Passive verb forms Исполнитель

Passive verb forms

Part 1

Passive verb forms have one of the tenses of the verb to be and a past participle.

Verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can have a passive form. So we can make corresponding passive sentences for:

• They destroyed the building.—• The building was destroyed.

• The news surprised me.—• I was surprised by the news.

Verbs which do not take an object (intransitive verbs) do not have passive forms. For example, there are no passive forms for the following sentences:

• I slept for nearly ten hours last night.

• The ship slowly disappeared from view.

A good dictionary will tell you whether verbs are transitive or intransitive.

However, many verbs can be used at different times with and without objects - that is, they can be both transitive and intransitive. Compare:

• Are they meeting him at the station? (transitive) Is he being met at the airport? (passive)

• When shall we meet? (intransitive; no passive possible)

Verbs that can be followed by either object + object or object + prepositional object in active clauses can have two corresponding passive forms. The passive form you choose depends on which is more appropriate in a particular context.

Other verbs like this include give, lend, offer, promise, sell, teach, tell, throw. However, verbs that can't be followed by object + object in the active have only one of these passive forms:

He described me the situation.

He described the situation to me.

• I was described the situation.

• The situation was described to me.

Other verbs like this include demonstrate, explain, introduce, mention, report, suggest.

We can make a passive form of transitive two- and three-word verbs  Compare:

• Martha talked me into buying a motorbike. (= V + object + preposition) and

• I was talked into buying a motorbike by Martha.

• They gave over the whole programme to a report from Bosnia. (= V + adverb + object +preposition) and

• The whole programme was given over to a report from Bosnia.

Some transitive two- and three-word verbs are rarely used in the passive:

• We got the money back for her, but it took ages, (rather than The money was got back...)

• I had to put out a hand to steady myself, (rather than A hand was put out...)

Other verbs like this include get down (= write what somebody says), let in (= when something has a hole in it that allows water, light, etc. to get into it), let out (e.g. a scream), show off (= encourage people to see something because you are proud of it), take after (= resemble).

The choice between an active and passive sentence allows us to present the same information in two different orders. Compare:

active • The storm damaged the roof.

This sentence is about the storm, and

says what it did. [The storm is the'agent'.)

passive • The roof was damaged by the storm.

This sentence is about the roof, and says what

happened to it. (The 'agent' goes in a prepositional phrase with by after the verb.)

Part II

  Here are some situations where we typically choose a passive rather than an active.

  When the agent is not known, is 'people in general', is unimportant, or is obvious, we prefer passives. In an active sentence we need to include the agent as subject; using a passive allows us to omit the agent by leaving out the prepositional phrase with by:

• My office was broken into when I was on holiday, (unknown agent)

 • An order form can be found on page 2. (agent = people in general)

• These boxes should be handled with care, (unimportant agent)

• She is being treated in hospital, (obvious agent; presumably 'doctors')

In factual writing, particularly in describing procedures or processes, we often wish to omit the agent, and use passives:

• Nuclear waste will still be radioactive even after 20,000 years, so it must be disposed of very carefully. It can be stored as a liquid in stainless-steel containers which are encased in concrete. The most dangerous nuclear waste can be turned into glass. It is planned to store this glass in deep underground mines.

In spoken English we often use a subject such as people, somebody, they, we, or you even when we do not know who the agent is. In formal English, particularly writing, we often prefer to use a passive. Compare:

• They're installing the new computer system next month.

• The new computer system is being installed next month, (more formal)

Notice also that some verbs have corresponding nouns. These nouns can be used as the subject of passive sentences, with a new passive verb introduced:

• The installation of the new computer system will be completed by next month.

In English we usually prefer to put old information at the beginning of a sentence (or clause) and new information at the end. Choosing the passive often allows us to do this. Compare these two texts and notice where the old information (in italics) and new information (in bold) is placed in the second sentence of each. The second text uses a passive:

• The three machines tested for the report contained different types of safety valve. The Boron Group in Germany manufactured the machines.

• The three machines tested for the report contained different types of safety valve. The

machines were manufactured by the Boron Group in Germany.

It is often more natural to put agents (subjects) which consist of long expressions at the end of a sentence. Using the passive allows us to do this. So, for example:

• I was surprised by Don's decision to give up his job and move to Sydney.

is more natural than 'Don's decision to give up his job and move to Sydney surprised me.'