英语语法教案3

Passive Voice and Subjunctive Mood一、教学目标：通过本章的学习理解并掌握英语中被动语态的结构和使用条件，以及虚拟式的定义和类型。

二、教学内容：（详见附件）1 Introduction2 Passive voice2.1 Be-passive, get-passive and pseudo-passive2.2 Voice constraintsa. Grammatical constraintsb. Semantic constraintsc. Stylistic constraints2.3By-phrase2.4 Passive voice of multi-word verbsa. Verb + prepositionb. Verb + particlec. Verb + particle + prepositiond. Verb + noun phrase + preposition2.5 Passive voice of non-finite verbs3 Subjunctive moodBe-subjunctivea. Formulaic be-subjunctiveb. Mandative be-subjunctivec. Other uses of be-subjunctiveWere-subjunctive附件:1 IntroductionFour formal categories stand out as distinguished with finite verbs: tense, aspect, voice and mood. Having discussed tense and aspect in syntactic and semantic terms in Chapter 5, we now turn to the other two categories: voice and mood.English has two voice forms: the unmarked active voice and the marked passive voice, the latter taking the form of a complex verb phrase consisting of primary auxiliary be + -ed participle. Our discussion will be focused on passive voice, the more problematic and thus more intriguing of the two voice forms.We identify three mood forms: indicative, imperative and subjunctive. The first two having been discussed in Chapter 2, we shall deal with the subjunctive mood, a grammatical category which we will presently find is quite different from what it used to be in old grammar books.2 Passive voiceMany actions involve two people or things—one that performs the action and the other affected by the action. The former is referred to as the "agent" and latter the "recipient". Voice is a grammatical category that makes it possible to view the action of a sentence in either of the two ways, without change in the facts reported:Shakespeare wrote the play. (active)The play was written by Shakespeare. (passive)As we can see from the two sentences, the passive sentence covers the same reality as the corresponding active sentence. The structure chosen in such a case is often determined by the speaker's point of view, by stylistic factors and, more often than not, by context that may require a particular ordering of information items in a sentence.Most of the passive voice sentences take the be-passive form. Get-passive is its only, but far weaker, rival. In spite of their nuances in meaning, they are generally interchangeable.Passive voice sentences are commonly regarded as being transformed from their active counterparts. However, as we shall see presently, not all the active sentences can be turned into passive, not even all that contain transitive verbs. There are a variety of voice constraints that render the transformation unacceptable in grammatical, semantic, or stylistic terms.The prepositional phrase of by-agent is often left out from a passive voice sentence for a variety of reasons. They could largely be accounted for in terms of the information structure in a given context.Passive voice is also common with multi-word verbs and non-finite verbs, in which case it has unique features concerning usage.2.1 Be-passive, get-passive and pseudo-passiveBe is the normal passive auxiliary, which may occur in different tense and aspect forms and with different modal auxiliaries and semi-auxiliaries:He is respected by everyone in the community. (simple present)My car was stolen last week. (simple past)The house is being redecorated at the moment. (present progressive)His car was still being repaired when he called the garage. (past progressive)He has never been beaten at tennis. (present perfect)He had never been beaten at tennis before he retired. (past perfect)This can be done in different ways. (with modal auxiliary)The sports meet is going to be put off until the end of the month. (with semi-auxiliary) Passive perfect progressive with been being is disliked by the general English speakers, but it may occasionally occur:He's been being interviewed in the past hour.Get-passive is far less popular than be-passive. The reason is two-fold. Get-passive is generally avoided in formal style, and even in informal English it is far less frequent than be-passive. And semantically, get-passive is typically used to refer to an event, rather than a state; to denote the consequence, rather than the process, of an event; and to lay emphasis on what happens (usually unfavourably) to the subject as a result of the event, rather than who actually causes the event. Compare:(1-1) The children were punished.(1-2) The children got punished.(2-1) Can the ship be seen on the horizon?(2-2) *Can the ship get seen on the horizon?(3-1) I want you to watch carefully how the machine is being operated.(3-2) ?I want you to watch carefully how the machine is getting operated.(4-1) The play was written by Shakespeare.