by R. S. Karunaratne

Active and passive voice

[Part 2]

Sometimes a passive sentence may not contain an agent. When there is no agent, we do not know who or what did the action.

Mary’s annexe was sold yesterday.

This housing complex is well guarded .
The results of the examination were announced on the radio.
Many artefacts were recovered during the excavation.
The play was written to depict the country’s history.
When the agent is unimportant, we can leave it out in the passive sentence.
The tourists were warned about the pickpockets in the area.
We were told that elephants had eaten the crops.
The highway was opened to traffic free of charge for one day.
The politician was questioned as to how he amassed so much of wealth.
A suitcase has been left behind in the waiting room.
The applicants will be interviewed at 9 a.m.
When the agent is obvious, we leave it out in the passive sentence.
The accused was fined Rs. 5,000.
The suspects were arrested in a pre-dawn raid.
The students who came late were not allowed to sit the examination.
All the main roads were closed because of the floods.
The witness was questioned as to how he saw the suspect in a dark room.
When we describe a scientific experiment or a process we leave out the agent in the passive voice.
Penicillin is used to kill bacteria.
The cans of fish were sent on a conveyor belt.
The stamps are sealed before delivery.
The crude oil is pumped direct to the refinery.
New drugs are being tested to prolong human life.

[Activity]

Underline the correct verbs in the following sentences. Check your answers with the key.

1. The building destroyed / was destroyed by the floods.
2. I surprised / was surprised by the news.
3. The situation was described / described to me in great detail.
4. The whole programme was given / given over to a report from Jaffna.
5. The problem of finding drinking water for the village mentioned / was mentioned at the committee meeting.

6. The theft was reported / reported to the police.
7. The new game will be demonstrated / demonstrated to the students.
8. Drinks were offered / offered to the visitors.
9. The procedure was explained / explained to the new recruits.
10. The car was sold / sold to Nithin.

Key:

1. was destroyed 2. was surprised 3. was described 4. was given 5. was mentioned 6. was reported 7. will be demonstrated 8. were offered 9. was explained 10. was sold

Current English usage

English is a living and vibrant language. It is subject to change from time to time. Here are some words currently in use.

1. affront / effrontery:

‘Affront’ is ‘an insult’. The politician regarded the journalist’s comments as an affront to his dignity. ‘Effrontery’ means ‘barefaced insolence.’ The effrontery of the performers was an insult to those who were present.

2. Afrikaans / Afrikaners:

‘Afrikaans’ is the language of South Africa. The people living there are known as ‘Afrikaners.’

3. Aggravate / Exasperate:

‘Aggravate’ is ‘to make a bad situation worse.’ Attempts to limit parking space in the city have further aggravated the traffic congestion. ‘Exasperate’ means ‘to make somebody very annoyed.’ The bus commuters are becoming exasperated with the ongoing strike.

4. Ago / before / back:

‘Ago’ means ‘back in the past.’ The dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago. ‘Before’ means ‘in the past.’ The witness said that he had never seen the accused before. ‘Back’ means ‘towards an earlier time.’ The last time I saw her was back in 1978.

5. Agree with / agree to / agree on:

We usually agree with a person but agree to a proposition. We agree on a deal.

6. Aids / HIV:

Aids or AIDS is the acronym for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is not a disease but a medical condition. HIV is Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is also not a disease. Those who are HIV positive may suffer and die of Aids-related diseases.

7. Akimbo:

If your arms are akimbo, they are bent at the elbows. Then you will have your hands on your hips. Marlon stood, arms akimbo, threatening everybody in the class.

8. Alibi / excuse:

‘Alibi’ is ‘proof that somebody who is thought to have committed a crime could not have done it because he was in another place at the time it happened.

According to some dictionaries, ‘alibi’ has the meaning of ‘excuse’. However, some grammarians want us to ignore such dictionaries that suggest ‘excuse’ as an informal meaning of ‘alibi.’

9. Elementary / elemental:

‘Elementary’ means ‘basic’. Some teachers do not have even an elementary knowledge of phonetics.

‘Elemental’ means ‘showing the strong power of nature.’ Life is an elemental essence.

10. Allege:

‘Allege’ means ‘to state that somebody has done something illegal without giving proof.’ The suspect alleged that the police forced him to make a false confession.

Personal pronouns as subjects and objects

When we refer to people, we use personal pronouns such as ‘I, we, you, he, she, they’ as subjects of a sentence.

