Search results for 'tag:Passive sentences tag:Indirect objects' matching tags 'Passive sentences' and 'Indirect objects'

Re: Passives (Like & Love) "-"- Subject & Object

Mister Micawber — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:02:07 GMT

.
John likes pizza.
Pizza is liked by John.

There is no object in the second sentence. The subject of the passive sentence (pizza) is the object of its active equivalent. By John is an adverb. John is the agent in both sentences.

Of course, some passive sentences can have objects:

John gave Mary a pizza.-- John is subject and agent, pizza is direct object, Mary is indirect object.
Mary was given pizza by John.-- Mary is subject, pizza is object, by John is adverb and agent.

Re: Passives

J Lewis — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:01:10 GMT

I agree with Marius Hancu's correction.
On a more general point, some of these passives are a pain in the neck for teachers and students. The logical transformation of "They offered him a job" is "A job was offered to him", based on transforming the direct object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence. When we say "He was offered a job", we create a passive from the indirect object, which has no logic at all. This form is of course typically English but confuses students, who don't find an explanation in the text books, so I have to give it... no problem in that, but what are text books for?

Re: Personal and Impersonal Passive

Mister Micawber — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:55:27 GMT

This is off the internet too, Abmateen, but I could do no better:

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. â Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction â therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says â it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. â It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. â Women are said to live longer than men.

[To form Impersonal Passive] the subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

Re: 2 objects

pieanne — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 15:20:03 GMT

Is that you, Antonia?

This is nothing but a try...

If I had to make a passive sentence I could only make one sentence:1) My key was returned to me. Couldn't I? It isn't possible to put the indirect object (in this case) in the beginning of the sentence, like: I was returned my key.Of course in some cases it is possible, but I believe that from these active sentences only one passive sentence can be made.

The same question goes with sentences like:

2) They didn't allow us to take them home. (We were not allowed to take them home, but They were not allowed to be taken home with us sounds awkard.)

3)People will show the visitors the new buildings. (Is it possible to say Visitors will be shown new buildings.?) Yes, but "the" new buildings

4) Somebody recommended me another doctor. (I was recommended another doctor?) OK

5) Someone taught him French and gave him a dictionary. (He was taught French and given a dictionary. Is there any possibility to make a passive sentence beginning with French was taught and a dictionary given to him?) sounds dubious

6) Someone will read you another chapter next time. (Another chapter will be read, but not You will be read another chapter.) no, it's OK

2 objects

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 15:06:00 GMT

I'm a little bit confused here. Please, help me out.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

There are two objects in an active sentence They returned my key to me.

The same question goes with sentences like:

2) They didn't allow us to take them home. (We were not allowed to take them home, but They were not allowed to be taken home with us sounds awkard.)

3)People will show the visitors the new buildings. (Is it possible to say Visitors will be shown new buildings.?)

4) Somebody recommended me another doctor. (I was recommended another doctor?)

6) Someone will read you another chapter next time. (Another chapter will be read, but not You will be read another chapter.)

Thank you

Re: Passive

miriam — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 06:47:44 GMT

Hello, Daniel

There is an explanation for the existence of sentences like "I'm given water" which is, by the way, grammatically correct.

As has been explained here, the first you need in order for a sentence in the passive voice to be possible is a transitive verb and its direct object. You may have sentences like:
"Someone has stolen my wallet."
"My wallet has been stolen."
"steal" is a transitive verb, and its object (in the first sentence) is "my wallet". In the second sentence (passive voice) the object of the first sentence has become subject, and "someone" is not necessary because it does not add any useful information. If it did, or if it were relevant for any orher reasons, it would appear in the predicate of the sentence introduced by the preposition "by", and the construction would be the "agent", as in "My wallet has been stolen by someone."

"Stesl" is, among transitive verbs, called "monotransitive" because it takes only one object: the direct object. Two other types of transitive verbs exist in English: "ditransitive" and "complex transitive". A ditransitive verb is one that takes two objects: direct and indirect. A complex transitive verb is one that takes a direct object and an object complement. You may think this is superfluous information, but it is important for what comes next.

You asked about a different case which sounded awkward to you: "I was given water". This will sound strange, for example, to Spanish speakers because we do not have a smilar cnstruction in spanish; yet, it is possible and correct in English. However, not every sentence that contains a transitive verb will accept this type of conversion to the passive. In order for a sentence such as "I was give water" to be possible, you need a "ditransitive" verb, that is, a verb that has both a direct and an indirect object.
In active sentences such as "He gave water to me", in which you have two objects (water: direct object; to me: indirect object), more than one passive form is possible. You know that the direct object "water" can become subject of the passive sentence:
"Water was given to me."
What is perhaps 'new' here is that the indirect object may as well become the subject of the passive sentence:
"I was given water".
Since both passive forms are possible and correct, you have a choice which will depend on the situation in which the sentence is used. What is more important to you in the sentence? "I", as opposed to anyone else, or "water", as opposed to milk, coffee or wine? The second example, however, seems to be more common. Other verbs that admit this type of transformation into the passive are show, ask, teach, pay, tell, deny, grant, hand, offer, throw, just to mention a few.

Here are some examples:

Active: "John asked Steve a question." (Steve: IO; a question: DO)
Passive 1: "A question was asked of Steve."
Passive2: "Steve was asked a question."

Active: "You are telling me lies." (me: IO; lies: DO)
Passive 1: "Lies are being told to me." (not commonly used, really)
Passive 2: "I'm being told lies."

Active: "The company will offer Mr. Jones a position as accountant." (Mr Jones: IO; a position as accountant: DO)
Passive 1: "A position as accountant will be offered to Mr Jones."
Passive 2: "Mr Jones will be offered a position as accountant."

There are other instances of sentences in the passive voice which are different from the most commonly taught type "Water was given to me":

There are sentences such as "They say that the price of oil will rise" in which 'they' has no specific referent; it refers to many people, yet to no one in particular. "Say" is used monotransitively in the sentence, so one would think that the only possible passive construction would be:
"That the price of oil will rise is said."
This sentence, although grammatically correct, is seldom, if ever, used in English. Another possibility, and by far the most common, is:
"It is said that the price of oil will rise."

There is yet more to passive voice, but I hope this helps.

Miriam