(4-2) *The play got written by Shakespeare.Sentence (2-2) contains a stative verb which is inappropriate in the get-passive construction. (3-2) is awkward because what is concerned is the process of the operation of the machine and, therefore, (3-1) would sound better. In sentence 4, the emphasis is not laid on the fulfillment of the play but on its authorship. With these semantic features, get-passive typically occurs in the environment where the verb is dynamic, the by-agent phrase is left out and there is an adverbial denoting consequence like eventually, finally, as a result, etc.:The book eventually got translated into Chinese.They got taught a lesson as a result.Having discussed the be-passive and the get-passive, let us consider the following sentences which illustrate a very special type of passive voice, if it could be called one: I'm very interested in the position they've offered me.He got completely confused.She felt annoyed at his negligence at work.They became more and more amused at what he was doing to the dog.You look tired.Such constructions are commonly termed pseudo-passive. There are some important differences between the regular passive and the pseudo-passive. A pseudo-passive sentence is passive in form but active in meaning. Its ed-participle is adjectivalized so that it becomes a subject complement in the SVC structure. As an adjective, therefore, it can occur in a comparative construction, with a variety of prepositional phrases other than by-phrase, and with other link verbs besides be and get.2.2 Voice constraintsIt is generally assumed that an active voice sentence with a transitive verb can be transformed into a passive voice sentence and that a passive voice sentence is derived from an active voice sentence. However, there are exceptions. In the following discussion, attention will be drawn to some typical exceptional cases where the correspondence between the active and passive voice breaks down on account of different kinds of voice constraints, grammatical, semantic and stylistic.a. Grammatical constraintsSome sentences are invariably active; some are invariably passive. This is because there are restrictions on various grammatical parts of the sentence. Among them verbs are subject to greater restrictions as far as the active-passive transformation is concerned. Apart from intransitive verbs, which are incompatible with the passive voice, there are a few transitive verbs that normally do not occur in the passive voice sentence:I have a lot of friends.* A lot of friends are had by me.He lacks sense of humour.* Sense of humour is lacked by him.They wouldn't let him take the position.* He wouldn't be let to take the position.Few people survived the genocide.* The genocide was survived by few people.Transitive verbs that are subject to the voice constraint include elude, escape, fit, flee, get, have, lack, let, race, resemble, suit, survive, etc.However, there is another extreme case with transitive verbs: some of them are usually used in the passive voice and the agent of the action is usually left out either because it is thought to be not worth mentioning or because it is practically unknown:It is rumoured that there will be an earthquake in the next two weeks.The ship is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.Here is a list of such verbs: acclaim, allege, baffle, bear (give birth to), condition, daze, deafen,deem, empower, fine, horrify, hospitalize, jail, overcome, paralyze, penalize, populate, prize, ration, reconcile, reunite, rumour, schedule, ship, shipwreck, etc.A second grammatical voice constraint is associated with the object of the verb. In the case of an object that is co-referential with the subject, there is no passive sentence corresponding to the active:I treated myself a substantial meal at Christmas. (reflexive pronoun)They will love each other. (reciprocal pronoun)They helped one another during the rescue mission. (reciprocal pronoun)He raised his hand. (possessive determiner)When the object is a clause, finite or non-finite, in an active voice sentence, it is generally impossible to find a corresponding passive construction:He said that he was innocent.They did not know whether they would arrive there on time.I want to talk to your parents.She enjoys being flattered.The passive voice, however, will become acceptable if we employ the syntactic expedient of postponing the subject clause and filling the empty slot by anticipatory it:It is said that he managed to escape punishment because he had a good lawyer.It was not announced when the president would deliver his resignation speech.It was decided to sell the remaining stock.A third constraint is the result of frequent absence of a by-phrase in passive constructions—where the agent is not explicitly mentioned and is not retrievable from the context. There are no corresponding active sentences. For example:The house was built last year.It is said that she is looking forward to her third marriage.b. Semantic constraintsThe corresponding active and passive sentences are normally assumed as semantically equivalent regardless of their shifts of information focus and degrees of stylistic formality. There are, however, exceptions to the rule, especially when quantifiers and modal auxiliaries are involved:(1-1) Few students have read many books in this school.(1-2) Many books have been read by few students in this school.(2-1) Every student has read at least one English novel.(2-2) One English novel at least has been read by every student.(3-1) You can use the car now.(3-2) The car can be used now.(4-1) Will you repair my computer?