Una Granja para el Futuro from Horatiux on Vimeo.
Our friend Mª Jesús (5A) shared this nice video. Hope you enjoy it.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Happy Saint Patrick's!
SOURCE: http://online-english-lessons.eu/wordpress/2011/03/st-patricks-day/
St Patrick's Day is on March 17th and it is the national day of Ireland. It is a secular celebration, and an important religious festival. It is holy day of obligations for Roman Catholics in Ireland, as well as a religious celebration for the Anglican Church of Ireland.
St Patrick's Day has been an official public holiday since 1903.
St Patrick
St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He lived from approximately 387 – 460AD.
It is said he was born in Wales to a wealthy family, but he was kidnapped by Irish raiders as a teenager and held as a slave in Ireland for six years. He worked as a shepherd for those six years and during that time his faith as a Christian became very important to him.
St Patrick escaped his life of slavery by stowing away on a boat to Britain. He dreamt that he should return to Ireland as a missionary and preach Christianity so he studied to be a priest.
According to legend, St Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland but it is interpreted metaphorically as leading pagan traditions out of Ireland.
He is buried at Down Cathedral, County Down, Ireland and many people across the world make the pilgrimage to his grave.
St Patrick's Day celebrations
Many people wear green and in some cities the rivers and streams are dyed green. Some pubs even serve green beer!
The "wearing of the green" means wearing a shamrock. The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland and St Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans in Ireland.
St Patrick's Festival
The first St Patrick's Festival was held on the 17th March 1996. Every year, Irish culture is showcased with parades, music, film, poetry, fireworks, treasure hunts and other special events.
Irish Language
Irish and English are both official languages in Ireland.
Irish is an official language of the European Union.
The Irish Republic is officially bilingual, and English and Irish appear widely on signs, public buildings, and official forms and documents
galore – plenty, a lot. From go leor, Irish for plenty.
phoney – (from fáinne, ring) meaning 'fake'. The term originated from Irish immigrants in the US and referred to fake gold rings illegally marketed there.
shenanigans – deception or trickery
Tory - (from tóraí) outlaw, robber
(check more terms on the above link).
acting the maggot - in a mischeivous mood, trying to get others to laugh at you
crack – fun
the life of Reilly – having a very good time, often while others are not
fellas – men
wans – women
mot or ol'doll – girlfriend
a fine half – a good looking person of the opposite sex
deadly – really good
very tired - banjaxed
(check more terms on the above link).
MOLLY MALONE SONG
"Molly Malone" (also known as "Cockles and Mussels" or "In Dublin's Fair City") (Irish: Mol Ní Mhaoileoin) is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City.
The Molly Malone statue in Grafton Street was unveiled by then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alderman Ben Briscoe during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, declaring June 13 as Molly Malone Day.
The song tells the fictional tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. The name "Molly" originated as a familiar version of the names Mary and Margaret. While many such "Molly" Malones were born in Dublin over the centuries, no evidence connects any of them to the events in the song. Nevertheless, in 1988 the Dublin Millennium Commission endorsed claims concerning a Molly Malone who died on 13 June 1699, and proclaimed 13 June to be "Molly Malone day".
LYRICS
In Dublin's fair city, Alive, alive o!
Where the Girls are so pretty, Alive, alive o!
I first set my eyes, Crying cockles and mussels,
On sweet Molly Malone, Alive, alive o!
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow, She died of a fever
Crying cockles and mussels, And no one could save her,
Alive alive o! And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Alive alive o! Through the streets broad and narrow
Alive alive o! Crying cockles and mussels,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive, alive o!
Alive alive o!She was a fish monger, Happy Saint Patrick’s!
And sure it was no wonder, Let’s celebrate with a cup of GREEN tea! J
For so were her Comments/requests on our blog:
Father and Mother before, http://englishfifthyear.blogspot.com
And they both wheeled their barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
Where the Girls are so pretty, Alive, alive o!
