[Grammar] Analysing a newspaper article

[_YaS_]

Hi everybody

I'm a student of English and i'm trying to analyse a newspaper articel for an exam. However i found some passages where not really sure what it means.

so like for example i have this sentence:
Barnes said that burden was being lifted at no cost to taxpayers because of student loan restructuring that lowered the cost of government loan subsidies this year.

The "was being lifted"...I really have no clue what kind of tense it is, does anybody know?

and then i have

He will also allow at least 6 million people with different types of federal student loans a chance to consolidate them into one while reducing their interest rate by a half percent starting in January.

i thought
he= subject
will also allow= verb
at least 6 million people with different types of federal student loans= direct object
a chance to consolidate them into one = indirect object

and then there is a prepositional phrase starting with the preposition "while"

reducing= verb
their interest rate= subject
by a half percent= direct object
starting January= adverbial of time

well actually i have no idea, i don't think it's right...does anyone know the right answer??

thanks

 

[Barb_D]

Naming things is not really my strong suit.

For your first question, it's in the passive voice. Someone (the government?) is lifting the burden on students. That is, they are making student loan debt less of a financial burden. When you use the passive, you don't have to say who is doing something; you have to say who or what is it being done to.

"He is painting the house," I said. I said that he was painting the house.
"The house is being painted," I said. I said that the house was being painted.

This is the same structure as Barnes said that burden was being lifted ...

Welcome to Using English.