Rabu, 13 Juni 2012

passive voice

Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive committee approved the new policy) or passive (The new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice. In the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved). Computerized grammar checkers can pick out a passive voice construction from miles away and ask you to revise it to a more active construction. There is nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in the active mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have more pizzazz as a result, since passive verb constructions tend to lie about in their pajamas and avoid actual work.
We find an overabundance of the passive voice in sentences created by self-protective business interests, magniloquent educators, and bombastic military writers (who must get weary of this accusation), who use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for actions taken. Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to children" places the burden on the ads — as opposed to "We designed the cigarette ads to appeal especially to children," in which "we" accepts responsibility. At a White House press briefing we might hear that "The President was advised that certain members of Congress were being audited" rather than "The Head of the Internal Revenue service advised the President that her agency was auditing certain members of Congress" because the passive construction avoids responsibility for advising and for auditing. One further caution about the passive voice: we should not mix active and passive constructions in the same sentence: "The executive committee approved the new policy, and the calendar for next year's meetings was revised" should be recast as "The executive committee approved the new policy and revised the calendar for next year's meeting."
Take the quiz (below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive verbs.
The passive voice does exist for a reason, however, and its presence is not always to be despised. The passive is particularly useful (even recommended) in two situations:

  • When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or thing acted upon: The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early morning hours.
  • When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora borealis can be observed in the early morning hours.
The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I poured 20 cc of acid into the beaker," we would write "Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process are much more important than anyone's taking responsibility for the action: "The first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after the acid rinse."
We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in subsequent sentences.
The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing with academic suspension and withdrawal. The policy had been written by a subcommittee on student behavior. If students withdraw from course work before suspension can take effect, the policy states, a mark of "IW" . . . .
The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate that policy move from being the object in the first sentence to being the subject of the second sentence. The passive voice allows for this transition.†

Passive Verb Formation

The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the past participle of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also sometimes present: "The measure could have been killed in committee." The passive can be used, also, in various tenses. Let's take a look at the passive forms of "design."
TenseSubjectAuxiliaryPast
Participle
SingularPlural
Present The car/cars is are designed.
Present perfectThe car/cars has been have been designed.
Past The car/cars was were designed.
Past perfect The car/cars had been had been designed.
Future The car/cars will be will be designed.
Future perfect The car/cars will have been will have been designed.
Present progressive The car/cars is being are being designed.
Past progressive The car/cars was being were being designed.
A sentence cast in the passive voice will not always include an agent of the action. For instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin can was crushed by the gorilla." But a perfectly good sentence would leave out the gorilla: "The tin can was crushed." Also, when an active sentence with an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take on the role of subject in the passive sentence:

ActiveProfessor Villa gave Jorge an A.
PassiveAn A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.
PassiveJorge was given an A.
Only transitive verbs (those that take objects) can be transformed into passive constructions. Furthermore, active sentences containing certain verbs cannot be transformed into passive structures. To have is the most important of these verbs. We can say "He has a new car," but we cannot say "A new car is had by him." We can say "Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say "Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of such verbs*:
resemble look like equal agree with
mean contain hold comprise
lack suit fit become

Verbals in Passive Structures

Verbals or verb forms can also take on features of the passive voice. An infinitive phrase in the passive voice, for instance, can perform various functions within a sentence (just like the active forms of the infinitive).
  • Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.
  • Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.
  • Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her own right.
The same is true of passive gerunds.
  • Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.
  • Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.
  • Object of preposition: I am so tired of being lectured to by my boss.
With passive participles, part of the passive construction is often omitted, the result being a simple modifying participial phrase.
  • [Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker does not always behave well on paved highways.

comparison of adjectives

clean - cleaner - (the) cleanest
We use -er/-est with the following adjectives:

1) adjectives with one syllable

  • clean
  • cleaner
  • cleanest
  • new
  • newer
  • newest
  • cheap
  • cheaper
  • cheapest

