2019-03-26 Grammar: passive vs. active, with "get"

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - Notes from all classes
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Homework (not optional): p. 218-9 exercise 7 - check the correct sentences and explain why the others are incorrect.
2 a, c, d - correct
  b - incorrect: “I agree with Dr. Ikeda’s theory.”
3 b, c - correct
  a - incorrect: should be what b says OR “We were given a difficult math problem.”
  d - incorrect: should be what c says (“appear” can’t be passive)
4 a, c - correct (b should be a, d should be c)
5 a, b, c - correct
  d - incorrect: should be c (“seem” can’t be passive)
6 b, d - correct
  a, c - incorrect (“happen” and “occur” can’t be passive)
7 b, c - correct
  a, d - incorrect, because “succeed” and “agree” are verbs, not adjectives
	(a could be “Will our plan be successful?”)
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active: the agent is the subject
passive: the receiver is the subject
p. 224 exercise 17 - With your partner, complete these sentences with the correct active or passive forms. (Use whatever tense is correct.)
2 is produced
3 is exposed, affects
4 was introduced, was invented, have been developed
5 was sent, sent, are sent
6 have been collected, were required
7 was recognized, was asked, took, knew, multiplied, came
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Informally, we can use [get] instead of [be] for some passives. The rules are the same as when we use [get] in any other situation or tense: use do/does/did for questions and negatives
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“get” can be used with receivers that already existed and that changed from the action
It is more common with animate (living) subjects than inanimate (nonliving) ones.
p. 55 exercise 9 - is “be” or “get” better for this sentence? Write it in the correct form
1 were
2 was/got/will be/will get
3 being
4 is/gets
5 get
6 be/get
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When do we use passive instead of active?
- to focus on the receiver (In the Louvre, we’d say, “The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.”)
- if the agent is uknown (I’d say, “My car was stolen,” because I don’t know who stole it)
- if the agent is obvious (I’d say, “Soccer is played all around the world.”)
- general explanations and statements, and in a lot of scientific and technical writing
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p. 57 exercise 11 - Why is the passive used in these sentences?
1 focus on Reagan; agent is obvious
2 focus on the Nazca Lines; agent is unknown
3 focus on the lines; agent is obvious (“people”)
4 focus on John’s brother; agent is obvious (“police”)
5 focus on the house; agent is unknown
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Homework: p. 59 exercise 13