Beyond the clause Flashcards
What does the passive voice do?
switches the agent and the patient -> object becomes subject
He signed the contract. (active, canonical word order).
The contract was signed (by him): passive voice, marked word order
Why do we use the passive?
- focus on the patient of the action
- to adopt an impersonal style
- to structure information (End focus, topic comment)
Where and when do we use the passive?
in all types of speech and writing, most frequently in newspaper articles & academic writing
What are the types of passive?
- ‘long’/ ‘short’ passive
- verbal (‘be’) passive
- adjectival passive
- prepositional passive
- get-passive
- mediopassive
What is the difference between the ‘long’ and the ‘short’ passive?
- In the ‘long’ passive the agent is included (end-focus)
- In the ‘short’ passive the agent is omitted because either unknown or not important
Her wallet was stolen by a thief. -> long passive
Her wallet was stolen. -> short passive
What is the difference between verbal and adjectival passive?
- Verbal (‘be’) passive: dynamic meaning, emphasis on action, agent is often included
- Adjectival passive: stative meaning, past participle acts like an adjective, agent is often omitted
The clothes were washed by John. -> verbal passive
The clothes were already washed. -> adjectival passive
What happens in the prepositional passive?
- Complement of the PP becomes the subject
- Preposition goes after the verb
Someone broke into Megan’s house. -> active
Megan’s house was broken into. -> prepositional passive
What happens in the get-passive?
- we use get instead of be to form a passive construction
- rather used in spoken discourse (informal)
- emphasis on the subject’s increased responsibility
The tenant got evicted (get-passive) The tenant was evicted. (adj. pass)
The tenant got evicted. -> implies that the tenant did something that led to the eviction
What happens in the mediopassive?
transitive verb is used in intransitive way (no object) -> looks like active voice
often in sentences that rate/judge something, contains transitive verb
This essay can be read well. -> active
This essay reads well. -> mediopassive
What is the principle of End-focus?
known information comes first, new information is put at the end (=given before new)
makes decoding information easier
This is my dog Henry. He is a Poodle.
What does the positioning of adjuncts in the relation to end-focus do?
they express subtle differences in meaning
Yesterday I passed my driving test. -> focus on test
I passed my driving test yesterday. -> focus on yesterday
What is the light-subject constraint?
principle that we put long and complex (heavy) constituents towards the end of a sentence -> we avoid long subjects
It was a pleasure that you came over for dinner and drinks.
What is the principle of topic comment?
we state the topic first before presenting more detailed information
Normal People was written by Sally Rooney. -> text about Normal People, Sally is comment
Sally Rooney wrote Normal People. -> text about Sally, comment about Normal People
What’s the ‘existential there’ and what is it for?
- part of information packaging
- there -> dummy subject
- be -> copulative verb
- introducing new info (in stories, jokes, academic writing)
Marked: There is a new restaurant in the city center.
Unmarked: A new restaurant is in the city center.
What is the ‘indirect object shift’ and what is it used for?
- part of information packaging
- indirect object -> shift it to the end
- preposition -> creates a PP
- used to emphasize info at end of sentence (end-focus)
Marked: Romeo gave the rose to Juliet.
Unmarked: Romeo gave Juliet the rose.
What is the ‘it-extraposition’ and what is it used for?
- part of information packaging
- it -> dummy subject + copulative verb
- used for light subject-constraint, often with specific types of clauses
Marked: It is great to see you.
Unmarked: To see you is great.
What is ‘Raising’ and what is it used for?
- part of information packaging
- variation of extraposition: with expressions of ease/difficulty & certainty, verb agrees with new subject
- Use: end-weight
Marked: It is easy to recognize our horses.
Unmarked: Our horses are easy to recognize.
What is the ‘Extraposition of NP (discontinous NP) and what is it used for?
- part of information packaging
- variation of extraposition: NP is split up -> post-head dependents are moved to the right
- Use: light-subject constraint
Marked: The time had come to work on her new book on the theory of relativity.
Unmarked: The time to work on her new book on the theory of relativity had finally come.
What is ‘Inversion’ and what is it used for?
- part of information packaging
- to change word order by swapping specific arguments
- two types: subject-verb inversion and subject-auxiliary inversion
- Use: for emphasis
Marked: On this table sits my hamster.
Unmarked: My hamster sits on this table.
What are the two types of Inversion + an example?
- Subject-verb inversion: reported speech, adjuncts of place
- Subject-auxiliary inversion: negative/restrictive adjuncts
Subject-verb inversion: ‘Help me!’ said the boy.
Subject-auxiliary inversion: Never before have I told a white lie.
What is the ‘Subject-complement switch’ and what is it for?
- part of information packaging
- swapping subject with SC
- Use: given-before-new, theme-rheme
is not inversion (bc it doesnt move SC)!
Marked: My favorite Oscar-awarded actor is Leo.
Unmarked: Leo is my favorite Oscar-awarded actor.
What are the three focus strategies?
- Cleft-constructions
- Fronting (topicalisation)
- Left-/Right-dislocation
What are the ‘Cleft-constructions’ and what are they used for?
- part of focus strategies
- parts a sentence into two clauses
- types: it-cleft, wh-cleft (pseudo-cleft), reversed wh-cleft
- Use: to emphasize a constituent, to create cohesion
Marked: It was the exam that they passed. -> it-cleft
Marked: What they passed was the exam. (wh-cleft, pseudo-cleft)
Marked: The exam is what they passed. (reversed wh-cleft)
Unmarked: They passed their exam.
What is ‘Fronting/Topicalisation’ and what is it for?
- part of focus strategies
- moving one constituent to beginning of sentence
- word order stays same -> constituent is ‘fronted’ + becomes topic of sentence
- Use: emphasizing a constituent, topic-comment
Marked: Generous they are.
Unmarked: They are generous.
What is ‘Left-/Right-dislocation’ and what is it used for?
- part of focus strategies
- moving a consituent to the right/left + putting a pronoun at its original position
- Use: to emphasize a constituent, theme-rheme
Marked: My unicorn, it is in the garden.
Marked: It is in the garden, my unicorn.
Unmarked: My unicorn is in the garden.
