1) Active and passive
2) The choice between active and passive
3) The words ‘active’ and ‘passive’
4) Special cases of active/passive usages: the one is used for the other or both are interchangeable
5) Verbs that cannot be used in the passive
6) Passive verb forms
7) By + agent
8) Sentences with object complements
9) Verbs with two objects
10) Idiomatic expressions consisting of verb + noun phrase + preposition
11) Sentences with finite clauses as Od
12) Sentences with non-finite clauses without subject as Od
13) Non-finite and verbless clauses with subject
14) To-infinitive clauses with subject
15) Bare infinitive clauses with subject
16) -ing clauses with subject
17) Past participle clauses with subject
18) Perfective verbs
19) Existential sentences with there and with have
20) The passive with get
1) Active and passive
Compare the following sentences:
Your little boy broke my kitchen window this morning.
My kitchen window was broken by your little boy.
In the first sentence, the person who did the action (your little boy) is the subject, and comes first; then we say what he did (with the verb, broke) and what he did to (the object, my kitchen window). In the second sentence, the opposite happens: we start by talking about my kitchen window (the object of the first the sentence has become the subject of the second); then we say what was done to it, and who this was done by. The first kind of sentence, and the kind of verb-form used in it, are called ‘active’. The second kind of sentence, and the kind of verb-form used, are called ‘passive’. This difference in the verb conjugation is called one of ‘voice’, different from those of tense, aspect and mood.
2) The choice between active and passive
The choice between active and passive constructions often depends on what has already been said, or on what the listener already knows. We usually like to start sentences with what is already known, and put ‘new’ information later in the sentence (the principle of end-focus). In our first example, the listener does not know about the broken window, so the speaker makes it the O of the sentence. In our second, the listener knows about the window - it is being pointed out to him, he can see it - so the speaker uses a passive construction; in this way he can put the window first, and keep the new information (who broke it) for later in the sentence. Another example:
John’s just written a play.
This play was probably written by Marlowe.
In the first sentence, John is someone that the hearer knows; the news is that he has written a play. The speaker prefers to put this at the end, so he begins with John and uses an active verb. In the second, a passive structure allows the speaker to begin with the play (which the hearer already knows about), and to put the news (who wrote it) at the end.
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On the other hand, we often put longer and ‘heavier’ expressions, ie the more complex parts of a clause or sentence, at the end of a sentence (the principle of end-weight), and this can be another reason for choosing a P structure. Compare:
Mary’s behaviour annoyed me. ~ I was annoyed by Mary’s behaviour.
I was annoyed by Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do.
The first sentence can easily be A or P. But if the second sentence were A, the S would be very long (Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do annoyed me). In this case, a P structure is more natural. In accordance with the principle of end-weight, a finite clause as subject is readily avoided by switching from the A to the P voice.
That he was prepared to go to Antarctica astounded me.
I was astounded that he was prepared to go to Antarctica.
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In short, the agentive role in a sentence is usually played by the S; the P voice is thus a means of reversing the normal order of ‘agentive’ and ‘affected’ elements and, in this way, of adjusting the clause structure to end-focus and end-weight. Since it is natural to express given information briefly (e.g. by pronoun substitution), the two principles mentioned work together, rather than against each other. A further example:
‘Who makes these chairs’ ‘ They’re made by Habitat, the company I work for.’
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P structures are also used when we want to talk about an action, but we are not interested in saying who (or what) did it.
Those pyramids were built around 400 A.D.
Too many books have been written about the second world war.
Passives are very common in scientific writing and other kinds of expression where we are most interested in events and processes: in things that happen. Active forms are more common in imaginative writing (novels, stories, etc) and in other cases where we want to say a lot about the people who make things happen.
3) The words ‘active’ and ‘passive’
Meaning and grammar do not always go together. Not all A verbs have A meanings; not all P verbs have P meanings. If you say that sb receives st, or suffers, you really mean that he has st done to him. The verb form is A but the meaning is P. Some English A verbs might be translated by passives in certain other languages (e.g. She is sitting); some English passives would not be translated by passives in some other languages (e.g. I was born in 1962 [Nací en 1962]; English is spoken here [Aquí hablamos/hablan inglés]).
4) Special cases of active/passive usages: the one is used for the other or both are interchangeable
A few A verbs can sometimes be used with passive meanings.
Your report reads well. (= Your report is read with interest.)
The new Ford is selling badly.
This dress does up at the front.
It’s a pretty material, but it doesn’t wash.
