The Passive Voice. Presented by Tenley, Christina, and Blanca English 731

Transcription

1 The Passive Voice Presented by Tenley, Christina, and Blanca English 731

2 Aspect: Key concepts It expresses whether an action is finished or in progress. Transitive verb: A verb that takes at least two arguments (agent and object). Voice: The relationship between the verb and its subject. In English there are two voices: Active and Passive

3 Key terms for Passive Voice Agent: performer of the action (by-phrase) Receiver: the subject in the passive voice Short passive: no agent stated Long passive: agent stated in the by-phrase

4 What is the difference between the active and passive voices? ACTIVE (S-V-O) Tenley punched Christina. PASSIVE (Receiver-verb-agent) Christina was punched (by Tenley). Emphasis on agency Word economy Directness Emphasis on object/receiver Wordy Vagueness

5 From active to passive and vice versa Tenley punched Christina. Christina was punched (by Tenley). The passive voice requires a transitive verb.

6 Some notorious passive voice users Mistakes were made We would all have to say that mistakes were made in terms of comments. Ron Ziegler (1973), Pres. Nixon s press secretary apologizing to Watergate journalists, Woodward and Bernstein. We did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so. Pres. Reagan (1987) Iran-Contra Mistakes were made here by people who either did it deliberately or inadvertently. Pres. Clinton (1997) Democratic fund-raising scandal It is quite possible that mistakes were made." Henry Kissinger (2002) On his involvement with Operation Condor (1975) "I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. Alberto Gonzales (2007) On the firing of eight US Attorneys

7 So why did these politicians choose the passive voice? Mistakes were made To deemphasize the agent

8 So, why do we use it? For special discourse functions: In academic prose: was analyzed, is measured, are believed to be associated with, etc. In the news: for unpleasant or dramatic events (agent often unknown) was accused of, was jailed for, was injured, etc. In informal conversation: She got dumped; he got fired, etc. In fixed expressions we use: She can t be bothered. It s gotta be done.

9 How do we construct the passive voice? 1. Simple passive voice BE + Past Participle (-en/-ed) The book was written. Christina was punched. BE + Past Participle + optional by-phrase The book was written by the queen of pop. Christina was punched by Tenley.

10 How do we construct the passive voice? 2. with Tense and Aspect Mistakes are made. (simple present) (rare) have been (present perfect) are being (present progressive) can be (with modals) were (simple past) were being made (past progressive) are going to be (future) will be (future) have been being (present progressive)

11 How do we construct the passive voice? 3. With GET (common in informal English) GET + Past Participle OMG! She got asked to the prom! Oh no! She got dumped on prom night Notice GET does not act like an auxiliary in questions Did she get asked to the prom? Was she asked to the prom?

12 How do we construct the passive voice? 4. With HAVE (experiential, not causative) HAVE + Past Participle Blanca had her cell phone stolen again.

13 Our Students (You, today) Low intermediate level Adult education Non-academic, non-credit class 9-11 years formal education in L years old Multicultural and multilingual Purpose: integration/survival English

14 Our Demo Today s task fits in a lesson within a larger unit: 1. Review active form, past and present 2. Introduce passive form, present 3. Introduce passive form, past 4. TODAY: Work on fluency, discriminating use of both 5. More fluency work: Clue -type mystery game

15 Our Lesson Plan for Today :00-:10 Warm-up activity: Students are given short handout they have to fill out by circulating and talking to classmates. :10-:25 Review of past and present passive (long and short) :25-:35 Review of vocabulary (included in envelopes) :30-:35 Explain activity and demonstrate :35-:45 Activity :45-:55 Discuss sentences on the board (from the activity) :55-1:00 Wrap-up, explain homework

16 Our Task

17 Thank you for your participation! Questions? Comments?