Passive Sentences
Passive voice verbs are used in writing much more often than in speech, and they are used in some types of writing much more often than in others. Passives are used more in journalism (newspapers, magazines) than in fiction (novels, stories), but most journalists and fiction writers use far more active than passive sentences. However, passives are very common in all types of scientific and technical writing. Scientific articles often contain more passive than active sentences. You should not use passive voice verbs unless you have a good reason.
1. The object of the active verb is the subject of the passive verb (“English” in the example sentences below). Therefore, verbs which cannot be followed by objects (intransitive verbs) cannot be used in passive voice.
These are some common intransitive verbs: appear, arrive, come, cry, die, go, happen, occur, rain, sleep, stay, walk. These verbs cannot be used in passive voice.
2. The passive verb always contains a form of the auxiliary verb be. The form of be in the passive verb phrase corresponds to the form of the main verb in the active verb phrase (see the underlined words in the example sentences below). That is, if the active main verb is simple present tense, then a simple present tense form of be is used in the passive verb phrase; if the active main verb is -ING, then the -ING form of be is used in the passive verb phrase; and so on.
3. The main verb in a passive predicate verb phrase is always the participle form of the verb.
4. Some examples of active and passive sentences:
ACTIVE: They speak English.
PASSIVE: English is spoken.
ACTIVE: They spoke English.
PASSIVE: English was spoken.
ACTIVE: They will speak English.
PASSIVE: English will be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are going to speak English.
PASSIVE: English is going to be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are speaking English.
PASSIVE: English is being spoken.
ACTIVE: They were speaking English.
PASSIVE: English was being spoken.
ACTIVE: They have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English has been spoken.
ACTIVE: They had spoken English.
PASSIVE: English had been spoken.
ACTIVE: They will have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English will have been spoken.
5. Perfect progressive verb forms are generally used in active voice only. That is, these are good English sentences:
ACTIVE: They have been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They had been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They will have been speaking English.
But sentences like these are rarely used:
PASSIVE: English has been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English had been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English will have been being spoken.
1. An agent is the subject of the active verb. In the example sentences above, the agent is “they” in all the active sentences; the passive sentences do not contain an agent.
2. When a passive sentence contains an agent, it is in a prepositional phrase following the verb. For example:
English is spoken by them.
In the following sentences, the noun “teachers” is the agent in both sentences. “Teachers” is also the subject of the active verb, but “exams” is the subject of the passive verb.
ACTIVE: Teachers prepare exams.
PASSIVE: Exams are prepared by teachers.
Here are some good reasons for using passive voice:
1. Passive voice is often used when the agent (the doer of an action; the subject of an active verb) is obvious, unknown, or unnecessary:
Oranges are grown in California.
Toyotas are made in Japan.
Her purse was stolen.
2. Passive voice is often used when the agent is known, but the speaker/writer doesn’t want to mention it:
She was given bad advice.
A mistake has been made.
3. Passive voice is often used when the agent is very general such as people or somebody.
English is spoken here.
The door should be locked.
4. Passive voice is often used when the speaker/writer wants to emphasize a result:
Several thousand people were killed by the earthquake.
5. Passive voice is often used when the speaker/writer wants to keep the same subject for two or more verbs but this would not be possible if both verbs were the same voice (active or passive).
For example, in a conversation about George, a speaker would probably use sentence a below rather than sentence b (both sentences are correct).
a. George had several interviews before he was hired by a software company.
b. George had several interviews before a software company hired him.
Conditional Sentences
Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, sering kita berandai-andai. Misalnya, seandainya (jika) kamu mau jadi pacar saya, saya akan buat kamu orang paling bahagia di dunia. Seandainya saya kaya, saya akan bangun hotel bintang 5 di pantai Kuta. Seandainya saya punya sayap, saya akan terbang petikkan bintang untukmu. Dan seterusnya. Kalimat-kalimat seperti ini disebut kalimat pengandaian atau dalam bahasa Inggris disebut conditional sentences.Dalam bahasa Inggris, conditional sentences pada umumnya memiliki ciri-ciri sebagai berikut:
a. digunakannya kata if dalam anak kalimat (subordinate clause). Karena clause ini diawali oleh if maka disebut if clause.
b. digunakannya modal auxiliary, seperti will, can, may, must, would, could, might, etc. pada pokok kalimat (main clause).
Conditional sentences dikelompokkan menjadi 2 tipe, yaitu: real conditional dan unreal/contrary to fact. Tulisan ini khusus membahas real conditionals, sedangkan untuk unreal conditional dapat dibaca di topik Conditional sentences (Part 2).
Real conditionals (factual / habitual / hypothetical / future possible)
Kalimat pengandaian tipe ini digunakan untuk mengekpresikan situasi atau aktivitas yang biasanya terjadi atau akan terjadi jika situasi pada if clause terpenuhi. Dengan kata lain, apa yang diandaikan itu memiliki peluang untuk terjadi atau menjadi kenyataan.Sebagai contoh, ketika seorang teman mengajak saya, apakah malam ini saya mau nonton atau tidak, saya mungkin katakan:
If I have the time, I will go. (Jika saya punya waktu, saya akan pergi).
Kalimat ini secara implisit juga berarti,If I don’t have the time, I will not go. (Jika saya tidak punya waktu, saya tidak akan pergi).
Penggunaan real conditionals
Kalimat pengandaian tipe ini dapat digunakan untuk menyatakan:a. Future time
| If + S + present tense, S + | will | + Verb1 |
| can | ||
| may | ||
| must |
Contoh:
If I have the money, I will give it to you. (Jika saya punya uangnya, saya akan memberikannya kepada kamu).
If you keep driving on this speed, we may arrive at home before 10 p.m. (Jika kamu terus nyetir mobil pada kecepatan ini, kita mungkin tiba di rumah sebelum jam 10 malam).
I can pass this subject if I study hard. (Saya dapat lulus mata kuliah ini, jika saya belajar giat).
You must bring an umbrella if I you don’t want to get wet. (Kamu harus membawa payung, jika kamu tidak ingin basah (kehujanan).
b. Habitual (kebiasaan/habit)
| If + S + verb1, S + verb1 |
Contoh:
If Budi has enough time, he usually walks to campus. (Jika Budi punya cukup waktu, dia biasanya jalan kaki ke kampus).
I usually watch football on TV every Saturday night if I do not fall asleep. (Saya biasanya nonton sepakbola di TV tiap Sabtu malam jika saya tidak tertidur).
If he has money, he always treats us. (Jika dia punya uang, dia selalu mentraktir kita).
c. Command (perintah)
| If + S + verb1, S + verb1 |
If you finish with your work, please help me. (Jika kamu selesai dengan pekerjaanmu, tolong bantu saya).
Please give me a cigarette if you don’t mind. (Tolong beri saya sepuntung rokok, jika kamu tidak keberatan).
If you have time, please meet me in my office. (Jika kamu punya waktu, tolong temui saya di kantor saya).