(4-2) Will my computer be repaired?Sentence (1-1) implies that many students in this school do not work hard, whereas (1-2) suggests that many books in this school are not attractive. The most likely interpretation of (2-1) is that each student has read at least some English novel or other, whereas (2-2) favours the interpretation that there is one particular English novel which has been read by every student. In (3-1), can is most probably used in the "permission" sense and, in (3-2), in the "possibility" sense. (4-1) could be interpreted as a request while (4-2), an inquiry.c. Stylistic constraintsAlthough the passive voice is far less commonly used than the active voice—a noticeable difference that can be found in all kinds of text, it is not restricted to a particular type of text. Passive constructions may be found both in informal English such as everyday conversations and in formal English such as legal documents.However, there is considerable variation in the frequency with which the passive voice is used in individual texts. As the passive voice often removes the agent, it tends to strike as more impersonal, thus more objective, than the active voice. This is probably the major stylistic factor that determines the higher frequency of the occurrence of the passive voice in the expository or informative prose that we find in newspaper reports, scientific writing and government documents. Imaginative prose, on the other hand, such as that found in novels, short stories and plays, displays a relatively lower frequency of the passive voice.2.3 By-phraseIn an English sentence, we normally put what we want to talk about in the initial position as the subject. So, when we want to talk about someone or something that performs the action, we make the agent the subject and use the active form of the verb. However, we may want to focus on the person or thing that is affected by the action, in which case we make the recipient the subject of the verb in the passive form.The passive voice gives us the option of not mentioning the agent. This could be due to the difficulty in identifying the agent:She was murdered last night.I'm cycling to work because my car was stolen last week.Or we may find it unnecessary to tell who the agent is:The house was built ten years ago.I was told that chances for his promotion would be very slim.Or we may wish to conceal the agent's identity or to distance ourselves from our own action: Air attacks were carried out on the town last night.The government was forced to say that the new policy would be implemented.In accounts of processes and scientific experiments, we often use the passive voice to avoid mentioning the agent explicitly because the focus is on what happens and not on who or whatmakes it happen:The principle of bottling is very simple. Food is put in jars, and the jars and their contents are heated to a temperature which is maintained long enough toensure that all bacteria, molds and viruses are destroyed.We can of course mention the agent in a passive construction by using a by-phrase. When we do this, we usually intend to put emphasis on the agent, because the by-phrase normally occurs at the end of the sentence, an position where the stress is normally located. Compare the following two sentences:(1) Have the newspapers been delivered by someone?(2) Have the newspapers been delivered by the dog?Sentence (1) sounds awkward because there is no point emphasizing the agent referred to as "someone", whose identity we do not know or are not interested in at all. In such a case, we may either leave out the by-phrase or use the active voice instead (Has someone delivered the newspapers?). In sentence (2), however, the agent well deserves the emphasis that would otherwise be absent if the by-phrase is removed or weakened if the active voice is used. Therefore, when we use the passive voice, we do not need to mention the agent unless we find it worth emphasizing.2.4 Passive voice of multi-word verbsMulti-word verbs include verb + preposition, verb + particle, verb + particle + preposition and verb + noun phrase + preposition. These verbs are subject to greater constraints when they occur in the passive voice form.a. Verb + prepositionThis construction is commonly called "prepositional verb", formed by an intransitive verb and a preposition to produce a transitive verb equivalent. Therefore, such a verb can take the passive voice almost as freely as a transitive verb:The committee meeting will be presided over by the college dean.Such problems have to be accounted for in political terms.However, a verb + preposition construction could be confused with a verb followed by a prepositional phrase on account of their physical identity:| the station.They finally arrived at ------- || the conclusion.| the tunnel.The police carefully went into -------- || the case.In such cases, the context usually provides the necessary clues to eradicate the ambiguity. Arriveat the station contains a verb and a prepositional phrase and the preposition may vary depending on the context (e.g. arrive in the United States), whereas arrive at the conclusion consists of a prepositional verb and a noun phrase and the preposition does not vary in this established idiom. Therefore, arrive in the former case is an intransitive verb and arrive at is transitive in the latter, a distinction that may be better explained through passive transformation. The same rule works for go into the house/the case.* The station was finally arrived at.The conclusion was finally arrived at.