regard

Question

Is it fine to use both of these two sentences without damaging the grammaticality?

e.g. That was regarded by the public as the most effective
way to spend money.

That was regarded as the most effective way to spend
money by the public.

I think 'as' is more essential to the verb 'regard', only latter one should be regarded to be correct.
So what do you think about my guess?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I think they both are fine. They are the exact same sentence in a slightly different order, so it's only a question of who does the regarding.

If I were to really analyze it, I would interpret #1 more conveniently, to mean the public thought that was the most effective way to spend money. #2 might (highly unlikely) have the unintended uncertainty of who was spending the money, as in whether the money was being spent by the public.

Overall, though, they both sound fine to me. Others may have a different take.

Cho7712 · Answer

Thanks for the answer.
So it is all about the meaning and seems like having to do with the native's intuition.
And you point out that the former sentence is natural.
At some point, it seems to be related to the visible distance between the two elements, i.e. 'regarded' and 'by the public'.
And what makes me still confused is that in the active voice 'as' is believed to be a must element. Do I get it right?
e.g. regard someone/something/yourself as something
--> He regards himself as a patriot. They regard every assignment as a challenge.

So my point is that as-phrase seems to have different status in the active sentence and the passive sentence as in my example. In the active sentence, as-phrase functions more like a necessary element rather than an adjunct which goes for as-phrase in my origianl example. How can I deal with this inconsistency?

e.g. That was regarded by the public as the most effective way to spend money.
My guess : this sentence seems to be odd because as-phrase should precede by-phrase.
By this order, as-phrase has its status to be an adjunct.

The public [regarded that as the most effective way to spend money.]
My guess : The active counterpart shows the phrase headed by as to be a complement.

Anonymous · Answer

Now we may be getting into areas where I'm not as knowledgeable about technicalities as you might need.

cho7712 In the active sentence, as-phrase functions more like a necessary element rather than an adjunct which goes for as-phrase in my origianl example.

cho7712My guess : this sentence seems to be odd because as-phrase should precede by-phrase. By this order, as-phrase has its status to be an adjunct.

If I'm interpreting this correctly, you are saying the passive voice in your original example does not seem to need the "as" part as the active voice does? Off the top of my head I don't think this is the case (there may be exceptions/I may be wrong). If something was being regarded by someone it still needs to be clarified what they regard it as - unless they are literally regarding it, i.e. looking at it. Also, concerning what should precede what, there is no specific rule. It's just a matter of what conveys the meaning better and/or which sounds more natural. Most of the time it probably won't make much of a difference.

Perhaps someone else could clarify the details further for you, but as far as whether or not "as" is necessary in the passive voice, I would say yes.

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the answer.
And I think I was on the wrong track.
I was misled by the ill-formed idea that as-phrase is realized in the position which is an immediate subordinate node below the verb regard. And this way of thinking has got me in a dilemma over the matter of how I see the as-phrase.
But then, I have just come to know that as-phrase does not belong to the sheer verb node itself.
Instead, it functions like a complement of the superordinate level, an entire verb phrase.
So now, I can assert that there is no restriction to force as-phrase to be adjacent to the verb 'regard'.

AnonymousAlso, concerning what should precede what, there is no specific rule. It's just a matter of what conveys the meaning better and/or which sounds more natural. Most of the time it probably won't make much of a difference.

And what I assume to be the case fits well with your suggestion. I think it would be the one that is exactly what you think. What do you say?

regard

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