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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
known to/known by
What`s the difference between the following sentences?
His name is known to everybody./ His name is known by everybody. Thank you
His name is known to everybody./ His name is known by everybody. Thank you
Top answer
You can passivize "Galileo knew the Earth to be a sphere" into "The Earth was known by Galileo to be a sphere". This "know" needs some voluntarily activities of the doer (=Galileo). On the other hand, "know" in "Everybody knows his name" doesn't need involuntary activities of the doer (=everybody), so you cannot passivize it into "His name is known by everybody".
- You can passivize "Galileo knew the Earth to be a sphere" into "The Earth was known by Galileo to be a sphere".
- This "know" needs some voluntarily activities of the doer (=Galileo).
- On the other hand, "know" in "Everybody knows his name" doesn't need involuntary activities of the doer (=everybody), so you cannot passivize it into "His name is known by everybody".
- "His name is known to everybody" is OK.
- You can take this "known" as a kind of adjective.
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3 Answers
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You can passivize "Galileo knew the Earth to be a sphere" into "The Earth was known by Galileo to be a sphere". This "know" needs some voluntarily activities of the doer (=Galileo). On the other hand, "know" in "Everybody knows his name" doesn't need involuntary activities of the doer (=everybody), so you cannot passivize it into "His name is known by everybody". "His name is known to everybody"
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By is used after passive verbs to introduce the agent. After past participles that are used like adjectives, we prefer other prepositions.
His whereabouts are known to the police.
The hills are covered in snow.
The room was filled with thick smoke.
His whereabouts are known to the police.
The hills are covered in snow.
The room was filled with thick smoke.
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