I don't know whether "unquestioned" is what Rodriguez means to say. When
you think of that word, it is certainly odd in that sentence (at least
to me).
I think he means
"The information gathered from a book was never questioned."
And THAT would be a passive.
To say that something is 'unquestioned' strikes me as possibly an
informal use of language (as is Nicholas Sparks's use of past tense).
We can say that something, e.g. authority, is unquestionable, but what
does it mean to say that it is unquestioned? What would the difference
be between 'unquestioned' and 'unquestionable'? The only answer that
seems sensible to me is that 'unquestioned' is an informal way of saying
'never questioned.'
Linda
________________________________________
Linda Di Desidero, Ph.D.
Director, Communication Studies & Professional Writing
University of Maryland University College
School of Undergraduate Studies
3501 University Boulevard East
Adelphi, MD 20783-8083
http://www.umuc.edu/departments/comm/comm_studies/index.shtml
(240) 684-2830 (Department)
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-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 6:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Pullum on Strunk and White and a question about a passive
Deffinitely not passive. Note the lack of an active transformation:
*We unquestioned the information gathered from a book.
But I can see why some people would leap to the conclusion that it's a
passive construction. Substitute "questioned," and you have a regular
passive.
On 05/09/10 15:10, Edgar Schuster wrote:
> I enjoyed Pullman's article very much and thought it was on the money.
> White himself admitted that he did not know much about his subject
> matter. In 1957, he wrote, "I felt uneasy at posing as an expert on
> rhetoric, when the truth is I write by ear, always with difficulty and
> seldom with any exact notion of what is taking place under the hood."
> On another matter, would readers please tell me whether they would
> consider the following sentence passive:
>
> The information gathered from a book was unquestioned.
>
> The sentence comes from Richard Rodriguez. He is talking about his
> early reading experiences in elementary school.
> Thanks,
>
> Ed S
>
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