V. VERB QUALITIES - UW-Parkside: Help for Personal Homepages
V. VERB QUALITIES - UW-Parkside: Help for Personal Homepages V. VERB QUALITIES - UW-Parkside: Help for Personal Homepages
(7) Your order is being processed ==> Someone is processing your order. EXERCISE 5.10: Passive to Active 1) The dinner was prepared by Marcel 2) The cake was beautifully decorated. 3) The bride was dumped at the altar. 4) Many things can be seen in New York. 5) The bodies will be dumped in the river. 6) My aunt may be visited by the police. 7) Marcel had been dumped by the bride. 8) The cake had been poisoned. 9) The ushers have been bribed by Marcel. 10) The reception is being boycotted by the bride’s family. 11) The DJ is being tested for drugs by the police. 12) The guests were being frisked for guns. 13) The bride’s dress was stepped on by a flower girl. 14) Why was the best man killed? 15) Has the wedding been staked out by the police? When, then, should one use the passive? It is always appropriate to use the passive when one sincerely does not know the agent. If someone breaks into our house, for example, the sentence We were robbed is perfectly OK, without adding "by someone" to make it clear that we don't know who did it. It is also appropriate to use the passive for a clearer transition; if you've been talking about "us" for several sentences, either We were robbed or We were robbed by the referees avoids shifting the focus. Passive constructions are not automatically bad prose, and even the best writers use them. Even when the use of the passive is deadening, one needs to follow the rule of "When in Rome, do as Romans do." In particular, remember that the modern university is just another bureaucracy, and that academic writing is bureaucratic writing. The use of the first-person "I" is taboo in many forms of academic writing. This will often force one to use the passive (and other awkward structures)--e.g., "The subjects were asked." Hold your nose and comply. EXERCISE 5.11: Tense, Aspect, and Voice–give the tense (unless modal) of each of these sentences, plus the aspect (if any) and voice (if passive): 1) Anton is aching with amorous anxiety. 2) Baldric was barred from the barber shop for life. 3) Can Calvin come out and play catch? 4) Did Dan ever have a dog? 5) Emily and Ernie were given eleven dollars each, weren’t they? 6) Fannie has fallen on hard times. 7) George gave Gigi an expensive gem. 8) Has Hazel been hugging Hank? 9) I will just be ignored again, I guess. 10) Just in time, Justine is being joined by Jody. 130
11) Karen is knocked up. 12) Last night Larry was lusting after Lucy. 13) Mabel must have made up with Mike. 14) Nobody has been named to the position. 15) Olga will slowly open her eyes. 16) Pavla is proud of her piano prowess. 17) Quincy had quietly quivered with pleasure. 18) Rose has often been roped into racing. 19) So many speakers are silenced by the authorities. 20) Ted has always tried his best. 21) Uncle Henry had usually been snoring by this time. 22) Very few vessels had been verified as safe. 23) Will Walter have been walking the whole time? 24) You will always be dear to me. Now that we have covered these various possibilities, we can summarize how to identify the tense, aspect, and voice of a clause. If a clause has only one verb, that verb will be either in the present tense or the past tense, there will be no aspect, and the voice will be active. If a clause has two verbs, it all depends on the first verb. If the first verb is a modal, there is no aspect, the voice will be active, and there will be no tense unless the modal is will and one chooses to call that future tense. If the first verb is a form of have, the second should be a past participle (even if it looks like a past tense), and the tense depends on the tense of have, and the clause is in perfect aspect and active voice. If the first verb is a form of be, the tense depends on the tense of be; if the second verb is a present participle, the clause is in perfect aspect and active voice, but if the second verb is a past participle, the clause has no aspect and is in passive voice. 131 If a clause has three or more verbs, just take them one by one. The tense, if any, still depends on the first verb in the sequence, which should be either a modal or a form of be. The perfect aspect always comes next, so if the first or second verb in the sequence is a form of have, it should be followed by a past participle, and the clause will have perfect aspect. The progressive aspect is next; if a form of be (even been or be itself) is followed by a present participle, the clause has progressive aspect. The passive is always the last item signalled. If the last verb (the main verb, therefore) is a past participle and the preceding verb in the sequence is any form of be (including been, be, and being), then the clause is in passive voice; otherwise, it is active. EXERCISE 5.12: Tense, Aspect, and Voice Again–give the tense of each of these sentences, plus the aspect (if any) and voice (if passive): 1) Emma has a scar on her right hip 2) He lived in a decayed mansion. 3) The dress is lying on the floor. 4) My friends call me Iris. 5) George was caught by Martha. 6) Martha is sharpening a knife. 7) Charity had lost her scruples. 8) Edgar was losing his as well. 9) Henry is outraged by MTV.
