Caracteristicas Passive

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CARACTERISTICAS

1. Se dice que una oracin est en VOZ ACTIVA cuando la significacin del verbo esproducida por la persona gramatical a quien aqul se refiere:Pedro de Mendoza foundedBuenos Aires.(Pedro de Mendoza fund Buenos Aires).

2. Se dice que una oracin est en VOZ PASIVA cuando la significacin del verbo esrecibida por la persona gramatical a quien aqul se refiere:Buenos Aires was founded byPedro de Mendoza.(Buenos Aires fue fundada por Pedro de Mendoza).

3. Se forma con el auxiliar del verbo to be y el participio pasado del verbo que seconjuga.

4. El complemento de la oracin activa pasa a sujeto de la pasiva. Como en castellano,el sujeto de la activa se puede conservar como sujeto agente.

5. Cuando un verbo tiene dos complementos se pueden hacer dos estructuras depasiva:

a)A book was sent to Tom by Mr. Smith, Un libro fue enviado a Tom por Mr. Smith.b) Tom was sent a book by Mr. Smith (pasiva idiomtica). Esta estructura no esposible en castellano.

MODELO DE VERBO EN VOZ PASIVATO BE SEEN = SER VISTO

PRESENTEI am seen, soy vistoyou are seen, eres vistohe is seen, es visto

we are seen, somos vistosyou are seen, sois vistosthey are seen, son vistos

PRETERITO PERFECTOI have been seen, he sido vistoyou have been seen, has sido vistohe has been seen, ha sido vistowe have been seen, hemos sido vistosyou have been seen, habis sido vistosthey have been seen, han sido vistos

PASADOI was seen, fui vistoyou were seen, fuiste vistohe was seen, fue visto

we were seen, fuimos vistosyou were seen, fuisteis vistosthey were seen, fueron vistos

FUTUROI shall be seen, ser vistoyou will be seen, sers vistohe will be seen, ser vistowe shall be seen, seremos vistosyou will be seen, seris vistosthey will be seen, sern vistos

PRETERITO PLUSCUAMPERFECTO: I had been seen, haba sido vistoCONDICIONAL: I should be seen, sera vistoFUTURO PERFECTO: I shall have been seen, habr sido vistoCONDICIONAL PERFECTO: I should have been seen, habra sido visto

VOZ ACTIVA Y PASIVA: REGLAS PRACTICAS EN 4 PASOS.

1. La voz pasiva se forma con el verbo to be conjugado ms el participio del

verbo principal. En ingls es mucho ms frecuente que en espaol y, normalmente,aparece cuando no es importante quien realiza una accin sino el hecho en s. Por

eso, no siempre que veamos una pasiva, tenemos que traducirlo literalmente, puestoque en espaol suena ms forzado. Slo es posible el uso de la voz pasiva con


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verbos transitivos (verbos que llevan complemento directo).

VOZ ACTIVATom writes a letterTom is writing a letterTom was writing a letter

Tom wrote a letterTom has written a letterTom had written a letterTom will write a letterTom is going to write a letterTom can write a letterTom could write a letterTom must write a letterTom may write a letterTom might write a letter

VOZ PASIVAA letter is written by TomA letter is being written by TomA letter was being written by Tom

A letter was written by TomA letter has been written by TomA letter had been written by TomA letter will be written by TomA letter is going to be written by TomA letter can be written by TomA letter could be written by TomA letter must be written by TomA letter may be written...A letter might be written...

2. El sujeto agente se expresa con by. Sin embargo, en la mayora de las ocasiones

se prescinde del sujeto ya que no nos interesa saber quin exactamente ejecuta laaccin. Si una oracin activa tiene complemento directo e indirecto, cualquiera de

los dos complementos puede ser sujeto paciente de la pasiva:

ACTIVE:Someone gives me a dogPASSIVE 1:A dog is given to me

PASSIVE 2:I am given a dog (forma pasiva idiomtica)

La forma pasiva de doing, seeing, etces being done, being seen, etc.

