The choice of the Passive and Active Construction in Literary English

The choice of the Passive and Active Construction in Literary English Done by Vira Zakernychna EPh group 13

The aim of this presentation is to tell what voices of the verb there are in English language and to show the cases of choosing the active and passive constructions in literary English.Urgency of the explored theme is to avoid difficulties with mentioned structures perception reading the literary text translations.

Main tasks 1. To submit the theme in the next way: • to give the nominalization for active and passive voice • to tell about the formation of the active and passive constructions in English language • to compare them and show the sphere of their usage • to mention the peculiarities of usage and translation the passive constructions 2. To make the conclusion 3. To give a short test for checking the attention of the audience

Active She hated narrow, deprived life. (p. 546) Passive The minister was murdered. Voiceis the form of the verb which showsthe relation between the action and its subject, indicating whether the action is performed by the subject or passes on to it. Accordingly there are two voices in English: the activeand the passive. The Active voice shows that the action is performed by its subject, that the subject is the doer of the action. The passive voice shows that the subject is acted upon, that it is the recipient of the action:

Active Is less awkward and clearly states relationship between subject and action Bessiehad closed the nursery-door upon me… It is shorter and more direct He drew the heavy curtains. (notThe heavy curtains were drew by him.) Passive The agent (doer) of the action is unimportant Your hand will be X-rayed. The agent is common knowledge, and mentioning it would be redundant The rubbish hasn’t been collected. The agent is unknown I am told she has left Moscow. When We Use Active and Passive?

The writer desires to control focus of sentence He finished the book. To avoid an awkward or ungrammatical sentence When he arrived home (a detective arrested him) he was arrested. When the subject of the verb would be ‘people’ He is suspected of receiving stolen goods (People suspect him…)

The passive voice is an analytical form in Modern English: it is formed by means of a corresponding tense of the auxiliary verb to be and the past participle of the given verb. He was arrested . When the agent is mentioned, it is preceded by by : This picture was paintedby Duffy. When we are dealing with materials used, not with agents, we usewith: The room was filledwith smoke. When a verb+preposition+object combination is put into the passive the preposition will remain immediately after the verb: He must be written to. The Formation of the Passive voiceto be + Participle II

Tense Forms Used in the Passive

There are two more passive forms which are not used so often: Future in-the-past indefinite He hoped she would be delighted…(p.548) Future in-the-past perfect She was one of those lovely, charming young women who should have been born into a rich family.(p.546) Infinitive constructions after the passive verbs are possible in sentences of the typePeople consider/know/think/believe/ suppose/say etc. Hesaid to be… jealous for her. (=People said he was jealous for her.)

Verbs Used in the Passive Voice Transitive verbs: to write – to be written to take - to be taken …theywere joinedby the sister… Intransitive (objective) verbs: to look (at…) – to be looked at to rely (on…) – to be relied on to laugh (at…) – to be laughed at The doctor was sent for. Phraseological units (verb+adverb), (verb+noun): to do away (with…) – to be done away with to look up (to…) – to be looked up to

to loose sight (of…) – to be lost sight of He has always been looked up to as a high authority… Modal verbs:can/could, may/might, must/have to, should/would, needn’t + be done/have been done also are possible to use in passive constructions It mustbe done. A few active verbs ( to clean, to wash, to show) are sometimes used with the passive meaning: This surface cleans easily. (=is cleaned easily) This clothes wash well. (= are washed well)

The verbto getis sometimes used in ModernEnglish as an auxiliary of the passive: He got thrown against the tree. He got struck by a stone. But when the participle II indicates the state Inwhich the subject is, serving as a predicative, theverb to be is a link-verb and they both form thenominal predicate(not the passive voice!)

Ways of translating the Passive Voice into Ukrainian 1. By the verb бути + predicative. In the Present the verbбутиis not used. 2. By verbs in –ся 3. By means of indefinite-personal constructions. The last way of translating is possible only if the doer of the action is not mentioned. Housesare builtof stone.Будинки будують(ся) з каменю.

ConclusionIn dependence of the situation in which the action goes on there are two types of constructions in Literary English to express this action - active and passive. The Active voice shows that the action is performed by its subject, that the subject is the doer of the action. It is shorter and more direct. It is also less awkward andclearly states relationshipbetween subject and action. The passive voice shows that the subject is acted upon, that it is the recipient of the action. This voice has a lot of peculiarities of usage.

Test Think you understand active and passive constructions? 1. In an active construction, • the subject is concrete. • the direct object is active. • the subject is the doer of the action. • the agent is expressed by the indirect object. 2. In a passive construction, • the subject is usually plural. • the subject is the receiver of the action. • the subject is indefinite. • the subject is understood.

3. Select the sentences that are active. • The olives were eaten by the hungry patrons. • John opened the can. • The date was set for the wedding. • He lost the bet. 4. Select the sentences that are passive. • The cat caught the mouse. • The window was shattered by the bullet. • A letter is written whenever there is a problem. • Sam bought a sports car. Decide whether the sentences are written in Active or Passive 1. The museum may be visited by crowd this weekend. 2. Has this house been sold yet?

3. Susan has not been understood. 4. Lots of houses were destroyed by the earthquake. 5. She is reading an e-mail. Which voice should be used in next situations? 1. The agent (doer) of the action is unimportant. 2. Less awkward and clearly states relationship between subject and action. 3. The writer desires to control focus of sentence. 4. The agent is common knowledge, and mentioning it would be redundant. 5. It is shorter and more direct. 6. The agent is unknown.

Literature • Алєксєєва І. О. Курс теоретичної граматики сучасної англійської мови: навчальний посібник. – Вінниця: Нова Книга, 2007. – [p.123-128] • Дроздова Т. Ю., Берестова А. И., Маилова В. Г. English Grammar: Reference and Practice. СПб: ООО Издательство “Химера”, 2000. - [p.102-105] • Паращук В. Ю., Грицюк Л. Ф. Практикум з граматики англійської мови: Навчальний посібник для студентів іноземних мов,спец. “англійська мова”. – Вінниця: Нова книга, 2002 [p.99-100] • Crystal Stairs. – Macmillan/McGraw – Hill School Publishing Company, 1991 [examples were taken from this book]

M. A. Ganshina, N. M. Vasilevskaya. English Grammar. – Ninth edition revised, -Moscow: Higher School Publishing House, 1964 [p.187-198] • Larsen – Freeman Diane, Marianne Celse- Murica. The Grammar Book: an ESL/ EFL Teacher’s Course. Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Boston, 1983 [p. 221-234] • Thomson A. J., Martinet A. V. A Practical English Grammar. – Fourth Edition, - Oxford University Press, 1999 [p. 263-268] • http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html • http://legacy.lclark.edu/~writing/handouts/Active%20Voice.pdf

The choice of the Passive and Active Construction in Literary English