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After need, require, deserve and, less commonly, want, active -ing forms can be used as equivalent to passive infinitive constructions.
Your shoes need cleaning. (= . . . to be cleaned.)
Your hair needs cutting.
Does your dress require pressing, madam?
The car wants servicing. (BrE only)
In this case, the S of the superordinate clause is not the implied subject of the gerund clause, but its implied O: you or sb else needs to clean the shoes.
Need can also be followed by a passive infinitive.
Your shoes need to be cleaned.
Your hair needs to be cut.
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Sometimes A and P infinitives, in certain structures, can be used with very similar meanings, while sometimes they convey a rather different meaning in similar structures.
There’s a lot of work to do / to be done.
Let us see this in detail.
The idea of obligation can sometimes be expressed by an infinitive after a noun.
I’ve got letters to write.
These carpets are to be cleaned as soon as possible.
a) If the subject of the sentence is the person who has to do the action, the active infinitive is used.
I have work to do. (Not: *I have work to be done.)
b) If the subject of the sentence is the action that has to do be done (or the person or thing that the action is done to), we use the passive infinitive.
The cleaning is to be finished by mid-day. (Not: * ... to finish ...)
These sheets are to be washed. (Not: *These sheets are to wash.)
This form is to be filled in in ink. (Not: *This form is to fill in ...)
c) In some structures (for example, after there is) both A and P infinitives are possible with a similar meaning. We use the A infinitive if we think more about the person who has to do the action than about the action itself.
There’s a lot of work to do / to be done.
There are six e-mails to write / to be written today.
Give me the names of the people to contact / to be contacted.
d) There is a difference between something/anything/nothing to do and something/anything/nothing to be done.
There’s nothing to do - I’m bored. (= There are no entertainments.)
There’s nothing to be done - we’ll have to buy another one.
(=There is no way of putting it right.)
e) We usually say that a house is to let, but to be let is also possible.
f) To blame is often used in a P sense (meaning ‘responsible for st bad that happened’).
Nobody was to blame for the accident.
g) The passive infinitives to be seen, to be found and to be congratulated are common after be.
He was nowhere to be seen.
The dog was nowhere to be found.
You are to be congratulated.
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When present participles are used as adjectives, they usually have active meanings:
a crying child the people taking part
Past participles used as adjectives (before or after the noun) almost always have passive meanings: a broken window is a window that has been broken by sb; the problems discussed means (probably) the problems that were, have been or are discussed; the same applies to the people invited. But there are a few exceptions, including the adjetival participles faded, fallen, vanished, escaped, grown-up and retired.
faded colours fallen rocks vanished civilizations
an escaped prisoner a grown-up daughter a retired general
The active meaning past participle form are accounted for by the present perfect tense: faded colours are colours that have faded; fallen rocks are rocks that have fallen, and so on. But I think the key factor is that these verbs are intransitive and therefore the participles are clearly seen correctly as active.
Some other past participles can be used in this way with an adverb or adverb particle.
a well-read person a much-travelled man
recently-arrived immigrants a burnt-out match
5) Verbs that cannot be used in the passive
Not all verbs can have passive forms.
a) Intransitive verbs (die, bleed, come, arrive) cannot become passive because they have no objects, and so there is nothing to become the subject of a P sentence.
b) Some transitive verbs cannot be used in the P, at least in certain of their meanings. Most of these are stative verbs (verbs which refer to states, not actions, and which often have no progressive forms), the most common of which is have, which cannot have a passive form even when it is not stative.
They have a nice house. (But not * A nice house is had ...)
I was having a bath. (But not * A bath was being had ...)
These verbs are sometimes considered to form a separate category of non-transitive verbs taking noun phrases as their complementation. They include:
- ‘reciprocal’ vebs: resemble, look like, equal, agree with, mean (linguistic sense)
Sylvia resembles a Greek goddess.
(But not * A Greek goddess is resembled by Sylvia.)
- verbs ‘of containing’ (or opposites) and measure: contain, hold, comprise, lack, measure, weigh, cost
The library contains a million books.
Your mother lacks tact. (But not *Tact is lacked ...)
The books cost ninety dollars. (But not *Ninety dollars are cost ...)
- verbs of ‘suiting’: suit, fit, become (=suit)
These shoes don’t fit me. (But not * I’m not fitted by these shoes ...)
Contain and hold occur in a similar sense in the P but without a by-phrase.
