LSA 2 SYSTEMS: GRAMMAR

Using the Passive Voice at C1 level

Centro ES 330 IH Madrid Word count:
Giuliete Aymard 21/01/2013

Contents

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Giuliete Aymard

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Introduction In my teaching career, most my students were native speakers of Latin Languages (mainly Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian). Hence, one might argue it would be easier to teach the Passive Voice to these students, as they are already familiar with the structure and its uses. However, although teaching the Passive Voice to these students may look quite straightforward and easy, the truth is that such students reach the advanced level without having all its uses clear. The most common difficulties I have noted among advanced students are related to Passive used for reporting information and the Passive Causative Form have/get something done. Although students understand the structures when they read them, such knowledge does not seem to feed back to change the way they express themselves both in spoken and written English.

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Analysis 1. Passive Voice - Form There are two voices in the English language: the Active Voice and the Passive Voice. According to Swan, when A does something to B, there are often two ways to talk about it. If we want A (the doer) to be the subject we use an active verb: build, speak, is repairing. If we want B (the receiver of the action) to be the subject, we use: was built, is spoken, is being repaired (Swan, 2005:385). The Passive Voice is, then, formed by BE + Past Participle. Examples:
subject object

Active Voice: Frdric Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty.

Passive Voice: The Statue of Liberty was designed by Frdric Bartholdi.

subject by- phrase

NOTE: Lewis argues that calling the form of the main verb past participle may cause some confusion among students, as it can also be used in present passive forms, and proposes a simpler terminology: BE + Third Form. (Lewis, 202:131). In this essay, this will be the terminology adopted. Heres a list of all possible passive forms in English: Active I fix the bike I am fixing the bike I fixed the bike I was fixing the bike I have fixed the bike I have been fixing the bike I had fixed the bike I had been fixing the bike Center ES330 Passive The bike is fixed The bike is being fixed The bike was fixed The bike was being fixed The bike has been fixed The bike has been being fixed* The bike had been fixed The bike had been being fixed* Giuliete Aymard LSA 2 Systems: Grammar 4

I am going to fix the bike I will fix the bike I will be fixing the bike I will have fixed the bike I must fix the bike I should/ought to fix the bike I would fix the bike I can fix the bike I could fix the bike *very unusual forms

The bike is going to be fixed The bike will be fixed The bike will be being fixed* The bike will have been fixed The bike must be fixed The bike should/ought to be fixed The bike would be fixed The bike can be fixed The bike could be fixed

Which verbs can be used in the Passive Voice? The passive voice can essentially be formed from verbs that have an object (transitive verbs), though even these verbs do not form the passive voice in some cases, which will also be mentioned here. Transitive verb: KILL Active: Passive: Peter killed the dog. The dog was killed (by Peter).

Intransitive verb: DIE Active: Passive: The dog died. Was died (by Peter).

Active transitive verbs with no passive form In the first place there are transitive actives with no acceptable passive equivalent (Huddleston 1971:93). In some cases there may be a quite general explanation for the absence of a passive. We do not normally use Passive Voice when: 1. The subject and the object are identical. Center ES330 Giuliete Aymard LSA 2 Systems: Grammar 5

Active: Linda knows herself well enough now. Passive: Linda is known by herself enough now.

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2. We use state verbs, such as: have, fit, suit and resemble: Active: Linda has a new sports car. Passive: A new sports car is had by Linda. 3. The object of the sentence is a clause Active: Everybody thought he was going to be late. Passive: (That) he was going to be late was thought by everybody.

