The Passive Voice

2641 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: D

The Passive Voice

The English language has two voices--the active and the passive. The active voice and the passive voice differ in that a passive verb phrase has an additional auxiliary BE followed by an EN participle. In a sense, the English passive is "inflexible" when compared to the passive formation of other languages. For example, some languages use word order, verb inflections, and impersonal constructions to form the passive voice. In their book, The Grammar Book: ESL/EFL Teacher's Course, Celce-Murcia and Larson-Freeman demonstrate how the Bantu passive voice differs from the English passive voice. "Kingarwanda, a Bantu language, can make even a locative phrase the subject of the passive as in On the bus was eaten a sandwich by John, which would not be acceptable in English" (221). Furthermore, topicalization is another "grammar issue" which differs from language to language. In the Kingarwanda sentence, On the bus was eaten a sandwich by John, the center of attention or the topic of the sentence is the phrase On the bus. Since languages have different rules which govern topicalization, several languages may not accept On the bus as the topic of a sentence. In the book, Clear and Coherent Prose, William Vande Kopple discusses topicalization in the English language. Kopple states that the English language uses topicalizers to "fulfill special functions in essays" (41). Several of these functions are: focusing the reader's attention on a specific part of a sentence, expressing given or "old" information at the beginning of a sentence, marking changes in topics, and lastly, setting contrasts between one topic and another (41).

Since there are differences in topicalization and the formation of the passive voice, no...

... middle of paper ...

...I must make my students aware of these differences. Moreover, I want my student to understand both the active and the passive voice and be able to choose which voice to use in their writing.

Works Cited

Aghbar, Ali. The New York Times Editorial Corpus.

Alexander, L. G. Longman of English. New York: Longman Inc.,

1988.

Besnier, N., and Edward Finegan. Language: Its Structure

and Use. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989.

Celce-Murcia, M., and Diana Larson-Freeman. The Grammar Book:

An ESL/EFL Teacher's Course. Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers Inc., 1983.

Kaplan, J. P. English Grammar: Principles and Facts. New York:

Prentice-Hall, 1989.

Kopple, William Vande. Clear and Coherent Prose: A Functional

Approach. Boston: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1989.

Lyles, B. A Basic Grammar of Modern English. New York:

Prentice-Hall, 1989.

Show More
Related

  • 2.1 Explain How To Adapt Communication With Children

    290 Words  | 1 Pages

    We need to adapt our verbal communication accordingly to the different situations. Working on a learning activity it is important that the children are focused and that we deal with any distractions

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Glass Menagerie and Streetcar Named Desire

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Glass Menagerie takes place in St. Louis. The play features the Wingfields. Amanda is the mother and her two children are Tom and Laura. A gentleman caller named Jim O’Connor comes in at the end of the play.  This play is basically about Tom’s memories of the last bit of time he was with his family, before leaving them as his father did. Since the play takes place in the memory, it is dark and some things are very exaggerated. Laura is a cripple who is lost in her own world, with no hope of ever finding someone to love her. Amanda is also living in her own world, one where she is still a southern beauty. She feels that if Laura doesn’t marry so...

    Read More

  • Brown Vs. Board of Education: Impact on Equality

    2563 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the 20th century, America was very different than the way it is today. Life as we know in this country today had had different struggles. Situations were very different but also more difficult for some Americans. One of these difficulties was racial segregation. Segregation brought inequality to many African Americans in this country and thus unable them to contribute to America’s strive for prosperity and power. And so in the mid 1900’s, African Americans decided that it was time to fight against the inequality that was taking place in their day-to-day life. One of the most significant fights against inequality was one certain Supreme Court case that would rid America of its inequality liability. The Supreme Court case, Brown Vs. Board of Education, impacted the United States socially and economically. It also impacted the civil rights movement. This case changed the way all Americans viewed segregation as the country was dealing with the liability of inequality.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tennessee Williams', The Glass Menagerie, is a play that evokes great sympathy and in some cases, empathy for a protagonist who struggles to overcome two opposing forces; his responsibilities and his desires. There are many symbols and non-liner references that contribute to the development of characterization, dramatic tensions and the narrative. This essay will examine in detail, the aspects of the play that contribute to the development of the above mentioned elements.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Tennessee Williams´ The Glass Menagerie and Arthur Miller´s Death of a Salesman

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...tery is a betrayal towards the whole family and at the end he is the one that is left abandoned. It seems that Wingfiled family has a stronger bond and their social and economical difficulties are not big enough to separate the family, while the Loman’s family is not that strong to surrender under the pressure of the grasp economical circumstances.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Glass Menagerie

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Glass Menagerie is a famous play that is both a popular and critical success, written by the award-winning playwright, Tennessee Williams. This play is considered to be one of William’s best-loved plays, even winning the Drama Critics Circle Award. The Glass Menagerie is considered to be “a portrayal of loneliness among characters who confuse fantasy and reality,” and is carefully developed through Aristotle’s elements of drama. These six elements really help to portray the true meaning of the play, and includes the principle of plot, moral disposition, intellect, diction, melody, and spectacle. The use of Aristotle’s elements of drama really help to compose and unite the play as a whole.

