2015-05-14 Evening: passive voice

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: p. 99-100 - change the sentences to active voice (you will need to choose a subject for each one)
1 passive structure: sport should be granted equal educational prestige
  -> ...has spoken out that we should grant sport equal educational prestige with the likes of drama...

2 passive structure: the educational-athletic experience on our playing fields to be accorded the same educational respect as the arts
  -> Is it time, he asks, for many academics to accord the educational-athletic experience on our playing fields the same educational respect as the arts?
  (or: ...for us to accord…)
Is it time for football to be given respect? -> Is it time for us to give football respect? / to give respect to football?

3 passive structure: sport is only considered a distant cousin to the arts
  -> ...irritates Walters that the academic world (only) considers sport (only) a distant cousin to the arts.

4 passive structure: it is founded on trying to win
  -> ...because we found sport on trying to win.
(The regular verb “found” is usually used in the passive voice or as an adjective.)

5 passive structure: They are expected to be above that.
  -> We expect them to be above that.

6 passive structure: athletic performance could not be preserved
  -> ...because, until recently, the world could not preserve athletic performance.

7 passive structure: that which could be saved and savored
-> ...is that which we could save and savor.
The movies I like are those which can be watched at home. -> …are those which I can watch at home.

8 passive structure: a double play can be viewed as pretty as any pas de deux.
  -> we can view a double play as pretty as any pas de deux.

9 passive structure 1: so many ersatz students are shoe-horned into colleges as athletes and then kept eligible academically through various deceits
  passive structure 2: the intrinsic essence of the athlete playing his game should not be affected.
  -> But because admissions offices shoe-horn so many ersatz students into colleges as athletes and then keep them eligible academically through various deceits, it should not affect the intrinsic essence of the athlete playing his game.
(“it” means the whole first clause)
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Passive: Children are born every day.
Active: Women bear children every day. (Women give birth to children every day. - more common)
            (Women have children every day. - most common)

Passive: I was born in 1983.
Active: My mother bore me in 1983.
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Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. (active)
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. (passive)

Leonardo da Vinci is the agent. (agent = the thing that does the action)
The Mona Lisa is the patient. (patient = the thing that receives the action)

active -> agent = subject (patient = object)
passive -> patient = subject (agent = object)
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Oxford Grammar p. 60

We usually don’t use passive for non-actions, but it’s possible: More debate is needed.

The book is for me.
The book is in Boston.
The book is worth money.

(bad-worse-worst)

It’s common to use “get” instead of “be” for passives when the patient always existed but had something done to it.
YES: The house got painted. (because the house existed before)
NO: *The Mona Lisa got painted. (because the Mona Lisa didn’t exist before)
(We don’t use “get” for passive verbs of creation: make, create, paint (artwork), compose, build, etc.)

I take off my hat. = I take my hat off. (“my hat” is a noun, so it can go inside or outside the verb)
-> My hat is taken off. (kind of strange to say)
People must take their hats off in this building.
-> Hats must be taken off in this building. (not strange)

I take the book off the table. (not a phrasal verb, but a verb “take” plus a preposition “off”)
-> The book is taken off the table (by me). - “take” is still a transitive verb

The plane takes off at 9:00. (“take off” is an intransitive phrasal verb = no passive)
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I give her a ring. = I give a ring to her. (“her” is the indirect object, “a ring” is the direct object)
-> She is given a ring.
-> A ring is given to her. (in this case, “to” is necessary)

I teach you English. = I teach English to you.
-> You are taught English. / English is taught to you.

I teach you. -> You are taught.
I teach English. -> English is taught.
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Some two-object verbs only have one structure:
We explained our solutions to him. (NOT: We explained him our solutions)
Our solutions were explained to him. (NOT: He was explained our solutions.)
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Homework: handout p. 61