Can someone explain why this sentence is considered passive voice. Also convert it to active voice. "The recruits are tested and qualified for the finals".
-
1@Yogi The first verb is easy, the second ..... could be ambiguous - what's the context? Of course, the second verb could just be a verbal adjective: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attributive_verb - these can be confusing to non-native speakers.– Jiminy Cricket.Dec 10, 2018 at 6:38
-
Hi Yogi, you may not be aware that our other site English Language Learners is the best place to look for answers on English questions that a fluent speaker would find trivial. If you have a question for ELL, be sure to read their guidance on what you can ask. :-)– Chappo Hasn't Forgotten MonicaDec 10, 2018 at 6:58
-
The -ed forms could be treated as adjectives unless the was the object (for the finals) in the sentence.– user307254Dec 10, 2018 at 7:45
2 Answers
There is Passive Voice in this sentence because: 1. The predicate of the sentence is in the Present Simple Passive (to be + Participle II). 2. The subject of the sentence is the logical object (the recruits). 3. The sentence can be reconstructed into the Active Voice (with the subject naming the performers of testing and qualifying): They (i.e., the recruiters) test and qualify the recruits for the finals.
Here is the parsing:
"The recruits are tested and qualified (by someone) for the finals"
Subject: The recruits (direct object in active voice)
Verb1: tested (test+ed)
Verb2: qualified (qualify+ed)
Tense: Simple Present Tense/Present Simple in passive voice.
Make it active:
"Someone (the recruiter) tests and qualifies the recruits for the finals"
or
"They(the recruiters) test and qualify the recruits for the finals"
A sentence can be considered a passive voice when the subject is the one who receives the action/bearing the burden of the verb, usually a transitive verb. Cited from Cambridge:
In the passive, the person or thing that the action was done to becomes the topic or theme. We can leave out the ‘doer’ or agent, or we can place the ‘doer’ in a prepositional phrase (by + ‘doer’):