g. Only a sent ence w hich has t ransit ive verb t hat can be changed from
t he act ive sent ence int o t he passive one. h.
By voice grammarians mean a grammat ical cat egory t hat show s w het her t he subject is an act or. If t he subject of a sent ence is t he
recipient of t he act ion described by t he verb t hen w e t alk about passive voice.
i. The act ive voice is simplest and most st raight w ard w ay t o give
informat ion about t he act or or doer and t he doing. It is also t he most commonly used in t he English language.
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2. The Use of the Passive Voice
As it has already indicat ed in t he previous sect ion, t hat t he passive is used w hen t he w rit er w ant s t o defocus t he agent . According
t o Celce-M urcia: a. The Passive is used w hen t he agent is not ment ioned because;
1. It is redundant or easy t o supply; it means t hat t he agent of
t he act ion is not t o be ment ioned because t he number of t he agent is redundant . Everyone could be t he agent of t he act ion.
See t he example of passive voice below.
Pineapples are grown in Hawaii
There w as no agent in t he sent ence above. The reason for not ment ioning t he agent is because t he agent is redundant . If
t he agent of t he sent ence above is ment ioned, t he sent ence w ill become:
Pineapples are grown in Hawaii by every one.
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Ical online TESLTEFL training ‘active voice’ the article was accessed on August 1
st
2010 from http:www.icalweb.com.
2. It is unknow n; it means t hat t he act or or t he agent of t he
sent ence is unknow n, t hus, t he agent is not t o be m ent ioned. See t he follow ing example of passive voice.
The bank was robbed yesterday
From t he sent ence above, it can be know n t hat t here w as nobody w ho robbed t he bank yest erday. Thus, t he agent is not
ment ioned. If t he agent of t he sent ence above is ment ioned, t he sent ence w ill become.
The bank was robbed by someone yesterday.
Somet imes t he act or may be know n but t here may be reasons for not ment ioning him. Below is an example of a
passive voice w here t he act or is know n but is not t o be ment ioned t o avoid some t roubles.
A new spaper report er might be t elling t he t rut h if he w ere t o w rit e t he follow ing st at ement w hich is in t he act ive form:
John A. Serogum murdered Joseph meek at 7:45 this morning in the hot spot lunch.
The st at ement above is libelous, because John A. serogum w hich is considered as t he agent of t he act ion; t he doer of
murder has not been legally convict ed as t he man of murder. Thus, t he report er and t he new spaper w hich publish t he
sent ence can be sued for accusing a man of murdered and t hey w ill get t rouble.
15
15
Robert M. Gorell and Chartlon Laird, Modern English Handbook, 3
rd
ed., Englewoods cliffs:Prentice Hall Inc., 1953. P.288.
Therefore, in t his kind of st at ement , t he agent is not t o be ment ioned alt hough it has already know n. Accordingly, t he
report er should use passive voice and w rit e somet hing like t he follow ing:
Joseph meek was shot and killed at 7:45 this morning in the hot spot lunch.
The act or in t he sent ence above w hich is John A. Schrogum has now been delet ed or is not ment ioned, and t he report er
or t he new spaper are able t o publish t he st at ement w it hout get t ing t rouble. Thus, t he passive voice is used in t his
st at ement . 3.
It is being t act ful: t he agent of t he act ion is considered being t act ful, t herefore, it is not ment ioned.
Below is t he example of passive voice w here t he agent is not ment ioned because it is being t act ful:
M argaret was given some bad advices about selecting courses.
There w as no agent in t he sent ence above, because as st at ed before t he agent is being t act ful. If t he agent is
ment ioned t he sent ence w ill become:
M argaret was given some bad advices about selecting courses by the lecturer.
4. It is being evasive. The agent is being evasive, t herefore, it is
ment ioned in t he sent ence below is an example of a passive voice w here t he agent is not ment ioned because it is being
evasive:
An error was made in the budget
There is no agent in t he sent ence above because as st at ed before t he agent is being evasive. If t he agent of t he
passive voice is w rit t en t he sent ence w ill become
An error was made in the budget by the accountant manager.
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b. A passive const ruct ion is desirable for st ylist ic reason; one of t he element s of t he act or-act ion pat t ern must be moved from it s normal
posit ion for st ylist ic reason. For inst ance, w hen a w rit er w ant s t o avoid insert ing
complicat ed mat erial bet w een t he subject and verb t o make it easier t o underst and t he sent ence, a w rit er may w rit e a passive voice like t he
follow ing.
The hearing opened by the chairman of the committee. , who was
know for his ruthlessness in smirching the reputation of innocent witness and for his cleverness in beclouding the issue by his own
witticism and innuendoes.
In t he sent ence above, t here is not hing bet w een t he subject and
verb. The subject , w hich is the hearing, is exact ly follow ed by it s verb w hich is was opened, t hus, it is easy t o underst and because t here is no
complicat ed mat erial bet w een t he subject and verb. Different from t he sent ence above, t here is a complicat ed mat erial
bet w een subject and verb in t he follow ing sent ence:
16
Marianne Celce-Murcia, The Grammar Book, An ESLEFL Teachers course, 2
nd
ed., New York: Heinle and Heinle Publishers, 1999. P.347
The chairman of t he commit t ee, who was known for his ruthlessness in smirching the reputation of innocent witnesses and for
his cleverness in beclouding the issue by his own witticism and
innuendoes , opened t he hearing.
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The complicat ed mat erial bet w een t he subject and t he verb of t he sent ence above is in t he bold t ype. It can make t he reader confuse
t o dist inguish t he subject and t he verb of t he sent ence and difficult t o underst and t he sent ence because of it s lengt h. Thus, it w ill be bet t er t o
use t he first sent ence t han t he second one. t hat emphasis properly belongs on t he receiver.
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It may be illust rat ed for t he summary of passive voice’s usage show n by Pat rick Kameen:
1.
Use t he passive t o place a short object and verb before a long subject t hus avoiding front -heavy sent ences. Ex: The IRS has been cheat ed by
ot herw ise honest individuals w ho feel t oo large a percent age of t heir salaries goes for t axes and w ho believe t hat t he government is
w ast ing t heir t ax dollars.
2.
Use t he “ it ” or “ second passive” form t o sound object ive or t o indicat e t hat t here is no absolut e proof for t he st at ement . Ex: It is said
t hat t he governor is a high-st akes gambler.
3.
Use t he agent less passive w hen t he agent is w ell know n, unknow n, or unimport ant . Ex: Cars are manufact ured in Det roit
4.
Use t he agent less passive t o describe t echnical process and t o report research procedures and result s. Ex: Hydrogen and Chlorine w ere
combined, and t he result ing chemical react ion w as observed.
17
Robert M Gorrel op.,cit. P.288
18
Robert M. Gorell and Chartlon Laird, op., cit. P 288-289
5.
Use t he passive wit h t he by-agent phrase w hen referring t o hist orically or socially significant w orks. Ex: “ Gone w ith t he Wind” w as
w rit t en by M argaret M ichael.
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Besides, passive are very common in scient ific w rit ing and ot her kind of expression w here t he w rit er are most int erest ed in event s and
processes in t hings t hat happen.
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3. The Form of Passive Voice
