C)The Passive Voice
C) La voie passive
1)
Definitions
2)
When to use the passive voice
3) Rules of
transformation
1)
Definitions:
1)
Définitions:
-
Consider the following two
sentences:
-
Considérez les deux phrases suivantes:
(a)
The
teacher
explains the lesson.
(L' enseignant explique la
leçon.)
Subject verb
object
(b)
The
lesson
is explained by the teacher. (La
leçon est
expliqué pa l' enseignant.)
Subject
verb agent
-
The
sentence (a) is in the active form because the subject (the
teacher) is the doer of the action.
- La phrase (a) est à la forme active parce
que c'est le sujet ( the teacher) qui fait l' action.
- The sentence (b) is in the passive voice because the subject
(the lesson) is not the doer of the action but
undergoes the action.
- La phrase (b) est à la voie passive parce
que le sujet (the lesson) ne fait pas l' action mais il la
subit.
2) When to use the passive voice?:
2) Quand utilise la voie
passive?:
* We use the
passive voice:
* On utilise la voie passive:
- when it is more interesting to stress one thing
done rather than its doer.
- lorsqu' il est plus intérrèssant d'
accentuer sur une chose faite plutôt que celui qui la
fait.
e.g. This monument was built in
1964.
par exemple: Ce monument est construit en
1964.
- or when the doer is unknown.
- ou quand celui qui la fait ( le sujet de l'
action) est inconnu.
e.g. My wallet has been stolen.
par exemple: Mon porte-monnaie est
volé.
3)
Rules of transformation:
3)
Règles de transformation:
a)- When
we turn a sentence from the active to the passive voice, the
object of the active becomes the subject of the passive, and the
subject of the active becomes the agent of the passive introduced
by “by”.
a)- Quand on transforme une phrase de la forme
active à la forme passive, l' objet de l' active devient le
sujet de la passive, et le sujet de l' active devient l' agent
de la passive introduit par "by".
b)- In
order to find the form of the verb of the passive, we conjugate
the auxiliary to be in the tense of the verb of the
active and we follow it by the past participle of the verb of
the active voice:
b)- Pour trouver la forme du verbe de la voie
passive, on conjugue
l' auxiliaire to be (être) au temps du verbe de l'
active et le suivre par le participe passé du verbe de la voie
active:
Tense of the Verb
Temps
du verbe |
Active Form
la
forme active |
Passive Form
la
forme passive |
Present
Simple |
take
/ takes |
am/is/are
taken |
Present
Continuous |
am/is/are
taken |
am/is/are
being taken |
Present
Perfect |
has/have
taken |
has/have
been taken |
Past
Simple |
took |
was/were
taken |
Past
Continuous |
was/were
taken |
was/were
being taken |
Past
Perfect |
had
taken |
had
been taken |
Future
Simple |
will/shall
take |
will/shall
be taken |
Conditional |
would/should
take |
would/should
be taken |
c)
-Verbs
which have two objects can be made passive in two ways.
c) les verbes qui ont deux objets peuvent
être transformés en voie passive en deux manières:
e.g. They handed me a note.
par exemple: Il m' ont remi une note.
- 1st
way: It is the first object of the active
(“me”) which we make the subject of the passive:
I was handed a note.
- 1ère manière:
C' est le premier objet de l' active ("me") qu'
on fait le le sujet de la voie passive:
I was handed a note.
- 2nd way: It is the
second object of the active which we make the subject of the
passive:
A note was handed to me.
- 2ème manière: c' est le
duxième objet de l' active qu' ont fait le sujet de la voie
passive:
A note was handed to me.
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