11
B. The Passive Voice.
Passive voice is the opposite of active voice in sentence pattern, in the passive voice, the object of an active verb becomes the subject of the passive
verb
9
, in other word the object in the active sentence moved into subject position in the passive sentence. Both show different understanding and function and have
dissimilar rule in use. In case of this research, there will be only passive voice is explained more rather than one.
In forming passive voice, there are three ways of forming passive voice, such as 1 The object in the active sentence moved into subject in position in the
passive sentence, 2 the subject moved to the end of the sentence and by was inserted before it
– the sentence now has an agent by phrase, 3 The main verb was changed to its past participle form and the appropriate form of be was
inserted before it.
10
As example bellow: Active voice
“I am speaking English”
Changed into passive voice:
“English is being spoken by me”
A verb is said to be in the active voice when it expresses an action performed by its subject. A verb is in the passive voice when the action it
expresses is performed upon its subject. The object of the active sentence has become the subject of the passive one. The subject of the active sentence is
expressed in the passive sentence only in prepositional phrase. In fact, it can be omitted from the passive sentence altogether. The verb in a passive sentence is
always a verb phrase that includes a form of the verb be and the past participle of the main verb. If other helping verbs appear in the active sentence, they must also
be included in the passive
11
. Here some examples of related active and passive sentences:
9
Betty Schrampfer Azhar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New York: Longman, 2002, p.208
10
Ron Cowan, The Teacher’s Grammar of English Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2008, p. 392.
11
John E Warriner, English Grammar and Composition, New York: Harcout Brain Javanovich Publisher, 1982, p. 166
12
S O
ACTIVE : Hasan is writing a letter S
PASSIVE :A letter is being written by Hasan S
O
ACTIVE : Sadam has taken a book S
PASSIVE : A book has been taken by Sadam
In the sentence above, Hasan and Sadam are the subject who performs the action which is wrote andtook. It will be different if the active sentence above
changed into the passive voice. Hasan and Sadam as the subject of active
sentence will become an object who receives the action or in other word, it can be
said that the action it expresses which is wrote and took are performed upon its subject which is Hasan and Sadam.
Every sentence, at least, contains of a subject and a verb. Based on the explanation above, a sentence which has no object, or it is usually called
intransitive, will not be able to be turned into passive voice. This occurs because in passive sentence, its subject is derived from the object of active sentence. As
what Aza r writes, “Only transitive verbs are used in the passive. It is not possible
to use intransitive verbs in the passive”.
12
The passive occurs in all tenses, with all the verb phrase combination
13
, for example:
12
Betty SchrampferAzar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New York: Longman, 2002, p. 208
13
Eugane J. Hall, Grammar for Use, Jakarta Barat: BinarupaAksara Publisher, 1993, p. 214
13
Table 2.4
No Tenses Active
Passive Note
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Simple Present
Present Progressive
Present Perfect
Simple Past
Past Progressive
Past Perfect
Simple Future
Be Going to
Future Perfect Jack drinks a cup of
milk Jack is drinking a
cup of milk Jack has drunk a cup
of milk Jack drank a cup of
milk Jack was drinking a
cup of milk Jack had drunk a cup
of milk Jack will drink a cup
of milk Jack is going to
drink a cup of milk Jack will have drunk
a cup of milk A cup of milk is
drunk by jack A cup of milk is being
drunk by jack A cup of milk has
been drunk by jack A cup of milk was
drunk by jack A cup of milk was
being drunk by jack A cup of milk had
been drunk by jack A cup of milk will be
drunk by jack A cup of milk is going
to be drunk by jack A cup of milk will
have been drunk by jack
From examples above, the writer concludes every tense has different form. The form Simple Present is be + Past Participle, the form of Present Progressive
is be +being + Past Participle, the form of Present Perfect is hashave +been + Past Participle, the form of Simple Past is wasware + Past Participle, the form
of Past Progressive is waswere +being + Past Participle, the form of Past Perfect is had +been + Past Participle, the form of Simple Future is willgoing to +be +
Past Participle, and the form of Future Perfect is will +have + been + past participle,.
14
Moreover, passive voice has two types of passive sentence, they are:
a. Passive without agent by – phrase
Usually the passive is used without agent by – phrase. The passive is most
frequently used when it is not known or not important to know exactly who perform an action.
14
For example:
“Tree is grown in the forest.”
From the example, the writer assumes that the tree is grown in forest by people, by farmer, or by animals. It is not known or important to know exactly
who grows tree in the forest. Passive without agent by
– phrase is also called short passive. There are many reasons why a native speaker may decide to use short passives in speech
and writing includes the following: The most obvious reason for not including the agent is that the speaker
does not know who the agent is. For example: “Her rings were stolen at home”
The speaker does not want to reveal who the agent is. For example, he or she may use the agent less passive to avoid assigning blame, as in:
“Rather than dwelling unnecessary on the causes of this fiasco, let’s just say that mistakes were made
.” The identity of the agent can be assumed or understood, so it is not
necessary to mention the agent. For example: “Our grapes are usually harvested in late August.”
The speaker is interested more in the action being reported than in the agent that carries it out.
For example: “The animals were first given a cue for an orientation, and then a series of grating was presented”
15
14
Betty SchrampferAzar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New York: Longman, 2002, p. 211
15
Ron Cowan, The Teacher’s Grammar of English, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2008, p. 394 - 395
15
b. Passive with agent by – phrase
The by – phrase is included only if it is important to know who perform an
action
16
. For example:
“That novel was written by Ahmad Fauzi.”
17
The example told the agent of the poet writer, where the sentence by Ahmad Fauzi is an important information.
Else, subject of passive sentences in the corresponding active sentence may be:
Direct object The professor was dismissed by the dean
Indirect object Suzy was given many presents by her father
Object of preposition This bed has been slept in by lecturer
Object complement That he had special privileges was resented by everyone
18
C. The Passive Voice of Present Continuous Tense
Kategori