Active Vs. Passive

Session 8 主动与 被动

Active vs. Passive They arrived at the summit on the fifth day.  The fifth day saw them at the summit.  (Halliday) 

 A behavioral pattern vs. A psychological pattern 

What people have done to the world vs. What the world reflects of people’s behaviour

Active vs. Passive  

一进房间他就闻到了一股浓烈的花香。 一进房间一股浓烈的花香扑鼻而来。

 Psychological

process of apperception vs. The role of the real world on apperception

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice 

Voice enables us to look at actions in a sentence from two perspectives, without any change to the fact.  (Quirk)

eg. The butler murdered the master. The master was murdered by the butler.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice 

Passive ≠ the opposite of Active  (J. Vendryes)

∴ Active voice emphasizes the action itself. Passive voice emphasizes the condition after the action is taken.

Active Voice vs. Passive Voice  eg.

My brother broke the teapot.  (active, dynamic)  The teapot was broken by my brother.  (passive, condition of the teapot)  The teapot was broken.  (passive, condition)  The teapot is broken.  (passive, stative)

English vs. Chinese           

English: 1) more variations of verb forms 2) clear division between man and nature 3) distinction between being subjective and objective 4) no strong need to emphasize ‘doer’ Chinese: 1) few variations of verb forms 2) unity of man and nature 3) no clear distinction between being subjective and objective 4) always emphasizes ‘doer’

Examples Analysis: 1. 我生于北京，在广州参加工作。  I was born in Beijing, and joined the workforce in Guangzhou.  I was born in Beijing, and got employed in Guangzhou. 

2. 老虎被 他们打死了。  老虎被打死了。  老虎打死了。 

Passive Voice: A Closer Look  1.

Syntactic Passive:  passive voice in the form and structure as being ‘passive’  2. Notional Passive  passive voice not in the form and structure as being ‘passive’, but offering a passive notion  (Jesperson)

Syntactic Passive     

 

1. 施动者方面的原因 1 ）说不清施动者 eg. Tom was killed in World War 2. 2 ）不必说出施动者 eg. China fought against Russia in the women’s volleyball match and Russia was beaten. 3 ）不愿意说出施动者 eg. Some rude comments on the plan were made at the board meeting.

Syntactic Passive  2.

受动者方面的原因  1 ）心理上的原因  eg. Madame Currie will long be remembered as the discoverer of radium.  2 ）信息结构上的原因  eg. Unfortunately, this message was not put across by the speaker.

Syntactic Passive  3.

修辞的需要  subject, cohesion, etc.  4.

文体的需要  science, journalism, business, etc.

Notional Passive        

1. 由及物动词或系动词构成的谓语表示事物特 征。 eg. The new book reads well. The dish smells wonderful. The rice is cooking. The suggestion needs further consideration. 2. 由系动词 + 介宾短语构成系表结构表示事物 状态。 eg. The railway is under construction.

Translating Active Voice into Passive Voice (C – E)  1.

无主句  10% -- 40% Chinese sentences are without a subject.  eg. 装配和调试的时候应该把所有零件 清洗干净。  When being assembled and adjusted, all parts should be cleaned.

Translating Active Voice into Passive Voice (C – E)    

2. 泛指人称句 Sometimes Chinese sentences take a generic person as the subject. eg. 众所周知，改革开放二十年来经济发展 取得了显著的成绩。 It is well known that marked success has been attained in economic development since China implemented the policy of reform and opening-up some 25 years ago.

Translating Active Voice into Passive Voice (C – E)       

3. 话题评说句 eg. 这个问题我们正在研究。 This problem is being considered (by us). eg. 这些工作中遇到的困难应当给予高度重视。 Great attention should be given to the difficulties in the work. eg. 长江上已经建起了上百座大桥。 Over 100 bridges have been built across the Yangtze River.

Translating Active Voice into Passive Voice (C – E)  4.

“ 由”字句  eg. 这个任务由小刘完成。  This task will be completed by Xiao Liu.  eg. 所有被邀请出席会议的国家都由政 府首脑代表。  All the countries that are invited to attend the meeting will be represented by the heads of their governments.

Translating Active Voice into Passive Voice (C – E)  5.    

“ 把”字句 eg. 你把她吓得哭了起来。 She was scared to tears (by you). eg. 把我冷得直哆嗦。 I was made shivering by the cold air.

Examples Analysis  我们两国人民贸易的交往可以追溯 到很

久以前。  Trade contacts between our two peoples can be traced back to long time ago.

Examples Analysis  团结统一，深深地印在 中国人的民族意

识中。  Solidarity and unity have been inscribed in the hearts of the Chinese people as part of their national identity.

