Active or passive
I found following sentence form one of articles that I've read recently.
The lecture had started by the time they got there.
The thing that I cannot understand is there should be someone (the lecturer) to start the lecture. Therefore, shouldn't we use passive sentences to talk about situations like that. I mean if I was the person who wrote that sentence, I would have written like the following sentence.
The lecture had been started by the time they got there.
Top answer
The important information being conveyed is that the lecture had started by the time they got there. There seems little point in using a passive, particularly a 'short' passive -- the kind where the agent is omitted. In any case, the passive you suggest is not natural.
- The important information being conveyed is that the lecture had started by the time they got there.
- There seems little point in using a passive, particularly a 'short' passive -- the kind where the agent is omitted.
- In any case, the passive you suggest is not natural.
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The important information being conveyed is that the lecture had started by the time they got there. There seems little point in using a passive, particularly a 'short' passive -- the kind where the agent is omitted.
In any case, the passive you suggest is not natural.
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