I like to play volleyball.
We like to play cricket.
You like to eat ice-cream.

He likes to sing.
She likes to play the violin.
They like to visit ruined cities.

When we refer to people, we use personal pronouns such as ‘me, us, you, him, her, them’ as objects of a sentence.

The teacher likes me .
Our parents love us .
Xavier likes you .
I never liked him .
We always respected her .
Do you know them .
We also use ‘me, us, you, him, her, them’ after prepositions.
This parcel is for me .
What have you brought for us ?
I’ll send a letter to you when I reach Kandy.
Can I talk to him now?
Why are you looking at her ?
I want to go with them .
When we refer to things, we use ‘it’ and ‘they’ as subjects.
I’m reading the book. I can’t give it to you.
We love these books. We can’t lend them to anyone.
Norma never drinks coffee. She doesn’t like it .
We never go to see films. We don’t like them .

[Activity ]

Complete the following sentences with ‘I, me, we, us, he, him, she, her, they, them’ where necessary. Check your answers with the key.

1. ........ want to see the principal. I have to make a complaint.
2. I don’t know these people. Do you know ..................?
3. They want to help ........... but we don’t want to help .......... .
4. She doesn’t know ............. I joined this class only yesterday.
5. These are fresh apples. Do ............. want to eat ..............?
6. Those bananas are bad. Don’t eat .............. .
7. The principal wants our names. Please give .......... to ..................
8. We want to dance. Do ........... have any objections?
9. Shyama wants the notebook. Please give ............. to .............
10. I don’t like dogs. I’m afraid of ................

Key:

1. I 2. them 3. us, them 4. me 5. you, them 6. them 7. them, him 8. you 9. it, her 10. them

Fun with proverbs

A proverb contains the concentrated folk wisdom. Proverbs can be used in speech and writing to express yourself convincingly.

Here’s a quiz on popular proverbs. Try to match the parts of the proverbs in column ‘A’ and ‘B’. Check your answers with the key.

[Column A ]

1. It is no use ...
2. Manners ...
3. Necessity is ...
4. Necessity knows ...
5. Do not cut off your nose ...
6. A bad penny ...
7. Practice makes ...
8. Pride goes ...
9. Do not rob Peter ...
10. Little pitchers ...
11. The pot calls ...
12. Prevention is ...
13. Penny wise ...
14. Rome was not ...
15. When rogues fall out ...
16. When in Rome ...
17. He is rich ...
18. It never rains ...
19. A stitch in time ...
20. It is the calm ...

[Column B ]

A. always turns up.
B. before a fall.
C. crying over spilt milk.
D. before the storm.
E. saves nine.
F. but it pours.
G. that has few wants.
H. have big ears.
I. do as the Romans do.
J. better than cure.
K. the kettle black.
L. honest men come by their own.
M. maketh man.
N. no law.
O. pound foolish.
P. perfect.
Q. built in a day.
R. to pay Paul.
S. to spite your face.
T. the mother of invention.

Key:

1. C 2. M 3. T 4. N 5. S 6. A 7. P 8. B 9. R 10. H 11. K 12. J 13. O 14. Q 15. L 16. I 17. G 18. F 19. E 20. D

Match the synonyms

Synonyms are words having similar meanings. Match the words in column ‘A’ with the synonyms in column ‘B’. Check your answers with the key.

[Column A ]

1. beginner
2. behaviour
3. belief
4. bellow
5. belly
6. belongings
7. beloved
8. below
9. beverage
10. bewilder
11. bias
12. bid
13. bill
14. binding
15. bitter
16. bizarre
17. black
18. blackmail
19. bland
20. blanket
21. blast
22. blatant
23. blaze
24. bleak
25. blend

[Column B ]

A. stomach
B. confound
C. conduct
D. dear
E. attempt
F. beak
G. explosion
H. compulsory
I. burn
J. drink
K. dark
L. cover
M. prejudice
N. dull
O. obvious
P. possessions
Q. strange
R. resentful
S. shout
T. trust
U. under
V. threat
W. dismal
X. mix
Y. novice

Key:

1. Y 2. C 3. T 4. S 5. A 6. P 7. D 8. U 9. J 10. B 11. M 12. E 13. F 14. H 15. R 16. Q 17. K 18. V 19. N 20. L 21. G 22. O 23. I 24. W 25. X