A million books are contained in that library.
c) With transitive verbs which admit the P, it is blocked when there is co-reference between S and O, ie when there are reflexive, reciprocal or possessive pronouns in the noun phrase as O. In each of the following examples, the P is impossible with the second element:
John could see Paul / himself in the mirror.
We could hardly see them / each other in the fog.
The other waitress wiped the tables / her hands.
d) Not all prepositional verbs can be used in P structures. For example, we can say That chair’s not to be sat on or The picture was not looked at, and in this way, as in other English structures, the preposition comes at the end of a clause; but we can’t say *I was agreed with be everybody or *The room was walked into. Prepositional verbs that do not occur in the P freely will sometimes do so under certain conditions, such as the presence of a particular modal.
Visitors didn’t walk over the lawn. (no P)
Visitors can’t walk over the lawn ~ The lawn can’t be walked over (by visitors).
There are no clear rules about this, so one has, more or less, to learn, one by one, which of these can be used in the P.
When a prepositional verb does admit the P, it can be considered a transitive verb, but in another analysis the preposition is viewed as introducing an adverbial.
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Transitive phrasal verbs usually - but not always - occur in the P. An example of those which do not is get down both in get sth down (= write down) and get sb down (= make unhappy).
The children were well looked after.
The man was frequently called on.
Some multi-word verbs consist of a verb followed by two particles.
He puts up with a lot of teasing. (=tolerates)
As with prepositional verbs, we can analyse these as transitive verbs. Under certain conditions, they can occur in the P.
He can’t put up with bad temper. ~ Bad temper can’t be put up for long.
6) Passive verb forms
Students often confuse active and passive verb forms. This is not surprising, as the following sentences show:
He was calling. (A: past progressive)
He was called. (P: past simple)
He has called. (A: present perfect simple)
A bit of help may be provided by being aware of the fact that a P verb-form always has one more word than the corresponding A.
P verb-forms are made with the different tenses of to be, followed by a past participle. The tenses, and the rules for their use, are the same as for A verb-forms. However, we usually avoid saying be being and been being, so that future progressive and perfect progressive tenses are very uncommon.
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[List of tenses (with parenthesized rare ones) with one example each]
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Of course we can also form the going to structure and modal structures.
Who’s going to be invited?
He ought to be shot. You might have been hurt.
Note the passive infinitive - to be invited/shot - and the perfect passive infinitive - have been hurt - in the last three examples provided.
With modal forms with more than one meaning (shall, will, can), a shift of meaning may accompany shift of voice. For example, in the A can would normally be interpreted as expressing ability, while in the P it is interpreted as expressing possibility.
John cannot do it. ~ It cannot be done (by John).
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The structure be + infinitive (The Queen is to visit Japan next month) can also take a passive infinitive, as we have already seen when dealing with infinitives that express obligation. This P is very common in notices and instructions.
The form is to be filled in and returned within three weeks.
These tablets are to be kept out of the reach of children.
The subject and the auxiliary verb may be left out before this infinitive, whether active or passive. An example in the passive is:
To be taken three times a day before meals.
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As has already been said in relation to the future, progressive and perfect progressive passive infinitives are possible, but are not normally used.
*I’d like to be being messaged right now.
*She must have been being massaged when the phone rang.
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Passive -ing forms also exist:
She likes being looked at.
Having being rejected by everybody, he became a monk.
7) By + agent
In sentences like The trouble was caused by your mother, the part of the sentence introduced by by is called the agent. The agent in a P sentence is the same person or thing as the subject of an active sentence.
I was shocked by her attitude. ~ Her attitude shocked me.
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The agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or what st is done by. In most P sentences there is no agent because it is irrelevant or unknown.
A new supermarket’s just been opened.
I’m always being asked for money.
Order has been restored without bloodshed and without concessions.
It is also omitted when it is redundant in the context.
Jack fought Michael last night and Jack was beaten.
(by Michael is so obvious that it is not used)
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After some past participles which are used like adjectives, other prepositions are used instead of by to introduce the agent. The choice, when there is one at all, is usually for other particulart prepositions if the participle describes a state of mind, and for by if it describes an action.
I’m excited about the possibility of going to the States.
I was excited at/ by the prospect of going abroad.
The kids were so excited by the noise that they couldn’t get to sleep.
We were worried about/by her silence.
Are you frightened of spiders / dying?
She was frightened by a mouse that ran into the room.
I’m annoyed with you.
I was annoyed by the way she spoke to me.
alarmed at/by disappointed with interested in delighted with
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With is used when we talk about an instrument (tool, etc) which helps the agent to do an action.
He was shot (by the policeman) with a revolver.
