Code : 4

UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR

Passive Voice
Created by : Fakhira dwi Awliyawati
Keperawatan A1 70310111020

a.

Introduction

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence. That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not the grammatical subject of the sentence. Take a look at this passive rephrasing of a familiar joke: Why was the road crossed by the chicken? Who is doing the action in this sentence? The chicken is the one doing the action in this sentence, but the chicken is not in the spot where you would expect the grammatical subject to be. Instead, the road is the grammatical subject. The more familiar phrasing (why did the chicken cross the road?) puts the actor in the subject position, the position of doing somethingthe chicken (the actor/doer) crosses the road (the object). We use active verbs to represent that "doing," whether it be crossing roads, proposing ideas, making arguments, or invading houses (more on that shortly). Once you know what to look for, passive constructions are easy to spot. Look for a form of "to be" (is, are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being) followed by a past participle. (The past participle is a form of the verb that typically, but not always, ends in "-ed." Some exceptions to the "-ed" rule are words like "paid" (not "payed") and "driven." (not "drived"). Here's a sure-fire formula for identifying the passive voice:

form of "to be" + past participle = passive voice

For example: The metropolis has been scorched by the dragon's fiery breath. When her house was invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage. Not every sentence that contains a form of "have" or "be" is passive! Forms of the word "have" can do several different things in English. For example, in the sentence "John has to study all afternoon," "has" is not part of a past-tense verb. It's a modal verb, like "must," "can," or "may"these verbs tell how necessary it is to do something (compare "I have to study" versus "I may study"). And forms of "be" are not always passive, either"be" can be the main verb of a sentence that describes a state of being, rather than an action. For example, the sentence "John is a good student" is not passive; "is" is simply describing John's state of being. The moral of the story: don't assume that any time you see a form of "have" and a form of "to be" together, you are looking at a passive sentence. Need more help deciding whether a sentence is passive? Ask yourself whether there is an action going on in the sentence. If so, what is at the front of the sentence? Is it the person or thing that does the action? Or is it the person or thing that has the action done to it? In a passive sentence, the object of the action will be in the subject position at the front of the sentence. As discussed above, the sentence

will also contain a form of be and a past participle. If the subject appears at all, it will usually be at the end of the sentence, often in a phrase that starts with "by." Take a look at this example: The fish was caught by the seagull. If we ask ourselves whether there's an action, the answer is yes: a fish is being caught. If we ask what's at the front of the sentece, the actor or the object of the action, it's the object: the fish, unfortunately for it, got caught, and there it is at the front of the sentence. The thing that did the catchingthe seagullis at the end, after "by." There's a form of be (was) and a past participle (caught). This sentence is passive. Let's briefly look at how to change passive constructions into active ones. You can usually just switch the word order, making the actor and subject one by putting the actor up front: The metropolis has been scorched by the dragon's fiery breath. becomes The dragon scorched the metropolis with his fiery breath. When her house was invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage. becomes After suitors invaded her house, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage. To repeat, the key to identifying the passive voice is to look for both a form of "to be" and a past participle, which usually, but not always, ends in "-ed."

The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this text we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it. The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I poured 20 cc of acid into the beaker," we would write "Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process are much more important than anyone's taking responsibility for the action: "The first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after the acid rinse." We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in subsequent sentences. (Source : UNC Collage of Art and Sciences)

b.

Discussion

There are many source in internet explained about passive voice, and I choose this one : The structure of the passive voice is very simple: subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle) The main verb is always in its past participle form. Look at these examples: subject Water 100 people I We Are auxiliary verb (to be) is are am are they not main verb (past participle) Drunk Employed Paid Paid Paid by everyone. by this company. in euro. in dollars. in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice, We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important we do not know the active subject Subject verb was killed has been stolen. object by Lee Harvey Oswald. ?

give importance to active object (President Kennedy) active subject unknown

President Kennedy My wallet

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats). Look at this sentence:

He was killed with a gun. Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made present continuous: It is being made present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses: infinitive present past simple future conditional present past continuous future conditional present past perfect simple future conditional present past perfect continuous future conditional It will have been being washed. It would have been being washed. It will have been washed. It would have been washed. It has been being washed. It had been being washed. It will be being washed. It would be being washed. It has been washed. It had been washed. It will be washed. It would be washed. It is being washed. It was being washed. to be washed It is washed. It was washed.

In the other source in text book, tells the difference between Present and Past Sentences. Active A nurse cleans this ward every day My friends never invite me to the meeting. How do they make herbal medicine ? A nurse cleaned this ward yesterday. My friends didnt invite me to the meeting. When didi they build this hospital? Passive This ward is cleaned by a nurse everyday I am never invited to the meeting by my friends How is herbal medicine made (by them)? This ward was cleaned by a nurse yesterday I wast invited to the meeting (by my friends). When was the hospital built ?

Present Simple

Past simple

Present They are building a new hospital at the Continues moment. (=it isnt finished yet) Departement of helath are building some new hospitals in Jakarta Past When I was there three years ago, they Continues were building a new hospital Present The sheets of this ward are clean. A nurse Perfect has washed them. A nurse has taken an invalid chair. Dr. Hadi said that a nurse had taken a wheel chair (for a patient). A nurse will clean the ward tomorrow A nurse must clean a bed (in the ward) I think theyll invite you to the meeting. They cant repair the backrest (of the bed in the ward of hospital). You should wash this sanken-mat by hand. They are going to build a new village birthing hurt. She has to wash these pillowcases. The people had to take the injured man to the community health centre.

A new hospital is being built at the moment. Some new hospitals are being built in Jakarta.

When I was there three years ago, a new hospital was being built. The sheets of this ward are clean. They have been washed by a nurse. An invalid chair has been taken by a nurse. Dr. Hadi said that a wheel chair had been taken by a nurse (for a patient). The ward will be cleaned by a nurse tomorrow. A bed (in a ward) must be cleaned by a nurse. I think youll be invited to the meeting. The backrest (of the bed in the ward of this hospital) cant be rapaired. This sanken-mat should be washed by hand. A new village brighting hut is going to be built. These pillowcase have to be washed (by her). The injured man had to be taken to the community health center.

Past Perfect Modals

c.

Conclusion

The Form of Passive Voice is : Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle. Example: A letter was written. When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle) the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

d.

Reference

(Machfoeds, BAHASA INGGRIS UNTUK MAHASISWA INSTITUSI KESEHATAN, KEPERAWATAN DAN KEBIDANAN. 2006 : 21) (McGraw-Hill, Officisl Guide To The New TOEFL. 2007 : 295) http://www.englishclub.com http://wikipedia.com/passivevoice