The category of voice

§ 64. Voice is the grammatical category of the verb denoting the relationship between the action expressed by the verb and the person or non-person denoted by the subject of the sentence. There are two main voices in English: the active voice and the passive voice. There are also other voices which embrace a very limited number of verbs: reflexive (wash oneself), reciprocal (embrace one another), medial (the book reads well).

The active voice indicates that the action is directed from the subject or issues from the subject, thus the subject denotes the doer (agent) of the action:

We help our friends. - Мы помогаем нашим друзьям.

The passive voice indicates that the action is directed towards the subject. Here the subject expresses a person or non-person who or which is the receiver of the action. It does not act, but is acted upon and there­fore affected by the action of the verb.

We were helped by our friends in our work.

В работе нам помогли наши друзья.

The contrast between the two voices can be seen from the following examples:

I had asked no questions, of course; but then, on the other hand, I had been asked none. They saw but were not seen.

Я не задавал вопросов, но, с другой стороны, и мне не задавали вопросов. Они видели, но их не видели.

The difference in the meaning of the forms helped - were helped, had asked - had been asked, saw - was seen illustrates the morphological contrast between the active and the passive voice.

Of all the verb categories voice is most closely related to the syntax of the sentence. The interrelation of the active and the passive voice on the syntactical level can be presented in the following way:

Subject		Predicate Verb		Object
John		helped		Pete
Pete		was helped		by John

A sentence containing a verb in the passive voice is called a passive construction, and a sentence containing a verb in the active voice is called an active construction, especially when opposed to the passive construction.

The subject of an active construction denotes the agent (doer) of the action, which may be a living being, or any source of the action (a thing, a natural phenomenon, an abstract notion).

The subject of a passive construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that is a person or non-person affected by the action.

The object of an active construction denotes the receiver of the action, whereas the object of the passive construction is the agent of the action. The latter is introduced by the preposition by. If it is not the agent but the instrument, it is introduced by the preposition with.

The cup was broken by Jim.

It was broken with a hammer.

Formation and the system of forms in the passive voice

§ 65. The active voice has no special means of formation. It is recognized by contrast with the passive voice, which is composed of the auxiliary verb to be and participle II. Thus the passive verb forms are analytical, the tense of the auxiliary verb to be varies according to the sense. The notional verb (participle II) remains unchanged and provides the whole analytical form with its passive meaning.

The category of voice applies to the whole system of English verb forms, both finite and non-finite.

Table II

The voice forms of the verb

Perfect

Tense

The active voice

The Passive Voice

Aspect

Present

Past

Future

Present

Past

Future

Non-perfect

Common

takes

took

will take

is taken

was taken

will be taken

Continuous

is taking

was taking

will be taking

is being taken

was being taken

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Perfect

Common

has taken

had taken

will have taken

has been taken

had been taken

will have been taken

Continuous

has been taking

had been taking

will have been taking

-------------

-----------

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Note:

The verb to get occurs as a passive voice auxiliary, emphasizing the result of the action denoted by participle II.

They got married last year.

I got hurt in an accident.

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