Lesson 10 (Nov. 17)

Technical Statements inThe Passive Form

1. The Passive and the Infinitive2. Too many passives can be bad

The Passive and the Infinitive

• Examples– Here is a simple statement:

The world population is 6.975 billion.

– Related information can be expressed differently, in passive form:

The world population is reported to be 6.975 billion.

The world population is expected to reach 7 billon.

This is a passive statement because

it has the form: be + past participle.

to + infinitive form of verb:to be

to reach

The Infinitive

• The to-infinitive is also called the full infinitive:

to be, to have, to represent, etc.

• Notice that the verb is in its unmarked form, i.e. not “conjugated”*:– it is not written in any tense;– it is not written in any person (I, you, he/she, it, they).

�⃰ To conjugate a verb is to ensure agreement with the subject and the time.�⃰ Be can be conjugated as: I am, you are, he was, they were, etc.

• Conjugation and the infinitive have no equivalent in Chinese.

The Infinitive

• Usage 1:– As a noun, describing an action in an abstract or

general way:

To err is human.

To err = to make mistakes. The result is an error.

犯錯是人之常情 . 他在判斷中犯錯 .

– In Chinese, verbs are not conjugated (no tense, no person), so we can say that Chinese verbs are always in the infinitive form.

– Hence, in Chinese we do not make a clear distinction between the meanings of the infinitive and other forms of the verb.

Conjugated: He has erred in his judgment.

The Infinitive

• Usage 2:– After a verb, describing a purpose or a goal:

I asked him to leave.我請他離開 .

I waited for him to leave.我等他離開 .

He agrees to go to the lab.他同意去實驗室 .

She promises to finish her work before 6 pm.她答應六點前完成作業 .

– In English, the distinction between the action (asked, agreed, promised) and the purpose (to leave, to go, to finish) is clear.

– In Chinese, no distinction is made between the two verbs.

The Infinitive

• To understand the need for the infinitive, it must be remembered that in English, one simple sentence cannot contain two verbs.

• The following are wrong:

I asked him left. I waited for him leaves. He agrees goes to the lab. She promises finishes her work.

I asked him to leave.

Whether he did leave or not is not implied by the statement.

The actual action carried out is “ask”.

The Infinitive

• Usage 3:– As an adjective or adverb to describe a purpose or

goal:

The voltage to supply must be at least 5 volts.

= The voltage we must supply must be at least 5 volts.

This is the team to beat.

= This is the team we must beat.

The Infinitive

• Usage 4 – in a passive statement:– To describe a purpose:

He was asked to leave.

A screw driver is needed to open the cover.

The oil is allowed to flow through a series of valves.

– To describe a state:

The world population is reported to be 6.975 billion.

The burst speed of these sharks is estimated to exceed 40 kilometers per hour.

I asked him to leave. (active)

I need the screw driver to open the cover. (active)

The pipes allow the oil to flow through a series of valves. (active)

The Passive and the Infinitive

• The verb defines the meaning of the statement:

The world population is reported to be 6.975 billion.

– … be thought to + {infinitive}– … be believed to + {infinitive}– … be said to + {infinitive}

– … be said to + {infinitive}

– … be estimated to + {infinitive}

– … be known to + {infinitive}– … be reported to + {infinitive}

– … be assumed to + {infinitive}

– … be shown to + {infinitive}

Refer to a general notion, idea, or belief that may be unconfirmed.

Refers to an approximate fact or value.

Refer to a confirmed fact.

Refers to an assumption.Refers to a fact that has just been proven.

Refers to a definition.

Workshop 1: Rewrite with the passive and infinitive

– The world population is 6.975 billion.The world population is reported to be 6.975 billion.

• China probably has a population of 1.3 billion.China’s population is estimated to be 1.3 billion.China is believed to have a population of 1.3 billion.

• A body is ‘in equilibrium’ if it remains at rest without the influence of external forces.If a body remains at rest without the influence of external forces, it is said to be ‘in equilibrium’.

• Smoking causes lung cancer (according to scientific data).

• Smoking has been shown to cause lung cancer.

Workshop 1: Rewrite with the passive and infinitive

• The world may have fossil fuel reserves for another 100 years.

• The world is believed to have fossil fuel reserves for another 100 years.

• The world’s fossil fuel reserves is thought to last another 100 years.

• This liquid is surely poisonous.This liquid is known to be poisonous.

• Consider this liquid poisonous unless we are told otherwise.This liquid is assumed to be poisonous.

• People have been saying that the President will step down tomorrow.

• The President is rumored to be stepping down tomorrow.

To many passives can be bad

• The following sentence is hard to read:Students are informed that full reports are required, must be labeled clearly and should be submitted on time.

• Do not get the wrong idea that the passive form must always be used.

• Very often, both the passive and active forms are used together.

• This is clearer:Students are informed that full reports are required, which they should label clearly and submit on time.

Workshop 2: Cross out the wrong choices

Potential energy uses/is used to refer to the energy

which a body contains/is contained because of its

position. For example, a weight hanging above the

ground possesses/is possessed potential energy.

When a body lifts/is lifted, work must do/must be

done. Some of this work wastes/is wasted, but

some of it remains/is remained inside the body as

potential energy. When the body drops/is dropped,

this stored energy sets/is set free and some of it

may use/may be used for doing work. The raised

weight, for example, can use/can be used to run a

clock.