[Grammar] I was very grateful to the fire service for giving me the opportunity

[Teca27]

Hello!

There were 2 sentences that I just couldn't get the answer!

The bold sentences are the ones that should be passed into the passive voice.


I was very grateful to the fire service for giving me the opportunity.

I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE LIKE THIS: the opportunity was given to me by the fire service.

HOWEVER, the answer sheet says:

To be given the opportunity by the fire service / for being given the opportunity by.../ for having been given...



ANOTHER SENTENCE:


Above all, firefighters need to be calm.It's easy for the situation to overwhelm you.

I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE LIKE THIS: you were overwhelmed by the situation.

HOWEVER, the answer sheet says:

To be overwhelmed by the situation



I really don't know the "mechanics" behind this changing...I know it might be a dumb question but I rather know it than not asking.
Can anyone help?
Thx in advance!
Anyone?Please, help!

 

[GoesStation]

Some teachers of English as a foreign language seem to spend an awful lot of time on the subject of converting active-voice sentences into the passive voice. Why they do this is a mystery; the active voice is usually preferable, and there's rarely a good reason to change from active to passive.

Your two sentences are excellent examples of active sentences that aren't good candidates for the passive.

 

[Teca27]

W spend a lot of awful time on it because students don't seem to grasp it... which makes things harder. What they want is an explanation on how things turned this way, almost a recipe...this is what I'm trying to find out if it's possible.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello!

[STRIKE]There were[/STRIKE] Here are [STRIKE]2[/STRIKE] two sentences [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] to which I just [STRIKE]couldn't[/STRIKE] can't/don't get the answer!

The bold sentences are the ones that should be [STRIKE]passed[/STRIKE] changed into the passive voice.


1. I was very grateful to the fire service for giving me the opportunity.

[STRIKE]I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE LIKE THIS:[/STRIKE] I think the passive version should be "I was very grateful that the opportunity was given to me by the fire service."

[STRIKE]HOWEVER[/STRIKE] However, the answer sheet says "To be given the opportunity by the fire service / for being given the opportunity by... /or having been given..."


[STRIKE]ANOTHER SENTENCE:[/STRIKE]


2. Above all, firefighters need to be calm. (space here) It's easy for the situation to overwhelm you.

[STRIKE]I THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE LIKE THIS:[/STRIKE] I think the passive version should be "... you were overwhelmed by the situation."

[STRIKE]HOWEVER[/STRIKE] However, the answer sheet says "... to be overwhelmed by the situation."


I really don't know the "mechanics" behind this changing. I know it might be a dumb question but I would rather know [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] the answer than not [STRIKE]asking[/STRIKE] ask.
Can anyone help?
[STRIKE]Thx[/STRIKE] Thanks in advance! (Please don't use non-standard abbreviations on the forum.)
Anyone? (space here) Please, help!

Please note my changes above. There is rarely any need to write all in capitals.

With your suggested version of sentence 2, can you tell us what you envisaged the opening part of the passive sentence being, before "you were overwhelmed by the situation"?

 

[Disckstuckinfan]

I use passive voice frequently when writing technical reports.

 

[GoesStation]

I use passive voice frequently when writing technical reports.

There are lots of cases where it's preferable. Sometimes a passive-voice sentence can even convey a more "active" mood than an active-voice equivalent; for example, compare these:

They perished.
They were murdered.​

Nevertheless, a bias in favor of the active voice will tend to produce more easily-understood documents. Or in other words, when you write in the active voice, readers often understand your documents more easily.

 

[Tarheel]

W spend a lot of awful time on it because students don't seem to grasp it... which makes things harder. What they want is an explanation on how things turned this way, almost a recipe...this is what I'm trying to find out if it's possible.

You want to know how to convert active voice sentences into passive voice sentences? Well, that's not hard (although not always possible). Simply remove the subject. Example:

Active voice: XYZ dumped toxic chemicals into the river.
Passive voice: Toxic chemicals were dumped into the river.

Your sentences will be easier to understand if you make them shorter and simpler.

 

[GoesStation]

[A] bias in favor of the active voice will tend to produce more easily-understood documents.
...
[W]hen you write in the active voice, readers often understand your documents more easily.

OP, I hope you noticed the two ways I expressed the same idea above. Which one is easier to understand?

 

[probus]

Active voice: XYZ dumped toxic chemicals into the river.
Passive voice: Toxic chemicals were dumped into the river.

In the example above some information has been lost. To preserve all of the information in the first sentence the passive voice version should read:

Toxic chemicals were dumped into the river by XYZ.

OP do you see why the passive voice is often inferior to the active? Both voices give us the same information about chemicals in the river, but the active voice, "XYZ dumped toxic chemicals into the river" directs the reader's attention more towards the villain, XYZ.

 

[tedmc]

The passive voice is used if there is intent not to identify the doer of an action. I understand it is used in scientific reports as in the carrying out of experiments.

 

[Tarheel]

Passive voice is used if there is the intention of not identifying the doer of an action.

Exactly!

 

[tedmc]

The passive voice is used if there is intent not to identify the doer of an action. I understand it is used in scientific reports as in the carrying out of experiments.

Probus
Why did you change "intention" to "intent"?
And why is the definite article not required with "intent" as it is with "intention"(according to Tarheel)?

 

[probus]

Tedmc

See rhe private message I sent you. I am sending another one.