P A S S I V E    V O I C E

Η Παθητική φωνή σχηματίζεται με ένα από τα ακόλουθα μέρη του ρήματος TO BE δηλαδή:

am – are – is – was – were – be – being – been και την παθητική μετοχή του ρήματος που μας ενδιαφέρει.

Παράδειγμα:

Θέλουμε να πούμε: Ο πατέρας μου βάφει τα κάγκελα της βεράντας κάθε πέντε χρόνια.

Ποιο είναι το ρήμα που μας ενδιαφέρει; Το βάφει δηλαδή paint.

Ποια είναι η παθητική μετοχή του paint; Είναι το painted. (είναι ομαλό δηλαδή αν προσθέσουμε τη κατάληξη -ed τότε έχουμε την παθητική μετοχή του ρήματος η οποία είναι αναγκαία για τη νέα μας σύνταξη)

Επομένως:

Εάν το ρήμα είναι στον απλό ενεστώτα, βεβαιωνόμαστε αν είναι ενικός ή πληθυντικός αριθμός και μετά διαλέγουμε το συγκεκριμένο τύπο του ρήματος to be.

Στο πιο πάνω παράδειγμα, ο πατέρας μου είναι τρίτο πρόσωπο ενικού αριθμού, άρα διαλέγουμε το is. Όπως ήδη έχω δείξει η παθ. μετοχή που μας ενδιαφέρει είναι painted, άρα τώρα έχω: is painted. Από εδώ και πέρα αρχίζει η δεύτερη φάση των επιλογών, που δείχνω στα παραδείγματα από κάτω.

SIMPLE TENSES

The dog chases the cat. > The cat is chased by the dog.

The dog chased the cat. > The cat was chased by the dog.

CONTINUOUS TENSES

The dog is chasing the cat. > The cat is being chased by the dog.

The dog was chasing the cat. > The cat was being chased by the dog.

PERFECT TENSES

The dog has chased the cat. > The cat has been chased by the dog.

The dog had chased the cat. > The cat had been chased by the dog.

FUTURE TENSES

The dog will chase the cat. > The cat will be chased by the dog.

The dog would chase the cat. > The cat would be chased by the dog.

INFINITIVE

The dog ought to chase the cat. > The cat ought to be chased by the dog.

The dog must chase the cat. > The cat must be chased by the dog.

ΠΡΟΣΟΧΗ:

1. Μην αλλάζετε χρόνο

2. Μην αναφέρετε από ποιον κτλ. έγινε η πράξη εάν είναι αυτονόητο ή αντωνυμία ή αόριστο.

e.g.

• Someone has stolen my car.
• My car has been stolen.
• The police arrested the thief.
• The thief was arrested.
• I will finish the work before six o’clock.
• The work will be finished before six o’clock.

3. Όταν έχουμε ρήματα που δέχονται δύο αντικείμενα, το προσωπικό έμμεσο αντικείμενο γίνεται το υποκείμενο στην Παθητική φωνή.

e.g.

• They gave him a prize.
• He was given a prize

Examples of two-object verbs:

Offer, tell, promise, give, pay, send, pass, show, lend, post, ask, bring, sell, hand, etc.

4. Take special care with the continuous tenses.

Exercise.

1. The snow will spoil my flowers.

My flowers will be spoiled by the snow.

2. David Fuster scored the only goal.

The only goal was scored by David Fuster.

3. Our teacher is showing us some pictures.

a. We are being shown some pictures by our teacher.

b. Some pictures are being shown to us by our teacher.

4. We couldn’t hear the actors.

The actors couldn’t be heard.

5. They have sold all the tickets.

All the tickets have been sold.

Exercise.

Turn into the Passive Voice.

1. The cook never spoils the soup.

The soup is never spoiled by the cook.

2.They have eaten all the food.

All the food has been eaten.

3. They built a new school in our village last year.

A new school was built in our village last year.

4. The gardener is planting new trees in our garden.

New trees are being planted in our garden.

5. A friend of mine has repaired the clavichord.

The clavichor has been repaired by a frien of mine.

T w o – o b j e c t  V e r b s

1.  She promised the finder a reward.

The finder was promised a reward.

2.  She showed her husband her new hat.

a. Her husband was shown her new hat.

b. Her new hat was shown to her husband.

3.  The stranger offered me a cigarette.

a. I was offered a cigarette by the stranger.

b. A cigarette was offered to me by the stranger.

4.  He was giving us some advice.

a. We were given some advice.

b. Some advice was given to us.

5.  You must give the waiter a tip.

a. The waiter must be given a tip.

b. A tip must be given to the waiter.

Exercise.

Put into the Passive Voice.

1. They are painting the school railings green.

The school railings are being painted green.

2. Bill sent me a copy of his new book.

a. I was sent a copy of Bill’s new book.

b. A copy of Bill’s new book was sent to me.

3. Didn’t she offer you a drink?

a. Weren’t you offered a drink (by her)?

b. Wasn’t a drink offered to you (by her)?

4. A policeman was controlling the traffic while they were repairing the traffic lights.

The traffic was being controlled by a policeman while the traffic lights were being repaired.

5. The teacher is showing the pupil how to do the Passive Voice.

The pupil is being shown how to do the Passive Voice by the teacher.

6. Her parents promised Mary a bicycle if she passed her exams.

Mary was promised a bicycle, if she passed her exams, by her parents.

7. They will give the winner a free holiday in Paris.

The winner will be given a free holiday in Paris.

8. People are taking more photographs than ever before.

More photographs are taken by people than ever before.

9. John’s father is giving him a driving lesson.

John is being given a driving lesson by his father.

10. We have collected over one million drachmas for the orphans of Cyprus.

Over one million drachmas has been collected for the orphans of Cyprus.