Non Passives
The following sentences indicate a common error among non-native speakers of English.
X Jackson was arrived at 10:00 yesterday.
X My dog was died last week.
X What was happened?
X Dudley was slept at a hotel last night.
When using the simple past tense, only one verb is needed. The correct sentences are:
Jackson arrived at 10:00 yesterday.
My dog died last week.
What happened?
Dudley slept at a hotel last night.
Sometimes students confuse the simple past tense with the passive. Notice the difference in the following sentences.
| Tamara ate a sandwich at noon.
A sandwich was eaten by Tamara. Tamara ate yesterday. Yesterday was eaten by Tamara. |
Simple past tense
Passive past tense Okay Not Okay |
(Yesterday is not an object. Thus, the passive is not possible here.)
Some verbs in English are in-transitive. That is, they do not take objects. These verbs cannot be used in the passive voice.
| Alexander wrote a letter.
A letter was written by Alexander. The news surprised Karen. Karen was surprised (by the news). My dog died last week. X My dog was died last week. Monica swims every day. Monica is swum every day. |
Transitive verb and object
Passive voice okay Transitive verb and object Passive voice okay In-transitive verb (no object) Incorrect! Passive not okay In-transitive verb (no object) Incorrect! Passive not okay |
*Some verbs can be either transitive or in-transitive depending on the situation.
| Jim walked to school this morning.
Jim walked the dog this morning. The dog was walked (by Jim). |
In-transitive (no object)
Transitive (passive possible) |
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