Author: Ano Sensei
Format: Video
Related content:
- • English in Context: Basic English Grammar (Video Playlist)
- • Spotlight on English: Advanced English Grammar (Video Playlist)
📚 Part of a series: English in Context: Basic English Grammar
🧑🎓 The passive voice: knowing how to make it isn't enough | ENGLISH IN CONTEXT 👀
"I have a pet dog ...— so 'A pet dog is had by me', right?" Grammatically, the construction follows the rule perfectly. But no native speaker would say it. Why not? And how do you explain that to a student who did exactly what the textbook said?
In this video I look at the real reason we use the passive in English: we use it to talk about what is happening TO someone or something — when the subject is genuinely being acted upon. "Having" a dog doesn't involve anything happening to the dog. Clothes don't act on you the way a teacher acts on a student. Once you understand this principle, the grammatically-correct-but-wrong passives start to make sense — and so does the rule that actually governs when the passive works.
This is the introductory video in a series on the passive voice. For a more detailed treatment, see the follow-up video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js9phw4Js64&list=PLzVb6yL_jY6-J70nxQ5fs1F8ACC8x80AQ&index=2
What this video covers:
Why teaching only how to form the passive leaves learners stuck
The real reason we use the passive: talking about what happens TO someone or something
Why "A pet dog is had by me" is grammatically correct but still wrong
A more accurate rule for when passive subjects work and when they don't
Why native speakers are often just told "don't use the passive" — and why that's unhelpful
I'm John R. Yamamoto-Wilson — formerly Professor of English Literature at Sophia University, Tokyo, with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. These videos are aimed at intermediate learners of English, and at the teachers who work with them. 📌 Part of the English in Context series — intermediate grammar points that textbooks often explain poorly or get wrong. Click here for the complete series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVb6yL_jY6_sKngAN_gYB8w-KC20AGP4
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