THE PASSIVE
Example
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The butler murdered the detective.
The detective was murdered by the butler
Passivization
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A: The butler murdered the detective
P: The detective was murdered by the butler
The active subject becomes the passive
agent
The active object becomes the passive
subject
The preposition by is introduced before the
agent
PASSIVE FORMATION
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BE + PAST PARTICIPLE OF THE MAIN
VERB
Passive tenses
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Present: The bill is passed
Past:
The bill was passed
Perfective:
The bill has been passed
Progressive:
The bill is being passed
Modal auxiliaries
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Modal + be + Past Participle
The bill may be passed
Modal + perfective
The bill may have been passed
Exercise
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1. The constable arrested the driver of the
stolen car
Passive: The driver of the stolen car was
arrested by the constable
2. The judge asked the witness to write the
name on a piece of paper.
Passive: The witness was asked by the judge
to write the name on a piece of paper.
Exercise
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3. The company is going to issue a writ to
prevent the trade union from going on strike.
Passive: A writ is going to be issued by the
company to prevent the trade union from
going on strike.
4. He wrote his will in 1990.
Passive: His will was written in 1990.
Exercise
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5. My grandmother left $5.000 to me in her
will.
Passive: I was left $5.000 by my
grandmother in her will.
6. The court granted the company a twoweek stay of execution.
Passive: The company was granted a twoweek stay of exection by the court.
Exercise
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7. They should call in detectives to help in
the murder hunt.
Passive: Detectives should be called in to
help in the murder hunt.
8. They left the wounded man lying on the
road.
Passive: The wounded man was left lying on
the road.
Exercise
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We consider crime as an offence against
community, punishable by the state
We may classify crimes in various ways.
We may divide them into two main groups:
i… offences and s…. offences.
Before Criminal Law Act 1967 they divided
indictable offences into three categories:
Exercise
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The Act abolished the distinction.
A judge may sentence a person to
imprisonment.
Anybody may make an arrest without warrant
The prosecution must prove beyond
reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty.
(It…)
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They presume the accused to be innocent until
proved to be guilty (The accused…)
They may exempt a person from criminal liability
It might reduce the charge of murder to one of
manslaughter.
They may punish incitement, assisting offenders,
concealing offences, or giving false information
according to special rules of law.
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The change provoked plenty of hostility.
They would consider her now to be suffering from
diminished responsibility.
They have taught us to recognize the shades of
grey, rather than to see things in black and white.
A doctor has killed an incurably ill patient by an
overdose of drugs
They kept him alive on a respirator.
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We must punish a man who has committed a
murder.
They should conduct research into criminal
personality and the causes of crime.
We hand only the sanest criminals.
We should take measures to reduce the murder rate.
They will admit that its only merit is that of
vengeance.
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We may define marriage as the voluntary
union for life of one man and one woman to
the exclusion of all others.
English law recognizes judicial divorce
Law regards marriage as binding for life.
The Family Reform Act has lowered the age
of majority to eighteen.
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If they perform the ceremony, it is not valid.
They need not give consent in any particular
form.
If we comply with the rules relating to affinity
and age, the marriage will not be void.
Mental incapacity negates consent.
The Mental Health Act swept away all
classification of the mentally ill.
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Contracting parties do not determine the
rules governing marriage
They would only grant the divorce to the
“innocent” party
Many regard marriage as an attempt at
finding a life-partner
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They have granted probate of the Will to Mr.
A. R.Brown
The Will entitles you to a legacy
Pecuniary legatees will share the estate
They will sell the remainder of the assets
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Every state commits acts of selfishness
Foreign offices treat questions of
international law as legal questions
They have violated no rule.
They perceive the Court to have pursued a
vigorous policy of integration
We should avoid any simple theory or
explanation of its role.
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They may call the Court to adjudicate matters
of constitutional significance
Agreement may confer upon it other kinds of
jurisdiction
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We define a contract as “a legally binding
agreement”
The state does not punish torts
One person ownes such a business
Partners share profits and losses
Only a government grant can create a
corporation.
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We can obtain a remedy in two ways