Passives

In the passive derivation a direct object becomes subject of the derived intransitive construction; be is inserted immediately before the head of the VP, and the following head verb is in -en form. Thus, corresponding to Fred stole the Saab, there is The Saab was stolen (by Fred).

An underlying transitive subject may almost always be included in a passive construction, marked by the preposition by. This can indicate the role which was primarily responsible for the activity that has resulted in the state described by the passive verb. In fact, in most styles of English a by phrase is only included in a smallish minority of actual passive clauses.

Not all NPs that directly follow a verb can be passivized (i.e. become a passive subject)—not those in possess an expensive house, resemble a famous film star, or stand fifteen minutes in the rain, for instance. Some NPs that are introduced by a preposition may be passivizable, e.g. This hat has been sat on and Has the new audition tape been listened to yet?