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Passive voice

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Latest post Fri, Apr 3 2009 8:42 PM by Kooyeen. 35 replies.
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hsiaoyunh  +  683147 Thu, 05 Mar 09 02:55 AM

Are the sentences correct?

 1. Bill saw the girls swim in the pool.

   --> The girls were seen to swim in the pool by Bill.

2. Bill saw the girls swimming in the pool.

  --> The girls were seen swimming in the pool by Bill.

3. Sam saw the girl bitten by a snake.

  --> The girl was seen bitten by a snake by Bill.

 To me, the third passive voice sounds strange. But how about:

People saw the girl bitten by a snake.

--> The girl was seen bitten by a snake.

 Does it work?

Thanks for your time!!
hsiaoyunh
Joined on Thu, Sep 25 2008
New Member 46
Avangi  +  683173 Thu, 05 Mar 09 03:51 AM
They're all okay, except the girl was bitten by Sam, not Bill.

I agree that #3 is awkward, and your substitute example is easier on the ear, and certainly correct

I'd probably say, "The girl was seen by Sam, being bitten by a snake."  I don't know if that conforms to your rules.  (:)) Smile

I don't know what you've been taught, but I should think it's a tossup as to whether the seeing or the swimming comes first in numbers one and two   -   also whether to use the infinitive or the participle.
Avangi
Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007
Veteran Member 8,203
". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier
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Goodman  +  683240 Thu, 05 Mar 09 08:31 AM

 1. Bill saw the girls swim in the pool.  ok

   --> The girls were seen to swim in the pool [ by Bill] .Infinitive [to swim] is incorrect. [By Bill]is not necessary.
 If you must include Bill in the sentence, I'd much prefer # 2

2. Bill saw the girls swimming in the pool.

  --> The girls were seen swimming in the pool [by Bill.] ok

3. Sam saw the girl bitten by a snake.ok

  --> The girl was seen bitten by a snake by Bill. Odd! Try: Bill saw the girl bitten by a snake

People saw the girl bitten by a snake. ok

--> The girl was seen bitten by a snake.ok
Goodman
Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005
Senior Member 3,816
The name says it all!
Cool Breeze  +  683245 Thu, 05 Mar 09 08:58 AM

Goodman
“ The girls were seen to swim in the pool [ by Bill] .Infinitive [to swim] is incorrect.”

There's nothing wrong with the infinitive.

CB
Cool Breeze
Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006
Senior Member 3,979
"I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991
Goodman  +  683381 Thu, 05 Mar 09 05:06 PM
Cool Breeze
“

Goodman
“ The girls were seen to swim in the pool [ by Bill] .Infinitive [to swim] is incorrect.”

There's nothing wrong with the infinitive.

CB

”


Hi CB,

Please allow me to rephrase my previous comment.

Grammatically, your are right. There is nothing wrong to use infinitive in this context. However, semantically I think using participle is a much smoother choice.  To me, there are situational contexts where infinitive works better than participle semantically as well as grammatically and vise versa. 

 

Consider the following sentences, They are both passive structure.

 

He was told several times not to break the rules…. , Infinitive, not breaking

She was seen to swim in the  pool….. I would much prefer using participle swimming

Don’t you agree?
Goodman
,
Yankee  +  683397 Thu, 05 Mar 09 05:50 PM
A more likely sort of passive sentence using the infinitive would be this:

- The girls were known to swim in the pool after hours.
Yankee
Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006
Connecticut, USA
Veteran Member 6,506
Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
,
Goodman, 265 days ago
Thanks Amy. Exactly my point. The context dictates the use of proper form.
Avangi  +  683455 Thu, 05 Mar 09 10:21 PM
hsiaoyunh
“

Are the sentences correct?

 1. Bill saw the girls swim in the pool.

   --> The girls were seen to swim in the pool by Bill.

2. Bill saw the girls swimming in the pool.

  --> The girls were seen swimming in the pool by Bill.  ”

  Hi, guys. We sometimes have to read the teacher's mind.  We've had examples lately in which student's were criticized by their teachers for not making their transformations reflect certain aspects of the original.  The only difference between the originals in #1 and #2 is infinitive vs. participle.  "Bill knew the girls to swim in the pool" is not one of them.  Perhaps the lesson of the day was that certain active infinitives must be converted to participles in passive transformations.  Who knows? (*-)) Thinking  Sometimes an honest attempt to follow instructions results in a specimin which is not in the very best style. The teacher may or may not have been ill advised, but keeps the rank book in either case.
Avangi
, , ,
Yoong Liat, 239 days ago
Cool Breeze
“

Goodman
“ The girls were seen to swim in the pool [ by Bill] .Infinitive [to swim] is incorrect.”

There's nothing wrong with the infinitive.

CB

”

1. Bill saw the girls swim in the pool. OK

2. The girls were seen to swim in the pool [ by Bill ] 

It is not logical to say the first sentence is correct but the second is grammatically wrong.

Therefore, I agree with CB that the second sentence is correct if there is nothing grammatically wrong with the first.

However, I would write "The girls were seen swimming in the pool [ by Bill ]." 

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