I first set my eyes, Crying cockles and mussels,
On sweet Molly Malone, Alive, alive o!
As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow, She died of a fever
Crying cockles and mussels, And no one could save her,
Alive alive o! And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Alive alive o! Through the streets broad and narrow
Alive alive o! Crying cockles and mussels,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive, alive o!
Alive alive o!She was a fish monger, Happy Saint Patrick’s!
And sure it was no wonder, Let’s celebrate with a cup of GREEN tea! J
For so were her Comments/requests on our blog:
Father and Mother before, http://englishfifthyear.blogspot.com
And they both wheeled their barrow,
Through the streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels, Alive alive o!
ACTIVITIES:
St. Patrick's Day Jeopardy (click here).
"Danny Boy" is one of the most representative songs of Irish culture, a ballad written by Frederic Weatherly and usually set to the tune of the "Londonderry Air”. It is most closely associated with Irish communities.
Background
The lyrics to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit "Londonderry Air" in 1913, when his sister-in-law in America sent him a copy. Ernestine Schumann-Heink made the first recording in 1915. Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who in turn made it one of the most popular songs in the new century.
History
Although penned by Englishman Weatherly, "Danny Boy" is considered to be an unofficial signature song and anthem, particularly by Irish Americans and Irish Canadians.
"Danny Boy" enjoys popularity as a funeral song but, as it is not liturgical, its suitability for funerals is sometimes contested. In 1928, Weatherly suggested that the second verse would provide a fitting requiem for the actress Ellen Terry.
Meaning
There are various theories as to the true meaning of "Danny Boy". Some listeners have interpreted the song to be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving as part of the Irish diaspora. The 1918 version of the sheet music included alternative lyrics ("Eily Dear"), with the instructions that "when sung by a man, the words in italic should be used; the song then becomes "Eily Dear", so that "Danny Boy" is only to be sung by a lady". In spite of this, it is unclear whether this was Weatherly's intent, or simply a publisher's note; Weatherly did, however, acknowledge that "Danny Boy" was sung "all over the world by Sinn Feiners and Ulstermen alike", and noted that the song had "nothing of the rebel song in it, and no note of bloodshed".
It is considered by many as the lyrics of the National Anthem of Northern Ireland.
Lyrics
(There are a number of variations on these lyrics.)
“ | Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountainside. The summer's gone, and all the flow'rs are dying. 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer's in the meadow Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow. 'Tis I'll be here, in sunshine or in shadow, Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so. And when ye come, and all the roses falling. If I am dead, as dead I well may be, Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying And kneel and say an "ave" there for me. And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me, And, all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be, For you will bend and tell me that you love me, And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me. Oh, Danny Boy, Oh, Danny Boy, I love you so. | ” |
(Missing third verse, very popular among Irish Diaspora in the north of England at beginning of 20th century) But should I live, and should you die for Ireland, Let not your dying thoughts be all of me; But say a prayer to God for our dear Sireland That He may hear and help to set her free And I shall take your pike and sword, my dearest And strike a blow, though weak that blow may be, To help the Cause to which your heart was nearest And you will sleep in peace until I come to thee."