* The house was carefully gone into by the police.The case was carefully gone into (by the police).b. Verb + particle1The construction of verb + particle is commonly called "phrasal verb" where the particle is also called adverb. It can be either transitive or intransitive:Transitive:Someone has turned off the light.You must put away the toys before you come down for dinner.We'll have to put off the picnic if it rains tomorrow.They will pull down the old town hall and set up a new one.You are to make a clean copy of your term paper before you hand it in.Intransitive:How are you getting on?The couple often fell out.I'm afraid they won't give in.I hope you'll get by.He didn't show up, did he?As a rule, only transitive phrasal verbs can take the passive form.c. Verb + particle + prepositionThis construction is commonly called "phrasal-prepositional verb" as it contains, in addition to the lexical verb, both a particle and a preposition. The passive voice is not very common, if not unacceptable, with such a construction because a passive phrasal-prepositional verb, like its long name, is liable to be condemned as cumbersome:He was looked down upon in the community.1There is a group of frequently used and mainly short words (e.g. up, down, in, on) that can be both prepositions and adverbs. Some grammarians label these words, however they are functioning, as particles. Here we use the term particle to indicate words functioning as adverbs only.Her parents are anxious that all their expectations are lived up to.Such verbs include do away with, face up to, live up to, look down on/upon, look forward to, look out for, look up to, play around with, put up with, talk down to, etc.d. Verb + noun phrase + prepositionThe construction of verb + noun phrase + preposition can usually be viewed in two ways: a fixed phrase or a string of independent words (or phrases). It is a fixed phrase because the collocation is very idiomatic and the combination makes a very special sense. On the other hand, the words (or phrases) in the construction are independent in the sense that each is analyzable in grammatical terms and meaningful in its own right. Consider the phrase pay attention to. It is an idiom, only looser in structure than other idioms such as put up with and live up to.This double-facet character could be the reason why the construction can take two passive forms:We must pay special attention to this important issue.→ This important issue must be paid special attention to.→ Special attention must be paid to this important issue.They made a total mess of the house.→ The house was made a total mess of.→ A total mess was made of the house.But the following passive sentences would be considered unacceptable, or awkward in the most lenient terms, as a result of the overweight subject:* Special attention to the important issue must be paid.* A total mess of the house was made.Here is a list of such verbs: lay emphasis on, make a mess of, make an example of, make too much of, pay attention to, put an end to, take advantage of, take note of, etc.However, not all the verb + noun phrase + preposition constructions allow the passive transformation in both ways, which probably could only be accounted for in idiomatic terms. The following sentences can only be transformed in one way but not in the other:They made fun of her at the party.→ She was made fun of at the party.→ * Fun was made of her at the party.Historians had lost track of Shakespeare for seven long years after he left Stratford.→ Shakespeare had been lost track of...→ * Track had been lost of Shakespeare...2.5 Passive voice of non-finite verbsOf the three types of non-finite verbs, the infinitive and the ing-participle can take thepassive form2. The choice between the infinitive and the ing-participle depends on the context, usually grammatical and sometimes semantic. Some verbs, for example, take the infinitive as the object; others take the ing- participle; there are still others that take either the infinitive or the ing-participle, which may or may not result in the change of meaning (see Chapter 8 for details about the choice between the infinitive and the ing-participle):She expects to be praised.She enjoys being praised.She likes to be praised.She likes being praised.She forgot to be praised.She forgot being praised.In each sentence, the subject is the recipient of the action denoted by the non-finite verb; in other words, it is the logical subject of the passive non-finite verb. The subject of the non-finite verb is normally kept implicit if it corresponds to the subject of the sentence. It is, however, made explicit when it refers to someone or something else:She expects him to be praised.She enjoys his/him3 being praised.Expect and enjoy are examples of verbs which, depending on the context, allow the optional presence of the explicit logical subject to the following non-finite passive verb. Besides, there are verbs of extreme types: one that goes with a compulsory explicit logical subject and the other that always keeps the subject implicit:They would allow him to be promoted. (with explicit logical subject)He refused to be sent on the trip. (without explicit logical subject)Table 6.1 shows in a two-dimensional way the grammatical constraints that verbs are subject to when they take the non-finite verb as their object.2The infinitive with or without to has the following four active and two passive forms respectively: (to)do/(to) be done, (to) be doing, (to) have done/(to) have been done, (to) have been doing. The -ing participle has the following two active and two passive forms: doing/being done, having done/having been done.3Him is often found in the informal context. The same is true of the choice between the genitive case and the object case of a noun:She enjoys her son's being praised.She enjoys her son being praised.Table 6.1: Grammatical constraints on the verbs that take the non-finite verb as their object (Zhang et al:1995:238)Note that prepositional verbs, as they behave like transitive verbs, can also take the non-finite