In fact, in a P sentence, the agentive or instrument can be expressed by a by-phrase, but only the instrument can be expressed by a with-phrase.
The window was broken by a ball / by a boy.
The window was broken with a ball / *with a boy.
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The agentive by-phrase also occurs as a postmodifier to signify authorship or the like.
a novel by Tolstoy a picture by Degas
8) Sentences with object complements
After some verbs, the direct O can be followed by an object complement - a noun or adjective which describes the O.
Queen Victoria considered him a genius.
We regarded him as an expert.
Most people saw him as a sort of clown.
The other children called him stupid.
I made the room beautiful.
They elected him president.
These sentences can become passive.
He was considered a genius (by Queen Victoria).
He was regarded as an expert.
He was seen as a sort of clown.
He was called stupid.
The room was made beautiful.
He was elected president.
9) Verbs with two objects
Many verbs, such as give, lend, pay, show, send, promise, offer, refuse, tell can be followed by two objects, which usually refer to a person (indirect object) and a thing (direct).
She gave her sister the car.
When these verbs are used in the P, there are two possibilities.
Her sister was given the car.
The car was given to her sister. (omission of to is less common)
Most often in such cases the person becomes the subject of the P verb.
You were lent ten thousand pounds last year.
We were shown all the different ways of making whisky.
I’ve just been sent a whole lot of information.
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Ditransitive verbs whose direct object must be introduced by a preposition (ie ditransitive prepositional verbs) normally allow this P:
We reminded him of the agreement. ~ He was reminded of the agreement.
(There is a lot of variety here in the prepositions, in the order of person/thing, and even as to which object (direct or indirect) actually follows the preposition. Examples are:
- inform / convince / rob / accuse sb of st,
- punish sb for st,
- charge sb with st
- congratulate sb on st
- remind sb of st/sb
- introduce sb to sb
- compare sb/st to sb/st
- explain st to sb
- She blamed Jack for the damage.
~ She blamed the damage on Jack.
- They provided the homeless with blankets.
~ They provided blankets for the homeless.
- They supplied the terrorists with guns.
~ They supplied guns for/to the terrorists.)
10) Idiomatic expressions consisting of verb + noun phrase + preposition
Some verbs form an idiomatic unit when combined with certain noun phrases followed by certain prepositions, and in this respect resemble many prepositional verbs.
give place to pay attention to keep an eye on make use of
make fun of lose sight of lose touch with put an end to
There are two passive forms of the sentence, since either of the two noun phrases can become the subject.
They had made good use of the house.
~ Good use had been made of the house.
~ The house had been made good use of.
They took good care of the children.
~ Good care was taken of the children.
~ The children were taken good care of.
The second type of P shown in these examples is chiefly informal.
11) Sentences with finite clauses as Od
The O of a sentence can be a finite clause.
People believed that witches communicated with the devil.
Nobody knew whether there was gold left in the mine.
Passive sentences can be made with that- or whether-clauses as subjects. Usually, it is used as an introductory subject, the other possibility being much less common.
That witches communicated with the devil was widely believed.
~ It was believed that witches communicated with the devil.
Whether there was gold left in the mine was not known.
~ It was not known whether there was gold left in the mine.
With many verbs (ask, show, promise, warn), an Oi is also possible.
John showed (me) that he was honest.
With others (tell, remind, convince, assure, inform), the Oi is obligatory.
John convinced me that he was right.
These sentences can be passivized, with the Oi as S of the P sentence.
I was shown that he was honest.
I was convinced that he was right.
The verbs tell and show also allow the Od to become S of the P sentence, though normally there is extraposition.
That he was an honest man was shown (to me).
~ It was shown (to me) that he was an honest man.
With still other verbs (say, mention, point out, suggest, explain, confess, announce, declare), what can be used instead of the Oi is a prepositional phrase, which is introduced by to, and which can always be omitted.
John mentioned (to me) that they were sick.
In this case, it is the Od that they allow to become S of the P sentence, though usually there is extraposition again.
That they were sick was mentioned (to me) (by John).
~ It was mentioned (to me) (by John) that they were sick.
12) Sentences with non-finite clauses without subject as Od
The implicit subject of these infinitive or -ing clauses is usually the same as that of the main verb. There is in general no P for sentences whose O is a noun-finite clause without an explicit S (I forgot to go to the bank; John began writing a letter). The exceptions are with a few verbs (notably agree, arrange, decide) and then only if there is extraposition and anticipatory it.
