have/get.

-. The man has ased the porter to open the door for him.

The man has had the door opened.

1. 3 new dress has been sewn for rieda.

%. y car is being washed and polished now.

7. /ur house will be painted and repaired ne)t month.

;. he ased him to write the report for her.

D. rs. @ravel ased the maid to scrub the floor in the itchen.

. The boss will deduct money from your salary if you are late with your wor again.J. *e called somebody to cut down the old oa tree from the garden.

K. Mid you as the milman to bring two bottles a dayH

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-L. 0e employed an architect to design the plans for the new house.

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06. the Passive