2016-09-01 Grammar: passives and parenting

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - Notes from all my classes
---
NO SCHOOL MONDAY SEPTEMBER 5 (Labor Day)
---
Homework: p. 55 exercise 9 - Decide if “get” or “be” is appropriate for each sentence.
1 were
2 got/was
3 being/(getting - it’s less common for inanimate things)
4 gets
  (If it gets broken - if this event happens in the future / If it is broken - if this is its state right now)
5 get
6 be/get
---
Some verbs can never be passive.

1 - intransitive verbs can’t be passive
The cat killed the mouse. -> The mouse was killed by the cat.
The mouse died. -> NO CHANGE (because “die” has no object; it is intransitive)

2 - verbs that link or describe subjects can’t be passive
I resemble my father. -> NOT*My father is resembled by me.
I have a new computer. -> NOT*A new computer is had by me.
---
One common verb is very rarely active. (It’s almost always used in the passive.)
When were you born? I was born in February. The baby will be born sometime next month.
- When did your mother bear you?
- My mother bore me in February.
- The baby’s mother will bear the baby sometime next month.
---
Some verbs can be active or passive with more or less the same meaning:
Dinner is cooking. = Dinner is being cooked.
The water needs to boil. = The water needs to be boiled.
------
p. 295 - With a partner discuss what your parents did or would have done in these situations, and whether you think it was (or would be) effective.

punishment = negative consequence for negative behavior
scold = negative words for negative behavior
reward = positive consequence for positive behavior
praise = positive words for positive behavior
---
Homework: p. 296 - Read the overview and do exercise 1 (underline the verb that follows each bold verb)