2) adjectives with two syllables and the following endings:

2 - 1) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -y

  • dirty
  • dirtier
  • dirtiest
  • easy
  • easier
  • easiest
  • happy
  • happier
  • happiest
  • pretty
  • prettier
  • prettiest

2 - 2) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -er

  • clever
  • cleverer
  • cleverest

2 - 3) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -le

  • simple
  • simpler
  • simplest

2 - 4) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -ow

  • narrow
  • narrower
  • narrowest


Spelling of the adjectives using the endings -er/-est

  • large
  • larger
  • largest
  • leave out the silent -e
  • big
  • bigger
  • biggest
  • Double the consonant after short vowel
  • sad
  • sadder
  • saddest
  • dirty
  • dirtier
  • dirtiest
  • Change -y to -i (consonant before -y)
  • shy
  • shyer
  • shyest
  • Here -y is not changed to -i.(although consonant before -y)


difficult - more difficult - (the) most difficult
all adjectives with more than one syllable (except some adjectives with two syllables - see
2 - 1 to 2 - 4)

    • good
    • better
    • best

    • bad
    • worse
    • worst

    • much
    • more
    • most
    • uncountable nouns
    • many
    • more
    • most
    • countable nouns
    • little
    • less
    • least

    • little
    • smaller
    • smallest



Some ajdectives have two possible forms of comparison.
  • common
  • commoner / more common
  • commonest / most common
  • likely
  • likelier / more likely
  • likeliest / most likely
  • pleasant
  • pleasanter / more pleasant
  • pleasantest / most pleasant
  • polite
  • politer / more polite
  • politest / most polite
  • simple
  • simpler / more simple
  • simplest / most simple
  • stupid
  • stupider / more stupid
  • stupidest / most stupid
  • subtle
  • subtler / more subtle
  • subtlest
  • sure
  • surer / more sure
  • surest / most sure


Difference in meaning with adjectives:

  • far
  • farther
  • farthest
  • distance
  • further
  • furthest
  • distance or
  • time
  • late
  • later
  • latest

  • latter
  • x

  • x
  • last

  • old
  • older
  • oldest
  • people and things
  • elder
  • eldest
  • people (family)
  • near
  • nearer
  • nearest
  • distance
  • x
  • next
  • order

relative pronouns

Relative pronouns adalah kata ganti yang menunjuk pada kata benda yang mendahuluinya (antecedent) yang berfungsi sebagai penghubung dalam kalimat. Relative pronouns biasa diletakkan di awal subordinate clause atau anak kalimat yang menunjukkan relasi terhadap keseluruhan kalimat.


Kata ganti yang digunakan adalah: who, whom, whose, which, dan that.




Lihatlah contoh-contoh ini menunjukkan Relative Clauses terdefinisi dan tidak terdefinisi:


example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive
notes
definingS- The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last night is my teacher.
That is preferable
- The car which hit me was yellow.
- The cars that hit me were yellow.
That is preferable
O- The person whom I phoned last night is my teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night are my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night is my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my teacher.
Whom is correct but very formal. The relative pronoun is optional.
- The car which I drive is old.
- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.
That is preferable to which. The relative pronoun is optional.
P- The student whose phone just rang should stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy pay extra.

- The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of which the driver was masked.
Of which is usual for things, butwhose is sometimes possible
non-definingS- Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher.
- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.

O- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, are my teachers.
Whom is correct but very formal.Who is normal.
- The car, which I was driving at the time, suddenly caught fire.
P- My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.
- The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.
Of which is usual for things, butwhose is sometimes possible

* Tidak semua sumber tata bahasa menghitung "bahwa" sebagai kata ganti relatif. 
** Beberapa orang mengklaim bahwa kita tidak dapat menggunakan "bahwa" bagi orang-orang tetapi harus menggunakan "siapa / siapa", tidak ada alasan yang baik untuk klaim seperti itu.