[Grammar] Passive voice

[Kana1919]

Hi there,

if time permits you,can you help me with following sentences. I just tried myself to make this sentences. I need your comments to step forward.

I focus on money.

Money is focused on.

Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

"I focus on money" makes grammatical sense, but I am not sure if it makes real world sense. "Money is focused on" also makes grammatical sense, but I am even less sure that it makes real world sense.
:-|

 

[emsr2d2]

Many students are tasked with making very unnatural passive voice sentences. There is a place in this language for the passive voice but it is used far less frequently than some teachers and some textbooks would have you believe.

 

[Kana1919]

how about following sentence,sir?

I only concentrate on verbal communication.

Only verbal communication is concentrated on.

is this correct in academic writing?

 

[MikeNewYork]

As a stand-alone sentence, the second is not natural.

 

[MikeNewYork]

As you were told earlier, passive voice is not something that one just creates by formula.

Consider the following: My dog killed the neighbor's cat. That focuses on "my dog". We can put that in passive voice: The neighbor's cat was killed by my dog. Now the focus is more on the cat.

To use your latest examples: My speech course concentrates only on verbal communication. In the passive voice: Only verbal communication is concentrated on in my speech course. Do you see the change of focus?

 

[Raymott]

In any case, if you want to make those sentences passive, you'd have to write:
"Money is focused on by me."
"Only verbal communication is concentrated on by me" - which are very silly sentences. If you don't put "by me", then you are losing information from the original.

 

[emsr2d2]

If your focus really is on verbal communication (or communication of any kind in English), forget about the passive voice for now.

 

[Kana1919]

Thank you for your clear explanation which has helped clear my doubt. thank you again.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you for your clear explanation which has helped clear my doubt. Thank you again.

There is no need to write a new post to say "Thank you". Simply click on the "Thank" button in the bottom left-hand corner of any post you find helpful.

 

[Rover_KE]

Kana, please make time to read this excellent summary of the natural usages of the passive voice:

There are situations in which the passive is appropriate, but many native speakers never use a passive in their lives.

When/if we use the passive, it is generally because:

- We don't know who the agent is, or the agent is not important:

Ruth Ellis was hanged in 1955. She was the last woman to be executed in Great Britain.

Here, the person who performed the execution is known to some (but not many) people, but he is unimportant. What is important is the hanging of this woman.


-We may wish not to place importance on the agent:

I'm afraid your application for a loan has been declined.

Possibly the speaker rejected it himself, but would rather not admit this.


- In academic writing, especially in scientific writing, the passive gives an impersonal, objective impression:


The passive is rarely used in informal conversation.


People who use the passive for one of these, or for some other reason, generally produce the sentences in the passive. They do not produce an active sentence and then transform it. I loathe transformation exercises in coursebooks.

(5jj in this thread.)

 

[Matthew Wai]

forget about the passive voice for now.

Can I change it to the passive voice as below?
'The passive voice can be forgotten about for now.'

Not a teacher.

 

[Rover_KE]

Why would you want to?

You would have to add 'by you' after 'about'.

It's a pointless exercise. Nobody says that in real life.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's bad enough having dozens of textbooks getting students to change things into the passive voice for no reason without having users here trying to change our perfectly well-written active posts into the passive.

 

[SoothingDave]

Politicians, and other guilty people, like to use the passive to try to deflect blame.

"Mistakes were made."

 

[Rover_KE]

'Lessons will be learnt.'

 

[Tarheel]

'Lessons will be learnt.'

Let's hope so.
;-)

 

[Matthew Wai]

Why would you want to?

Because the agent seems unnecessary in the first clause below.
'The passive voice can be forgotten about if a learner's focus is on verbal communication.'
Is it acceptable? Not a teacher.

 

[Tarheel]

Because the agent seems unnecessary in the first clause below.
'The passive voice can be forgotten about if a learner's focus is on verbal communication.'
Is it acceptable? Not a teacher.

Excellent! (Putting that sentence in bold was done by me. ;-))

(I am not a professional teacher either, Matthew. (Don't tell anybody though. (I'm faking it. ;-))

 

[Tdol]

Because the agent seems unnecessary in the first clause below.
'The passive voice can be forgotten about if a learner's focus is on verbal communication.'
Is it acceptable?

I think it is fine.