Сочетание
to be + Participle II в
английском языке
Contents
Introduction
I.
Some problems of the Passive Voice
2.
Peculiarities of Passive Voice with different verbs
3.
Types of Passive Constructions
3.1.
Direct Passive Constructions
3.2.
Indirect Passive Constructions
3.3.
Prepositional Passive Constructions
3.4.
Phraseological Passive Constructions
3.5.
Adverbial Passive Constructions
4.
Frequency of usage
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
In the English
Language it is rather difficult to single out the category of voice, as in
English it is closely connected with syntax.
On
the morphological level such forms as “is celebrated’, “was closed” do not
provide any precise information about the category of Voice in the English
Language.
The
context plays the most important role in the English Language, so the differentiation
of meanings of nominal compound predicate and passive voice is realized only on
the syntactical level. On the morphological level of analyses voice opposition
is realized only in the contradicting participial forms.
There is binomial opposition: active
voice – passive voice In the English Language. The
active voice indicates that the action is directed from the subject or issues
from the subject, thus the subject denotes the doer (agent) of the action.
The passive voice indicates that the action is directed towards the subject.
Here the subject expresses a person or non-person who is the receiver of the
action. It does not act, but is acted upon and therefore affected by the action
of the verb.
G. O. Curme wrote that the passive forms in English are used
to express quite different things – action and state.
The passive is not the reverse of the
active. The two constructions are not parallel in their use and serve different
purposes.
The passive
construction is generally used in the following cases:
1. Change of focus (it can
change the emphasis of the sentence):
Charles won
the prize.
(focus on Charles)
The prize
was won by Charles. (focus on prize)
2. Unknown agent (there is no
point in adding an agent by somebody):
My wallet
has been taken.
3. Obvious agent:
John has
been arrested. (we assume by the police)
4. Unimportant agent:
I was
advised to obtain a visa in advance.
5. Generalized
agent (in the subject is “people in general” or “you” the agent
is not mentioned):
Bicycles are widely used in the city instead of public
transport.
6. Impersonality
(the passive is a way of avoiding the naming of a
specific person):
It has been decided to reduce all salaries by 10%.
Test papers are not to be taken outside the examination room.
7. In descriptions of processes, there is emphasis on the actions performed rather
than on the people who perform them:
Then the toys are packed into boxes and sent to shops.
The passive construction is impossible when the direct object
of the verb is expressed by:
a)
an
infinitive
I have arranged to meet him at 10. o'clock.
b) a reflexive
pronoun or a noun with a possessive pronoun, referring to the same person as
the subject of the sentence
Ann hurt herself.
Ann hurt her leg yesterday.
c)
a
clause
I felt that they didn't want to join us.
d)
by
a set-phrase, the components of which cannot be separated, such as: to take
flight, to take alarm, to lose /to take courage, to lose heart, to keep one's
word etc.
e)
with
the verbs to resemble, to suit, to become, to have and to possess.
Tom resembles his father. We have a lot of
relatives.
The number of passive constructions in English is much
greater than
in
other languages. Most verbs with an object (transitive verbs) can be made
passive.
The following types of passive constructions exist in
English: direct,
indirect,
prepositional, adverbial and phraseological.
There is another
classification of the types of passive constructions - it includes 2 types of Passive
Constructions –
(a) a two-member
construction: includes the subject of the sentence, which is the object of
the action, and the action.
The child
is looked after.
(b) a three-member
construction: includes the subject of the sentence, which is the object of
the action, the action and the agent (doer) of the action.
The young
chemist is admired by all.
The
two-member construction is more common, the three-member construction – more
emphatic, emphasizes the doer of the action.
The passive
voice is widely used in English. It is used alongside the active voice in
written and spoken English. Some researchers state that the reason for such
frequent usage of the passive voice is the cast of mind of the English. Others
are more objective and pay attention to the fact that there is no construction
with indefinite pronouns, instead of which passive voice constructions are
commonly used:
I was
given the necessary book. (King, p. 445).
In order to draw some frequency of usage of passive
constructions I have decided to analyze a text and to count how many passive
constructions on the pages of the book were used. Then I have singled out of
the whole number of direct passive constructions, the number of indirect
passive constructions and finally the number of prepositional passive
constructions and the number of adverbial passive constructions.
The book I have chosen is a novel written by a
modern English writer Stephen King, which is entitled “The Library Policeman”.
