The Passive Voice

The Active Voice

I thoughtyou saidthat you were tryingto get a job.

I thought I knew why they had come.

VOICE

§ 61. Voice is the form of the verb which serves to show
whether the subject of the sentence is the agent or the object of
the action expressed by the predicate verb. There are two voices
in English — the Active Voice and the Passive Voice.

Note. The terms the Active Voice and the Passive Voice are used with reference
to the form of the verb. Sentences in which the verb is used in the Active or in the
Passive Voice are called active and passive constructions respectively.

§ 62. The Active Voice shows that the person or thing denoted
by the subject of the sentence is the agent (the doer) of the action
expressed by the predicate verb, that it acts.

e.g. "I deny that," said Joan.

We know you've been cheating us.

Why have you done it?

George walked over to the window but did not open it.

The formation of the finite forms of the Active Voice and the
use of these forms have already been described in "Verbs", § 7-60.

Note. In a vast majority of instances the Active Voice has the meaning de-
scribed above. Yet there are cases when, owing to the lexical character of the verb,

the thing denoted by the subject of the sentence cannot be regarded as the doer of
the action. This becomes obvious if we compare the following examples:

a) The maid who opened the door for b) The door opened and Mrs Knight
me told me that Mr March was appeared with a tea tray,

waiting for me.

She closed the door softly and went The door closed and there was

straight to the telephone. silence in the large room.

In the examples under (a) the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action
but in the sentences under (b) it becomes the object — the door cannot actually
open or close by itself, the action is performed by someone else. Yet examples of
the second kind are also treated in grammar as the Active Voice since the form of
the verb is active.

§ 63. The Passive Voice serves to show that the person or
thing denoted by the subject of the sentence is not the agent (the
doer) of the action expressed by the predicate verb but the object
of this action. The subject of a passive verb does not act but is act-
ed upon, it undergoes an action.

e.g. She was woken from her sleep by his singing.

They were received with great frankness and charm.
The child knew that she was being praised.
The news will be announced after dinner.

Note. There are a few cases when, owing to the lexical character of the verb,
the subject of the sentence cannot be regarded as the object undergoing the action
expressed by the predicate verb. Yet examples of this kind are treated in grammar
as the Passive Voice since the form of the verb is passive.

e.g. All of a sudden I realized that I was lost in the wild open country.
After Jacobs was drowned his farm was sold to MacMartin.

§ 64. The Passive Voice is an analytical form which is built up
by means of the auxiliary verb to be in the required finite form
and the participle of the notional verb (on the formation of the
participle see "Verbs", § 5 and Appendix):

the Present Indefinite — is (am, are) done
the Past Indefinite — was (were) done
the Future Indefinite — will (shall) be done
the Present Perfect — has (have) been done
the Past Perfect — had been done

the Future Perfect — will (shall) have been done
the Present Continuous — is (am, are) being done
the Past Continuous — was (were) being done
The interrogative form is built up by placing the (first) auxilia-
ry verb before the subject of the sentence (e.g. When was it done?
Has the work been done?, etc.). The negative form is built up by
placing the particle not after the (first) auxiliary (e.g. The work
was not done yesterday. The work will not be done tomorrow, etc.).

Note. The Passive Voice may also be formed by means of the auxiliary verb to
get and the participle of the notional verb. But instances of this kind are infre-
quent {even in informal English) and restricted mainly to situations and contexts
dealing with accidental or unpleasant happenings.

e.g. The boy got hurt on his way home.

The table was turned over sideways and the china lamp got broken.
Somebody pushed Jane's elbow and her drink got spilt.
Don't make such a noise. You'll get turned out.

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