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Question 1 (Consolidate)

Transform the following active clauses into their passive counterparts, maintaining the agent in the new version:

1	The police were chasing the thief down the road
2	Jo made Sara and Mick this beautiful wedding cake
3	Will has tidied the house ready for their return
4	Amy and Rebecca tell me you like cycling
5	The elephants have been entertaining visitors here for many years now

Answer

1		The thief was being chasing down the road by the police
2	either	This beautiful wedding cake was made for Sara and Mick by Jo
	or	?Sara and Mick were made this beautiful wedding cake by Jo
3		The house has been tidied by Will ready for their return
4		I’m told by Amy and Rebecca that you like cycling
5	either	Visitors have been being entertained here by the elephants for many years now
	or	Visitors have been being entertained here for many years now by the elephants

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Question 2 (Explore)

Although only transitive verbs can become passives, not all transitive verbs can be transformed in this way. Comment on the following examples, thinking about why a passive version isn’t possible. (Example 5 doesn’t include a transitive verb but offers a further example to think about.)

1	That haircut really suits Owain
2	Pavel has never lacked confidence
3	Ethan resembles that man on television
4	Geraint possesses some interesting antiques
5	Eddie’s essay reads very well

Answer/discussion

In Examples 1 and 2, the subject of the active clause is not an agent, a requirement of verbs that can be passivised. In Example 1, suit is used with the meaning of ‘look good on’. With the meaning of ‘be right for’, however, suit can be used in a passive construction: That job really suits Owain becomes Owain is really suited to that job. This is an untypical example, though, since a by-phrase cannot occur and the clause has to be completed with a to-phrase. In Example 4, the subject Geraint seems more like an agent (he presumably took possession of the antiques) but isn’t clearly so.

In Example 3, resemble probably has more in common with a copular verb than a transitive one (although dictionaries list it as the latter). Although Ethan and that man on television are different people, there is a kind of common reference between them. Also, the order of elements can easily be reversed. Again, as a clause subject, Ethan is not a clear agent. Significantly, the verbs resemble, suit and possess rarely occur in progressive constructions (such as *was possessing), indicating that the ‘performance’ of the verb is not actively carried out.

Example 5 is an SVC clause, so cannot be made passive anyway. It shows a less typical use of read where the active verb form has a passive meaning. Uses like these are referred to as notional passives. Other notional passives include drink and eat when used in a sentence such as That moist cake eats beautifully.

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Question 3 (Explore)

The addition of the auxiliary be is obligatory in a passive verb phrase. Sometimes, however, in the past tense get is used instead. As well as sounding less formal, can you identify other differences between the get version and the be version?

	passive with be	passive with get
1	Owain was promoted at work	Owain got promoted at work
2	Pavel was involved in a charity event	Pavel got involved in a charity event
3	Ethan’s podcast was recorded at home	Ethan’s podcast got recorded at home
4	Geraint’s essay was finally completed	Geraint’s essay finally got completed
5	Eddie was injured by a falling branch	Eddie got injured by a falling branch

Answer/discussion

As mentioned in the original question, get passives always sound less formal than be passives. Over and above this, get passives often give a greater sense of the role of the agent in bringing about the action described. This can be seen in Examples 1 and 2. Also, in Example 5, Eddie got injured carries a suggestion of Eddie having put himself in danger, while Eddie was injured suggests this was an unexpected accident.

In Example 3, Ethan’s podcast was recorded at home seems to be a simple fact, while Ethan’s podcast got recorded at home hints that the original plan was to record it somewhere else. In Example 4, the use of was or got also affects the position of the adverb finally. While was finally completed seems to focus on the fact the essay is done, finally got completed draws attention to the process of finishing it.

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