For my analysis I have taken the introduction to the book and four chapters of
it (these chapters are: Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter XI and the final chapter
of the novel – Chapter XV).
From
my analyses it is evident that the Direct Passive is the most widely used type
of the Passive Constructions.
I.
Some problems of the Passive Voice
I.
One of the most important points is to
distinguish between Passive constructions and compound nominal predicate.
If the combination to be + Participle II denotes an
action, then it is a simple predicate expressed by a verb in the passive voice.
It can also denote a state, then it is a
compound nominal predicate consisting of a link verb and a predicative.
It is sometimes difficult to discriminate
between the verb to be + Participle II as a simple predicate and as a compound
nominal predicate.
1. We have the passive voice (simple predicate) in
the following cases:
a) when the doer of the action is indicated (as a
rule).
b) when there is an adverbial modifier of place,
frequency and, as a rule, of time.
c) when the verb is used in the Continuous or in the
Perfect form.
2. We have a compound nominal predicate in the
following cases:
a) usually when the verb to be is in the Present or
Past Perfect Inclusive and the notional verb admits of the Continuous form.
b) when Participle II denotes a state of mood. In
this case the predicate is compound even if there is an object introduced by
the preposition by. This object does not denote the doer of an action but the
cause of the state.
When these criteria cannot be applied the context
itself helps to decide whether the predicate is a simple or a compound nominal
one.
But in some cases it is impossible to understand
whether it is a passive construction or just a compound nominal predicate even
with the help of the context, as there no marks indicating whether it is an
action or a state. Sentences of this case we will call the Border-line cases.
II. Peculiarities of Passive Voice with
different verbs
The passive voice with monotransitive verbs
1. Though in many cases there is an evident
correspondence of the active and the passive voice construction it is by no
means a one-to-one correspondence. There is a certain group of monotransitive
verbs which are never used in the passive voice at all, or in some of their
meanings, they are: to have, to lack, to become, to fit, to suit, to resemble.
There are semantic reasons for this constraint,
as these verbs denote not an action or process, but a state.
2. No passive construction is possible, if the
object is a that-clause, an infinitive or a gerund.
3. A direct passive construction can be formed with
verbs capable of taking a direct object with an objective predicative. These
verbs when used in the passive acquire the function of a link verb without
losing their original meaning.
4. The direct passive can also be found in sentences
containing the infinitive constructions of a certain type*.
He is said to be very well-educated.
This girl is known to be beautiful.
* The construction with the verb to inform, to tell
do not belong here. They form an indirect passive construction.
5. In sentences with the verb to suppose in the
passive the meaning of the verb changes.
6. The direct passive of verbs of speech, mental
activity and perception is used in complex sentences with the formal subject it
.
The passive voice of ditransitive verbs
1. The indirect passive is impossible if the
indirect object implies for.
2. The same applies to the verbs with the obligatory
to of the type to explain something to somebody (to describe, to dictate, to
suggest, etc.). With these only the direct passive is possible.
3. In verb-phrases containing a non-prepositional
and a prepositional object only the non-prepositional passive is possible.
4. The infinitive cannot be used as the subject of a
passive construction with a ditransitive verb.
Sometimes the verb “get” can be used instead
of the verb “be” in the passive. It can be used to say that something
happens to someone or something. Often the action is not planned; it happens by
chance. The verb “get” is used mainly in informal spoken English. And the verb
“be” can be used in all situations.
The verb to
get occurs as a passive auxiliary, emphasizing the result of the action
denoted by participle II.
The verb “to get” instead of the verb “to be” is
used in informal speech.
That kid – it was Willy Klemmart, who got killed in Vietnam – looked back over his shoulder at where I was. (K., p. 496)
(Got killed
is a direct passive construction; the subject of this passive construction is
the carrier of the action, the subject of the construction has the meaning of
the receiver of the action, that is a person affected by the action; it is
common aspect, non-perfect.)
I got scared and went to three or four of the
others, but wouldn’t none of them
look up at me or make a sound. (S., p. 453)
(Got scared is
a direct passive construction; the subject of this passive construction is the
carrier of the action, the subject of the construction has the meaning of the receiver
of the action, that is a person affected by the action; it is common aspect,
non-perfect.)
