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Identify the passives in the following. Explain why the passive is more appropriate than the active form in each case.
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"By a curious coincidence my father and mother were both killed on the same night that I lost my hand; they were buried under the rubble of a house in West Kensington while my hand was left behind somewhere in Leadenhall Street."
My answers:
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1. “my father and mother were both killed” is passive. If we knew exactly how they were killed, we could use the active voice, but the author wants to put the focus on the fact that they were killed. In other words, the important information is what happened to the subject.
2. “they were buried”. Here the writer wants to emphasise the fact that the parents were buried. It is also consistent with the previous sentence which is also in the passive form.
3. “my hand was left behind”. Again, the writer wants to stress the fact that the hand was left behind, not how it was left behind. It also emphasises an action that happened to the person which was out of their control.
Are my answers correct? Or do you have any other suggestions as to why the passives are being used in these cases? Thanks. 