Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 08:31 am
Hi English teachers,
Please teach me passive by telling me whether my sentences below are acceptable.😒Thank you in advance.
1)The door was knocked by a postman.
2)Babies should be looked after pleasantly by their parents.
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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 1,249 • Replies: 7
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tsarstepan
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 08:35 am
@Loh Jane,
Loh Jane wrote:

1)The door was knocked by a postman.

This sentence should read as:
The door was knocked on by a postman.


roger
 
  2  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 12:31 pm
@tsarstepan,
It is also passive.
0 Replies
 
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 02:08 pm
Quote:
Babies should be looked after pleasantly by their parents


If you changed this to:

Babies should be looked pleasantly after by their parents.

You could have a split infinitive too.

They must be passive sentences because they make my skin itch. That's how I usually tell.
maxdancona
 
  2  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 02:17 pm
@hingehead,
Many grammarians think the rule against splitting infinitives is nonsense. The only reason it is frowned upon is that you can't do it in Latin (which is a pretty stupid reason). You should feel free to proudly split infinitives when the opportunity arises.

I would never use the word "pleasantly" that way. It think this is a word choice problem rather than a grammar problem.

"Babies should be carefully looked after by their parents." This sounds a lot better to my ears.

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Loh Jane
 
  1  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 04:16 pm
This link says 'knock' is an Intransitive Verb. http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passive1d.html
I cannot understand.
hingehead
 
  2  
Reply Wed 8 May, 2013 05:13 pm
@Loh Jane,
Hi Jane

Knock has lots of meanings and submeanings. You can certainly 'knock a door' - but it isn't the same as 'knock on a door' in normal usage.
'Knocking on a door' is the act of hitting it to make a noise to attract the attention of someone on the other side of it.
'Knocking a door' could mean bumping into it accidentally while carrying something through it or past it - or (more idiomatically) making disparaging remarks about the door.

Someone would understand what you meant but it would sound a little funny to most native English speakers.

Sorry English is such a stupid language. (That's me knocking English)
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JTT
 
  2  
Reply Mon 20 May, 2013 05:53 pm
@tsarstepan,
Quote:
This sentence should read as:
The door was knocked on by a postman.


The likelihood of it ever being a real English sentence in use is small indeed.
0 Replies
 
 

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