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■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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