VERB TO BE
and
The Passive and Progressive
To Be
There is that thing called the Law of Unintended Consequences. For the one or two of you who aren’t acquainted with it, it simply says that the things you wish for have a habit of coming back and kicking you in the butt. So it is with the misguided “experts” who are loudly braying for the abolition of what is arguably the most important verb in the English language – To Be.
First a slight historical detour.
To Be is actually the remnants of six different verbs. The remnants are, am – are – is –was – were. Be and been appear to be the only ones that come from the same root verb. But the rest are obviously from different verbs. For example is can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit while was first appears in Old English.
The only reason these dubious advisors give for abandoning a vital part of the English language is that the verb is “weak.” There is no such thing as a weak verb or weak any part of speech.
Let’s look at how this “weak” verb is used. In the following examples, the verb To Be is in bold. Don’t be fooled by contractions.
1 – His wife was raped last night. Is this a “weak” verb?
2 – We’re having a baby!” (We are)
3 – Looks like it’s going to rain after all. (it is)
4 - They were going down Tenth Street when they were rear ended. Emily’s in bad shape and I think Ken’s dead. Do you see any “weak” verbs here? The verbs are - were and is; (Emily is and Ken is)
5 – Karen’s been my best friend ever since grade school. (has been)
6 – I was trying to fix the toaster when I got a bad electric shock.
7 – They’re the only family around here with a dog. (They are)
8 – “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
9 – I think we’ve been in every state in the nation except maybe one. (have been)
10 – What’s your name? Who are you? (What is)
If a writer adopts the “don’t use the verb To Be” egregious piece of advice in addition to all of the other “don’ts,” he or she will be paralyzed in terms of writing. The following is an example of such advice taken from an online site.
“Instead of writing – He is afraid of snakes, write, He fears snakes.” The only problem is the average person doesn’t speak liked that. A person would more likely say scared. But all of that aside - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? Writers choose their words because it is the way they want to come across. No one should robotize a writer (though it’s being done every day unfortunately).
Another example urges the writer to avoid writing Alligators are mean by writing a 31 word sentence “showing” rather than “telling.” Worse, the 31 words try at being humorous. How logical is it to use 31 words to avoid using one?
More to the point, the writer had no intention of using 31 words to express a simple sentiment nor was it his or her intent to be humorous. You could expect that a writer would add something else to the statement concerning aggressive alligators.
That is the problem with rewriting what someone else wrote. What you write is what you want to write and another person cannot get into your mind and write it for you.
A lot of recent writers have only come to writing later in life. It takes work, dedication and yes, some study. And by study, that does not mean reading Johnny Magic’s book that will do it all for you in one sitting. It means taking time to read good authors past and present and really looking at the language that they use and the effect it has. Most serious writers started in their teens if not before. There is no magic bullet to writing.
The Progressive Voice
The unintended consequence of abolishing the verb To Be is to also abolish the progressive form of verbs. Good luck with that.
To Be is essential in the formation of the progressive form of verbs.
Anytime you use –ing, you are using the progressive form of the verb. The progressive form shows action that is going on. In the following examples the verbs are in bold. Many of the examples that you saw previously were using the progressive form of the verb.
1-He’s falling head over heels in love with her. (is falling)
2-We’re going to Japan and we’ll be flying most of the night. (we are going/we will be flying)
3- Is Amy going to the prom? (Is going)
4-We’ve been cooking since six this morning getting ready for the BBQ. (have been cooking)
5- The government is shutting down the reactors.
6- They’re attacking us in the rear, General! (are attacking)
7- God, we’ve been studying all night for the final. (have been studying)
8- There’s no question she’s goingto win a medal in the tournament (is going)
9- I knew he was going to win.
10- He’s been singing since he was ten. (has been singing)
The Passive Voice
The passive voice is another example of unintended consequences. The passive voice is another no –no of the English language “experts.” The passive is used to sort of hide or distance a person from someone. In the following examples, the verbs are in bold.
Examples:
1- “You were seen coming out of her house well past two in the morning.
Question. Who saw him or her?
2- “You’re to report to Mr. Grouch immediately.
Who said so?
3- “It has been determined that you owe the IRS $17,000 including interest…”
Question. Who determined this?
4- Yes, mistakes were made but not through negligence.
Who made the mistakes?
5- Once I was a very respected business man.
Can you prove it? Respected by whom?
The passive voice also shows that something was done to someone or something. Example, if we say Jim was punched in the face, something was done to Jim. He’s the victim. That’s passive, versus Jim punched him in the face. Jim’s the one doing something. That’s active.
Here is another scenario.
6 - After the volcano blew everything was covered by thick, gray ash. (This is versus – The volcano covered…)
7 – The house you see here was built by my father. (versus – My father built...)
8 - My uncle was killed during the last days of the war. (versus – My uncle killed…)
9 - We were drenched before we even made it to the car. (versus – We drenched…)
10 - Because he wasconvicted of rape, he was banned from the league for life. (versus – He banned….)
