MORFOSINTAXIS INGLESA

Transcription

1 MORFOSINTAXIS INGLESA UNIT 12. PASIVE VOICE The following chart includes sentences changed from the active to the passive voice in the principal tenses. Time Reference Active Passive Present Simple They make Fords in Cologne. Fords are made in Cologne. Present Continuous Past Simple Past Continuous Present Perfect Going to (future intention) Susan is cooking dinner. James Joyce wrote "Dubliners". They were painting the house when I arrived. They have produced over 20 models in the past two years. They are going to build a new factory in Portland. Dinner is being cooked by Susan. "Dubliners" was written by James Joyces. The house was being painted when I arrived. Over 20 models have been produced in the past two years. A new factory is going to be built in Portland. Future Simple I will finish it tomorrow. It will be finished tomorrow. PASSIVE, FUNCTION The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that is affected by an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. The passive voiced is used when we are interested in the passive, not who uses it. - We are interested in the house, not the builder. The house was built in We are interested in the road, not the people repairing it. The road is being repaired. UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 1

2 In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the sentence. Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or cannot express who or what performed the action. I noticed that a window had been left open. Every year people are killed on our roads. If we want to say who or what performs the action, that is, if the agent (the performer of the action) is important we use the preposition by. "A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles. ET was directed by Spielberg. The passive voice is often used in formal or scientific texts. A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words. Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases. Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of ways. PASSIVE, FORM The passive voice in English is composed of two elements: the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the verb in question: Subject verb 'to be' past participle The house was built... Note: 'to be born' is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. I was born in When were you born? But: Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week. UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 2

3 PASSIVE INFINITIVE FORM: Infinitive of 'to be' + past participle: (to) be cleaned This form is used after modal verbs and other verbs normally followed by an infinitive. You have to be tested on your English grammar John might be promoted next year. She wants to be invited to the party. GERUND OR -ING FORM: Being + past participle: being cleaned This form is used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund Most film stars hate being interviewed. I remember being taught to drive. The children are excited about being taken to the zoo. Note: Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get instead of the verb to be. He got arrested for dangerous driving. They're getting married later this year. I'm not sure how the window got broken. PASSIVE TENSES AND ACTIVE EQUIVALENTS Important: Notice that the tense of the verb which will be in the passive voice is the same as the tense of the main verb in the active voice. Example: to keep UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 3

4 TENSE / VERB FORM ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE Simple present keeps is kept Present continuous is keeping is being kept Simple past kept was kept Past continuous was keeping was being kept Present perfect have kept have been kept Past perfect had kept had been kept Future will keep will be kept Simple Conditional would keep would be kept Perfect Conditional would have kept would have been kept Present infinitive to keep to be kept Perfect infinitive to have kept to have been kept Present participle/gerund keeping being kept Perfect participle having kept having been kept Example sentences: Active: I keep the butter in the fridge. Passive: The butter is kept in the fridge. Active: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Passive: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Active: They stole the painting. Passive: The painting was stolen. Active: A dog bit him. Passive: He was bitten by a dog. Active: They are repairing the road. Passive: The road is being repaired. CHANGING THE VOICE OF A VERB WHICH TAKES BOTH A DIRECT OBJECT AND AN INDIRECT OBJECT When a sentence contains both a direct object and an indirect object, either object can become the subject of the verb when the verb is put into the Passive Voice. The object which does not become the subject remains as an object. When a verb in the Passive Voice takes a direct object, the indirect object is usually preceded by a preposition. UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 4

5 Active: The guide will show you (indirect object) the museum (direct object). Passive: You will be shown the museum by the guide. Passive: The museum will be shown to you by the guide. In the second sentence, the former indirect object, you, is the subject of the verb, and the former direct object, museum, remains the direct object. This second sentence is much more usual. In the third sentence, the former direct object, museum, is the subject of the verb, and the former indirect object, you, is preceded by the preposition to. PASSIVE FORMS OF REPORTING VERBS. IMPERSONAL PASSIVE (In Spanish: se dice se sabe se cree ) There are two special structures for forming the passive of reporting verbs like say. If we take a sentence such as: They/People say that Ken is really good at Chinese cooking. where they means 'people generally', then one passive version is: Ken is said to be really good at Chinese cooking. Here we form the passive of the reporting verb say which is then followed by a toinfinitive (to be ). This is the normal structure to use. However we can also create an alternative passive form by using an impersonal 'it' structure: It is said that Ken is really good at Chinese cooking. In this example, the passive reporting verb say occurs in the 'it' structure which is then followed by a finite clause (Ken is really good at Chinese cooking). This structure is less common. Other typical reporting verbs used in this way are suppose, allege, expect, believe, consider, know, report, think These structures are particularly common in the impersonal style of news reports. UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 5

6 People know that he lived in Paris during the war. - He is known to have lived in Paris When the verb in the finite clause is in Past tense then a Perfect Infinitive must be used. - It is known that he lived in Paris.. GET / HAVE SOMETHING DONE This construction is passive in meaning. It may describe situations where we want someone else to do something for us. I must get / have my hair cut. (someone else is cutting my hair) When are you going to get that window mended? (someone else is going to repair the window) We're having the house painted (the painters are going to paint the house not us) If the verb refers to something negative or unwanted, it has the same meaning as a passive sentence. Jim had his car stolen last night. (= Jim's car was stolen) They had their roof blown off in the storm. (= Their roof was blown off in the storm) The construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially if a time expression is used. We'll get the work done as soon as possible. I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime. In all these sentences, we are more interested in the result of the activity than in the person or object that performs the activity. 'X' NEEDS DOING In the same way, this construction has a passive meaning. The important thing in our minds is the person or thing that will experience the action, e.g. The ceiling needs painting (= the ceiling needs to be painted) My hair needs cutting (= my hair needs to be cut. UNIT 12. PASSIVE VOICE 6