The Final Champions League

[AnaEng]

I wrote the following sentence to apply the passive voice.

The Final Champions League in 2015 was played in Berlin, Germany and was watched by millions of people.

Is the above sentence correct and is it true that we can't remove was in was watched because it is transitive verb?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wrote the following sentence to apply the passive voice.

The Final 2015 Champions League Final in 2015 was played in Berlin, Germany and was watched by millions of people.

Is the above sentence correct and is it true that we can't remove was in was watched because it is a transitive verb?

Thanks.

Note my change to the word order and my addition of an indefinite article above.

You could omit the second "was". It would be clear that the first "was" is connected to "played" and "watched". You could also add a comma after "Germany" and remove "and".

Here, you've picked a good context for the passive. We're much more likely to say "was watched by millions of people" than "millions of people watched it".

 

[jutfrank]

Is the above sentence correct and is it true that we can't remove was in was watched because it is transitive verb?

As post #2 says, you can remove was since it has already been used prior, in was played. However, if you do that, it's still 'there' in the grammar, functioning as it does necessarily as an auxiliary verb forming the passive voice.

The passive voice can only be used with transitive verbs, and never with intransitive verbs.

 

[AnaEng]

Note my change to the word order and my addition of an indefinite article above.

You could omit the second "was". It would be clear that the first "was" is connected to "played" and "watched". You could also add a comma after "Germany" and remove "and".

Here, you've picked a good context for the passive. We're much more likely to say "was watched by millions of people" than "millions of people watched it".

Thank you.

Which case do I have to use passive voice in the second part of the sentence. Is it if the subject is different in the second clause?

After the car accident, the man was taken to the hospital and his car was towed away.

In this sentence above, there are two subjects, the man and his car.

Thank you again.

 

[AnaEng]

As post #2 says, you can remove was since it has already been used prior, in was played. However, if you do that, it's still 'there' in the grammar, functioning as it does necessarily as an auxiliary verb forming the passive voice.

The passive voice can only be used with transitive verbs, and never with intransitive verbs.

Thanks

in the following sentence, the first part is transitive and the second is intransitive. Am I right?

For example, The boy was raised by grandfather when the war started.

The boy is transitive and this is why I added was raised while started is intransitive and this is why I don't say the war was started.

 

[jutfrank]

Which case do I have to use passive voice in the second part of the sentence.

You have to think about meaning. The passive voice has a different meaning from the active voice. Do you know this? Tell us what you know, and it will be easier to explain.

in the following sentence, the first part is transitive and the second is intransitive. Am I right?

For example, The boy was raised by grandfather when the war started.

The first part is passive and the second is active.

The boy is transitive and this is why I added was raised

No, only verbs are transitive. The boy is a noun phrase and the subject of the verb phrase was raised, which is in the passive voice. The verb 'raise' is a transitive verb, allowing it to be used in the passive voice.

while started is intransitive

Right.

 

[AnaEng]

You have to think about meaning. The passive voice has a different meaning from the active voice. Do you know this? Tell us what you know, and it will be easier to explain.

Thank you @emsr2d2 and @jutfrank for your valuable contribuions.

The passive voice is different from active voice as it the object is the main focus, if the subject is unknown, or to write about someone as in biography. In news, it is also used to avoid the responsibility of and not mentioning the person who does the action.

I have written two sentences. I have combined active and passive sentences together.

1) After the car accident, the man was taken to the hospital and his car was towed away

Taken is transitive while towed is intransitive


2) The invoice was sent by shopkeeper before the products shipped.

Sent is transitive while shipped is intransitive.

 

[5jj]

1) After the car accident, the man was taken to the hospital and his car was towed away

Taken is transitive while towed is intransitive

Both verbs are transitive.

 

[Tarheel]

Try:

The invoice was sent by the shopkeeper before the products were shipped.

Or:

The shopkeeper sent the invoice before the products were shipped.

 

[AnaEng]

Try:

The invoice was sent by the shopkeeper before the products were shipped.

Or:

The shopkeeper sent the invoice before the products were shipped.

Thanks.

I think we can remove the verb were as it is intransitive so the sentence would be as follows:

The invoice was sent by the shopkeeper before the products shipped. No be verb were before shipped.

Is it true? I still find some difficulty as to when be verbs deleted and when they are necessary.

 

[5jj]

The invoice was sent by the shopkeeper before the products were shipped.

Shipped is not intransitive in that sentence; intransitive verbs cannot have a passive form.

... before the products shipped.

Ship is intransitive in that sentence. Were is not dropped; it was never there.

Ship is one of these verbs that can function either as a transitive verb or an intransitive verb.

 

[Tarheel]

The boy was raised by grandfather when the war started.

Don't ever use that sentence.

What are you trying to say?

Perhaps:

The boy was living with his grandfather when the war started.

 

[Annabel Lee]

The invoice was sent by the shopkeeper before the products shipped. No be verb were before shipped.

I believe that ship is considered an "ergative verb" -- a useful bit of jargon, in my opinion. Other ergative verbs include break, melt, evaporate. With ergative verbs, there is near (though not perfect) synonymy, or sameness of meaning, between the passive-voice transitive use of the verb and the active-voice intransitive use of the same verb.

For example, in a sentence like The products have shipped, although there is near synonymy with The products have been shipped we can see that the passive voice is not present, even at the level of meaning, with the intransitive version. Not only is the passive auxiliary not present, but it is impossible to add an agent by-phrase:

The products have been shipped by our shipping department.
The products have shipped by our shipping department.