Transcript Eg - Linguistics @ HKU

LING2033 - Presentation
Passive form of English and Chinese
Leung Chi Tung
Cheung Sau King
Passive Form
English
Young, who is fascinated by technology, has started a company
that makes devices for the disabled, as well as high-tech toys.
(Time, , July 3, 1995, p.46)
Chinese
對科技深為著迷的楊格開了一家公司，除了生產高科玩具，也製
造殘造殘障用品。
How to identify if there is passive form or not?

English
1) Verb to be plus past participle
E.g. He was arrested (by the police).
2) Get plus past participle
E.g. Let’s get started.
3) Subject + has/have/had + noun + past participle
E.g. I have my computer repaired.
4) As an adjective
E.g. An authorized person, a broken window
How to identify if there is passive form or not?
Chinese
1) by passive marker
將(jiang)、把(ba)、給(gei)、受(shou)、到(dou)、
被(bei)、教(jiau)、讓(rang)、俾(bei)
E.g. 我被打了。
E.g. 我受到（別人）的攻擊了。
Difference
English
The New Deal welfare safety net installed in the 1930s and
augmented in the Great Society programs of the 1960s has been
hauled off for the kind of drastic restitching that France,
Germany, Italy and Sweden have been laboring over for the
past year or more. (Time, August 12, 1996, p.25)
Chinese
「新政」在一九三零年代安裝社會福利安全網，到了一九六零年代
又因 「大社會」的各項計劃而更形擴大，如今這張安全網已經取
下，準備大肆縫補，就像一年多來法國、德國、義大利與瑞典這
些大國家大費周章所做的修改一樣。
Comparison
1)
2)
3)
4)
Function
Frequency
Sentence structure
Verb used in passive form
Function

1)
2)
3)
English
There is no need to mention
the agent.
We don’t know who the agent
is.
We want to focus on the
action only.

Chinese
1) Negative meaning
has to be expressed
E.g. 我們的話被人家聽到了。
(They want anyone to
hear their conversation)
E.g. 這件事被發現了。
(This event is not
supposed to be
discovered by anyone)
Frequency
English VS Chinese
1)
Participle Clause
Avoid redundancy
E.g. “released early this month, its report conveys guarded optimism.
(Time, October 7, 1996, p.40)”
= Its report was released… Its report conveys
-
2)
Being objective
E.g. Academic writings, proposal, news article
Sentence Structure
English
1) NP + Verb to be + PP + (by agent)
E.g. That computer is repaired by Peter.
2) Agent + have + NP + PP
E.g. Peter has his computer repaired.
3) PP + by agent, Agent + VP
E.g. Asked by his brother, Peter repairs the computer.
Sentence Structure
Chinese
1) By the use of passive marker and particle marker
E.g. 他被欺騙了。
2) Without using passive marker
E.g. 這部電腦修理好了。
3) With the sentence pattern 「這…是…的。」
E.g. 這部電腦是我哥哥修理的。
Verbs used in passive form

Similarity
Intransitive verbs are never used in passive form.
E.g. I sleep.
E.g. 我睡了。
Verbs that represent state also are never used in passive
E.g. I have lots of money.
E.g. 我有很多金錢。
Verbs used in passive form

Difference
In English, lots of verb are often used in passive form
E.g. I am not accustomed to this environment.
E.g. 我不習慣這環境。
In English, some verbs must be used in passive form
E.g. I am a mentally retarded since I was born. (Forrest Gump, 1992, p.1)
E.g. 我一出世的智商就只有七十。
LING2033 - Presentation
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