一、 “我是谁”——概念

　　语态和时态一样,也是动词的一种形式,表示主语与谓语之间的关系。英语中有两种语态:主动语态与被动语态。主动语态表示主语是谓语动作的执行者或发出者;被动语态表示主语是谓语动作的承受者,或动作涉及到的对象。如:

　　We read English every morning.

　　English is read by us every morning.

　　二、 “我长啥样”——形式

　　被动语态由助动词be+过去分词构成。助动词be 随着主语的人称、数、时态和语气的不同而变化。具体见下表(以动词write为例)。

　　举例如下:

　　1. Hesuipian, or the “New Year film” was invented to relax us with exciting movies.

　　2. A new sports center will be built in Nanjing in preparation for the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

　　3. I’m now in my sister’s house, because my own house is being painted.

　　4. The tickets for the opening ceremony of Shanghai World Expo will have been sold out by the end of April.

　　三、 “我何时出现”——使用场合

　　被动语态的使用往往不是随意的,而是要根据表达的需要。通常在下列情况下使用被动语态:

　　1. 不知道或不必说出动作的执行者

　　(1) The Da Vinci Code(《达•芬奇密码》) has been translated into many languages.

　　(2) A new subway will be built in this city to connect the old ones.

　　2. 动作的对象是谈话的中心

　　(1) The 3D science fiction film AVANTAR(《阿凡达》) was directed by James Cameron.

　　(2) Such songs are usually sung by girls, not by boys.

　　3. 修辞的需要,使句子更加简练、匀称

　　This book will be especially liked by those who have learned only a little English and are eager to improve it.

　　4. 在文章标题、广告、规章制度或新闻中

　　(1) Teachers wanted!

　　(2) All the workers are required to wear helmets on the construction site.

　　Tips:因科技文章中往往强调对客观事物的描述而较少涉及到动作的执行者,故被动语态的使用是科技文的一大特点,同学们可以去留心一下此类文章。

　　四、 “我的用途”——使用中需注意的问题

　　1. 被动语态的主语,作为动作的承受者,是由主动语态的宾语转化而来的。而不及物动词不可跟宾语,因此没有被动语态,但加上介词或副词构成的短语动词除外。

　　最常见的有:appear, rise, happen, occur, die, lie,词组如break out, take place, belong to, consist of, agree with 等。如:

　　(1) Due to the heavy rain, water level in many rivers rose. 而不能说成was risen。

　　(2) Great changes have taken place in China. 而不能说成have been taken place。

　　(3) The team consists of three experts. 而不能说成is consisted of,但可以用is made up of。

　　2. 有些动词虽是及物的但由于表示的是状态或情况,通常不用被动语态。常见的此类动词有:have(有),last(持续),own(占有),fail(失败),cost(花费),hold(容纳)等。如:

　　(1) The film lasted for three hours.

　　(2) He failed in his second attempt again.

　　3. 有少数短语动词如:be taken in(上当,受骗),be supposed to (应该,被指望),be intended for (旨在),通常只用被动语态。如:

　　The book is intended for teenagers like you and you are supposed to read it carefully.

　　4. (1) 能够带双宾语的动词如 give, show, pass, present, offer等的被动语态有两种形式。如:

　　I was given an expensive present on my birthday.

　　An expensive present was given to me by him on my birthday.

　　(2) 能够带宾语补足语的动词的被动语态

　　They elected him monitor of our class.

　　He was elected monitor of our class.

　　但如果主动语态中的宾补是省略了to的动词不定式,此时主动语态中的动词主要是感官动词(hear,see, watch, observe, feel等)和使役动词(make,let, have等),则变成被动语态时要把to加上。

　　如:We heard him sing the song yesterday. 改成被动语态则变成:

　　He was heard to sing the song yesterday.

　　5. 带有宾语从句的句子转化成被动语态时,需要将宾语从句变成主语从句。通常,用it作形式主语,而将主语从句后置。如:

　　They said that the price of petrol would go up at the end of the year.

　　It was said that the price of petrol would go up at the end of the year.

　　6. 一些动词的主动语态通常有两种被动语态形式,此类动词有:say, report, consider, believe, suppose等。

　　(1) 宾语从句作主语,用it做形式主语(如上述 5);

　　(2) 用宾语从句中的主语作主语,上句还可改成:

　　The price of petrol was said to go up at the end of the year.

 

7. 一般情况下,被动语态的助动词是be,但英语口语中也常用get和become来代替be动词。

　　如get married, get hurt, get dressed, get caught, get stuck, get lost, become known等。其中get更强调结果,而become则强调过程。

　　8. 主动形式表达被动意义的情况:

　　(1) 转化为系动词的感官动词+表语(名词或形容词),此类动词有:feel, sound, smell, taste, look, prove等。如:

　　Good medicine tastes bitter. (良药苦口)

　　This idea sounds good.

　　(2) 由少数及物动词转化成的不及物动词+副词,如:read, write, sell, dry, wash, open, shut, catch(勾住)等。

　　The pen doesn’t write well.

　　The cloth dries easily.

　　The door opens with difficulty.

　　(3) want, need, require, worth等词后面可以用动名词的主动形式表达被动意义。

　　The question needs considering.

　　That place is worth visiting.

　　(4) 某些作表语的形容词后用不定式的主动形式表示被动意义。

　　The fish is not fit to eat.

　　His father is hard to please.

　　The passage is difficult to read.

　　1. —What about taking Subway 3?It would be much nearer to our destination.

　　 —Yes, but it .

　　A. is repairing

　　B. is being repaired

　　C. has been repaired

　　D. is repaired

　　2. At the end of the G8 Summit, it was announced that an agreement .

　　A. has been reached

　　B. has reached

　　C. had been reached

　　D. had reached

　　3. No decision about any future arrangements for the job until all the staff have been interviewed.

　　A. will be made

　　B. is made

　　C. is being made

　　D. had been made

　　4. Can’t you keep silent for a while?The weather reportand I want to listen.

　　A. is broadcast

　　B. is being broadcast

　　C. has been broadcast

　　D. had been broadcast

　　5. It is oftenthat human beings are naturally equipped to speak.

　　A. believing

　　B. to believe

　　C. believed

　　D. being believed

　　6. —Some westerners were always doubting China’s ability of holding the Olympic Games.

　　 —Yes, but the Beijing Olympic Games

　　 a great success.

　　A. kept

　　B. was kept

　　C. proved

　　D. was proved

　　7. The temperature will fall sharply the day after tomorrow, when a snowstormto hit our area.

　　A. expects

　　B. has expected

　　C. is expected

　　D. will be expected

　　8. —Listen, Lily is playing the piano!

　　 —Wow, how sweet the music !

　　A. is heard B. hears

　　C. is sounding D. sounds