Dalam situasi akademis atau tempat kerja kelak, kita mungkin perlu memberikan presentasi tentang suatu proses atau prosedur secara ilmiah. Misalnya bagaimana melakukan survei atau bagaimana membuat buku. Saat mendeskripsikan suatu proses, kita biasanya fokus pada proses dan hasilnya, bukan pada orang yang melakukannya. Untuk mengungkapkannya, kita menggunakan kalimat pasif atau passive voice.
Penggunaan passive voice juga dapat ditemukan dalam tulisan atau teks laporan ilmiah. Pada latihan soal soal Bahasa Inggris untuk tes masuk perguruan tinggi dan test TOEFL, kita juga banyak menemukan penggunaan passive voice ini.
Ruang lingkup materi teks ilmiah di Madrasah Aliyah meliputi:
PENGERTIAN PASSIVE VOICE
Passive voice merupakan konstruksi gramatikal yang menekankan penerima atau hasil dari suatu tindakan daripada pelaku tindakan tersebut. Dalam kalimat pasif, subjek mengalami tindakan daripada melakukannya. Kalimat pasif dibentuk dengan menggunakan bentuk kata kerja “to be” (seperti is, am, are, was, were) bersama dengan kata kerja utama dalam bentuk past participle.
Berikut adalah pemecahan komponen dalam kalimat pasif:
- Subjek: Entitas yang dipengaruhi oleh tindakan. Subjek ini sering muncul setelah kata kerja “to be” dalam konstruksi pasif.
- Kata Kerja “to be”: Kata kerja ini dikonjugasikan berdasarkan waktu kalimat (misalnya, is, am, are, was, were).
- Past Participle: Kata kerja utama diubah menjadi bentuk past participle. Ini adalah tindakan yang dilakukan pada subjek.
Berikut adalah contoh untuk mengilustrasikan perbedaan antara kalimat aktif dan pasif:
Active Voice:
“The chef (subject) cooked (active verb) a delicious meal.”
Passive Voice:
“A delicious meal (subject) was cooked (passive verb) by the chef.”
Pada contoh kalimat pasif, fokusnya adalah pada hidangan (penerima tindakan), dan koki (pelaku tindakan) disebutkan setelah kata kerja “dimasak.”
Penting untuk dicatat bahwa meskipun kalimat pasif dapat berguna dalam beberapa konteks, secara umum disarankan untuk menggunakan kalimat aktif untuk kejelasan dan langsung dalam penulisan.
FORMULA PASSIVE VOICE
S + the appropriate form of the verb ‘to be’ + past participle (verb 3)
If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a “by the…”phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit “by the…” phrase is optional
Active : Subject + Verb + Object
Passive : Subject + to be + Verb 3 + (By + Object) —>optional
A. Present
Active: The scientists + formulate + the vaccine
Passive: The vaccine + is + formulated + (by scientists)
B. Past
Active: They+ formulated + the vaccine
Passive: the vaccine+ was + formulated + (by them)
C. With Modals
Active: They+ will formulate + the vaccine
Passive: The vaccine + will be + formulated + (by them)
D. With To
Active: They+ need to formulate + the vaccine
Passive: The vaccine + needs to be +formulated + (by them)
E. With Have/Has/Had
Active: They+ have formulated + the vaccine
Passive: The vaccine + has been + formulated + (by them)
F. With Progressive Form
Active: They + are formulating + the vaccine
Passive: The vaccine + is + being + formulated + (by them)
SOCIAL FUNCTION
In the workplace or in academic situations, you may need to give a presentation about a process or procedure scientifically. For example you want to give a short talk about “how to conduct a survey” or “how a book is made”.
When describing a process, we usually focus on the process and its results, rather than on the person who performs it. To express this, we use the passive voice.
Moreover, during those formal and academic encounters, your role could be the one who needs the information, so you need to know how to ask the information appropriately. On the other hand, you may be the one who presents that academic talks in front of others, and therefore you should perform your talk appropriately as well.
Let’s learn how to ask and talk about scientific things by using passive voice as the language use in context.
Text Structure
When you talk about scientific things academically, you should
remember that there are 3 (three) parts in it, namely:
- Beginning is the part when you introduce the main topic of your talk.
- Middle is the main point of your talk.
- Ending may contain your personal opinion or impression as a conclusion of your talk.
Study the following text.
A book can be broadly defined as a written document of at least 49 text pages that communicates thoughts, ideas, or information. Have you ever wondered how it is firstly made?
The first known forms of written documentation were the clay tablet of Mesopotamia and the papyrus roll of Egypt in early 3000 B.C. Independent of these developments were Chinese books which were made of wood or bamboo strips bound together with cords in 1300 B.C. Modern book production came about as a result of the invention of printing press. Although the invention of printing most likely occurred earlier in China as well, the introduction of movable type and the printing press to Europe is credited to Johann Gutenberg of Germany. Gutenberg, in collaboration with his partners Johann Fust and Peter Schoffer, printed a Latin Bible using a hand printing press with movable lead type by about 1456. Each individual letter of early hand-set type was designed in a style closely resembling script or hand-lettering. Thus, the first books printed in Europe appeared much like books produced by scribes. Books printed in the fifteenth century are now called incunabula, a word that is derived from the Latin for cradle.
While the invention of other forms of multimedia has had an adverse impact on reading in general, books remain the primary source of knowledge throughout most of the world.
Source: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Book.html#ixzz6YhbwSG8M
The text consists of 3 (three) paragraphs.
- Opening —-> Paragraph 1 (when the topic is introduced)
- Body —-> Paragraph 2 (the main point of the topic)
- Closing —-> Paragraph 3 ( the conclusion of the topic)
Language Feature
- Usage
Use the passive:
✓ as we want to move important information (the object of the active sentence) to the beginning.
E.g. Two missing children have been found safe and well.
✓ when we want to be impersonal and not mention the name of the person who performs the action.
E.g. Khadija was invited to the presidential palace.
✓ mostly use the passive in scientific or technical processes.
E.g. Oil and gas are found beneath the ground or sea.
✓ when it is obvious who performed the action.
E.g. The Thieves were arrested by the police last night.
✓ more often in formal speech and writing than in everyday speech. E.g. Books printed in the fifteenth century are now called incunabula, a word that is derived from the Latin for cradle.
- Transitive and Intransitive
Verbs which have an object are called transitive verbs;
Verbs without an object are intransitive.
Only transitive verbs can be made passive.
Subject Verb Object
transitive I lost my wallet on the way to school
intransitive I swim — every day
- Use by
✓ when it is important to know the ‘agent’ or person who performed the action
E.g. Some countries have been harmed by tourism.
✓ only when it is really necessary.
E.g. The two men were arrested. (by the police – this is obvious)
Use with
✓ for objects which perform actions.
E.g. The game was played with a ball of solid rubber
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