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Dcomest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
[have been doubled / have doubled/ double/ be doubled]
I know a) is grammatically correct.
a) By the year 2050, demographers expect that the world's population will have doubled.
But how about this one?
b) By the year 2050, demographers expect the world's population to [have been doubled / have doubled/ double/ be doubled].
Which one should I use? What's the best choice? And could you tell me why? I sense that passive voice is not acceptable here.
a) By the year 2050, demographers expect that the world's population will have doubled.
But how about this one?
b) By the year 2050, demographers expect the world's population to [have been doubled / have doubled/ double/ be doubled].
Which one should I use? What's the best choice? And could you tell me why? I sense that passive voice is not acceptable here.
Top answer
"to have doubled" "have been doubled" and "be doubled" are ruled out by considerations of passive voice, which you have already recognized. ". It gives more of a sense that the doubling will already have taken place when 2050 comes along, which I believe is the intent of the sentence.
- "to have doubled" "have been doubled" and "be doubled" are ruled out by considerations of passive voice, which you have already recognized.
- ".
- It gives more of a sense that the doubling will already have taken place when 2050 comes along, which I believe is the intent of the sentence.
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3 Answers
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"to have doubled"
"have been doubled" and "be doubled" are ruled out by considerations of passive voice, which you have already recognized.
"double" is possible, but, influenced perhaps by the first example, I prefer the 'perfect' aspect with expression "by the year ...". It gives more of a sense that the doubling will already have taken place when 2050 comes along, which I b
"have been doubled" and "be doubled" are ruled out by considerations of passive voice, which you have already recognized.
"double" is possible, but, influenced perhaps by the first example, I prefer the 'perfect' aspect with expression "by the year ...". It gives more of a sense that the doubling will already have taken place when 2050 comes along, which I b
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JT: The passive is excluded here because there is no agent. We ENLs view population as growing by itself. This is similar in nature to other situations in English wherein, and even when there is a more apparent agent, we choose the active form, which, in a sense, gives animate qualities to inanimates. For example,
The mall opens at nine.
I, personally, see no reason to choose
The mall opens at nine.
I, personally, see no reason to choose
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I think active voice is preferred when there is no clear external force to affect.
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