The verb To Be and the passive voice and the progressive form of English that uses it are not going away simply because someone decided he or she doesn’t like any of them
Translated that means time alone changes language and that in turn means language is what people make it. People are phasing out whom because it is confusing, not because somebody with a keyboard and computer said so.
and
The Passive and Progressive
To Be
There is that thing called the Law of Unintended Consequences. For the one or two of you who aren’t acquainted with it, it simply says that the things you wish for have a habit of coming back and kicking you in the butt. So it is with the misguided “experts” who are loudly braying for the abolition of what is arguably the most important verb in the English language – To Be.
First a slight historical detour.
To Be is actually the remnants of six different verbs. The remnants are, am – are – is –was – were. Be and been appear to be the only ones that come from the same root verb. But the rest are obviously from different verbs. For example is can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit while was first appears in Old English.
The only reason these dubious advisors give for abandoning a vital part of the English language is that the verb is “weak.” There is no such thing as a weak verb or weak any part of speech.
Let’s look at how this “weak” verb is used. In the following examples, the verb To Be is in bold. Don’t be fooled by contractions.
1 – His wife was raped last night. Is this a “weak” verb?
2 – We’re having a baby!” (We are)
3 – Looks like it’s going to rain after all. (it is)
4 - They were going down Tenth Street when they were rear ended. Emily’s in bad shape and I think Ken’s dead. Do you see any “weak” verbs here? The verbs are - were and is; (Emily is and Ken is)
5 – Karen’s been my best friend ever since grade school. (has been)
6 – I was trying to fix the toaster when I got a bad electric shock.
7 – They’re the only family around here with a dog. (They are)
8 – “To be or not to be, that is the question.”
9 – I think we’ve been in every state in the nation except maybe one. (have been)
10 – What’s your name? Who are you? (What is)
If a writer adopts the “don’t use the verb To Be” egregious piece of advice in addition to all of the other “don’ts,” he or she will be paralyzed in terms of writing. The following is an example of such advice taken from an online site.
“Instead of writing – He is afraid of snakes, write, He fears snakes.” The only problem is the average person doesn’t speak liked that. A person would more likely say scared. But all of that aside - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? Writers choose their words because it is the way they want to come across. No one should robotize a writer (though it’s being done every day unfortunately).
Another example urges the writer to avoid writing Alligators are mean by writing a 31 word sentence “showing” rather than “telling.” Worse, the 31 words try at being humorous. How logical is it to use 31 words to avoid using one?
More to the point, the writer had no intention of using 31 words to express a simple sentiment nor was it his or her intent to be humorous. You could expect that a writer would add something else to the statement concerning aggressive alligators.
That is the problem with rewriting what someone else wrote. What you write is what you want to write and another person cannot get into your mind and write it for you.
A lot of recent writers have only come to writing later in life. It takes work, dedication and yes, some study. And by study, that does not mean reading Johnny Magic’s book that will do it all for you in one sitting. It means taking time to read good authors past and present and really looking at the language that they use and the effect it has. Most serious writers started in their teens if not before. There is no magic bullet to writing.
The Progressive Voice
The unintended consequence of abolishing the verb To Be is to also abolish the progressive form of verbs. Good luck with that.
To Be is essential in the formation of the progressive form of verbs.
Anytime you use –ing, you are using the progressive form of the verb. The progressive form shows action that is going on. In the following examples the verbs are in bold. Many of the examples that you saw previously were using the progressive form of the verb.
1-He’s falling head over heels in love with her. (is falling)
2-We’re going to Japan and we’ll be flying most of the night. (we are going/we will be flying)
3- Is Amy going to the prom? (Is going)
4-We’ve been cooking since six this morning getting ready for the BBQ. (have been cooking)
5- The government is shutting down the reactors.
6- They’re attacking us in the rear, General! (are attacking)
7- God, we’ve been studying all night for the final. (have been studying)
8- There’s no question she’s goingto win a medal in the tournament (is going)
9- I knew he was going to win.
10- He’s been singing since he was ten. (has been singing)
The Passive Voice
The passive voice is another example of unintended consequences. The passive voice is another no –no of the English language “experts.” The passive is used to sort of hide or distance a person from someone. In the following examples, the verbs are in bold.
Examples:
1- “You were seen coming out of her house well past two in the morning.
Question. Who saw him or her?
2- “You’re to report to Mr. Grouch immediately.
Who said so?
3- “It has been determined that you owe the IRS $17,000 including interest…”
Question. Who determined this?
4- Yes, mistakes were made but not through negligence.
Who made the mistakes?
5- Once I was a very respected business man.
Can you prove it? Respected by whom?
The passive voice also shows that something was done to someone or something. Example, if we say Jim was punched in the face, something was done to Jim. He’s the victim. That’s passive, versus Jim punched him in the face. Jim’s the one doing something. That’s active.
Here is another scenario.
6 - After the volcano blew everything was covered by thick, gray ash. (This is versus – The volcano covered…)
7 – The house you see here was built by my father. (versus – My father built...)
8 - My uncle was killed during the last days of the war. (versus – My uncle killed…)
9 - We were drenched before we even made it to the car. (versus – We drenched…)
10 - Because he wasconvicted of rape, he was banned from the league for life. (versus – He banned….)
The verb To Be and the passive voice and the progressive form of English that uses it are not going away simply because someone decided he or she doesn’t like any of them
Translated that means time alone changes language and that in turn means language is what people make it. People are phasing out whom because it is confusing, not because somebody with a keyboard and computer said so.