intransitive with passive voices

[aysaa]

Hi,

Intransitive verbs (verbs which do not take objects) cannot be used to form passive sentences.

• John came to the meeting.
• *John was come to the meeting (incorrect).
• The cat died in the street.
• *The cat was died in the street (incorrect).
• We went to the zoo.

They are OK. But, I have seen the verb 'wait' is an intransitive verb, and can't we construct a sentence as below?

-I don't like to be waited for hours.
-You are being waited(by someone).

or the verb 'talk'.

-I don't like to be talked about me.

Thanks...

​

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi,

Intransitive verbs (verbs which do not take objects) cannot be used to form passive sentences.

• John came to the meeting.
• *John was come to the meeting (incorrect).
• The cat died in the street.
• *The cat was died in the street (incorrect).
• We went to the zoo.

They are OK. But, I have seen the verb 'wait' is an intransitive verb, and can't we construct a sentence as below?

-I don't like to be waited for hours.
-You are being waited(by someone).

or the verb 'talk'.

-I don't like to be talked about me.

Thanks...

​

No, we can't.

 

[aysaa]

Thanks... But we can use these intransitive verbs in the relative clauses as a passive structure, is that right?

For example:

-Still, a coaching career waited a few years.
-Still, a coaching career which has been waited a few years.

-I saw a kid waited outside the door for hours.

-Maybe that is an idea which can be agreed by the teacher.

-I desire a city which can be easily lived by people.​

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks... But we can use these intransitive verbs in the relative clauses as a passive structure, is that right?

For example:

-Still, a coaching career waited a few years.
-Still, a coaching career which has been waited a few years.

-I saw a kid waited outside the door for hours.

-Maybe that is an idea which can be agreed by the teacher.

-I desire a city which can be easily lived by people.​

No, they are not correct either.

 

[aysaa]

Sorry, but you are not being helpful to me about this. Why don't you fix them instead of saying no? I have seen some of them in this page.

a waited - FrazeIt Search

be lived in - FrazeIt Search

And also I have thought that it may be better if I put 'in' in this example:

I desire a city in which can be easily lived by people.

​

 

[bhaisahab]

Sorry, but you are not being helpful to me about this. Why don't you fix them instead of saying no? I have seen some of them in this page.

a waited - FrazeIt Search

be lived in - FrazeIt Search

And also I have thought that it may be better if I put 'in' in this example:

I desire a city in which can be easily lived by people.

​

I desire a city in which people can easily live.

 

[Raymott]

Sorry, but you are not being helpful to me about this. Why don't you fix them instead of saying no? I have seen some of them in this page.

a waited - FrazeIt Search

The fix is not to use intransitive verbs in passive constructions.
Which of the sentences on that page is in the passive voice?

PS: Were you looking for the transitive verb 'await'? It would be uncommon to use this in the passive, but it's possible.
"His servant awaited him. He was awaited by his servant."

 

[JohnAnderson]

Thanks... But we can use these intransitive verbs in the relative clauses as a passive structure, is that right?

For example:

-Still, a coaching career waited a few years.
-Still, a coaching career which has been waited a few years.

-I saw a kid waited outside the door for hours.

-Maybe that is an idea which can be agreed by the teacher.

-I desire a city which can be easily lived by people.​

Intransitive verbs cannot be made passive. wait, live talk and agree are intransitive, but wait on, live in talk about and agree on are transitive, so they can be made passive.

That is an idea which is agreed on by the teacher.
I want a city which can be easily lived in.
I was waited on (that is, served) in the restaurant.
I don't like being talked about.

 

[aysaa]

So many thanks...That was What I wanted to say!

My other question is can we use the intransitive verbs in the sentences as adjective meanings, especially before nouns?

For example:

-A lived place.
-A died person.
-Spoken language.
-A agreed point....etc

 

[bhaisahab]

So many thanks...That was What I wanted to say!

My other question is can we use the intransitive verbs in the sentences as adjective meanings, especially before nouns?

For example:

-A lived place. No.
-A died person. No.
-Spoken language. Yes.
-An agreed point.... Yes

Bhai.

 

[Tullia]

I'd say "no" to all four; while the second two examples, to which bhai said yes, are correct English, they are correct only because "spoken" and "agreed" are classed as adjectives in their own right in most dictionaries, and are being used as adjectives here, rather than as a form of the verb adjectivally as you seem to think. That is why "lived" and "died" don't work; you need adjectives.

"Dead" should replace "died".

"Lived" is more tricky, as the verb "to live" doesn't tend to apply to cities, unless you wish to imply it is a very busy and vibrant city. In that case you would need the adjective "lively". If you wish to say that the city has people living in it as opposed to being abandoned, you would probably need the adjective "inhabited", as "lived-in" doesn't have quite the correct meaning.

 

[aysaa]

If we use the verb 'wait' with 'for', can we use that with passive voice?

-I am being waited for.

Is that OK?

 

[bhaisahab]

If we use the verb 'wait' with 'for', can we use that with passive voice?

-I am being waited for.

Is that OK?

It's grammatical but not natural.

 

[aysaa]

I think, also ''I dont like being talked to'' is grammatically, but not natural, is that right?

 

[Barb_D]

It's perfectly natural if you say something like "I don't like being talked to in that tone of voice" or I don't like being talked to as though I were a child."

It's not natural if that's all there is.