The use of tenses in the Passive Voice

The use of the Passive Voice.

The Passive Voice can be used:

(a) without the doer of the action being mentioned (the usual case). In this case the doer is either unknown or unimportant.

In silence the soup was finished — excellent, if a little thick; and fish was brought. In silence it was handed. (Galsworthy)

Tom Tusher was sent off early, however, to a school in Lon­don. (Thackeray)

(b) with the doer of the action being mentioned. This occurs only when the doer of the action is to some extent emphasized.

The noun or pronoun denoting the doer of the action is intro­duced by the preposition by.

lie was wrenched from his blank wretchedness by the sound of the door opening from his mother's room. (Galsworthy) They were thus introduced by Holly. (Galsworthy) This room was dimly lighted from the ceiling by a single elec­tric lamp. (Bennett)

The uses of tenses in the Active and in the Passive Voice are the same.

Indefinite: Present New schools are built every year.

Past This school was built a month ago.

Future A new school will be built in our village in spring.

Perfect: Present The school has been built this month.

Past The school had been built by the 1-st of September.

Future I am sure the school will have been built by the 1st of September.

Continuous: Present A new school is being built in our street.

Past When I returned to town, the school was still being built

All Forsytes have shells... in other words, they are never seen, or if seen would not be recognized. (Galsworthy)

The news was brought that the little boy at the "Three Castles" was ill. (Thackeray)

Further meetings will be held tonight and tomorrow night. (Daily Worker)

You have been told three times this week that she is coming home for a year for her health. (Shaw)

I have been very unhappy since she died. I have been slighted and taught nothing, and thrown upon myself, and put to worknot fit for me. (Dickens)

By 12 o'clock a jury reasonably satisfactory to both sides had been chosen. (Dreiser)

Don't you disturb him. He is working at his wonderful poem.

An immortal work of art is being created. (Marryat)

When Mills got to the stables, a horse was being saddled. (Eliot)

The following verbal phraseological units can be used in the Passive Voice: to find fault with (придираться, находить недостатки), to lose sight of (терять из виду), to make fun of, to make use of (использовать), to pay attention to, to put an end to (положить конец), to set fire to, to take notice of, to take care of.

The poor child was always being found fault with.

Soon the boat was lost sight of.

He was exceedingly absent-minded and was always made fun of.

His remarks were taken no notice of.

The discussion was put an end to by his sudden arrival.

Quite peculiar is the case when the subject of the passive predicate corresponds to the Russian adverbial modifier. This is the case with the intransitive verbs to live and to sleep with the preposition in.

The bea was not slept in. The room is not lived in.

There are a number of transitive verbs in English which correspond to intransitive verbs in Russian. They are: to affect, to answer, to assist, to attend, to follow, to help, to influence, to join, to watch. These verbs naturally admit of the passive construction while their Russian equivalents cannot be used in the Passive Voice.

She was greatly affected by the scene. The report was followed by a discussion. Walter Scott's poetry was strongly influenced by the popular bal­lads.

Such sentences are rendered in Russian by indefinite-personal sentences (неопределенно-личные предложения) unless the doer of the action is mentioned. In the latter case either the Active Voice is used, which occurs rather seldom, or the Passive Voice (con­sisting of the verb быть - краткая форма причастия страдатель­ного залога).

Не was granted ten days' leave.

Ему дали десятидневный отпуск.

At last an agreement was arrived at

Наконец пришли к соглашению.

The poor child was always being found fault with.

К бедному ребенку всегда придирались.

Steerforth was looked up to by all the boys.

Все мальчики смотрели на Стирфорта снизу вверх.

6. The verb to be + Participle II.

The combination to be + Participle II can denote an action, in which case it is a simple predicate expressed by a verb in the Passive Voice. It can also denote a state, then it is a compound nominal predicate consisting of a link verb and a predicative.

As the director was ill, the documents were signed by his assistant. (Were signed denotes an action.)

When I came, the papers were signed and lay on the secretary's table. (Were signed denotes a state.)

The compound nominal predicate expressed by the verb to be and Participle II can be translated only by the verb быть+крат­кая форма причастия страдательного залога. In the Present the verb быть is not used.

The statue is broken.

Статуя разбита.

When I came, the papers were signed and lay on the secretary's table.

Когда я пришел, документы были подписаны и лежали на столе у секретаря.

The use of tenses is closely connected with these meanings of the combination to be+Participle II.

When I came up to the gate, it was already locked.

Когда я подошел к воротам, они уже были заперты.

(The predicate indicates the state of the gate at a given moment.)

When I came up to the gate, it had already been locked.

Когда я подошел к воротам, их уже заперли.

(The predicate indicates an action completed before a definite moment

in the past.)

Don't try to open the gate. It is locked. (state)

He пытайтесь открыть ворота. Они заперты.

It has just been locked. (action)

Их только что заперли.

It is sometimes difficult to discriminate between the verb to be + Participle II as a simple predicate and as a compound nomi­nal predicate.

1. We have the Passive Voice (simple predicate) in the follow­ing cases:

(a) when the doer of the action is indicated (as a rule).

They were thus introduced by Holly. (Galsworthy)

(b) when there is an adverbial modifier of place, frequency and, as a rule, of time.

Pravda is published in Moscow.

Good books are quickly sold.

The documents were signed a few minutes ago.

c) when the verb is used in the Continuous or in the Perfect form.

Some efforts were even then being made to cut this portion of the wreck away. (Dickens)

Ever since that, the cannon business has always been left to an adopted foundling named Andrew Undershaft. (Shaw)

2. We have a compound nominal predicate in the following cases:

(a) usually when the verb to be is in the Present or Past Per­fect Inclusive and the notional verb admits of the Continuous form.

Why don't you go and take the documents? They are ready. They have been typed these two hours.

Документы готовы. Уже два часа как они напечатаны.

Our things had been packed for two hours and we were im­patiently pacing up and down the room when at last we heard the sound of wheels.

Вещи уже два часа как были упакованы, и мы в нетерпении ходили взад и вперед по комнате, когда наконец услышали стук колес.

(b) when Participle II denotes a state of mind. In this case the predicate is compound even if there is an object introduced by the preposition by. This object does not denote the doer of an action but the cause of the state.

He was frightened by the remark.

He was oppressed by a sense of loneliness.

When these criteria cannot be applied the context itself helps to decide whether the predicate is a simple or a compound nomi­nal one.

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