ACTIVE:I don't like people telling me what to doPASSIVE:I don't like being told what to do

En ocasiones en las que ocurre algo a veces imprevisto, no planeado o fortuito para la

formacin de la voz pasiva se prefiere usar gety no be:get hurt, get annoyed, get divorced, get married, get invited, get bored, get lost

3. Las construcciones impersonales (se dice, se comenta, etc.) son muy tpicas de la

pasiva y difciles de traducir para los hispanoparlantes. Este tipo de construccinpasiva -utilizada cada vez con mayor frecuencia en los medios- se forma con la

estructura sujeto + to be + participle: It is reported (Se informa); It is said (Sedice); It is known (Se sabe); It is supposed (Se supone); It is considered (Se

considera); It is expected (Se espera). Veamos algunos ejemplos:

ACTIVE: Everybody thinks Cathy works very hard.PASSIVE 1:Cathy is thought to work very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...)

PASSIVE 2:It is thought that Cathy works very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...)ACTIVE: They believe Tom is wearing a white pullover.

PASSIVE 1:Tom is believed to be wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...)PASSIVE 2:It is believedthat Tom is wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...)

4.USOS ADICIONALES DE SUPPOSE

a) Se usa en afirmativo para acciones que estaban planeadas, que se supone que vana realizar, u obligaciones que uno debera cumplir.

You were supposed to be here at 9:00 am!!b) Otras veces, el uso de supposedindica que estos planes o obligaciones finalmente

no se cumplieron:

The train was supposed to arrive at 5 o'clock. (but it arrived at 8 o'clock)You were supposed to go to the supermarket. (but you didn't go)


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c) Por el contrario, en negativo, supposedsignifica la no conveniencia o prohibicin dehacer algo:

You are not supposed to smoke here. (you are not allowed to smoke here)You are not supposed to copy our web files. (you must not copy our web files)

English passive voice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the passive voice in English. For the passive voice generally,

including its use in other languages, seePassive voice.

Englishgrammar series

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Contraction

Disputes in English grammar

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English personal pronouns

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Thepassive voiceis agrammatical construction(a"voice") in which thesubjectof a

sentence or clause denotes the recipient of the action (thepatient) rather than the

performer (theagent). In theEnglish language, the English passive voice is formed

with anauxiliary verb(usually be or get) plus a participle (usually thepast participle) of

atransitive verb.

For example, "Caesar was stabbed by Brutus" uses the passive voice. The subject

denotes the person (Caesar) affected by the action of the verb. The counterpart to this in
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active voice is, "Brutus stabbed Caesar", in which the subject denotes the doer, or agent,

Brutus.

A sentence featuring the passive voice is sometimes called apassive sentence, and a

verb phrase in passive voice is sometimes called apassive verb.[1]

English differs from

languages in which voice is indicated through a simpleinflection, since the Englishpassive isperiphrastic, composed of an auxiliary verb plus the past participle of the

transitive verb.

Use of the English passive varies with writing style and field. Some style sheets

discourage use of passive voice,[2]

while others encourage it.[3]

Although some

purveyors of usage advice, includingGeorge Orwell(seePolitics and the English

Language, 1946) andWilliam Strunk, Jr.andE. B. White(seeThe Elements of Style,

1919) discourage the English passive, its usefulness is recognized in cases where the

theme (receiver of the action) is more important than the agent.[4]

Contents

[hide]

1 Identifying the English passive

2 Usage and style

o 2.1 Against the passive voice

o 2.2 For the passive voice

3 Passive constructions

o 3.1 Canonical passives

o 3.2 Promotion of other objectso 3.3 Promotion of content clauses

o 3.4 Stative passives

o 3.5 Adjectival passives

o 3.6 Passives without active counterparts

o 3.7 Double passives

o 3.8 Passives without a past participle

4 Misapplication of the term

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Links

[edit] Identifying the English passive

In the following excerpt from the 18th-centuryUnited States Declaration of

Independence(1776), the bold text identifies passive verbs; italicized text identifies the

one active verb (hold) and thecopulative verbare:

We holdthese truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,

Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-Cam-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-Cam-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-Cam-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrastichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrastichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrastichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strunk,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strunk,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strunk,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-MW-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-MW-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-MW-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Identifying_the_English_passivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Identifying_the_English_passivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Usage_and_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Usage_and_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Against_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Against_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#For_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#For_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passive_constructionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passive_constructionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Canonical_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Canonical_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_other_objectshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_other_objectshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_content_clauseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_content_clauseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Stative_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Stative_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Adjectival_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Adjectival_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_active_counterpartshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_active_counterpartshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Double_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Double_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_a_past_participlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_a_past_participlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Misapplication_of_the_termhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Misapplication_of_the_termhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Misapplication_of_the_termhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_a_past_participlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Double_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passives_without_active_counterpartshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Adjectival_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Stative_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_content_clauseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Promotion_of_other_objectshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Canonical_passiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Passive_constructionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#For_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Against_the_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Usage_and_stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#Identifying_the_English_passivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-MW-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._B._Whitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strunk,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrastichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-Cam-0


