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How to say "Be quiet.", which is a command, in passive voice?

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My friend, who is a kindergarten teacher, would say, "Let's be quiet." That doesn't answer your grammar question, but it is a less-commanding, less-bossy way of saying the same thing, which is probably what you're truly after. – JLG Oct 7 '12 at 14:45
How about "It would be wonderful if quietness was observed, now."? – LordScree Oct 7 '12 at 15:29
Better if it were were observed now I wit. – Bill Franke Oct 7 '12 at 16:22
Is there a stylistic need for a this or is it just out of curiosity? – Mitch Oct 8 '12 at 2:59
@JLG I can’t agree. Using the first person plural sounds incredibly patronising. In fact, it’s often used precisely to express a patronising tone in writing (the typical nurse talks like this to her elderly patient: “Are we hungry? Let’s have a bite …”). – Konrad Rudolph Oct 8 '12 at 9:09
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6 Answers

up vote 21 down vote accepted

Only transitive verbs can form passive constructions and be is not a transitive verb.

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1  
+1 How a simple point count have been missed! – Kris Oct 7 '12 at 14:23
up vote 8 down vote

Quiet is a predicate adjective, and almost all predicate adjectives are intransitive. Passive can only apply to a transitive predicate.

Be is an auxiliary verb, required to hold the tense for the predicate adjective; no auxiliary verb ever governs Passive. Indeed, the Passive construction uses be itself.

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up vote 2 down vote

It seems like "Silence would be appreciated." captures the meaning without being a command.

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up vote 1 down vote

"Let yourself be quieted" is a command in passive voice. While grammatically correct, it is also extremely convoluted, and sounds awkward.

"Let yourself be quietened" would be another British English variant, but no less awkward.

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'Quieten'? This is less than rare, it is unheard of in American English. – Mitch Oct 8 '12 at 2:58
@Mitch I've updated the answer to offer the American version, and more importantly to offer a command that actually uses the passive voice. – Ergwun Oct 8 '12 at 13:17
up vote 0 down vote

Try this:

The unruly class was quieted down by the teacher sharply whacking her yardstick on her desk.

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up vote -1 down vote

[Deleted answer was essentially this: Imperatives are by their very nature active and cannot be expressed in the passive. I don't remember what else I said. Not important enough, I'm sure.]

[EDIT-n: I was wrong. It's possible to turn an active imperative into a passive. I deleted the wrong answer and offer a new answer]

"Let there be quiet (from you)!"

is a passive construction. While it conforms to the rule of how to turn an active command into a passive command, it's hardly the same thing. However, that's the grammar.

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And yet several languages (e.g. Latin, Ancient Greek) have a passive imperative. – itsbruce Oct 7 '12 at 11:23
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"Let the door be shut" is not in the passive voice. It's the (active) jussive subjuntive. – itsbruce Oct 7 '12 at 11:41
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Hardly an authoritative source. – itsbruce Oct 7 '12 at 11:53
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For the reason I gave in my answer, I don't see how Let there be quiet can be passive. In Let the door be shut, let is a causative verb followed by the passive verb be shut. The active form would be Let the door shut. There is no subjunctive in either. – Barrie England Oct 7 '12 at 11:58
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If only you could be quiet. – Paul S. Oct 7 '12 at 15:28
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