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams and Desire Under the Elms, by Eugene O'Neill

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Glass Menagerie is a fascinating play. In the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the story revolves around a girl name Laura Wingfield; her brother Tom and mother Amanda are secular characters who ignite Laura to solve her personal issues. In the Wingfield family, Tom and Amanda are very supportive and optimistic in concerns to Laura’s disability. As a single mother, Amanda’s one true pursuit American dream is getting gentlemen callers for Laura, which assents her to be married to a happy and satisfying life. Although the lives of the Wingfields may seem conclusive, encouraging and yet minor in pessimistic, Wingfields are nothing compared to the Cabot family of Eugene O’Neill’s, Desire Under the Elms. In Desire Under the Elms, the major American dream for the Cabot family is dominance over a plantation. Acquiring a plantation is everything to Eben Cabot, the youngest brother of the Cabot’s. Rather, considering marriage as a hopeful family stimulation like the Wingfields, the Cabot’s sees marriage as a negative outcome which gravely tears the family apart. Since the arrival of Eben’s new step-mother, Eben has been in defense over his rights of his family farm from Abbie. But the struggle in Eben was that Abbie will profit and Eben will be divested. This, Eben agonizes internally. In revere to the Cabot’s family ties, the three Cabot’s hate their father Ephraim for overworking them to death on the farm. Disrespect is perceived between the Cabot brothers and the father. Heedlessly, the father harasses Eben addressing that “Eben’s a dumb fool – like his Maw – soft an’ simple!” (O’Neill 967). This would not have been unacceptable in comparison to the Wingfields of the Glass Menagerie. Regarding the family ties in the Glass ...

    Read More

  • Why Good English Good For You By John Simon

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the article "Why Good English is Good For You," by John Simon, the intended audience is English speaking Americans. Simon stresses the importance of keeping good English alive, and spreading it. He explains how the influence of adults can greatly impact the future of the upcoming generations. Simon makes it clear to the audience, which consists of young adults, adults, and professionals, that language is a daily necessity that should not be used in a way that makes Americans appear illiterate. Simon uses many rhetorical devices such as analogies, personification, asyndeton, and anaphoras to demonstrate the importance of utilizing English in a proper manner. Those who use English must train themselves to exert the language in the correct

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Witch Trials In The Crucible

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cerjak ,The English Journal, Vol. 76, No. 5 (Sep., 1987), pp. 55-57 Published by: National Council of Teachers of English

    Read More

  • Homosexualism In Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tennessee Williams 's The Glass Menagerie is an American masterpiece. The play carries American theatre through to the modern times with little recognition. Williams 's overall background, with emphasis on his southern heritage and homosexuality, is the influence of the characters and the setting. The Glass Menagerie shines a light on being an outsider and being restless through the perspectives of three different individuals.

    Read More

  • Naturalization of Ideology

    2199 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wodak, R. (2006). Critical linguistics and critical discourse analysis in Verschueren, J. and Östman, J. (eds) Handbook of Pragmatics John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam.

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie Research Paper

    1398 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams, is a complex work that encompasses many thematic ideas. The play details the life of a dysfunctional family living in St. Louis during the 1930s. The family has many problems and have created their own version of reality to cope with and avoid the truth of their situation. Illusion reigns supreme and prevents the family from moving forward. In The Glass Menagerie, Williams explores how one can create their own warped version of reality based on memories of the past, visions of the future, or a distorted perception of the present and how that can prevent one from moving forward in their life.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between A Doll House And The Glass Menagerie

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen and “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams is full of lost hope and high expectations. Throughout these dramas the characters express confused emotions and actions that do not fair great results. The authors express the life styles of America’s middle and lower class families. In comparison to each other, these plays contain several different aspects of realistic and nonrealistic drama.

    Read More

  • Foundations of Academic Writing (FAW)

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    Miller, T. P, & Faigley, L. (1982). College English. National Council of teachers of English, 44(6). Retrieved from http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-

    Read More

  • Standardization Of The English Language

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    An important linguistic change was also in syntax. Syntax governs the structure of a sentence, as well as the structure of verbs. Auxiliary verbs came into use, for example the use of do and have which extended the capability of expression for verbs. The subtle differences between I walk, I do walk, and I am walking are not available in many other languages. This improvement assisted English in differentiating itself from other languages.

    Read More

More about The Passive Voice

Open Document