III. Types of Passive Constructions
Several types of Passive Voice can be singled out:
The Direct Passive (passive construction with non-prepositional monotransitive
verbs), The Indirect Passive (passive construction with ditransitive verbs),
The Prepositional Passive (passive construction with prepositional
monotransitive verbs), The Phraseological
Passive (passive constructions with phrasal verbs) and The Adverbial Passive.
a) Direct Passive Constructions
Here the subject of the passive construction corresponds
to the direct object of the active construction. This type of construction is
called a direct passive construction. Monotransitive verbs are numerous and
almost all of them can form a direct passive construction.
Alice wrote that letter.
That letter was written by Alice.
There are a number of verbs in English which require two
direct objects, such as: to ask, to envy, to teach etc. With these verbs
practically only one passive construction is used. The direct object denoting a
person becomes the subject of the passive construction.
The students asked the professor lot of
questions.
The professor was asked a lot of questions.
The direct passive construction is used with the verbs: to
think, to consider, to know, to suggest, to suppose, to report, to request, to
believe, to allege, to consider, to expect;
It is expected that the strike will end soon.
It is said that he is working on a new book now.
There are verbs in English which require a direct and an
indirect object in the active construction, but they admit only of one passive
construction- the direct passive, among them we find to write, to
read, to play, to telegraph, to bring, to sing, to buy, to sell, to explain, to
describe, to dictate, to repeat, to mention, to introduce, to deliver, to present
to recommend, to prove, to point out;
The teacher explained the rule to the pupils.
The rule was explained to the pupils (by the
teacher.)
The director dictated a telegram to the
secretary.
A telegram was dictated to the secretary by the
director.
b) Indirect Passive Constructions
Ditransitive verbs take two objects, usually one
direct and one indirect. Accordingly they admit of two passive constructions.
The subject of the first passive construction
corresponds to the indirect object of the active construction, and the
construction is therefore called the indirect passive construction. The direct
object is retained unchanged after the passive verb and therefore, is called
the retained object.
The subject of the second passive construction
corresponds to the direct object of the active construction. In this case the
indirect object is retained. The preposition to may be omitted. It
usually precedes the retained indirect object in British English and is dropped
in American English.
The agentive by-object corresponding to the subject
of the active construction is very rarely used in either type of construction.
Of the two passive constructions the indirect
passive is by far the most common. There is no indirect passive construction in
Russian. Sentences with this construction are translated into Russian by means
of the indefinite personal construction with the indirect object in the front
position.
The indirect passive construction gives greater
prominence to the direct object, whereas the direct passive construction
emphasizes the indirect object .
The presence of the by-object makes it of great
communicative value.
Indirect passive construction is found with the verbs: to
tell, to give (and set phrases with give and grant) to give a
chance, to give an opportunity, to give a party, to give a post /job, to grant
leave, to grant audience;
They were given a party on the day of their
arrival.
We weren’t granted audience. The secretary said
he was busy.
Verbs which have two objects can be made passive in two ways.
Common verbs of this type are: to bring, to give, to lend,
to pass, to pay, to promise, to show, to hand, to offer, to send, to tell;
I was handed a strange note.
A strange note was handed to me.
c) Prepositional Passive Constructions
In the passive construction the subject of the
prepositional passive construction corresponds to the object of the active
construction and denotes the receiver of the action. The peculiarity of the
construction is that the preposition sticks to the verb.
Most verbs of this type denote the process of
speaking, mental and physical perception.
The prepositional passive construction has no
equivalent in Russian and is translated by an indefinite personal active
construction.
The majority (but not all) of prepositional
transitive verbs can form prepositional passive constructions. This pattern
itself is very productive. Some prepositional monotransitive verbs have
non-prepositional equivalents.
Phraseological units based on the fusion of a
monotransitive verb and a noun as direct object can also form prepositional
passive constructions. These units express one notion and function as
prepositional verbs. Many of them have synonyms among monotransitive verbs,
prepositional and non-prepositional.
As well as single prepositional verbs the
phraseological units with the verb in the passive voice are usually rendered in
Russian by means of indefinite personal or impersonal constructions.
Sometimes a phraseological unit is split and the
original direct object becomes the subject of the passive construction (the
direct passive).
Intransitive verbs can be used with prepositional
adverbial modifiers which may form passive constructions by analogy with
prepositional verbs.
Some of them are used in the passive voice only in a
figurative sense.