Check video attached, version by Sinead O’Connor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT7PbQMurAg
LINKS FOR MORE ACTIVITIES:
WEBQUESTS:
http://www.onestopenglish.com/teenagers/topic-based-materials/festivals/festivals-webquests/festival-webquests-st-patricks-day/550903.article
VIDEOS FROM WN.COM
http://wn.com/Saint_Patrick's_Day
St. Patrick's Day Parade, Dublin (YES)
Danny Boy sang by the Muppets
VIDEOS (YouTube)
IRISH PRIDE (IMAGES OF IRELAND, TUNE: ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ozdTZjaZyE&feature=fvwrel
FOLK/ACTIVIST: BRITISH SOLDIERS GOING HOME AT LAST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObbcKbNbhHo&feature=related
TRUE IRISHMAN (COOL IMAGES OF ÉIRE AND ITS CULTURE: MUSIC, LIT. JOYCE N SO ON…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwEgijnc4L8&feature=related
CRY OF THE CELTS (INSTRUMENTAL)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmwTYcDuyks&feature=related
BRITT. POP
JOHN LENNON: LUCK OF THE IRISH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVp7lkH10Gc&feature=related
PAUL MCARTNEY: GIVE IRELAND BACK TO THE IRISH! (ACTIVIST)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaO4XeHhwo8&feature=related
Thanks to all those who made that in-class St. Patrick's day event possible, it was great fun and very enriching! Special thanks to our friends from 5thA Irene and Antonio, wonderful musicians who so generously played beautiful Irish tunes for all of us! And, sure, Patricia (Happy Saint's Day!), Esteban, Ángeles and her sweet American friend, María Jesús, Gelen...all of you! Stella, your cake was delicious and so were your sweets, Mercedes...Sebastian, thanks for the eloquence of your visual joke! YOU GUYS MADE IT POSSIBLE, I AM SO POSITIVELY OVERWHELMED WITH YOUR MOTIVATION.
La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh!
Pics an videos of the event are coming...!.
An Irish blessing to all of you,
Inma.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
International Women's Day
Unintended Beauty, her story…
Sharbat Gula (Pashto: شربت ګله, literally "Flower Sharbat") (pronounced [ˈʃaɾbat]) (born ca. 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the subject of a famous photograph by journalist Steve McCurry. Gula was living as a refugee in
An Afghan (Pashtun) by ethnicity, Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Union's bombing of Afghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. Her village was attacked by Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents—forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in neighboring Pakistan Afghanistan
1984 photograph, “Afghan Girl” 
At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gula's photograph was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image.
Although her name was not known, her picture, titled "Afghan Girl", appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine.
Search for the Afghan Girl
The identity of the Afghan Girl remained unknown for over 17 years; Afghanistan
In January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan
The team finally located Gula, then around the age of 30, in a remote region of Afghanistan
More recent pictures of her were featured as part of a cover story on her life in the April 2002 issue of National Geographic and she was the subject of a television documentary, entitled Search for the Afghan Girl, which aired in March 2002. In recognition of her, National Geographic set up the Afghan Girls Fund, a charitable organization with the goal of educating Afghan girls and young women. In 2008, the scope of the fund was broadened to include boys and the name was changed to Afghan Children's Fund.
The Sharbat Gula Justice Center
Educating and Empowering Women World Wide
Men and women are two wings of the same bird, unless they work in synchronicity the bird can not soar.
Sharbat Gula Justice Center Afghanistan , Iran and Pakistan
Her Life Revealed
Sharbat Gula which means "flower nectar" in Afghanistan
Upon finding her after 17 years, she was asked what she most wanted in her life. What she asked for was not for herself but for her three daughters. Her wish has been the education of her three young daughters. To this end the Sharbat Gula Justice Center was created; to provide the means for the education of girls and women in Afghanistan , Iran and Pakistan
UPON REFLECTION ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, MARCH 8TH:
§ Victimization and Third World : being orphaned, a girl and a refugee.
§ Beauty Standards/Awareness: how do you think Sharbat Gula conceived her own beauty as opposed to the Western standards?
§ Reaching Goals/ Motherhood/ Main Wish: Education for her daughters.
§ Recognition/Achievements/ (Un)intentionally.
Reflect Upon the Following extracts:
When they met again, McCurry told Sharbat her image had become famous as a symbol of the Afghan people. "I don't think she was particularly interested in her personal fame," McCurry said. "But she was pleased when we said she had come to be a symbol of the dignity and resilience of her people."
The award-winning photographer said his original image of Sharbat had seized the imagination of so many people around the world because her face, particularly her eyes, expressed pain and resilience as well as strength and beauty.
