He hates to be criticized

Uses of the passive

We can use the passive (-ing form only) after conjunctions such as

on and after [> 1.62.2, 8.4.4]: On/After being informed that her mother was seriously ill she hurried back to England (i.e. When she was informed...) 9 Active verbs with a passive meaning

A few active verbs sometimes have a passive meaning: This

surface cleans easily really means 'It can be/It is cleaned easily':

These clothes wash well This wine is selling quickly

What's showing at the cinema this week?

Her novel is reprinting already

10 Verbs generally used in the passive A small number of verbs are used more frequently in the passive than in the active: e.g. be born, be married, be obliged I'm not obliged to work overtime if I don t want to

11 Adverbs of manner in passive sentences [> 7.53] Adverbs of manner can occur before or after the participle: This room has been badly painted/painted badly

12 The passive and reflexive verbs English often uses the passive where other European languages use reflexive verbs: burn myself, hurt myself, etc. [> 4.25, 4.27]: / was hurt in a car crash last summer Jim was in a fight and his shirt was torn in the struggle We do not normally use the passive when responding spontaneously: What's the matter? - I've burnt/cut/hurt, etc. myself.

13 We often use abbreviated passive constructions when expressing:

- wishes: I'd like it (to be) fried/cleaned/repaired, etc.

- preferences: / like it (when it is) fried/boiled etc.

Uses of the passive

Uses of the passive

Spontaneous and deliberate use of the passive

In fluent English, passives occur naturally and spontaneously, without a conscious change from 'active' to 'passive'. In fact, active equivalents would be hard to produce for sentences like: The origin of the universe will probably never be explained Rome was not built in a day

The passive is sometimes deliberately chosen in preference to the active, especially when speakers do not wish to commit themselves to actions, opinions, or statements of fact of which they are not completely certain:

This matter will be dealt with as soon as possible Thousands of books are published every year and very few of them are noticed Even those that are reviewed in the papers rarely reach large audiences