放大圖片
■需不需要加by,視乎行動者的身份重不重要,像是在醫院接受治療,行動者是醫生的話,這麼理所當然就不用加by。 資料圖片
在剛過去的周末,批改了過百學生的周記,其中一個學生因忙着照顧生病的媽媽,倍感壓力,文章寫道:My mom is still in the hospital. She is treated for her diabetes by doctors at the moment. I need to look after her every day.(母親仍留在醫院治療糖尿病,我每天都要照顧她。)這名高中男生的孝心實在令我感動,但他所寫的句子卻犯了學生運用不同tenses(時態)的passive voice(被動式)時,最常出現的錯誤。
Doer不重要的話就不用加by
英文的passive voice 是be + past participle(P.P.)再加by,這是每位學生都需要清楚知道的。例如,男生的母親被照顧:The mother is looked after by her son.使用passive voice的其中一個主要目的,是要強調誰是doer(行為者),所以謹記在doer前加by。可是,當doer不再重要時,句子中是不需要出現by的,例如「The window is opened.」我們不需要知道窗子被誰打開了。
文法雖正確 但仍需改正
回看男生的句子,「is treated」用了simple present tense(現在式)。雖然被治療是事實,但用present continuous tense(現在進行式)「is being treated」表達正在被治癒會更合適。另外,by doctors 無疑文法正確,可是在醫院治療病人的能不是醫生嗎?如果doer是已知的事實,就不用再強調by who了。改正後應是:She is being treated for her diabetes (at the moment).
很多學生使用passive voice 時,很自然地只寫 simple present tense / simple past tense,忽略了到底哪個tense最能表達心中的意思。所以,下次再用passive voice時,留意一下tenses的轉換,才能意切辭盡。
以下是不同時態的被動式,可作參考:
Passive
Simple present is/am/are + past participle
Simple past was/were + past participle
Present continuous is/am/are + being + past participle
Past continuous was/were + being + past participle
Future (will) will + be + past participle
Future (be going to) is/am/are going to + be + past participle
Present perfect have/has + been + past participle
Past perfect had + been + past participle
Exercises
Choose the correct answers.
1. All meetings _____ yesterday because of the black storm signal. (are cancelled / were cancelled)
2. I stay in a hotel now because my house _____. (is redecorated / is being redecorated)
3. "Your work must __________________ by 4pm.", said Jason. (was done / be done)
4. The marathon of 2015 ____________________ next month. (will be held / is held)
5. John ______________ his favourite novel when I called him. (was read/ was reading)
Answers:
1. Were cancelled
2. Is being redecorated
3. Be done
4. Will be held / is held (both acceptable)
5. Was reading
■程韻
作者簡介:英國文學碩士,在男校任教英語的女教師,愛好文學和動物。
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