When Sharbat agreed to have her picture taken for the second time in her life, she came out from the secrecy of her veil to tell her story. She wanted the people around the world who knew her face to know that she survived the refugee camp in Pakistan
According to Matson and McCurry, Sharbat Gula has returned to anonymity; the latest publicity about her name and face is unlikely to draw attention to her in Afghanistan
"Clearly she has become a symbol that National Geographic has used to illustrate the circumstances of refugees like her, and many people have inquired about her," he said. "She stood for an entire group of refugees, not just Afghan refugees. She has helped us with our mission of educating people about other cultures and regions—and she's helping us again by drawing attention to the lives of Afghan women and girls in general."
Have a nice week you all. A special mention to all women within our group and beyond on this day...Cheers,-Inma.
The award-winning photographer said his original image of Sharbat had seized the imagination of so many people around the world because her face, particularly her eyes, expressed pain and resilience as well as strength and beauty.
According to Matson and McCurry, Sharbat Gula has returned to anonymity; the latest publicity about her name and face is unlikely to draw attention to her in
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Grammar Tip # 4: The Passive Voice
Passive Voice Chart | ||
Verb tenses & aspects | Active voice | Passive voice |
Present simple | John sells cars. | Cars are sold by John. |
Past simple | John sold cars. | Cars were sold by John. |
Present continuous | John is selling cars. | Cars are being sold by John. |
Past continuous | John was selling cars. | Cars were being sold by John. |
Present perfect | John has sold cars. | Cars have been sold by John. |
Past perfect | John had sold cars. | Cars had been sold by John. |
Future simple | John will sell cars. | Cars will be sold by John. |
Conditional | John would sell cars. | Cars would be sold by John. |
Future perfect | John will have sold cars. | Cars will have been sold by John. |
Conditional perfect | John would sell cars. | Cars would have been sold by John. |
Future be going to | John is going to sell cars. | Cars are going to be sold by John. |
Future in the past | John was going to sell cars. | Cars were going to be sold by John. |
YOU WILL FIND ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PASSIVE IN ENGLISH IN THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
- ALL ABOUT PASSIVE. Click here and browse the whole site Highly recommended.
- Tutorial on PASSIVE
- Myths about PASSIVE USE
Reflections Upon English passive voice
The passive voice is a grammatical construction (a "voice") in which the subject of a sentence or clause denotes the recipient of the action rather than the performer. In the English language, the English passive voice is formed with an auxiliary verb (usually be or get) plus a participle (usually the past participle) of a transitive verb.
For example, "Caesar was stabbed by Brutus" uses the passive voice. The subject denotes the individual (Caesar) affected by the action of the verb. The counterpart to this in active voice is, "Brutus stabbed Caesar," in which the subject denotes the doer, or agent, Brutus.
A sentence featuring the passive voice is sometimes called a passive sentence, and a verb phrase in passive voice is sometimes called a passive verb. English differs from languages in which voice is indicated through a simple inflection, since the English passive is periphrastic, composed of an auxiliary verb plus the past participle of the transitive verb.
Use of the English passive varies with writing style and field. Some style sheets discourage use of passive voice, while others encourage it.
Identifying the English passive
In the following excerpt from the 18th-century United States Declaration of Independence (1776), the bold text identifies passive verbs; italicized text identifies the one active verb (hold) and the copulative verb are:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
In this case, the agent ("the Creator") of the passive construction can be identified with a by phrase. When such a phrase is missing, the construction is an agentless passive. For example, "Caesar was stabbed" is a perfectly grammatical full sentence, in a way that "stabbed Caesar" and "Brutus stabbed" are not. Agentless passives are common in scientific writing, where the agent may be irrelevant (e.g. "The mixture was heated to 300°C").
It is not the case, however, that any sentence in which the agent is unmentioned or marginalised is an example of the passive voice. Sentences like "There was a stabbing" or "A stabbing occurred" are not passive. See "Misapplication of the term," below for more discussion of this misconception.