The prepositional passive may be found with the following
verbs: to speak of / about, to, to talk of /about, to comment on, to
write about, to look at / after upon, for, into, to laugh at, to shout at, to
mock at, to sneer at, to frown at, to spit at, to whistle at, to swear at….
This artist’s pictures are always looked at with
admiration.
His last film is much talked about.
His jokes are always laughed at.
d) The Phraseological Passive
The phraseological passive construction is the type in which
the subject corresponds to the prepositional object of the active construction,
besides the predicate is expressed by a phraseological unit, such as: to
take care (of), to take no notice (of), to pay attention (to), to take
responsibility (for), to lose sight (of), to put an end (to), to find fault
(with), to make fool (of), to get in touch (with), to make fun (of), to make
use (of)…
The car was lost sight of.
The teacher’s remarks were taken no notice of.
e) Adverbial Passive Constructions
Adverbial passive construction is a construction where the
subject of the passive construction corresponds to an adverbial modifier of place
in the active construction. The use of this construction is very rare. It
occurs with the verbs: to live, to sleep and to sit.
The house has never been lived in.
Entering the room she saw that the bed had not been slept in.
Practical part
I. Passive - not passive
The
construction to be + Participle II in modern English can have the meaning of
action and the meaning of state.
“... but they (Indians) were discovered at
last practicing abominations in the bottom of a ferny canyon...” (S., p. 31)
(action).
“He was tired of fighting the nameless thing
that stopped every avenue to success.” (S., p. 45) (state)
The construction to be + Participle II with the
meaning of action is the analytical form of the verb (the passive voice) whereas the grammar nature of this construction with the
meaning of state as a result of the earlier performed action (resultant state)
represents a disputable problem of the modern English grammar.
The construction to be + Participle II can also have
the meaning of state but this state is not anyhow connected with action.
If the verb to be is used in a Continuous form
(Present and Past) the construction to be + Participle II always denotes an
action.
The facts are being checked now. You will have to
wait for a few hours.
The Continuous
form (Present and Past) can be acknowledged as an absolute marker of the
passive voice. The construction to be + Participle II in the Continuous form
denotes action because the morphological form warns of a certain meaning. The
surroundings of this form do not play any role already, it wouldn’t be able to
change anything.
The form of
the Future Indefinite also indicates the meaning of action. But if there is an
indicator of time “by the certain moment” then the construction to be +
Participle II has the meaning of state.
My dear, I
shall be met. (action)
By
eight-forty-five the message will be dispatched, I think. (state)
Let’s have a
look at a few more sentences containing construction to be + Participle II.
1) “The shelf of new novels was still there, but the
7-Day rentals sign had been replaced with one which said “Read a best
seller – just for the fun of it!” (K., p. Xiii)
Here we deal with is a direct passive construction;
the subject of this passive construction is the carrier of the action, the
subject of the construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that
is non-person thing affected by the action; it is common aspect, perfect. The
form used in the sentence is the Past Perfect Tense.
2) “Three of the four study walls were lined,
and one of them had been set aside for the various editions, domestic
and foreign, of his work.” (K., p. Xiv)
Here we deal with two constructions to be +
Participle II. The first is a direct passive construction; the subject of this
passive construction is the carrier of the action, the subject of the
construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that non-person affected
by the action; it is common aspect, non-perfect. The form used in the sentence
is the Past Indefinite Tense.
The second is a direct passive construction; the
subject of this passive construction is the carrier of the action, the subject
of the construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that is
non-person thing affected by the action; it is common aspect, perfect. The form
used in which it is used in the sentence is the Past Perfect Tense.
3) “Spahda knew that he had been caught by the
warship, but what was after that?” (A., p. 63)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; the
subject of this passive construction is the carrier of the action, the subject
of the construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that is a
person affected by the action;the object of this passive construction is the
agent of the action (it is the agentive object), it is introduced by the
preposition “by”; it is common aspect, perfect (Past Perfect Tense)
4) “They are, by and large, a little longer than the
stories in Different seasons, and they were written for the most part
during the two years when I was supposedly retired.” (K., p. Xiii)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; the
subject of this passive construction is the carrier of the action, the subject
of the construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that
non-person affected by the action; it is common aspect, non-perfect (Past
Indefinite Tense).
5) “He was tired of fighting the nameless
thing that stopped every avenue to success.” (S., p. 45)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate,
which consists of a link-verb and a predicative, the predicate denotes a state.