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In this case, the agent ("the Creator") of the passive construction can be identified with a

by phrase. When such a phrase is missing, the construction is an agentless passive. For

example, "Caesar was stabbed" is a perfectly grammatical full sentence, in a way that

"stabbed Caesar" and "Brutus stabbed" are not. Agentless passives are common in

scientific writing, where the agent may be irrelevant (e.g. "The mixture was heated to

300C").

It is not the case, however, that any sentence in which the agent is unmentioned or

marginalised is an example of the passive voice. Sentences like "There was a stabbing"

or "A stabbing occurred" are not passive. In each case, both the subject and the agent

are thegerund"stabbing". See"Misapplication of the term," belowfor more discussion

of this misconception.

[edit] Usage and style

[edit] Against the passive voice

Many language critics and language-usage manuals discourage use of the passive

voice.[4]

This advice is not usually found in older guides, emerging only in the first half

of the twentieth century.[5]

In 1916, the British writerArthur Quiller-Couch, criticized

this grammatical voice:

Generally, usetransitive verbs, that strike their object; and use them in the active voice,

eschewing the stationary passive, with its little auxiliary itss and wass, and its

participles getting into the light of your adjectives, which should be few. For, as a rough

law, by his use of the straight verb and by his economy of adjectives you can tell a

mans style, if it be masculine or neuter, writing or 'composition'.[6]

Two years later, in 1918, inThe Elements of StyleCornell University Professor of

EnglishWilliam Strunk, Jr.warned against excessive use of the passive voice:

The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive . . . This rule does

not, of course, mean that the writer should entirely discard the passive voice, which is

frequently convenient and sometimes necessary . . . The need to make a particular word

the subject of the sentence will often . . . determine which voice is to be used. The

habitual use of the active voice, however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not

only in narrative concerned principally with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a

tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic bysubstituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as

there is or could be heard.[7]

In 1926, in the authoritativeA Dictionary of Modern English Usage(1926),Henry W.

Fowlerrecommended against transforming active voice forms into passive voice forms,

because doing so "sometimes leads to bad grammar, falseidiom, or clumsiness".[8][9]

In 1946, in the essay "Politics and the English Language" (1946),George Orwell

recommended the active voice as an elementary principle of composition: "Never use

the passive where you can use the active."
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The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (1993) stated that:

Active voice makes subjects do something (to something);passive voice permits

subjects to have something done to them (by someone or something). Some argue that

active voice is more muscular, direct, and succinct,passive voice flabbier, more indirect,

and wordier. If you want your words to seem impersonal, indirect, and noncommittal,passive is the choice, but otherwise, active voice is almost invariably likely to prove

more effective.[10]

Krista Ratcliffenotes the use of passives as an example of the role of grammar as "a

link between words and magical conjuring [...]: passive voice mystifies accountability

by erasing who or what performs an action [...].[11]

[edit] For the passive voice

Jan Freeman, a reporter for The Boston Globe, said that the passive voice does have its

uses, and that "all good writers use the passive voice".[12]For example, despite Orwell'sadvice to avoid the passive, his "Politics and the English Language" (1946) employs

passive voice for about 20 percent of its constructions. By comparison, a statistical

study found about 13 percent passive constructions in newspapers and magazines.[4]

Passive writing is not necessarily slack and indirect. Many famously vigorous passages

use the passive voice, as in these examples:

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and

the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. (King James Bible,

Isaiah 40:4) Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York.

(Shakespeare's Richard III, I.1, ll. 12)

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. (John F. Kennedy's

quotation of Luke 12:48 in his address to the Massachusetts legislature, 9 January

1961.)[13]

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

(Winston Churchilladdressing the House of Commons, 20 August 1940.)

MerriamWebster's Dictionary of English Usage(1994) recommends the passive voice

when identifying the object (receiver) of the action is more important than the subject

(agent), and when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or not worth mentioning:

The child was struck by the car.

The store was robbed last night.

Plows should not be kept in the garage.