They decided to meet in London. ~ It was decided to meet in London.
13) Non-finite and verbless clauses with subject
When a clause as O (a) is non finite or verbless, and (b) has its subject expressed, this S behaves as though it alone were the Od of the main verb; it can therefore be the subject in a P transformation. Compare (a) with (b) in each group:
a) Everyone expected that Mary would marry John.
b) Everyone expected Mary to marry John.
~ Mary was expected to marry John.
a) John thought that Mary was exceptionally clever.
b) John thought Mary exceptionally clever.
~ Mary was thought exceptionally clever.
In the last two sentences, to be is implied:
John thought Mary to be exceptionally clever.
Mary was thought to be exceptionally clever.
We are going to see different structures here in detail, but not verbless clauses with subject, since they are in fact the kind of clauses we have analysed under the heading ‘Sentences with object complements’.
14) To-infinitive clauses with subject
Many verbs can be followed by an O and infinitive, the O being the S of the infinitive.
She asked me to send a stamped addressed envelope.
I consider Smith to be dangerous.
Everybody wanted Doris to be the manager.
We like our staff to say what they think.
Sentences like these cannot always be made P (notably, those with get, want, like, hate). We cannot say, for example, *Doris was wanted to be the manager or *Our staff are liked to say what they think.
But there are many verbs which do admit the P:
a) Verbs of asking, ordering, allowing etc (like ask, request, tell, advise, persuade, require, order, command, allow, forbid, expect, intend, mean, teach) can usually be used in the P with a following infinitive.
I was asked to send a stamped addressed envelope.
She was told not to come back.
We are allowed to visit Harry once a week.
The infinitive can be preceded by a wh-phrase, but then there is a difference between verbs of stating and those of asking as to what is the S of the infinitive, and the P would be awkward in the latter case.
He told them where to go. (= ... where they should go.)
~ They were told where to go.
He asked them where to go. (= ... where he should go.)
~ *They were asked where to go / where he should go.
b) Many verbs of thinking, saying etc (like consider, presume, suppose, feel, imagine, believe, think, understand, know, say, report) can be used in the same way. With these verbs the subordinate clause normally has a stative verb.
Smith is considered to be dangerous.
He is known to be violent.
With say, the infinitive structure is only possible in the P. Compare:
They say that he’s famous in his own country. (Not *They say him to be ...)
~ He’s said to be famous in his own country.
With the other verbs in this group, too, the that-structure is more common than the infinitive structure in active sentences, especially when the subordinate verb is other than be. If the that-structure is used, there are also corresponding P forms, especially the P with anticipatory it, as we have seen.
They believed that the stranger was a policeman.
~ It was believed that the stranger was a policeman.
They believed the stranger to be a policeman.
~ The stranger was believed to be a policeman.
With the verbs in this group, the exact infinitive structure (simple or perfect) depends on whether the infinitive is simultaneous with the main verb or previous in time. This can be best seen if we start with the that-structure.
It is known that she is a good actress.
~ She is known to be a good actress.
It was known that she was a good actress.
~ She was known to be a good actress.
It is known that she was a good actress.
~ She is known to have been a good actress.
It was known that she had been a good actress.
~ She was known to have been a good actress.
15) Bare infinitive clauses with subject
A few causative verbs and verbs of perception are followed, in the A, by an O and an infinitive without to. Examples are see, hear, help, make, have, let. In the P, the to-infinitive is used instead of the bare infinitive.
I saw him come out of the house. ~ He was seen to come out of the house.
They made him tell the the truth. ~ He was made to tell the truth.
This does not apply to causative have and let, which have no passive, except perhaps in sentences like He was let go.
On the other hand, in the active only let can be followed by object + passive infinitive.
They let Mary be taught (by Bob).
16) -ing clauses with subject
There are two kinds of verbs here: those which permit the subordinate subject to be genitive (predominantly emotive verbs with personal nouns or pronouns) and those which disallow the genitive.
I dislike him / his driving my car.
I found him / *his driving my car.
With the former, the S of the subordinate clause cannot become the subject of the superordinate clause in the P: *He is disliked (by me) driving my car. With the latter, the opposite is true.
He was found driving my car.
We saw her crossing the street. ~ She was seen crossing the street.
17) Past participle clauses with subject
We can distinguish between three types of construction involving past participle with S, all of which can be sometimes replaced by analogous finite clauses:
- causative/volitional verbs (order, have ‘cause’, get, want)
He got the watch repaired.
- factual verbs expressing an event (have ‘suffer’, see)
He saw the watch stolen.
