Meanings of passive forms in English

Opinions differ on the status of variant meanings rendered by the combination "to be + participle II" (Bepxoвская, 1995). ,

This combination has three distinct meanings, illustrated in the following examples:

• He was awarded the top honor for distinguished achievements.

• He was wounded.

• He was convinced that he was right.

In the first example the grammatical subject is the recipient of the action expressed by the combination to be + participle II, which is the passive voice form of the verb to award.

In the second example the combination under analysis denotes a state, which is the result of some previous action. *Somebody had wounded him - so He was wounded.

In the third example we find a state too, but it is not represented as a result of some previous action: "was convinced" is not connected with the idea of an action at all.

Cases one and three do not arouse any difference of opinion. All grammarians agree that "was awarded" is an analytical form of the passive voice, called by some linguists "the actional passive" (naccив действия) (Curme). Case three is regarded by all as a compound nominal predicate, consisting of the verb "to be" and an adjectivized participle.

Case two seems to present difficulty. It denotes a state, but a state resulting from a previously accomplished action. Some grammarians treat it as a compound nominal predicate. Today many grammarians think that it is a variety of the passive voice and call it "the statal passive" (naccив cocтояния) (Quirk et al.; Ивaновa). The latter opinion seems more reasonable, because in both cases (one and two) we have the same combination of to be + participle II and the same passive meaning of the recipient of the action.

Reasons for the use of the Passive Voice in English

It is a myth that the passive voice is extensively used in English. According to B.S. Khaimovich and B.I. Rogovskaya only 6 % of all the verbal forms are in the passive voice, the remaining 94 % are forms of the active voice. And this is quite natural, considering the form of the active voice as extensive both in form and meaning.

There are a number of reasons, which account for the use of the passive voice in English. However, the main reason is that the use of the passive voice makes it possible to change the word order in the sentence, so as to give emphasis to new information, which is placed at the end of the sentence.

It has been discovered that the end-position in a sentence is connected with conveying new information. As a rule, it is the most strongly stressed position in the sentence. Let us analyze the following sentences: The boy wrote a letter - The letter was written by the boy (Bepxoвскaя). In the first sentence the center of communication is the word "letter", because it conveys new information. In the second sentence the center of communication is "by the boy". These sentences are not parallel: they can be used only in different situations. The category of voice shows the information structure of the sentence as conceived by the speaker. Voice is a speaker-related category.

It is important to note that in Russian the center of communication in similar cases is also expressed by word order, so that new information is placed at the end of the sentence: Мальчик написал письмо – Письмо написал мальчик.

However, it is common knoweledge that in a majority of English passive sentences the agent of the action is not mentioned. O. Jespersen gives the following interesting data: with different authors between 70 % - 94 % of passive sentences contain no mention of the doer of the action (Jespersen).

This happens when the agent is unknown or cannot be easily stated: The house was broken into and a few things were stolen. Sometimes the agent is not mentioned because it is self-evident: He was elected MP.

In the absence of the by-phrase attention is shifted to other parts which become the center of communication: The telegram was delivered on time. He was invited to dinner. In Russian the so-called indefinite- personal sentences are found in cases of this kind: Телеграмму принесли вовремя. Его пригласили на обед (Bepxoвскaя).