The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
6) “They all fell silent, their faces long
and listening.” (K., p. 294)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate, the
predicate denotes a state. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
7) “The man was brown and beard, and
cherry-brown face, wrinkled and humorous and with metal eyes.” (Gal., p. 67)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate,
which consists of a link-verb and a predicative, the predicate denotes a state.
The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
8) “I am also amused to note that the
company Mr. Reiner formed following the success of Stand by me is Castle Rock
Productions...a name with which many of my long-time readers are familiar.” (K.,
p. Xv)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate,
which consists of a link-verb and a predicative, the predicate denotes a state.
The sentence is in the Present Indefinite Tense.
9) “At noon the sun will darken and a blackness will
fall on the earth and you will be afraid.”(S., p. 86)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate,
which consists of an auxiliary verb “will” which indicates the Future Tense, a
link-verb and a predicative, the predicate denotes a state.
10) “For any success, boldness is required.”
(S., p. 47)
Here we deal with a compound nominal predicate,
which consists of a link-verb and a predicative, the predicate denotes a state.
The sentence is in the Present Indefinite Tense.
Border-line cases
1) “She was stunned to find she
couldn’t do it.” (K., p.441)
Here it is impossible to understand whether it is a
passive construction or just a compound nominal predicate even with the help of
the context, as there no marks indicating whether it is an action or a state.
2) Said he was scared. Just took orders. (S.,
p. 15)
Here it is impossible to understand whether it is a
passive construction or just a compound nominal predicate even with the help of
the context, as there no marks indicating whether it is an action or a state.
II. Direct passive
A direct passive construction is a construction in
which the subject corresponds to the direct object of the active construction. The
subject of the passive construction is the carrier of the action, the subject
of the construction has the meaning of the receiver of the action, that is a
person or a non-human being affected by the action.
For example:
1) “After that they tramped through the house with
flashing eyes, feeling that they had been abstractly raped.” (S.,
p. 35)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, perfect. The sentence is in the Past Perfect Tense.
2) “Thereafter the big house on the Battle farm was governed by a series of evil-tempered housekeepers of that kind...” (S.,
p.35)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; the
object of this passive construction is the agent of the action (it is the
agentive object), it is introduced by the preposition “by”; it is common
aspect, non- perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
3) “To the people of Pastures of Heaven the Battle farm was cursed, and to their children it was haunted.” (S., p. 33)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
4) “After a long time a few families of squatters
moved into the Pastures of Heaven and a few fances were built and a few
fruit trees were planted.” (S., p. 33)
Here we deal with two direct passive constructions; both
of them are common aspect, non-perfect. The sentences are in the Past
Indefinite Tense.
5) “...the name that was given by him to the
sweet valley in the hills remains there.” (S., p. 32)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; the
object of this passive construction is the agent of the action (it is the
agentive object), it is introduced by the preposition “by”; it is common
aspect, non- perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
6) “...she (Lally) was summoned again to the
office in Cornhill and received from the white-haired gentleman a cheque.” (C.,
p. 312)
Here we also deal with s a direct passive construction;
it is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
7) “It was family and connections. I wasn’t
picked for my pretty eyes, but I did make a good officer.” (S., p. 14)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is a negative form, common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past
Indefinite Tense.
8) “Miss Burnes smiled her acknowledgment, and he
began to tell her of other windfalls that had been disbursed in his
time.” (C., p. 313)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, perfect. The sentence is in the Past Perfect Tense.
9) “When this book is published, in 1990, I
will have been sixteen years in the business of make-believe.” (K., p. Xvi)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Present Indefinite Tense.
10) “The manuscript had been typed on a good
grade of bond paper...”(K., p.248)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, perfect.
The sentence is in the Past Perfect Tense.
11) “The coffee was made and the eggs in a
bowl with toast beside them when Allen Hawley slid into the dinette near the
window.” (S., p. 11)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
12) “Margie Young-Hunt was Mrs. Young-Hunt to Joey,
even though it was whispered that he was laying her.” (S., p. 13)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; it
is common aspect, non-perfect.
The sentence is in the Past Indefinite form.
13) “The walls were repapered and the house
reroofed with asbestos shingles.” (S., p. 41)
In this case we deal with a direct passive
construction; it is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past
Indefinite Tense.
