Passive clause

10% - 20% of the clauses with verbs that take objects.

Definition

  • Reference to the active for subject with “by”, a by-clause

  • Can drop the “by” from the by clause

  • If the passive has a by-phrase: long passive

  • If it doesn’t have a by-phrase: short passive

  • The verb is always a participle

Structure

Missing NP

  • Some NP expected with the VP of that verb is either absent of located somewhere else

  • Missing NP is often the direct object in the active form, but can be the indirect object

  • The meaning of the verb is reveresed

They awarded Dylan the Nobel prize (active, Dylan is the indirect object)

Dylan was awarded a Nobel prize (indirect object is missing from awarded)

Missing NP complement of a preposition

  • The missing NP leaves the PP stranded

We’re going to be laughed at [by our competitors]

I’v heard his financial affairs are being looked into [by the auditors]

I don’t want my stuff messed with [by anyone] while I’m not

VP with Be

  • Often the past participle in a passive clause is preceded by a form of Be

  • But not always

Ethiopia was never colonized by Europeans (with Be)

Last night Sally got arrested by the police (no Be)

We saw Sally taken away by the police (taken… is the passive, no Be)

Preceding verb

Note: It is possible for passive VPs to have no immediately preceding verb. The voice is a property of the verb phrase. So passive voice can still be present even when the auxiliary is omitted.

As modifiers

Passive clauses can be and often are modifiers of nouns

The president sits at a desk made out of oak from the ship HMS Resolute

The long passive

  • Express the active from a different perspective

  • Fit different context

  • Good for: put spotlight on the person responsible for the act. Save information to the end, to get some empathic stress:

What this means ladies and gentlemen, is that the murder must have been committed by one of the people in this room!

  • The NP following by should present new information.

Puccini wrote Tosca, yes, but Rigoletto was written by Verdi (new information)

Puccini wrote Tosca, but Verdi wrote Rigoletto (sound less good if the subject is Rigoletto. Verdi is new information)

  • No new information after the by is grammatically ok, but sounds inept

  • Pronouns are the opposite of new information, especially 1st and 2nd - they are always refs to the utterer and the intended addressee (both are never new information)

Have you won the lottery? (good)

Has the lottery been won by you (not good, you is not new, it’s the addressee)

  • Long passives should select the correct topic

Operas were written by Verdi (not good. Specific opera by Verdi, relevant)

Operas were written for centuries (good, consistent with the topic “operas”)

  • Subjects of passives do not always reference to what the clause is about. Subjects also not always identify the doer, or object the affected. Useful to drop less relevant details, and focus on what is important.

It was believed to be snowing by most of us (nothing about it, who or what believed not important)

Short passives

  • You can not leave the subject out, but you can leave out PPs in the VPs, including “by” phrase

  • Perfect for saying what happened, when the doer is unknown or irrelevant

Rumors were spread on Twitter

Mistakes were made

  • Not really clear what active clause could possibly express exactly the right sense

  • Leave the undetermined agent out