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Ch 2

The Passive: Choice and Effect

Mistakes were made · She was considered a genius · Sales rose · It has been done away with

Building on C1

You know every form — now the effect of choosing one

By C1 you have the full range of passive forms. At C2 the question is why a writer chooses — or avoids — the passive, and which verbs behave in unexpected ways.

The agentless passive and responsibility

What the writer chooses not to say

"Mistakes were made."
Admits a problem without saying who made the mistakes.
The decision was taken to close the library.
Who decided? The passive hides it.
Read critically: an agentless passive can be neutral, or it can avoid blame.

Verb + object + complement

considered · elected · deemed · appointed · found

She was considered the best poet of her generation.
He was elected captain.
No as, no to be needed.
The building was deemed unsafe.
The defendant was found guilty.

Ergative verbs: no passive needed

The same verb, with or without a doer

The door opened. / Someone opened the door.
Sales increased by 10%.
Not: sales were increased (unless someone deliberately increased them).
The vase broke. / The vase was broken.
Accident vs someone broke it.

Ergatives: open, close, break, change, increase, decrease, improve, sink, melt, dry.

Passive idioms and prepositional verbs

The particle and noun stay with the verb

The old rules have been done away with.
He felt he had been taken advantage of.
The original aim was lost sight of.

Common mistakes

Where learners go wrong most often

He was elected as captain to be.
→
He was elected captain.
elect + complement, no as / to be
Prices were risen sharply.
→
Prices rose sharply.
rise is intransitive → no passive
The plan was done away.
→
The plan was done away with.
keep the whole verb
Unemployment was decreased last year.
→
Unemployment decreased last year.
ergative → active form

Your turn

Answer out loud — full sentences

Discuss these choices.

1
Find an agentless passive in a news headline. Who is hidden?
2
Who was considered the greatest in a field you know? Use was considered / was regarded as.
3
Describe a change in your town with ergative verbs: increased, improved, closed…
4
Use a passive idiom: has been done away with / was taken advantage of.

Recap

hide the doer
agentless passive
Mistakes were made.
label someone
was considered / elected / deemed + complement
He was elected captain.
change without a doer
ergative verb, active form
Sales increased.
accident vs action
broke / was broken
The vase broke.
idiom
keep particle and noun
It has been done away with.