The full causative system

Causatives express getting things done through others.

@L4.6cmL7.5cm@ Pattern & Meaning and examples
& authority; instruct someone:
& arrange a service: Also suffer:
& persuade, manage to make:
& informal service/completion:
& compel: (passive: )
& allow: (passive: use )
& formal, usually negative outcomes:
& stronger than :

  • \(\to\)

  • \(\to\)

  • \(\to\)

  • \(\to\) (past participle, always)

Middle voice and ergative verbs

Some verbs pair a transitive use with an intransitive one in which the object becomes the subject — no passive morphology needed. These are verbs:

  • Common ergatives: .

The related describes inherent properties, usually with an adverb:

Three ways to background the agent, in increasing formality: ergative (), -passive (), -passive (). The ergative hints that the event happened by itself; the passives imply an agent.

Passives of prepositional and phrasal verbs

The preposition or particle stays with the verb:

Impersonal and reporting passives revisited

Beyond (Chapter [ch:passive]), formal English offers:

  • :

  • Perfect infinitive for anteriority:

  • Progressive infinitive:

  • + infinitive as agentless hedges:

Scientific writing has drifted from toward ; most journals now welcome the first person for what the authors did, keeping the passive for procedures where the agent is irrelevant. Use whichever puts the topic of your paragraph in subject position.

Exercises

Causatives Rewrite using the causative pattern in brackets.

  1. A jeweller is going to engrave the ring for us. (have)

  2. The customs officers compelled him to open his suitcase. (make)

  3. I persuaded my neighbour to water the plants. (get)

  4. Someone stole her credit card details. (have — misfortune)

  5. The new rules permit staff to work remotely. (let)

Ergatives and middles Rewrite without naming any agent, using an ergative or middle construction.

  1. Someone closed the museum at five.

  2. You can wash this jacket in a machine, and it comes out fine.

  3. The publishers sold out the first edition within a week.

  4. Something started the fire in the basement. (use )

Advanced passives Rewrite in the passive, keeping the tense and nuance.

  1. People say that the mayor is considering resignation. (two ways)

  2. Historians believe that invaders destroyed the temple in 900 AD. (subject + passive + perfect infinitive)

  3. Nobody has looked into these allegations.

  4. Everyone looked up to the old professor.