http://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here. <font color=red>DO NOT post paragraphs and compositions here. Post them in our <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/English/EssayReportCompositionWriting/Forum9.htm"><b>Essay, Report and Composition Writing Forum</b></a>.</font>enXMOD (Build: 3616.28671)http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575336Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575336Goodman0http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575336http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575336.xmlHuevos, That&#39;s what I thought. I am not trying to change your mind. But the websites I posted in my previous thread exactly explained what I have been saying all along. If you had read it thoroughly you will find them contrary to your persistent position on its being &quot;active&quot;. Anyhow, It&#39;s been fun!http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575324Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575324Huevos1http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575324http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575324.xmlThe articles I &quot;cut and pasted&quot; said &quot;I am confused&quot; is passive which has been the difference between how you see it and how I learned it. &quot; I am confused &quot; is not passive voice, it is subject + linking verb + adjectival clause . You could substitute the linking verb with any number of other linking verbs, such as, seem, feel, appear, get , etc.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575321Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575321Goodman2http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/3/gprcw/Post.htm#575321http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575321.xmlI am confused is the same structure as &quot; I am exhausted&quot; which you said is in active voice. The articles I &quot;cut and pasted&quot; said &quot;I am confused&quot; is passive which has been the difference between how you see it and how I learned it. To recap, I said &quot; This is a car designed and built with satety and comfort....&quot; I stated this is passive in nature which you disagreed. becasue of the clause &quot;designed and built with safety and comfort&quot;. I agreed to your argument based on your explanation that it contained an adverbial clause. However, I also remained firm on the passive nature. That&#39;s the reason for my further research. There are obviously two schools of thoughts in the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575311Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575311Huevos3http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575311http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575311.xmlGoodman, in the text copied from the website all the passives are formed from the verb to be followed by the past participle of the lexical verb . In none of your previous sentences is that the case.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575306Tue, 26 May 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575306Goodman4http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575306http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575306.xmlHuevos, So am I correct to assume that your classification of “exhausted” is adjectival in nature? Perhaps, this is the difference between how you and I see it. For pure fact finding interest, I have done some more investigative research: Bear in mind, my sentence was “I am completely exhausted from …” Your answer was “It’s active”. http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/grammar/passives-agents.htm English Grammar Passives: Agents In most cases, the subject of an active verb (the agent) is not mentioned in the corresponding passive sentence. If it does have to be mentioned, we usually use an expression with by . They gave me a warm welcome. (active) I was given a warm welcome by them. (passive) Children ...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575281Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575281Huevos5http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575281http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575281.xmlIs this passive in your opinion? Or active? It&#39;s active. The verb to be is just being used as a linking verb, the adjectival clause to explain or identify something about the subject. In such cases the verb can be substituted with the word &quot; equals &quot; which is not the case with the passive voice. I think maybe the problem in understanding is because the verb to be is not an action verb making it unclear who is doing what to whom. Nevertheless the structure of the sentence is active voice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575196Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575196Goodman6http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575196http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575196.xmlCB, Thank you for your input. At least I know I am not the only one with the PASSIVE approach toward this typeof sentences. &lt;&lt;&lt;Football is a popular sport played in almost all As ia n and European countries . &gt;&gt;&gt;- The sentence consists of a main clause and a relative clause , which has been reduced by omitting the relative pronoun and the passive auxiliary (is). I call such structures clause equivalents, but terminology is unimportant here . The relative clause - or its equivalent - is in the passive voice . Huevos You were correct with your comment in the sense that my sentence was an active one because of the beginning structure of the sentence was “this is a car of the future…” , and what <emhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575078Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575078Cool Breeze7http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575078http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575078.xmlfootball is a popular sport played almost in all Asain and European countries. There is no direct agent here but it&#39;s still a passive structure. That sentence is not in the passive voice. Football is a popular sport played in almost all As ia n and European countries . The sentence consists of a main clause and a relative clause , which has been reduced by omitting the relative pronoun and the passive auxiliary (is). I call such structures clause equivalents, but terminology is unimportant here. The relative clause - or its equivalent - is in the passive voice. A sentence ends with a full stop / period, an exclamation mark or a question mark. A clause need not have any punctuation after it, which is the case after the main...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575054Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575054richard_s8http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575054http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575054.xmlNotice that the verb to be  is not used in passive voice (even though it is transitive).  It is, however, used to form  passive voice with other transitive verbs.  