What are passive clauses?
Clauses are either active or passive. In active sentences, the subject of the sentence performs the action. In a passive sentence, the subject has an action done to it.
Active clauses (subject performs the action)
I gave a class on clauses
They drank all the beer
Passive clauses (subject has something done to it)
A class on clauses was given by me
All the beer was drank by them
We can choose passive clauses when the important information:
describes what happened to the subject – Alan was operated on by the surgeons at 10 pm last night, he is recovering well
talks about when something was done – the report was concluded by them before they left today
tells us who did what – the car was fixed by the garage
We can use passive constructions:
when avoiding personal involvement – your car has been damaged
to explain procedures – the matters were discussed at length
in formal argument – it can be argued that the defendant actually did not have the intention or knowledge to attempt such a thing (legal argument)
Clause construction
In the basic construction, a form of be is followed by the past participle
The computer was broken by someone
His confidence has been damaged by bad parenting
The day had been ruined by the weather
Which is more common. Why and when do we use the active/passive form?
In English, most commonly we use the active form. The active form is more informal and used by everybody most of the time.
We use the passive form to show interest in the person or object that experiences the action. Native and fluent speakers of English are able to use both forms.
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Which one of these is passive/active?
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