14) “The farm was completely deserted
– had been deserted at a moment’s notice.” (S., p. 40)
Here we deal with two direct passive constructions; the
first one is common aspect, non-perfect, in the form of the Past Indefinite
Tense. The second is common aspect, perfect, in the form of the Past Perfect
Tense.
15) “It was owned by a distant cousin of
George Battle’s, who had never seen it.” (S., p. 38)
Here we deal with a direct passive construction; the
object of this passive construction is the agent of the action (it is the
agentive object), it is introduced by the preposition “by”; it is common
aspect, non- perfect. The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
Indirect passive
An indirect passive construction is a construction
in which the object of the active construction has become the subject of the
passive construction, the subject of the construction has the meaning of the
receiver of the action, that is a person or a non-human being affected by the
action.
For example:
1) If he were not told this, he would be
against her. (Gal., p.227)
Here we deal with an indirect passive construction,;
it is common aspect, non-perfect, the Past Indefinite Tense.
2) I’ve just been offered a new job.
Can you imagine? – he was extremely excited. (K., p.23)
In this case we have an indirect passive
construction, it is common aspect, perfect. The sentence is in the Present
Perfect Tense.
3) The marriage of Soames with Annette took place in
Paris, with such privacy that not even Emily was told the news until
it was accomplished. (Gal., p. 228)
Here we deal with an indirect passive construction,
it is common aspect, non-perfect.
The sentence is in the Past Indefinite Tense.
Prepositional Passive
A prepositional passive construction is a
construction in which the prepositional object of the active construction has
become the subject of the passive construction, the preposition retains its
place after the verb.
For example:
1) Jerry was being waited for: if he opened
fire, they would cross. (E., p. 87)
Here we deal with a prepositional passive
construction, it is continuous aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past
Continuous Tense.
2) The book became rather famous. It was much
spoken about. (K., p. Xiv)
Here we deal with a prepositional passive
construction, it is common aspect, non-perfect. The sentence is in the Past
Indefinite Tense.
Adverbial Passive
An adverbial passive construction is a construction where the subject of the passive
construction corresponds to an adverbial modifier of place in the active construction.
For example:
1)They used only the kitchen. All the
other rooms had never been lived in.
Here we deal with an adverbial passive construction.
It is common aspect, perfect, the sentence is in the Past Perfect Tense.
IV. Frequency of usage.
The passive voice is widely used in English. It is
used alongside the active voice in written and spoken English. Passive
constructions are often used instead of active constructions in sentences
beginning with an indefinite pronoun or a noun or a pronoun of indefinite
reference.
It is evident that in the process of speech passive
constructions arise naturally, not as a result of conversion from the active
into the passive.
A passive construction is preferable in case when
the speaker is interested in what happens to the person or thing denoted by the
subject. The verb or the whole verb phrase is thus made more prominent. The
agent or the source of the action is not mentioned at all, either because it is
unknown or because it is of no particular importance in the utterance, for it
is evident from the context ot the situation. The predicate verb with its
modifiers contains a new and most important item of informatiom and is of great
communicative value.
There are a number of conventional expressions where
the passive voice is constantly used.
The use of the passive constructions is helpful in
maintaining the sentence perspective, it adds to the clarity and the precision
of the sentence structure.
Stylistically the passive voice is more characteristic
of scientific, than of imaginative prose. It constantly occurs in newspaper
items, which are meant to inform the reader of what has happened to people,
things or nations.
Reasons for the extensive use of passive
constructions in modern English.
1) in English there are no means of avoiding the
indication of the doer of the action in active constructions. In other languages
we find special active constructions which make it possible to avoid any
mention of the agent.
In Russian, for example, there are several
grammatical means that serve the purpose: (a) the so-called indefinite personal
sentences in which there is no subject and the predicate is in the 3rd
person plural
«Греков
держали как пленников, но при этом обращались с ними почтительно».
(b)
sentences with
reflexive verbs
«Эта
картина ценилась выше, чем все другие. Он знал, что оставался еще
один важный вопрос».
(c)
impersonal sentences
«Не
слышалось никакого шума. Все небо обложило тучами».
It
is true that in English the indefinite pronoun one and occasionally the
personal pronouns we, you and they and the noun people may be used in the same
way.
“One will have to think twice about accepting
invitations – if there’s a risk of being made miserable”.
“They say that the weather is better in May”.