Usage and style
Against the passive voice
Many language critics and language-usage manuals discourage use of the passive voice. This advice is not usually found in older guides, emerging only in the first half of the twentieth century.
The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (1993) stated that:
Active voice makes subjects do something (to something); passive voice permits subjects to have something done to them (by someone or something). Some argue that active voice is more muscular, direct, and succinct, passive voice flabbier, more indirect, and wordier. If you want your words to seem impersonal, indirect, and noncommittal, passive is the choice, but otherwise, active voice is almost invariably likely to prove more effective.
For the passive voice
Passive writing is not necessarily slack and indirect. Many famously vigorous passages use the passive voice, as in these examples:
- Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. (King James Bible, Isaiah 40:4)
- Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York. (Shakespeare's Richard III, I.1, ll. 1–2)
- For of those to whom much is given, much is required. (John F. Kennedy's quotation of Luke 12:48 in his address to the Massachusetts legislature, 9 January 1961.)
- Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. (Winston Churchill addressing the House of Commons, 20 August 1940.)
Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (1994) recommends the passive voice when identifying the object (receiver) of the action is more important than the subject (agent), and when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or not worth mentioning:
- The child was struck by the car.
- The store was robbed last night.
- Plows should not be kept in the garage.
- Kennedy was elected president.
The principal criticism against the passive voice is its potential for evasion of responsibility. This is because a passive clause may omit the agent even where it is important:
- We had hoped to report on this problem, but the data were inadvertently deleted from our files.
However, the passive can also be used to emphasize the agent, and it may be better for that role than the active voice, because the end of a clause is the ideal place to put something you wish to emphasize:
- Don't you see? The patient was murdered by his own doctor!
Similarly, the passive may be useful when modifying the agent, as heavily modified noun phrases also tend to occur last in a clause:
- The breakthrough was achieved by Burlingame and Evans, two researchers in the university's genetic engineering lab.
Passive constructions
In general, the passive voice is used to place focus on the grammatical patient, rather than the agent. This properly occurs when the patient is the topic of the sentence. However, the passive voice can also be used when the focus is on the agent.
Canonical passives
Passive constructions have a range of meanings and uses. The canonical use is to map a clause with a direct object o a corresponding clause where the direct object has become the subject. For example:
- John threw the ball.
Here threw is a transitive verb with John as its subject and the ball as its direct object. If we recast the verb in the passive voice (was thrown), then the ball becomes the subject (it is "promoted" to the subject position) and John disappears:
- The ball was thrown.
The original "demoted" subject can typically be re-inserted using the preposition by.
- The ball was thrown by John.
Promotion of other objects (Double object passive)
One non-canonical use of English's passive is to promote an object other than a direct object. It is usually possible in English to promote indirect objects as well. For example:
- John gave Mary a book. → Mary was given a book.
- John gave Mary a book. → Mary was given a book by John.
In the active form, gave is the verb; John is its subject, Mary its indirect object, and a book its direct object. In the passive forms, the indirect object has been promoted and the direct object has been left in place. (In "A book was given to Mary", the direct object is promoted and the indirect object left in place).
It is also possible, in some cases, to promote the object of a preposition:
- They talked about the problem. → The problem was talked about.
In the passive form here, the preposition is "stranded"; that is, it is not followed by an object.
Promotion of content clauses
It is possible to promote a content clause that serves as a direct object. In this case, however, the clause typically does not change its position in the sentence, and an expletive it takes the normal subject position:
- They say that he left. → It is said that he left
Stative passives
The passives described above are all eventive (or dynamic) passives. Stative (or static, or resultative) passives also exist in English; rather than describing an action, they describe the result of an action. English does not usually distinguish between the two. For example:
- The window was broken.
This sentence has two different meanings, roughly the following:
- [Someone] broke the window.
- The window was not intact.