Examples Analysis  在美国的对华政策上，现在显然经济利

益放在 比较重要的位置上。  In terms of the China policy of the US, obviously economic interest is now placed on a more important position.

Examples Analysis  品牌名称是能看得见

、能说出来 、能写 出来的，而品牌标识是只能看得见 而不 能说出来 的。  A brand name can be seen, spoken out and written out, whereas a brand logo can only be seen instead of being spoken out.

Examples Analysis  秦朝的时候，修建 了交通要道，统一 了

文字和货币，并且把长城连接 了起来。  During the Qin Dynasty, a road system was developed, writing and coinage were standardized and the Great Walls were joined into one.

Examples Analysis  对发展中国家提供 经济援助，应当严格

遵守受援国的主权，不附带任何政治、 经济条件。  Economic assistance to the developing countries should be granted in strict observance of the sovereignty of the recipient countries with no political or economic conditions attached.

Examples Analysis  这两份文件都是花了大工夫

的，我看都

是比较成熟的。  Much effort has been put into the drafting and in my opinion, both documents are well thought out.  Both documents have been drafted with great efforts and seem quite well-done.

Translating Passive Voice into Active Voice (E – C)  1.

被动句正译（谓词）  2. 还原主语或调整句式  3. 动词译为名词  4. 谓词后由 by 引导的短语转化成由“因为 ”、“由于”等引导的短语或从句

Examples Analysis (It …)  It

is hoped that … 希望…  It is reported that … 据报道…  It is said that … 据说…  It is supposed that … 据推测…  It must be admitted that … 必须承认…  It must be pointed out that … 必须指出…  It will be seen from this that … 由此可见…

Examples Analysis (It …)  It

is asserted that … 有人主张…  It is believed that … 有人认为 / 相信…  It is generally considered that … 大家认为…  It is well known that … 大家知道… （众所周知…） It will be said that … 有人会说… It was told that … 有人曾经说…

Examples Analysis  Implementation

of international human rights standards must be pursued with great efforts.  贯彻人权标准的工作必须大力进行 。

Examples Analysis  In

the past two centuries, China was repeatedly invaded by foreign powers.  在过去的两百年中，中国曾不断遭受 外 国列强侵略 。

Examples Analysis  The

novel of Mr. Ba Jin has been translated into and published in many languages.  巴金先生的小说已经翻译成多种文字出 版。

Examples Analysis 



The opening of China in foreign trade, investment and technology will transform her economy very soon. These forecasts have been received with mixed feelings by Southeast Asian countries. 中国在对外贸易、引进外资和技术方面实行的 开放政策，不久就会使它的经济改观。面对这 一预测，东南 亚国家 的心 情是复 杂的 。

Examples Analysis I

believe that our differences are greatly overshadowed by issues which bind us and strengthen our relationship.  我认为，同那些把我们联结在一起并使 我们之间关系更加紧密的问题相比，我 们之间的分歧也 就算不了什 么了 。

Examples Analysis  If

religious leadership assumes a stronger and constructive role, then positive steps could be made in overcoming the tensions among groups of different faiths.  如果宗教领导人能够发挥更强有力的建 设性作用，那么，（我们）应该采取 积 极的步骤来克服不同信仰团体之间的紧 张关系。

Examples Analysis  The

problems of refugees should be dealt with in an integrated manner.  难民问题的处理 应采用综合的方法。

Examples Analysis  The

relationship between the two countries was characterized by mutual understanding.  这两国关系的特点 是相互谅解。

Examples Analysis  Natural

disasters can be defined as great and sudden misfortunes or terrible accidents that can do great harm to human beings.  自然灾害的定义 是，能够给人类带来巨 大伤害的大规模突发灾祸或可怕的事故 。

Examples Analysis  It

is a long way from Beijing to London. The distance has sometimes seemed to be compounded by historical, philosophical and political gaps in our outlooks.  北京和伦敦相距遥远。这个距离有时似 乎更加扩大了，因为历史上、哲学上和 政治上，我们的观点差异甚大。

Examples Analysis  The

processes of economic regionalization and integration have been reinforced by the recent agreement on the establishment of a free trade zone.  经济区域化及一体化的趋势有所加强， 因为最近达成了建立自由贸易区的协定 。

Examples Analysis 



Such a viewpoint, particularly prominent in the developing countries, is reinforced by the widely-held belief that it is not the peaceful application of nuclear that is endangering the survival of mankind. 这种观点在发展中国家中尤为突出，这种观点 的加强是因为 存在着一种普遍持有的看法，即 和平利用核能并没有危及人类的生存。

Examples Analysis  Liberalization

of trade and investment has been influence by the expansion and intensification of regional integration efforts.  由于区域一体化努力的普遍加强，贸易 和投资的自由化已受到了影响。