Kennedy was elected president.[4]

The principal criticism against the passive voice is its potential for evasion of

responsibility. This is because a passive clause may omit the agent even where it is

important:

We had hoped to report on this problem, but the data were inadvertently deletedfrom our files.

[4][14][14]
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(Seeweasel words.) However, the passive can also be used to emphasize the agent, and

it may be better for that role than the active voice, because the end of a clause is the

ideal place to put something you wish to emphasize:

Don't you see? The patient was murdered by his own doctor![15]

Similarly, the passive may be useful when modifying the agent, as heavily modified

noun phrases also tend to occur last in a clause:

The breakthrough was achieved by Burlingame and Evans, two researchers in the

university's genetic engineering lab.[14]

[edit] Passive constructions

This section needs additionalcitationsforverification. Please help

improve this articleby addingreliable references. Unsourced material may bechallengedandremoved.(September 2009)

In general, the passive voice is used to placefocuson the grammaticalpatient, rather

than theagent. This properly occurs when the patient is thetopicof the sentence.

However, the passive voice can also be used when the focus is on the agent.

[edit] Canonical passives

Passive constructions have a range of meanings and uses. The canonical use is to map a

clausewith adirect objectto a corresponding clause where the direct object has becomethe subject. For example:

John threw the ball.

Here threw is a transitive verb withJohn as its subject and the ball as its direct object. If

we recast the verb in the passive voice (was thrown), then the ball becomes the subject

(it is "promoted" to the subject position) andJohn disappears:

The ball was thrown.

The original "demoted" subject can typically be re-inserted using the preposition by.

The ball was thrown by John.

An example of the canonical use of the getpassive arises from the recasting of the

clause "The ball hit Bob":

Bob got hit by the ball.

[edit] Promotion of other objects

One non-canonical use of English's passive is to promote an object other than a direct

object. It is usually possible in English to promote indirect objects as well. For example:
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John gave Mary a book. Mary was given a book.

John gave Mary a book. Mary was given a book by John.

In the active form, gave is the verb;John is its subject,Mary its indirect object, and a

bookits direct object. In the passive forms, the indirect object has been promoted and

the direct object has been left in place. (In "A book was given Mary", the direct object ispromoted and the indirect object left in place. In this respect, English resembles

dechticaetiative languages.)

It is also possible, in some cases, to promote the object of a preposition:

They talked about the problem. The problem was talked about.

In the passive form here, the preposition is "stranded"; that is, it is not followed by an

object.

[edit] Promotion of content clauses

It is possible to promote acontent clausethat serves as a direct object. In this case,

however, the clause typically does not change its position in the sentence, and an

expletiveittakes the normal subject position:

They say that he left. It is said that he left.

[edit] Stative passives

The passives described above are all eventive (or dynamic) passives. Stative (or static,or resultative) passives also exist in English; rather than describing an action, they

describe the result of an action. English does not usually distinguish between the two.

For example:

The window was broken.

This sentence has two different meanings, roughly the following:

[Someone] broke the window.

The window was not intact.

The former meaning represents the canonical, eventive passive; the latter, the stative

passive. (The terms eventive and stative/resultative refer to the tendencies of these

forms to describe events and resultant states, respectively. The terms can be misleading,

however, as the canonical passive of a stative verb is not a stative passive, even though

it describes a state.)

Some verbs do not form stative passives. In some cases, this is because distinct

adjectivesexist for this purpose, such as with the verb open:

The door was opened. [Someone] opened the door.

The door was open. The door was in the open state.
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[edit] Adjectival passives

Adjectival passives are not true passives; they occur when a participial adjective (an

adjectivederivedfrom a participle) is used predicatively (seeAdjective). For example:

She was relieved to find her car.

Here, relievedis an ordinary adjective, though it derives from the past participle of

relieve,[16]

and that past participle may be used in canonical passives:

He was relieved of duty.

In some cases, the line between an adjectival passive and a stative passive may be

unclear, as in:

The door was closed. (= The door was closed by [someone] = [Someone] closed the

door OR = The door was not open.)

[edit] Passives without active counterparts

In a few cases, passive constructions retain all the sense of the passive voice, but do not

have immediate active counterparts. For example:

He was rumored to be a war veteran. *[Someone] rumored him to be a war

veteran.

