Karl (and others): Does labeling a verb as being in the active voice imply that it is transitive, and therefore can be put in the passive voice? That is, you can't put a non-accusative verb in the passive voice (e.g. "The plan landed"); so can such a verb be properly said to be in the active voice? Or am I not understanding the notion of "voice" correctly? Seth Katz *Dr. Seth Katz* *Associate **Professor* *Associate Chair* *Department of English* *Bradley University* *Peoria, IL 61625* *Executive Director / Faculty Advisor* *Bradley University Hillel* On Wed, Mar 11, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Karl Hagen <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > The stative/dynamic distinction is semantic (an expression of > aspectuality), and I take passive voice to be primarily a syntactic > construction. > > Although it's true that adjectival passives will always have a stative > interpretation, and that ambiguities such as B typically turn on whether > we understand the situation as stative or dynamic, it's also the case that > some passive-voice constructions can be stative (e.g, "She is loved by > everyone.") > > For your example, I take this to be an instance of a so-called > unaccusative verb, along the lines of: > > The pilot landed the plane. / The plane landed. > The wind opened the door. / The door opened. > The sun dried up the fields. / The fields dried up. > > So I take your example to be active voice. In other words, the mere fact > that the semantic role of the subject is something other than > agent/instrument isn't sufficient to call something passive. > > > On Mar 11, 2015, at 10:09 AM, Hancock, Craig G <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > > Karl, > > Where would "stative" fit in? > > And how do we deal with something like "The fields dried up in the > sun?" > > > > Craig > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto: > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Karl Hagen > > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:15 PM > > To: [log in to unmask] > > Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19) > > > > It depends on whether you regard voice to be a property of the verb or a > structural pattern of a clause. The former is the assumption, implicit or > otherwise, in most traditional grammar books. In the 19th century, > intransitive verbs were often said to be in the "middle" voice to account > for this gap. On the other hand, much work in modern linguistics takes the > second analysis to be more accurate. As a type of clause, there's no real > problem. You simply say that the active-voice pattern is the unmarked > default, and hence applies to anything that is not passive voice. > > > > > >> On Mar 11, 2015, at 8:37 AM, Beth Young <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> > >> Interesting! Passive voice is something that only transitive verbs can > have, but I've never considered active voice to be limited to transitive > verbs. I've always considered all verbs that are conjugated with the > formula "Tense + Modal (have + -en) (be + -ing) Main Verb" to be active > voice, and verbs conjugated with the formula "Tense + Modal (have + -en) > (be + -ing) + be + -en + Main Verb" to be passive voice. Otherwise, > wouldn't many verbs have no voice at all? Maybe that doesn't matter. > >> > >> Hats off to any 8th grade teachers who wade into this question with > >> their students. :) > >> > >> Beth > >> > >> Dr. Beth Rapp Young > >> Associate Professor, English > >> [log in to unmask] > >> > >> University of Central Florida > >> "Reach for the Stars" > >> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar > >> [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Don Stewart > >> [[log in to unmask]] > >> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 11:05 AM > >> To: [log in to unmask] > >> Subject: Re: ATEG Digest - 9 Mar 2015 to 10 Mar 2015 (#2015-19) > >> > >> Beth, > >> > >> If you consider "surprised" to be adjectival, then doesn't that make > "was" a linking verb? In that case, there is no action verb, and thus no > active voice. > >> > >> Don ​ Stewart​ > >> writingwhatever.com > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select > "Join or leave the list" > >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this > >> LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave > the list" > >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: > > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > > and select "Join or leave the list" > > > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web > interface at: > > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > > and select "Join or leave the list" > > > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/