to focus - Passive or Active voice?

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Lone Swordsman

#514462 Fri, 16 May 08 04:02 PM

Hi,

I'd like to ask you, is it ok to use the passive voice of the verb "to focus" in this sentence:
All this time John's been focused on blah-blah-blah...

I'm kind of confused about what/who performs the action on John in that case...On the other hand, the following sentence sounds odd:
All this time John's focused on blah-blah-blah...

And Google tells that the Passive voice is the right choice to go with.

Thanks.

Lone Swordsman

Joined on Fri, Jun 15 2007

New Member (32)

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Grammar Geek

#514469 Fri, 16 May 08 04:20 PM

Wrong sense of "Focus."

It's not a the same as "He focused the light projector" or "he focused the camera."

It means "to pay specific attention to someone."

I don't have time to have children - I'm focused on my career right now. (Or: I don't care that my job isn't fulfilling; I'm focusing on my children right now.)

All this time, John has been paying specific attention to...

Grammar Geek

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006

Pennsylvania, USA

Veteran Member (15,538)

Barbara, who answers in American English.

Lone Swordsman

#514489 Fri, 16 May 08 05:08 PM

GG, thanks for your reply.

Looks like I get the point, but that's very interesting that the sentences with the same subject have practically the same meaning in spite of different (Active/Passive) verb forms.

Lone Swordsman

Verbs

Cool Breeze

#514520 Fri, 16 May 08 06:38 PM

Lone Swordsman

Looks like I get the point, but that's very interesting that the sentences with the same subject have practically the same meaning in spite of different (Active/Passive) verb forms.

Indeed. That sometimes happens in English. The context will tell you what is meant:

He drowned in the river. He was drowned in the river.

Both sentences can have the same meaning. The latter one can also mean that a crime was committed. English isn't always the most exact of languages.

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (2,817)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

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CalifJim

#514524 Fri, 16 May 08 06:58 PM

Lone Swordsman
All this time John's [John has] been focused on blah-blah-blah...
...All this time John's [John is] focused on blah-blah-blah...

Passive? No. There's nothing passive here, because there is no agent either implicit or explicit (i.e., there is nobody who is doing something). focused is an adjective. Be careful. Not every word with -ed is a verb in every sentence where it occurs. These two sentences are just the same statement in two different tenses. Note these:

John is ... [present]

John was ... [past]

John will be ... [future]

John has been ... [present perfect]

John had been ... [past perfect]

Complete any of the phrases above by adding any of these:

frightened of snakes, interested in science, focused on his studies, tired of reading, fascinated by insects, bored with grammar.

None of the resulting sentences has a passive construction.

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,914)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Constructions, Grammar, Past perfect, Present perfect, Tenses, Verbs

Lone Swordsman

#514542 Fri, 16 May 08 07:57 PM

CalifJim, Cool Breeze thanks for your input.

CalifJim, I had a feeling that "focused" in the first sentence (the second sentence was meant to go like ...John's [John has] focused on...,which is absolutely wrong) was an adjective, not a verb, but I wasn't sure. And your post has removed all doubts about that. Thanks a lot.

P.S. While I was trying to find an agent of the sentence, thinking that the sentence is passive, I had a few mystical experiences Big Smile

))

Lone Swordsman

Verbs