Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed.[1] A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is called a passive sentence. In contrast, a sentence in which the subject has the agent role is called an active sentence, and its verb is expressed in active voice. Many languages have both an active and a passive voice; this allows for greater flexibility in sentence construction, as either the semantic agent or patient may take the syntactic role of subject.[2]
Transforming an active verb into a passive verb is a valence-decreasing process ("detransitivizing process"), because it transforms transitive verbs into intransitive verbs.[3]
The use of passive voice allows speakers to organize stretches of discourse by placing figures other than the agent in subject position. This may be used to foreground the patient, recipient, or other thematic role.[2] Passive voice may also be useful when the semantic patient is the topic of on-going discussion.[4]
In some languages, such as Latin, passive voice is indicated by verb conjugation. A passive suffix on the verb indicates passive voice.
The Japanese adversative passive (also called indirect passive) indicates adversative affect.
2. Prepare for the exercises by reading the descriptions of the different conditional forms.
3. Complete the exercises below. After each exercise, we have listed the conditional forms covered. Just click on the name of the conditional form to learn more about its use.
Transforming an active verb into a passive verb is a valence-decreasing process ("detransitivizing process"), because it transforms transitive verbs into intransitive verbs.[3]
The use of passive voice allows speakers to organize stretches of discourse by placing figures other than the agent in subject position. This may be used to foreground the patient, recipient, or other thematic role.[2] Passive voice may also be useful when the semantic patient is the topic of on-going discussion.[4]
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[edit] Passive marking
Different languages use various grammatical forms to indicate passive voice.In some languages, such as Latin, passive voice is indicated by verb conjugation. A passive suffix on the verb indicates passive voice.
- Vīnum (ā) servō portātur.
- The wine is carried by the servant.
- (Compare this sentence, which gives the same information in the active voice:
- Servus vīnum portat, The servant carries the wine.)
| root | past passive | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| patay | pinatay | "was killed" |
| nakaw | ninakaw | "was stolen" |
| garas | ginaras | "was butchered" |
[edit] The passive voice in English
Main article: English passive voice
English, like some other languages, uses a periphrastic passive. Rather than conjugating directly for voice, English uses the past participle form of the verb plus an auxiliary verb, either be or get, to indicate passive voice.- The money was donated to the school.
- The vase got broken during the fight.
[edit] Adversative passive
Some languages, including several Southeast Asian languages, use a form of passive voice to indicate that an action or event was unpleasant or undesirable.[5] This so-called adversative passive works like the ordinary passive voice in terms of syntactic structure—that is, a theme or instrument acts as subject. In addition, the construction indicates adversative affect, suggesting that someone was negatively affected.The Japanese adversative passive (also called indirect passive) indicates adversative affect.
- 花子が 隣の 学生に ピアノを 朝まで 弾かれた。
- Hanako-ga tonari-no gakusei-ni piano-o asa-made hikareta.
- Hanako-subject neighbor student-by piano-object morning-until played-passive
- "Hanako was adversely affected by the neighboring student playing the piano until morning."[8]
Conditional Tutorial
There are two kinds of conditional sentences: real and unreal. Real Conditional describes real-life situations. Unreal Conditional describes unreal, imaginary situations. Although the various conditional forms might seem quite abstract at first, they are actually some of the most useful structures in English and are commonly included in daily conversations. If you prefer to use the conditional pages as a reference only and do not want to complete the tutorial, Click Here.The tutorial should be completed as follows:
1. Read this introduction page.2. Prepare for the exercises by reading the descriptions of the different conditional forms.
3. Complete the exercises below. After each exercise, we have listed the conditional forms covered. Just click on the name of the conditional form to learn more about its use.
Conditional Overview with Examples
| Present Real Conditional | Present Unreal Conditional |
| If I have time, I study English. Sometimes I have time. | If I had time, I would study English. I don't have time. |
| Past Real Conditional | Past Unreal Conditional |
| If I had time, I studied English. Sometimes I had time. | If I had had time, I would have studied English. I didn't have time. |
| Future Real Conditional | Future Unreal Conditional |
| If I have time, I will study English. If I have time, I am going to study English. I don't know if I will have time or not. Other forms possible. | If I had time, I would study English. I won't have time. Other forms possible. |