(The asterisk here denotes an ungrammatical construction.) Similarly:

It was rumored that he was a war veteran. *[Someone] rumored that he was a

war veteran.

In both of these examples, the active counterpart was once possible, but has fallen out of

use.

[edit] Double passives

It is possible for a verb in the passive voiceespecially anobject-raising verbto take

aninfinitivecomplement that is also in the passive voice:

The project is expected to be completed in the next year.

Commonly, either or both verbs may be moved into the active voice:

[Someone] expects the project to be completed in the next year.

[Someone] is expected to complete the project in the next year.

[Someone] expects [someone] to complete the project in the next year.

In some cases, a similar construction may occur with a verb that is not object-raising in

the active voice:
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?The project will be attempted to be completed in the next year. *[Someone]

will attempt the project to be completed in the next year. [Someone] will attempt

to complete the project in the next year.

(The question mark here denotes a questionably-grammatical construction.) In this

example, the object of the infinitive has been promoted to the subject of the main verb,and both the infinitive and the main verb have been moved to the passive voice. The

American Heritage Book of English Usage declares this unacceptable,[17]

but it is

nonetheless recommended in a variety of contexts.[18]

[edit] Passives without a past participle

Rarely, the passive voice can be expressed without the use of the past participle, as in[19]

That rash needs looking at by a specialist.

Here "looking at by a specialist" is a noun phrase serving as the object of the active verb"needs"; in the noun phrase the implied subject is "rash", which is the patient of the verb

"look at", and the agent "specialist" appears in a prepositional "by" phrase.

[edit] Misapplication of the term

Occasionally, writers misapply the termpassive voice to sentences that do not identify

the actor.[20]

For example, this extract from The New Yorkermagazine refers to the

American embezzlerBernard Madoff;bold text identifies the mis-identifiedpassive

voice verbs:

Two sentences later, Madoff said, "When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would

end shortly, and I would be able to extricate myself, and my clients, from the scheme."

As he read this, he betrayed no sense of how absurd it was to use the passive voice in

regard to his scheme, as if it were a spell of bad weather that had descended on him . . .

In most of the rest of the statement, one not only heard the aggrieved passive voice, but

felt the hand of a lawyer: "To the best of my recollection, my fraud began in the early

nineteen-nineties."[21]

The intransitive verbs would end and began are in the active voice; however, how the

speaker uses the words subtly diverts responsibility from him.[22]

InThe Elements of

Style, Strunk and White mis-apply thepassive voice term to several active voiceconstructions; Prof.Geoffrey Pullumwrites:

Of the four pairs of examples offered to show readers what to avoid and how to correct

it, a staggering three out of the four are mistaken diagnoses. "At dawn the crowing of a

rooster could be heard" is correctly identified as a passive clause, but the other three are

all errors:

"There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground" has no sign

of the passive in it anywhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=13http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=13http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=14http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Pullumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Pullumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Pullumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Pullumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Stylehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-16


11/15

"It was not long before she was very sorry that she had said what she had",

also contains nothing that is even reminiscent of the passive construction.

"The reason that he left college was that his health became impaired", is

presumably fingered as passive because ofimpaired, but thats a mistake.

Its an adjective here.[23]

[edit] See also

Ergative verb

Existential clause

List of common English usage misconceptions

Mediopassive voice

Reflexive verb

[edit] Notes

1. ^Peters, Pam (2004).The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge UniversityPress. p. 411.ISBN052162181X.

2. ^Nature Publishing Group (2010).Writing for a Nature journal "How to write a paper".Authors & referees.http://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.html

Writing for a Nature journal. Retrieved 2010-08-05.

3. Înternational Studies Review (10 March 2010)."Journal house style points".http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleS

heet.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-05.

4. âbcdeWebster's Dictionary of English Usage72021 (1989).

5. ^Zwicky, Arnold (2006-07-22)."How long have we been avoiding the passive, andwhy?".Language Log.http://158.130.17.5/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003380.html.6. Ârthur Quiller-Couch, On the Art of Writingch. 7 (1916).7. ^William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Stylech. 3, sec. 11 (1918).8. ^Bell, Griffin B.(1966)."Style in judicial writing".15 J. Pub. L. 214.

http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/eml

j15&div=17&id=&page=. Retrieved 2010-03-02. "Fowler, the recognized modern

authority on the use of the English language".