That is to say, we use to be  and the past participle (PP) form of a verb together to form passives. Remember:  to be + adjective, to be + noun  or any other use of to be  as the verb of a clause cannot be put into passive voice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575050Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:575050Goodman9http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#575050http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-575050.xmlHuevos, I was not trying to change the sentence to make it passive. So far I agree with almost all your posted comment. You have my respect. It was just an attempt to make a point from another grammatical angle. My original comment said &quot;passive in nature&quot;. If I say &quot; I am exhausted &quot;. Is this active or passive? My view from this angle is &quot;passive&quot; because I was taught to view the past participle used in conjunction with &quot;verb to be&quot; as passive. But some view the past participle as &quot;adjective&quot;.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#574979Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574979Huevos10http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#574979http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574979.xmlGoodman, of course you can shuffle the elements of your sentences to convert them to passive voice but that doesn&#39;t make the original sentences passive voice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#574975Tue, 26 May 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574975Goodman11http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/2/gprcw/Post.htm#574975http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574975.xmlGoodman, your sentence is &quot; This is a car &quot;. The rest is just an adjectival clause modifying &quot; car &quot;. What if I say &quot;this car is designed and built with the newest technology...&quot; You will agree it&#39;s passive, won&#39;t you? It&#39;s just the past participle is linked closely to the verb to be, rather than placed in a clause, but it&#39;s still in passive form, according to how it was explained to me year ago. I agree - &quot; This is a car &quot;. The rest is just an adjectival clause modifying &quot; car &quot;. However, I think this is where we differ and perhaps become confusing among learners because it depends on how the sentnece is dissacted, the voice may have appeared differently.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574973Tue, 26 May 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574973Huevos12http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574973http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574973.xmlGoodman, your sentence is &quot; This is a car &quot;. The rest is just an adjectival clause modifying &quot; car &quot;.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574971Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574971Goodman13http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574971http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574971.xmlYou wrote: &lt;&lt;The passive voice, on the other hand, is formed thus: subject + verb to be + past participle of the lexical verb . I wrote: &lt;&lt; This is a car of the future designed and built with the newest technology for safety and comfort. &gt;&gt; Question: what do you call and in this sentence? They are still past particples used passively. That&#39;s the way I was taught; this type of structure is passive in nature. If I am worng, I&#39;d very much like to listen to an other expert&#39;s opinion.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574968Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574968Huevos14http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574968http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574968.xmlHow would you classify this sentence then? Goodman, your sentences are active voice. Their construction is: subject + linking verb (to be), + a noun phrase (predicate nominative) . The passive voice, on the other hand, is formed thus: subject + verb to be + past participle of the lexical verb .http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574961Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574961Goodman15http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574961http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574961.xmlHi, If I take out the and replaced by , now, would you see it as &quot;passive&quot; football is a popular sport played (by) almost in all Asain and European countries. This is a car of the future designed and built with the newest technology for safety and comfort. How would you classify this sentence then?http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574942Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574942Huevos16http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574942http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574942.xmlfootball is a popular sport played almost in all Asain and European countries. There is no direct agent here but it&#39;s still a passive structure. That sentence is not in the passive voice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574926Tue, 26 May 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574926Cool Breeze17http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574926http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574926.xml(a) John put the book on the table. (i) The book is put on the table by John. (ii) The book is put by John on the table. Put is past tense, is is present tense. Change it: The book was put on the table by John. CBhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574915Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574915Goodman18http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574915http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574915.xml(i) (ii) The book is put by John on the table. (b) My friend plays football every evening. (i) . (ii) Football is played every evening by my friend. One comment: Passive voice by nature has an agent; either it&#39;s spoken or otherwise , just like this example &quot; Football is played by my friend every evening.&quot; But it can be &quot;agentless&quot;. i.e. football is a popular sport played almost in all Asain and European countries. There is no direct agent here but it&#39;s still a passive structure.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574900Tue, 26 May 2009 02:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574900Clive19http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htm#574900http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574900.xmlHi, Yes. Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htmThu, 26 Feb 2009 03:49:24 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:574863Vincent Teo20http://www.englishforums.com/English/PassiveVoice/gprcw/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-574863.xmlAre these sentences considered correct if they are in passive voice? (a) John put the book on the table. (i) The book is put on the table by John. (ii) The book is put by John on the table. (b) My friend plays football every evening. (i) Football is played by my friend every evening. (ii) Football is played every evening by my friend.