Voice. The active, passive and the causative

The grammatical category of voice involves a contrast between active and passive:

A doctor will examine the applicants. The applicants will be examined by a doctor.

In the active voice the subject of the verb is the person or thing doing the action: He cooked the food last night. In the passive voice the action is done to the subject: The food was cooked last night.

The form of the standard passive: be + regular or irregular past participle

The passive occurs only with verbs used transitively, followed by an object. E.g. Someone found this wallet in the street. This wallet was found in the street. John kissed Mary. Mary was kissed by John.

Some verbs are followed by two objects - direct and indirect. E.g. ‘bring, give’ have two objects: Tom gave me (IO) a pen (DO).

I was given a pen by Tom. = IO becomes the subject = 2 passive forms

A pen was given (to) me by Tom. = DO becomes the subject

- personal subjects tend to be more common thus “I was given this pen.” is more likely than “This pen was given to me.”

Progressive forms: only present and past progressive forms are common in the passive. E.g. He is being interviewed now. He was being interviewed at 10. He has been being interviewed. Modal verbs also occur with the progressive passive: I know Mark was going to have an interview some time this afternoon. He may be being interviewed at this very moment.

Also, phrasal verbs can be used in the passive. E.g. Our tent was blown down by a gust of wind.

The newsagent’s has been broken into. He is well spoken of. She wants to be read to. The old rules have been done away with.

Uses of the passive

a) the passive is used to talk about actions and opinions of which we are less certain. E.g. This matter will be dealt with as soon as possible. Thousands of books are published every year and very few of them are noticed.

b) the passive for focus is used when what is happening is more important than who or what causes the happening or we don´t know who the agent is:

The agent is unimportant: The letter must be posted.

I was told to wait outside.

He was laughed at.

The agent is unknown: My watch has been stolen.

She was invited to lunch.

My car’s been scratched!

c) the passive is used to avoid vague words as ´someone´, ´person´. E.g. After my talk, I was asked to explain a point I had made. The form has to be signed in the presence of a witness.

d) the passive is used to show the agent, a person or a thing that performs the action indicated by the verb. E.g. Who composed that piece? It was composed by Mozart. Who destroyed the village. It was destroyed by a bomb.

Compare: He was killed by a falling stone.= accidental

He was killed with a knife. = deliberate, the presence of a person

• ‘with’ is also used with agents after past participles such as: crowded, filled, packed. E.g.

Our streets were filled with football fans. The train was packed with commuters.

e) the passive is used with the verbs of saying and believing (agree, believe, decide, expect, feel, fear, hope, know, observe, report, say, suppose, think) when we are less sure. E.g.

It is said that there is plenty of oil off our coast. It is feared that many lives have been lost in the train crash. Mandy is said to be some kind of secret agent. Jane is said to know all about chimpanzees. Homeopathic remedies are believed to be very effective. There are known to be thousands of different species of beetles.

Typical contexts for the passive:

Scientific writing that describes processes: The mixture is heated to a temperature of 300°C. It is then allowed to cool before it can be analysed.

Press reports – newspapers (often the agent is not mentioned): The search for the bank robbers continues. Meanwhile, many people have been questioned.

Headlines, ads: Petrol coupons accepted. Kennedy assassinated! All goods greatly reduced.

Formal notices: Passengers are requested to remain seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop. English spoken. Loans arranged. Shoes repaired

Other passive structures – ´get´ passives

Form: get + past participle

It is mostly used in colloquial English. E.g. I tried to find my way round London without a map and got lost.

- ‘get’ typically combines with these participles: arrested, caught, confused, delayed, dressed, drunk, elected, hit, killed, lost, married (many have negative connotations)

Uses of get passives:

1. when we do something ourselves: I got dressed as quickly as I could.

2. when we manage to arrange something in our own favour, a reflexive pronoun can be used in such cases: He has got himself promoted at last.

3. when we talk about something unfavourable that happens beyond our control: We got delayed because of the holiday traffic. He got hurt on his way home from work.

The causative

Form: have / get + noun or pronoun object + regular or irregular past participle

Compare: I had built a house. = myself (past perfect)

I had a house built. (causative, simple past)

The forms of the causative in different tenses:

Present: We have our house decorated every year.

We are having our house decorated every year.

Past: We had our house decorated last year.

Present perfect: We have just had our house decorated.

Future: We will have our house decorated.

We’ll be having our house decorated next year.

Modals: We may have our house decorated next year.

We may be having our house decorated soon.

Uses of the causative

a) for things, to focus on what is done to something (in Slovak dať si niečo urobiť).

Compare:

I am servicing my car. = myself

My car is being serviced. = someone else is doing it for me

I am having my car serviced. = I am responsible for sb. to do the job - causative

We stress that we are causing somebody else to perform a service for us (build, clean, decorate, deliver, mend, print, repair) E.g. We are having / getting the job done by some local builders.

b) for people, to refer to activities we cause to be done by other people (the causative with the verbs like instruct, prepare, teach, train)

Compare:

I am teaching her English. = myself

She is being taught English. = I may not know, or wish to name

I am having her taught English. = I am responsible for causing sb. to do the job

c) the causative used in the sense of experience: You should understand by now. You have had it explained often enough! = it has been explained to you

The verbs ‘have and get’ are often interchangeable in the causative structure, but ‘get’ has a more limited use; it´s stronger than have. E.g. I must get this car serviced soon. I finally got my roof repaired. Get your eyes tested! Get your hair cut! Why don’t you get your hair cut?

Non-causative ‘get/have’ + object + past participle

• this structure is used to describe accidents and disasters beyond our control. E.g. Don’t join in their argument or you might get your nose punched. She had her house destroyed in an earthquake.

Read Lecture 7 – Non-finite verb phrases, answer all questions in Homework 7 and bring the answers and exercises to the class, please. 

Lecture 7

Non-finite verb phrases: the participles, gerunds and infinitives0p

A non-finite VP is a phrase in which the infinitive, the –ing or the –ed participle is the first or the only word. Such phrases do not occur as the VPs of an independent clause.

Simple non-finite verb phrases:

examining, examined

Complex non-finite verb phrases:

having examined

being examined

having been examining

having been examined

To err is human

He loves to play chess

Seeing is believing