[Grammar] Various topics NEED/ARE NEEDED to be discussed.

[Sahil Dhankhar]

This is not my homework.

Which is the correct sentence?
Various topics need to be discussed.
Various topics are needed to be discussed.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

Kindly help me to convert this sentence to the passive voice.

We need to discuss various topics.

I think this is correct- Various topics are needed to be discussed by us.
I think that past participle is necessary in the passive voice. If it is not, what are the exceptions?

 

[Rover_KE]

Why do you need to create a totally unnatural passive sentence if it's not your homework or a class assignment?

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

To get to the basics of grammar. I want to teach my friends a little bit of grammar and also intend to participate in other threads.

 

[Rover_KE]

This is not basic grammar. Your friends will not thank you for trying to make them formulate unnatural sentences that native speakers never use and which they'll never encounter in real life.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

My friends wish to take a competitive exam where the examiner will try his best to form unnatural sentences as his main objective will be to challenge the participants to find out the errors in pure grammatical context.

 

[jutfrank]

What a pointless exercise. 'Pure gramatical context' is a non-existent concept in natural languages.

Quite. And not just pointless, I'd argue, but also unfeasible. I'd be interested to know how the examiner thinks he's going to judge whether an error has been made.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Kindly help me to convert this sentence to the passive voice.

We need to discuss various topics.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/need-to-do-something
I think the construction "need to do something" is idiomatic English which simply cannot be converted into the passive.

 

[jutfrank]

Kindly help me to convert this sentence to the passive voice.

We need to discuss various topics.

I think this is correct- Various topics are needed to be discussed by us.

Yes, that's grammatically correct. But in terms of proper English it is not correct.

I think that past participle is necessary in the passive voice. If it is not, what are the exceptions?

Yes, it is necessary.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't agree. Various topics are needed to be discussed by us is not acceptable.

Yes—not acceptable but grammatically correct according to Sahil Dhankhar. Do you see the point I'm making?

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

You would laugh if I tell that "neither of the boys is happy" is considered right and "both of the boys are not happy" is considered wrong.

 

[emsr2d2]

You would laugh if I [STRIKE]tell[/STRIKE] told you that "Neither of the boys is happy" is considered right and "Both of the boys are not happy" is considered wrong.

"Both of the boys are not happy" is grammatical but not natural. We would say either "Neither of the boys is happy" or "Both of the boys are unhappy".

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

Corrections made by you help me a lot. I am specially thankful to you.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

So the use of v2(told) is due to the fact that "if" used in the sentences makes it a case of unreal situation. Have I grasped it correctly?

 

[GoesStation]

Corrections made by you help me a lot.

That sentence suggests that you've been applying what you've learned about the passive voice. Although there are plenty of situations that demand the passive, you should generally start by writing in the active voice. Your sentence is a good example: it's not at all natural. Write Your corrections help me a lot.

 

[Tdol]

I think this is correct- Various topics are needed to be discussed by us.

That is actually worse. You could just about argue that various topics are needed might work, though it would work better if followed by something like for discussion, but adding an agent to a duff passive doesn't make it more correct. You cannot convert all transitive verbs into passive forms- logic, importance, etc, come into play- it is not some mathematical process. I disagree with the idea spread by things like grammar checks that the passive is wrong or inferior, but use it when you have a reason to use it- it is not simply an alternative form of an active verb.

 

[Sahil Dhankhar]

The inclination towards passive voice in my written English is due the fact that I studied various subjects related to science as main subjects in my graduation as well as post graduation. I don't think it is a common trend or not but here in India, all the theory related to science is "passive voice friendly".

 

[Tdol]

Descriptions of processes often use the passive, but that doesn't mean that this should be extended indefinitely. I am pro-passive, but if I cannot think of a good reason for using it, I don't.