9. ^Fowler, W. W.;Crystal, David(2009) [1926].A Dictionary of Modern EnglishUsage: The Classic First Edition. Oxford World's Classics Hardbacks Series (reissue

ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press. p. 425.ISBN9780199535347.

http://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4C. Retrieved 2010-03-02. "PASSIVE

DISTURBANCES. [...] The conversion of an active-verb sentence into a passive-verbone of the same meaning - e.g. ofYou killed him intoHe was killed by you - is a familiar

process. But it sometimes leads to bad grammar, false idiom, or clumsiness."

10.^Wilson, Kenneth G. (1992)."The Columbia Guide to Standard American English".http://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.html..

11.^Ratcliffe, Krista (1996).Anglo-American feminist challenges to the rhetoricaltraditions: Virginia Woolf, Mary Daly, Adrienne Rich. SIU Press. p. 94.

ISBN9780809319343.http://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMC. Retrieved

2010-10-14.

12.^Freeman, Jan(2009-03-22)."Active resistance: What we get wrong about the passivevoice".The Boston Globe(Boston).ISSN0743-1791.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/.

Retrieved 2010-03-01. "All good writers use the passive voice."13.Âddress to Massachusetts legislature (Jan. 9, 1961)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-pullum-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-pullum-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_note-pullum-22http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=15http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergative_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergative_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_clausehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_English_usage_misconceptions#Grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_English_usage_misconceptions#Grammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediopassive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediopassive_voicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=16http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_passive_voice&action=edit&section=16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-Cam_0-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-Cam_0-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambridge_Guide_to_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambridge_Guide_to_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cambridge_Guide_to_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/052162181Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/052162181Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/052162181Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-1http://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-2http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/FPA_IPS_INSP_ISQU_MISR_ContentStyleSheet.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-MW_3-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary_of_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary_of_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_Dictionary_of_English_Usagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-4http://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://158.130.17.5/~myl/languagelog/archives/003380.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-5http://www.bartleby.com/190/7.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/190/7.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/190/7.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/190/7.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-Elements_6-0http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin_Bellhttp://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/emlj15&div=17&id=&page=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Watson_Fowlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Watson_Fowlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Watson_Fowlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_crystal&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_crystal&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_crystal&action=edit&redlink=1http://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_University_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_University_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_University_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199535347http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199535347http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199535347http://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://books.google.com/?id=Vr7muDFR6j4Chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-9http://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6405.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-10http://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780809319343http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780809319343http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780809319343http://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://books.google.com/books?id=u9aN0T7bRrMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-11http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Freeman&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Freeman&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Freeman&action=edit&redlink=1http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Serial_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Serial_Numberhttp://www.worldcat.org/issn/0743-1791http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0743-1791http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0743-1791http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-12http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03GeneralCourt01091961.htmhttp://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03GeneralCourt01091961.htmhttp://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03GeneralCourt01091961.htmhttp://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Speeches/JFK/003POF03GeneralCourt01091961.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-12http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.worldcat.org/issn/0743-1791http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Serial_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boston_Globehttp://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/03/22/active_resistance/http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jan_Freeman&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wiki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12/15

14.^abcThe American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996).15.^Geoffrey Pullum, "The passive in English",Language Log 2011 January 24, 2011[1]16.^Language Log: How to defend yourself from bad advice about writing17.^The American Heritage Book of English Usage, ch. 1, sect. 24 "double passive."

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/024.html.

Accessed 13 November 2006.

18.^Neal Whitman, "Double Your Passive, Double Your Fun", in Literal Minded.http://literalminded.wordpress.com/2005/05/16/double-your-passive-double-your-fun/.

Accessed 13 November 2006.

19.^Geoffrey K. Pullum."The passive in English".Language Log.http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2922.

20.^Mark Liberman, "'Passive Voice'1397-2009R.I.P.,"inLanguage Log, 2009March 12.

21.^Nancy Franklin, "The Dolor of Money,"The New Yorker, 2009 March 23, at 24, 25.22.^Mark Liberman, "The aggrieved passive voice,"inLanguage Log, 2009 March 16.23.^Pullum, Geoffrey K (17 April 2009)."50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice".The

Chronicle of Higher Education55 (32): B15.

http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i32/32b01501.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-12

THE PASSIVE VOICE

Auxiliary Verbs

Passive and Active Voices

Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive committee approved the new

policy) orpassive (The new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice.

