Chapter LV: Voice

=218.= When we say, “The fish swallowed the worm,” we have a sentence made up of a subject, a verb, and an object complement. The subject names the doer of the action, while the object names the receiver of the action. The verb _swallowed_ could have nothing for subject but some word that indicates the doer of the action. How is it with the verbs _broke_, _struck_, _whittled_? A verb that requires for its subject the name of the doer of an action is said to be in the =active voice=.

=219.= When we say, “The worm was swallowed by the fish,” we have a sentence made up of a subject, a verb, and a prepositional phrase. The subject names the receiver of the action, and the phrase tells by whom the action was performed. The verb _was swallowed_ could have nothing for subject but some word that indicates the receiver of the action. How is it with the verbs _was swept_, _has been eaten_, _will be cut_? A verb that requires for its subject the name of the receiver of the action is said to be in the =passive voice=.

=220.= When a verb is changed from the active to the passive voice, the object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. Hence it is evident that only transitive verbs can have the passive voice.

=221.= A verb is conjugated in the passive voice by adding the past participle of the verb to the conjugation of the verb _be_.

=222.= Conjugation of the verb _see_ in the passive voice:—

INDICATIVE MODE

PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE

I am seen we are seen I was seen we were seen
thou art seen you are seen thou wast seen you were seen
he is seen they are seen he was seen they were seen

FUTURE TENSE

I shall be seen we shall be seen
thou wilt be seen you will be seen
he will be seen they will be seen

PRESENT PERFECT

I have been seen we have been seen
thou hast been seen you have been seen
he has been seen they have been seen

PAST PERFECT

I had been seen we had been seen
thou hadst been seen you had been seen
he had been seen they had been seen

FUTURE PERFECT

I shall have been seen we shall have been seen
thou wilt have been seen you will have been seen
he will have been seen they will have been seen

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE

PRESENT PAST

I be seen we be seen I were seen we were seen
thou be seen you be seen thou were seen you were seen
he be seen they be seen he were seen they were seen

PRESENT PERFECT

I have been seen we have been seen
thou have been seen you have been seen
he have been seen they have been seen

PAST PERFECT

I had been seen we had been seen
thou had been seen you had been seen
he had been seen they had been seen

IMPERATIVE MODE

be seen (_you_ or _thou_) be seen (_you_ or _ye_)

=223.= Conjugation of the verb _see_ in the passive voice, indicative mode, interrogative form:—

INDICATIVE MODE

PRESENT PAST

am I seen are we seen was I seen were we seen
art thou seen are you seen wast thou seen were you seen
is he seen are they seen was he seen were they seen

FUTURE

shall I be seen shall we be seen
shalt thou be seen shall you be seen
will he be seen will they be seen

PRESENT PERFECT

have I been seen have we been seen
hast thou been seen have you been seen
has he been seen have they been seen

PAST PERFECT

had I been seen had we been seen
hadst thou been seen had you been seen
had he been seen had they been seen

FUTURE PERFECT

shall I have been seen shall we have been seen
shalt thou have been seen shall you have been seen
will he have been seen will they have been seen

=Summary.=—=Voice= is that property of a verb which shows whether the subject names the doer or the receiver of an action.

The =active voice= shows that the subject names the doer of an action.

The =passive voice= shows that the subject names the receiver of an action.

A verb is conjugated in the passive voice by adding the past participle of the verb to the conjugation of the verb _be_.

No intransitive verb has a passive voice.

=Exercise 1.=—Conjugate the verbs _draw_, _take_, _find_, _forget_, and _leave_ in the passive voice, both declaratively and interrogatively.

=Exercise 2.=—Select the verbs in the following sentences. Tell whether they are transitive or intransitive. Give the tense, mode, voice, and subject of each. Change the active verbs to the passive voice and the passive to the active.

NOTE.—When the verb is passive, the name of the doer of the
action is often omitted. Sometimes we do not know who the doer
is; as, “The art of printing was invented in China long ago.”
Sometimes we do not wish to tell who the doer is; as, “A window
was broken in the basement yesterday.” Sometimes the subject is
so obvious as not to be worth telling; as, “Lying is despised.”
In changing sentences like these three to the active voice, we
must supply a subject for the verb. For instance, in changing
the sentence, “The pie was cut into four pieces,” we might say,
“Mother cut the pie into four pieces.”

1. The babe was conveyed to the church in a grand procession.
The road, all the way, was carpeted with green rushes. Over
this road the little infant Elizabeth was borne by one of her
godmothers. She was wrapped in a mantle of purple velvet, with
a long train. This train was trimmed with ermine, a very costly
kind of fur, and was borne by lords and ladies of high rank.
These dignitaries were appointed for the purpose by the king.

2. The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of
the base.

3. Leicester Hospital supports twelve old soldiers and their
wives.

4. After the housework had been done, they went out to the
sunny garden, and picked the luscious red raspberries, not
forgetful of the time when Mrs. Howe had set out the bushes
with her own hands.

5. Many of these splendid castles on the Rhine have been
destroyed in modern times.

6. It is wonderful and beautiful how a man and his dog will
stick to one another through thick and thin.

7. The door had been very firmly fastened, but the crowd tore
it away bodily, and the light of the torches streamed into the
room.

8. This garden is shaded by long lines of trees, and adorned
with fountains and statues.

9.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.

10. Elephants are very strictly preserved by the English
government.

11. The farm boy picks up the potatoes after they have been
dug; he drives the cows night and morning; he brings wood and
water and splits kindling; he gets up the horse and puts out
the horse; whether he is in the house or out of it, there is
always something for him to do.

12.

They who do their souls no wrong,
But keep at eve the faith of morn,
Shall daily hear the angel song,
“To-day the Prince of Peace is born.”

13. Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years.

14. The Peterkins told how their mother had put salt in the
coffee, and how the chemist had made it worse instead of better.

15. We climbed the Alps, veiled our faces before the awful
splendors of Mont Blanc, trembled on the verge of dizzy
heights, shrank back from fathomless abysses, picked our way
across the _Mer de Glace_, and cowered beneath the weight of
the whole incumbent mass of mountains as we went through the
tunnel.

Tell the part of speech and use of _way_, sentence 1, _forgetful_ 4, _one another_ 6, _open_ 9, _up_ 9, _souls_ 12, _years_ 13, _worse_ 14.