But for some reason or other, the use of this kind
of sentences is restricted, and English, instead, resorts to passive
constructions.
2) in English, owing to the loss of distinction
between the accusative and the dative cases, the number of verbs taking a
direct object is quite considerable. It accounts for the extensive use of the
Direct Passive.
3) there is a great variety of passive
constructions in English. Although some of them are restricted in their
application, they still contribute to the frequent occurrence of the Passive.
The frequency of usage of different types of passive
constructions is as follows:
|
Types
of Passive Constructions
|
Number
of cases
|
%
|
|
Direct
Passive
|
75
|
80
|
|
Indirect
Passive
|
2
|
3
|
|
Prepositional
Passive
|
4
|
7
|
|
Adverbial
|
7
|
10
|
|
Total
|
88
|
100
|
So we can draw a conclusion that the passive voice is really rather widely used
in the English language. And the direct passive construction is the most
frequently used type of it.
Conclusion
I. There is a
group of to be + Participle II constructions in the modern English language,
which can be divided into three subgroups: a) those constructions which denote
an action and are analytical forms of verbs, they carry out the function of
the predicate; b) those constructions which denote a state without any
connection with an action, they are a part of a compound nominal predicate; and
c) those constructions which denote a state as a result of an earlier performed
action.
We have
discussed some certain criteria helping to distinguish between these three
subtypes of to be + Participle II constructions. Besides we should not forget
about the context which plays a great role in the English language.
II. The number of passive constructions in
English is much greater than
in
other languages. Most verbs with an object can be made passive.
So we have
singled out two classifications of passive constructions:
1. The
classification according to the number of members in a passive construction.
a) a
two-member construction: includes the subject of the sentence, which is the
object of the action, and the action;
b) a
three-member construction: includes the subject of the sentence, which is
the object of the action, the action and the agent (doer) of the action.
And we know
that the two-member construction is more common, the three-member construction
– more emphatic, emphasizes the doer of the action.
2. The classification
according to the type of a passive construction taking into account which type
of the verb is used in it.
a)The
Direct Passive (passive construction with non-prepositional monotransitive
verbs);
b)The Indirect Passive (passive construction with
ditransitive verbs);
c)The Prepositional Passive (passive construction
with prepositional monotransitive verbs);
d)The Phraseological
Passive (passive constructions with phrasal verbs);
e)The Adverbial Passive (passive constructions with
such kind of verbs as to sleep in, to live in, etc.)
III. We analyzed the
frequency of usage of the passive voice. The passive voice is widely used in
the English language. It is used alongside the active voice in written and
spoken English. The passive is not the reverse of the active. The two constructions
are not parallel in their use and serve different purposes. The most frequently
used type of passive is the direct passive.
Bibliography
1.
Воронина Г.Б. «Роль агенса в пассивной конструкции», руководитель Шендельс
Е.И., Москва, 1973г.
2.
Болдырева М.М. «Сочетание to
be + Participle
II со значение результативного
состояния в современном английском языке»б руководитель Гордон Е.М., Москва,
1970г.
3.
Воронцова Г.Н. «Очерки по грамматике английского языка», Москва, 1960г.
4.
A Grammar of the English Language (В.
Л.
Каушанская,
Р.
Л.
Ковнер;
4-ое
издание;
Ленинград,
изд.
«Просвещение»,
Ленинградское
отделение 1973 г.)
5.
An English Grammar, Morphology (Н.
А.
Кобрина,
Е.
А.
Корнеева;
Москва,
изд.
«Просвещение»,
1985 г.)
6.
Секреты Английской Грамматики (Е. В. Зверховская, Е. Ф. Косиченко; Москва, изд.
«Оникс
21 век»,
2004 г.)
7.
English Grammar In Use (Raymond Murphy; Cambridge University Press, 1985
The books used in the analyses:
1.
Stephen King
“I
know what you need”
“The
Shining”
“Secret
window, secret garden”
“An
introductory note” to “Four past midnight”
“The
sun dog”
“The
langoliers”
“The
library policeman
2.
John Galsworthy
“The
Forsyte Saga”
Book
2 “In Chancery”
3.
John Steinbeck
“The
winter of our discontent”
“
The Pastures of Heaven”
4.
Alfred Edgar Coppard
“Fifty
Pounds”
5.
James. Aldridge
“The
Sea Eagle”
6.
Cpl. Russ Engel
“The
Incredible Patrol”