verb as their object. In such a case the -ing participle is invariably used and it may go with or without the explicit logical subject depending on the context:He insisted on being respected in the office.He insisted on his wife being respected in the office.They are worrying about being fined for overspeed.They are worrying about their son being fined for overspeed.3 Subjunctive moodThe subjunctive in the present system is a formal category, as distinguished from the old categroization which, semantic as it apparently is, used to cover all the verb forms that express assumptions contrary to the given fact or not likely to be materialized, and becomes a far less important verbal category than was suggested. What used to be expressed by means of the formally indistinctive subjunctive mood is now chiefly expressed by means of modal auxiliaries (see Chapter 7), past tense forms (see 5.1.2), past perfect forms (see 5.2.4), etc.Our trimmed subjunctive mood falls into two major types: the be-subjunctive and the were-subjunctive. The be-subjunctive is further divided into the formulaic subjunctive and the mandative subjunctive. For example:God bless you. (formulaic be-subjunctive)They insisted that he be given the job. (mandative be-subjunctive)If I were you, I wouldn't do it. (were-subjunctive)3.1 Be-subjunctiveThe be-subjunctive is formally marked by the use of the base of the verb; that is, the verb invariably occurs in the base form free from the concord constraints with the subject and from the tense agreement with other verbs. Such a verb form is normally found in two environments: certain set phrases of a formulaic character, mostly expressing benedictions or maledictions, and the that-clause following certain verbs, adjectives and nouns denoting volition.a. Formulaic be-subjunctiveThe formulaic be-subjunctive is largely confined to a few fixed expressions, expressions which extend a good wish, which may call down curses upon somebody or place an evil wish, and which may propose a will or indicate a special attitude:God bless you.God save the Queen!Long live liberty!Heaven help us!God damn you!Heaven forbid that...So be it then.Far be it from me to...Be that as it may...Come what may...Suffice it to say that...Such expressions are rare and not very productive in modern English. They are mostly archaic expressions of a will which could well be expressed in many other ways, such as using let, may, etc. Learners of English may learn by heart the few well-established sayings but are not encouraged to coin similar expressions on their own.b. Mandative be-subjunctiveThe base form of the verb is also used in the that-clause when the superordinate clause contains an element denoting volition:He insisted that he do the job on his own.It is important that she talk to him in person.Their advice was that I use a new name, move to new place and start a new life.The following is a list of such elements which commonly introduce a that-clause containing the mandative subjunctive:Verbs:advise, ask, command, decide, demand, desire, insist, move, order,prefer, propose, recommend, request, require, suggest, urge, etc.Adjectives:advisable, desirable, essential, fitting, imperative, important,necessary, etc.Nouns:advice, command, decision, decree, demand, motion, order, proposal, recommendation, request, requirement, resolution, suggestion, etc.The mandative be-subjunctive is more common in American English than in British English, where it is often replaced by should+infinitive as an alternative. Also, the mandative be-subjunctive is preferred in formal English while in a less formal context it can be replaced by other verb forms in spite of the condemnation in textbooks for being non-standard.c. Other uses of be-subjunctiveThe be-subjunctive is also found, especially in formal English, in an adverbial clause of condition, concession, etc. typically introduced by if, though (although, even though), whatever, whether, lest, etc.:If he be found guilty, he will be punished.If he be elected chairman, we shall all resign.Though he be reduced to poverty, he will never be dishonest.I shall follow him even though he slay me.Whatever be your reason for that, we shall not tolerate your dishonesty.Whether he confess or not, he shall face the severest punishment.The movie star is wearing sunglasses lest he be recognized.Home is home, be it ever so homely.Immediate actions must be taken if need be.In such contexts, the more usual verb forms are the simple present tense and may/should+infinitive, except for the last two which are formulaic in nature.3.2 Were-subjunctiveThe were-subjunctive is the smallest grammatical category because it has only one form—were. It is used with all subjects regardless of their person distinctions, thus formally contrasting with the indicative forms of be.The subjunctive were is usually found in subordinate clauses expressing hypothesis (in which case was could often be used as an informal alternative if possible):If she were here now, he wouldn't be that rude.If only she were here.If he were to arrive now, he'd still be too late for the interview.He speaks as if he were the boss here.I wish he were here with us.Suppose he were to fail.Note that in more fixed expressions, the were-subjunctive is generally preferred or probably obligatory:If I were you, I wouldn't tell her the news.He is my best friend—my second self, as it were.Also note that were, not was, can be used to introduce a conditional clause with inverted word order:。