The former meaning represents the canonical, eventive passive; the latter, the stative passive. (The terms eventive and stative/resultative refer to the tendencies of these forms to describe events and resultant states, respectively. The terms can be misleading, however, as the canonical passive of a stative verb is not a stative passive, even though it describes a state.)
Some verbs do not form stative passives. In some cases, this is because distinct adjectives exist for this purpose, such as with the verb open:
- The door was opened. → [Someone] opened the door.
- The door was open. → The door was in the open state.
Adjectival passives
Adjectival passives are not true passives; they occur when a participial adjective (an adjective derived from a participle) is used predicatively. For example:
- She was relieved to find her car undamaged.
Here, relieved is an ordinary adjective, though it derives from the past participle of relieve, and that past participle may be used in canonical passives:
- He was relieved of duty.
In some cases, the line between an adjectival passive and a stative passive may be unclear.
Passives without active counterparts
In a few cases, passive constructions retain all the sense of the passive voice, but do not have immediate active counterparts. For example:
- He was rumored to be a war veteran. ← *[Someone] rumored him to be a war veteran.
(The asterisk here denotes an ungrammatical construction.) Similarly:
- It was rumored that he was a war veteran. ← *[Someone] rumored that he was a war veteran.
In both of these examples, the active counterpart was once possible, but has fallen out of use.
Double passives
It is possible for a verb in the passive voice—especially an object-raising verb—to take an infinitive complement that is also in the passive voice:
- The project is expected to be completed in the next year.
Commonly, either or both verbs may be moved into the active voice:
- [Someone] expects the project to be completed in the next year.
- [Someone] is expected to complete the project in the next year.
- [Someone] expects [someone] to complete the project in the next year.
In some cases, a similar construction may occur with a verb that is not object-raising in the active voice:
- ?The project will be attempted to be completed in the next year. ← *[Someone] will attempt the project to be completed in the next year. ← [Someone] will attempt to complete the project in the next year.
(The question mark here denotes a questionably-grammatical construction.) In this example, the object of the infinitive has been promoted to the subject of the main verb, and both the infinitive and the main verb have been moved to the passive voice. The American Heritage Book of English Usage declares this unacceptable, but it is nonetheless recommended in a variety of contexts.
Misapplication of the term
Occasionally, writers misapply the term passive voice to sentences that do not identify the actor. For example, this extract from The New Yorker magazine refers to the American embezzler Bernard Madoff; bold text identifies the mis-identified passive voice verbs:
Two sentences later, Madoff said, “When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would end shortly, and I would be able to extricate myself, and my clients, from the scheme.” As he read this, he betrayed no sense of how absurd it was to use the passive voice in regard to his scheme, as if it were a spell of bad weather that had descended on him . . . In most of the rest of the statement, one not only heard the aggrieved passive voice, but felt the hand of a lawyer: “To the best of my recollection, my fraud began in the early nineteen-nineties.”
The intransitive verbs would end and began are in the active voice; however, how the speaker uses the words subtly diverts responsibility from him. In The Elements of Style, Strunk and White mis-apply the passive voice term to several active voice constructions; Prof. Geoffrey Pullum writes:
Of the four pairs of examples offered to show readers what to avoid and how to correct it, a staggering three out of the four are mistaken diagnoses. “At dawn the crowing of a rooster could be heard” is correctly identified as a passive clause, but the other three are all errors:
- “There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground” has no sign of the passive in it anywhere.
- “It was not long before she was very sorry that she had said what she had”, also contains nothing that is even reminiscent of the passive construction.
- “The reason that he left college was that his health became impaired”, is presumably fingered as passive because of impaired, but that’s a mistake. It’s an adjective here.
PLEASE BE PROACTIVE USING PASSIVE. COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND DOUBTS IN CLASS, AS USUSAL. (HERE AS WELL, OF COURSE!)
HAVE A NICE WEEK.
HAVE A NICE WEEK.
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