2. Passive Voice Uses The Passive Voice is used: a) When we want to emphasize or focus on the receiver of the action rather than the doer, or agent. Example: The Statue of Liberty was designed by Bartholdi and was dedicated to the American people on October 28, 1886. b) When the information we refer to was mentioned before. Example: In 1939 Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt, urging the United States to develop an atomic bomb. The letter was composed by the Hungarian-born physicist and biophysicist Leo Szilard, a former colleague of Einstein, who felt it would have more influence if it were signed by his eminent friend. (Ready for CAE, pg. 220) c) When the agent is a long phrase (because long phrases tend to be placed at the end of the clause) Example: The meeting was attended by representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. (Ready for CAE, pg. 220) d) When it is obvious who the agent is. Example: The singer was arrested for driving under the influence. e) When the agent is unknown or unimportant. Example: This t-shirt is made of cotton. f) When the agent is they or people in general. Example: English is spoken in many countries.

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g) To avoid a personal tone using you or we in formal/official documents Examples: Any delay in delivery must be informed immediately. Only goods in perfect condition will be received. h) To report ideas or opinions without saying exactly where such ideas come from. Verbs typically used in this way include: allege, assume, believe, claim, consider, estimate, expect, hope, know, report, say, think, be rumored and be reputed. Examples: He is known to be a philanthropist. The criminal is reported to have escaped this morning. i) To say that the subject arranges for the action to be done by someone else, or to indicate which are outside the speakers control. In this case we use the structure HAVE/GET + OBJECT + THIRD FORM (Passive Causative Form). Examples: She had her hair dyed last week He had his car stolen last night.

Issues According to Lewis, some confusion arises from the fact that Passive Voice is often presented to students as a transformation of corresponding active sentences (Lewis, 2002:132). This can lead to at least two misconceptions: 1) That using Passive Voice is just a stylistic choice; hence, all messages can be communicated in Active Voice; 2) That all a student needs to do in order to use the Passive Voice properly is to master the structure BE + THIRD FORM in sentence transformations. Most course books choose this approach to present the Passive Voice, and, if the logic presented here were true, native speakers of Latin Languages, for example, should be able to use the Passive without facing difficulties, as they also have the structure BE + THIRD FORM for Passive in their mother tongues. However, in my experience, this is far from the truth. Such approach does not address the main problem: the uses of the Passive Voice, Center ES330 Giuliete Aymard LSA 2 Systems: Grammar 8

which are different in each language. As students are led to think about form, instead of uses, they may conclude that if the form is the same, then the uses are also the same. For example, French students tend to look for Active Voice alternatives to say: I was told to wait, She wasnt spoken to or This magazine is sold in many countries, because in French, Active Voice would be used in these sentences. The same happens to Brazilian and Spanish students, who tend to say: I cut my hair or They stole his car instead of using Passive Causative Form. They also have some difficulty expressing reported ideas (explained in H above) because in Portuguese as well as in Spanish they would use the Impersonal SE instead of Passive Voice. These are what I would consider the most important issues to be addressed to help C1 level students use the Passive Voice better: 1. Students tend to use Passive Voice only in simple structures, mainly Simple Present and Simple Past, ignoring Perfect and Progressive aspects. 2. Having practiced mainly form, students know little about the uses of Passive Voice. 3. Most course books present transformation exercises, focusing on form only. Solutions The most effective way to address the issues mentioned in the previous section is raising students awareness about the uses of Passive Voice. Some ideas: 1. Focus on uses. Using consciousness-raising activities to help students think about the uses of Passive Voice. (Thornbury, 2005:104) 2. Choose activities that show a variety of tenses and aspects, so students will have the opportunity to practice and think about distinctions in meaning. 3. Compare the uses in the students native language to those in English and make them see the similarities and the differences. 4. Helpful exercises include: a. Short texts with mistakes to be corrected. b. Gapped sentences that students must complete using either Passive or Active Voice.

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c. Giving students pairs of sentences and ask them to decide if they mean the same or not. This exercise is particularly good to practice Passive Causative Form. The book Advanced Language Practice offers very good exercises that have helped my students considerably. 5. Students can prepare a short gossip TV show in which they talk about rumors and assumptions. This would give them the opportunity to practice reporting ideas and opinions.

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Coursebooks

Conclusion

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