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Moon7296 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Passive sentences?/ be filled/covered with
1. He was elected chairman by us.
2. I was made happy by the song.
3. He was called Little Joe (by us).
We call sentences like #1,2 & 3 passive sentences.
What about this?
4. Ø be surprised at~ she is/was surprised at the news.
5. Ø be satisfied with~ Her boss is/was satisfied with her good job.
6. Ø be filled with~ The cup is/was filled with water.
7. Ø be covered with~ The roof are/was covered with snow.
8. Ø be crowded with~ Her room is/was crowded withfurniture.
Do you also call these passive sentences? (These have no by but other prepositions such as 'at' and 'with')
2. I was made happy by the song.
3. He was called Little Joe (by us).
We call sentences like #1,2 & 3 passive sentences.
What about this?
4. Ø be surprised at~ she is/was surprised at the news.
5. Ø be satisfied with~ Her boss is/was satisfied with her good job.
6. Ø be filled with~ The cup is/was filled with water.
7. Ø be covered with~ The roof are/was covered with snow.
8. Ø be crowded with~ Her room is/was crowded withfurniture.
Do you also call these passive sentences? (These have no by but other prepositions such as 'at' and 'with')
Top answer
They are all in the realm of adjective status. All of 4-8 (except #7) will accept 'very' inserted before the word in question ('be very surprised at', etc). #7 might better be included among the 'semi-passives': The roof is covered with snow = Snow covers the roof.
- They are all in the realm of adjective status.
- All of 4-8 (except #7) will accept 'very' inserted before the word in question ('be very surprised at', etc).
- #7 might better be included among the 'semi-passives': The roof is covered with snow = Snow covers the roof.
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5 Answers
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They are all in the realm of adjective status. All of 4-8 (except #7) will accept 'very' inserted before the word in question ('be very surprised at', etc).
#7 might better be included among the 'semi-passives': The roof is covered with snow = Snow covers the roof.
#7 might better be included among the 'semi-passives': The roof is covered with snow = Snow covers the roof.
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Q1) What is 'semi-passives' and how is it different from just passives?
Q2) #7 has the active form(Snow covers the roof), so is it the reason why it might better be included among 'semi-passives'?
Q3) It looks like #5 and #6 have their active forms: Her good job satisfies her boss, Water fills the cup.
Then, aren't #5 and #6 the same as #7?
Q4) My di
Q2) #7 has the active form(Snow covers the roof), so is it the reason why it might better be included among 'semi-passives'?
Q3) It looks like #5 and #6 have their active forms: Her good job satisfies her boss, Water fills the cup.
Then, aren't #5 and #6 the same as #7?
Q4) My di
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1 & 2 -- 'Semi-passives are the ones that are ambiguous between passive voice and linking verb + predicate adjective. They have active analogues ('Snow covers the roof'), but the 'adjective' can be modified: The roof is quite covered with snow.
3-- It is in many ways the grammarian's decision. How involved is the agent, really, in the sentence?
4-- By defin
3-- It is in many ways the grammarian's decision. How involved is the agent, really, in the sentence?
4-- By defin
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Thank you very much Micawber.
I'm sorry but could you please explain what 'How involved is the agent, really, in the sentence?' means?
I'm sorry but could you please explain what 'How involved is the agent, really, in the sentence?' means?
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How important/significant is the agent? How easily is the agent even conceived? If I come home and say, 'I'm very tired!', I would be hard-pressed to call that passive voice instead of 'be' + adjective, since the agent is vague and unimportant to the utterance – the agent is probably 'work', but that is very general, very obvious and not a significant contribution to understanding the int
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