- factual verbs expressing a current state (keep, leave, find)
He found the watch stolen.
Only the factual verbs allow passivization.
He saw the watch stolen. ~ The watch was seen stolen.
The tourists found the chairs occupied.
~ The chairs were found occupied (by the tourists).
18) Perfective verbs
Perfective verbs are verbs which refer to actions that produce a finished result. For example, close, pack, cut, build are perfective verbs; live, feel, run, speak are not. The past participle of perfective verbs, and their P tenses, can have two meanings. They can refer to the action, or they can describe the result (rather like adjectives). Consider the sentence
The theatre was closed.
This can have two meanings. Compare:
The theatre was closed by the police on the orders of the mayor.
When I got to the theatre I found that it was closed.
In the first sentence, closed is the opposite of opened; it refers to an action. In the second, closed is the opposite of open; it refers to a state, not an action, and is more like an adjective. In other languages, like Spanish and Portuguese, our two examples are translated by two different auxiliary verbs (ser for the action - the real P structure - and estar for the resulting state: fue cerrado / foi fechado vs estaba cerrado / estaba fechado).
Another example:
They were married.
Compare:
They were married in church yesterday.
They were married when I last heard about them.
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The English present perfect, on the other hand, is often used to talk about the results of actions (for example, I’ve packed the cases). With perfective verbs, a present passive often gives the same meaning as a present perfect passive; for example: The cases are packed (= ... have been packed). In other words, the A equivalent of the ‘statal’ P The house is already sold requires an aspectual shift to the perfect: Someone has already sold the house. The same occurs with the following:
The vegetables are all cut up - what shall I do now?
I think your ankle is broken.
I got caught in the train and my suit’s ruined.
19) Existential sentences with there and with have
Passive sentences with the construction there + to be also occur.
A whole box has been stolen. ~ There has been a whole box stolen.
No shops will be left open. ~ There’ll be no shops left open.
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There is also a type of existential sentence in which the thematic position is not ‘empty’ but is filled by a noun phrase S preceding the verb have (got):
He has several friends in China.
(Cf There are several friends of his in China; Several friends of his are in China)
In the P, the verb is generally actional rather than statal: My friend had his watch stolen implies “Sb stole my friend’s watch” rather than “My friend was without a watch because it was stolen”. This is another view on have as a factual verb expressing an event.
In a further usage of this construction (especially with the P) the S of have gives up its ‘recipient’ role for one of indirect agency: He had all his enemies imprisoned is most likely to mean “He caused all his enemies to be imprisoned”. This causative have has already been dealt with as well.
20) The passive with get
When get is followed by a PP, the meaning is very similar to a P verb-form, and get acts as an auxiliary verb in a similar way to be.
That picture got / was damaged when we were moving.
How did the window get broken? / How was the window broken?
However, not all P sentences can be constructed with get. You could not say *Our house got built in 1900 or *Parliament got opened by the Queen last week.
Get + PP seems to be used particularly in three cases:
a) When we are talking about things that are done suddenly, unexpectedly or by accident
He got caught by the police driving at 80 mph through Cambridge.
More and more people are getting attacked in the Tube these days.
I got invited to lots of parties last holidays.
My brother got hit by a cricket ball.
b) When we are talking about things that we ‘do to ourselves’ - actions which are, according to some authors, reflexive rather than passive - or, seen from a different angle that I find more appropriate, this structure is actually get + adjective (including present and past participles), as in It got dark; The clothes got dry in the sunshine; He got red in the face; The lesson is getting boring; I’m getting bored; that is, it indicates a change of state or tranformation. (In fact, get, unless followed by a simple Od, almost always refers, broadly speaking, to some kind of change of state - things or people become different, move to new places, begin new activities, etc, as in I can’t get my hands warm; I must get my hair cut; Let’s get going - we’re late; Get out!; Would you mind getting off my foot?; I’ll get to know him soon). Some phrases with this pseudo-reflexive get are
get dressed get washed
get lost get confused
get engaged get married get divorced
Get married is much more common than marry when there is no Od. Compare:
She got married in June
She married a boy she met on holiday. (Or: She got married to ...)
c) When the P draws more attention to the result than to the action or agency, the ‘resulting’ copula get frequently replaces be, though chiefly in rather informal usage. Compare:
My kitchen window was broken by your little boy.
I know how that window got broken.
Great job!
ResponderEliminarWhat about Who/ to whom passive questions?
Who did you write to?
Who did you write the letter to?
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