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The passive voice in English is a grammatical voice whose syntax is marked by a subject followed by a ______ verb complemented by a past participle.
The passive voice in English is a grammatical voice whose syntax is marked by a subject followed by a ______ verb complemented by a past participle.
stative
The enemy was ______. Caesar was ______.
The enemy was ______. Caesar was ______.
defeated, stabbed
In each instance of a passive voice construction, the subject denotes the recipient of the action (the ______) rather than the performer (the ______).
In each instance of a passive voice construction, the subject denotes the recipient of the action (the ______) rather than the performer (the ______).
patient, agent
The enemy was defeated by our ______. Caesar was stabbed by ______.
The enemy was defeated by our ______. Caesar was stabbed by ______.
Conversely, an active voice construction of the foregoing examples yields the following ______: Our troops defeated the enemy. Brutus stabbed Caesar.
Conversely, an active voice construction of the foregoing examples yields the following ______: Our troops defeated the enemy. Brutus stabbed Caesar.
Flashcards
Passive Voice
Passive Voice
A grammatical voice where the subject is followed by a stative verb and a past participle.
Patient (in passive voice)
Patient (in passive voice)
The entity receiving the action in a passive voice construction.
Agent (in passive voice)
Agent (in passive voice)
The entity performing the action.
Active Voice Analogues
Active Voice Analogues
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Study Notes
Passive Voice in English
- The passive voice is a grammatical voice with a specific syntax, where the subject is followed by a stative verb and a past participle.
- In a passive voice construction, the subject denotes the recipient of the action (the patient), not the performer (the agent).
- The agent may be omitted in a passive voice construction, as seen in examples like "The enemy was defeated" and "Caesar was stabbed".
- The agent can also be included adjunctively, as in "The enemy was defeated by our troops" and "Caesar was stabbed by Brutus".
- Active voice constructions have a different sentence structure, with the performer as the subject, as seen in "Our troops defeated the enemy" and "Brutus stabbed Caesar".
- The stative aspect of the English passive voice construction typically involves a form of the verbs "be" or "get".
- The passive participle in the passive voice construction is sometimes called a passive verb.
- English allows for various passive constructions that are not possible in many other languages with similar passive formation.
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