1.2.2. Voice

The category of voice is built up by two forms: passive and active.

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	to ask, to give	to be asked, to be given
Gerund	asking, giving	being asked, being given
Participle 1	asking, giving	being asked, being given

The active form of the verbal will indicate that the doer of the action is denoted by the subject of the sentence, the passive form — that the doer of the action is not denoted by the subject of the sentence.

I wanted to ask him that question.

T wanted to be asked that question.

Note: In certain cases the verbal (the infinitive or the gerund) though active in form may be passive in meaning. The infinitive may indicate it when used as predicative in some traditional contexts.

They were not to blame.

The reason is not far to seek.

The house is to let.

It was a city to remember. (Mel.)

The gerund will be passive in meaning when used after the verbs "want", "need", "require" and the adjective "worth".

The garden was a jungle, the woodwork needed painting. (Ptr.)

Emrys should count himself lucky. He's got one friend worth having. (Eb.)

1.2.3. Aspect

The category or aspect is built up by two aspect forms: continuous and common. Only one verbal, as was said above, has the category of aspect — it is the infinitive.

common continuous

to write, to read to be writing, to be reading

The continuous form of the infinitive will generally indicate that the event is presented as temporary, as being in progress at the time of another event or at a definite moment (period). The common form will be often used just to name the event without specifying its character or time.

I like to be reading a book now. (It is very pleasant to me that I am reading a book.)

I like to read books. (I like doing it whenever I have the opportunity, though at the moment I may be doing something else.)

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Participle II, as was said above, has one unalterable form. Consequently, it has no morphological grammatical categories.

When formed from transitive terminative verbs (see above "The Verb". 1.1.2. 1.1.3), it is generally passive and perfective in meaning.

The answer given by him did not explain his former-attitude.

When asked he did not know what to say.

When formed from non-terminative transitive verbs it is generally passive but non-perfective.

She is a clever pleasant girl called Mary Anne.

Note: When formed from non-transitive verbs such as "fall", "wither", "vanish", "return", "grow" (in the meaning of "grow up") and a few others participle II is active in meaning.

He is a retired soldier. (He is no longer in active service.)

We sat on a fallen tree trunk to look at the view. (Ptr.)