In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a

be-er or a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subjectof the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some otheragentor by

something unnamed (The new policy was approved). Computerized grammar checkers

can pick out a passive voice construction from miles away and ask you to revise it to a

more active construction. There is nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but

if you can say the same thing in the active mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your

text will have more pizzazz as a result, since passive verb constructions tend to lie about

in their pajamas and avoid actual work.

We find an overabundance of the passive voice in sentences created by self-protective

business interests, magniloquent educators, and bombastic military writers

(who must get weary of this accusation), who use the passive voice to avoidresponsibility for actions taken. Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal
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ve_voice#cite_ref-pullum_22-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Loghttp://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1242http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Yorkerhttp://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/03/23/090323ta_talk_franklinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Loghttp://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1227http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-19http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2922http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2922http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-18http://literalminded.wordpress.com/2005/05/16/double-your-passive-double-your-fun/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-17http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/024.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-16http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003722.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-15http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2922http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-AH_13-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-AH_13-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#cite_ref-AH_13-0


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especially to children" places the burden on the adsas opposed to "We designed the

cigarette ads to appeal especially to children," in which "we" accepts responsibility. At a

White House press briefing we might hear that "The President was advised that certain

members of Congress were being audited" rather than "The Head of the Internal

Revenue service advised the President that her agency was auditing certain members of

Congress" because the passive construction avoids responsibility for advising and forauditing. One further caution about the passive voice: we should not mix active and

passive constructions in the same sentence: "The executive committee approved the new

policy, and the calendar for next year's meetings was revised" should be recast as "The

executive committee approved the new policy and revised the calendar for next year's

meeting."

Take the quiz (below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive verbs.

The passive voice does exist for a reason, however, and its presence is not

always to be despised. The passive is particularly useful (even

recommended) in two situations:

When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or

thing acted upon: The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early

morning hours.

When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora borealis can be

observed in the early morning hours.

The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or

technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or

principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I poured 20 ccof acid into the beaker," we would write "Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the

beaker." The passive voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in

which the details of process are much more important than anyone's taking

responsibility for the action: "The first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after

the acid rinse."

We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift

emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in

subsequent sentences.

The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing with academicsuspension and withdrawal. The policy had been written by a subcommittee on student

behavior. If students withdraw from course work before suspension can take effect, the

policy states, a mark of "IW" . . . .

The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate that policy move from

being the object in the first sentence to being the subject of the second sentence. The

passive voice allows for this transition.

Passive Verb Formation


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The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with

the past participle of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also sometimes present:

"The measure could have been killed in committee." The passive can be used, also, in

various tenses. Let's take a look at the passive forms of "design."

Tense Subject

AuxiliaryPast

ParticipleSingular Plural

Present The car/cars is are designed.

Present perfect The car/cars has been have been designed.

Past The car/cars was were designed.

Past perfect The car/cars had been had been designed.

Future The car/cars will be will be designed.

Future perfect The car/cars will have been will have been designed.

Present progressive The car/cars is being are being designed.

Past progressive The car/cars was being were being designed.

A sentence cast in the passive voice will not always include anagentof the action. For

instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin can was crushed by the

gorilla." But a perfectly good sentence would leave out the gorilla: "The tin can was

crushed." Also, when an active sentence with an indirect object is recast in the passive,

the indirect object can take on the role of subject in the passive sentence:

Active Professor Villa gave Jorge an A.

Passive An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.

Passive Jorge was given an A.
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Only transitive verbs (those that take objects) can be transformed into passive

constructions. Furthermore, active sentences containing certain verbs cannot be

transformed into passive structures. To have is the most important of these verbs. We

can say "He has a new car," but we cannot say "A new car is had by him." We can say

"Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say "Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of

such verbs*:

resemble look like equal agree with

mean contain hold comprise

lack suit fit become

Verbals in Passive Structures

Verbals or verb formscan also take on features of the passive voice. An infinitive

phrase in the passive voice, for instance, can perform various functions within a

sentence (just like the active forms of the infinitive).

Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.

Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.

Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her own right.

The same is true ofpassive gerunds.

Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.

Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.

Object of preposition: I am so tired ofbeing lectured to by my boss.

With passive participles, part of the passive construction is often omitted, the result

being a simple modifyingparticipial phrase.

[Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker does not always

behave well on paved highways.
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Caracteristicas Passive

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