- Page 1 and 2: V. VERB QUALITIES -Subjunctive Mood
- Page 3 and 4: Exercise 5.02: Subjunctive or Not?-
- Page 5 and 6: In addition to its obvious uses in
- Page 7 and 8: (3) Ought you to do so? One might t
- Page 9 and 10: (2) The captain was drinking heavil
- Page 11 and 12: You might notice that the auxiliary
- Page 13 and 14: 123 We can sometimes become confuse
- Page 15 and 16: Passive Voice When have is the prim
- Page 17 and 18: What looks like the object of a pre
- Page 19: EXERCISE 5.09: Passive and Active--
(7) Your order is being processed ==> Someone is processing your order.<br />
EXERCISE 5.10: Passive to Active<br />
1) The dinner was prepared by Marcel<br />
2) The cake was beautifully decorated.<br />
3) The bride was dumped at the altar.<br />
4) Many things can be seen in New York.<br />
5) The bodies will be dumped in the river.<br />
6) My aunt may be visited by the police.<br />
7) Marcel had been dumped by the bride.<br />
8) The cake had been poisoned.<br />
9) The ushers have been bribed by Marcel.<br />
10) The reception is being boycotted by the bride’s family.<br />
11) The DJ is being tested <strong>for</strong> drugs by the police.<br />
12) The guests were being frisked <strong>for</strong> guns.<br />
13) The bride’s dress was stepped on by a flower girl.<br />
14) Why was the best man killed?<br />
15) Has the wedding been staked out by the police?<br />
When, then, should one use the passive? It is always appropriate to use the passive when<br />
one sincerely does not know the agent. If someone breaks into our house, <strong>for</strong> example, the<br />
sentence We were robbed is perfectly OK, without adding "by someone" to make it clear that<br />
we don't know who did it. It is also appropriate to use the passive <strong>for</strong> a clearer transition; if<br />
you've been talking about "us" <strong>for</strong> several sentences, either We were robbed or We were<br />
robbed by the referees avoids shifting the focus. Passive constructions are not automatically<br />
bad prose, and even the best writers use them.<br />
Even when the use of the passive is deadening, one needs to follow the rule of "When in<br />
Rome, do as Romans do." In particular, remember that the modern university is just another<br />
bureaucracy, and that academic writing is bureaucratic writing. The use of the first-person "I"<br />
is taboo in many <strong>for</strong>ms of academic writing. This will often <strong>for</strong>ce one to use the passive (and<br />
other awkward structures)--e.g., "The subjects were asked." Hold your nose and comply.<br />
EXERCISE 5.11: Tense, Aspect, and Voice–give the tense (unless<br />
modal) of each of these sentences, plus the aspect (if any) and voice<br />
(if passive):<br />
1) Anton is aching with amorous anxiety.<br />
2) Baldric was barred from the barber shop <strong>for</strong> life.<br />
3) Can Calvin come out and play catch?<br />
4) Did Dan ever have a dog?<br />
5) Emily and Ernie were given eleven dollars each, weren’t<br />
they?<br />
6) Fannie has fallen on hard times.<br />
7) George gave Gigi an expensive gem.<br />
8) Has Hazel been hugging Hank?<br />
9) I will just be ignored again, I guess.<br />
10) Just in time, Justine is being joined by Jody.<br />
130
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