Collins Cobuild English Grammar (164 page)

be scaled down

be struck off

be sworn in

be taken aback

be written into

They
were bowled over
by the number of visitors who came to the show.
The journalists
were taken aback
by the ferocity of the language.

verbs that are rarely used in the passive

9.19
    A few transitive verbs are rarely used in the passive because the thing affected by the action they describe is rarely the thing you are interested in.

The following transitive verbs are rarely used in the passive:

elude

escape

flee

get

have

let

like

race

resemble

suit

survive

The following phrasal verbs containing a transitive verb are rarely used in the passive:

band together

bite back

boom out

brush up

call down on

cast back

chuck in

cry out

ease off

eke out

flick over

get back

get down

give over

have on

have out

heave up

hunt up

jab at

jack in

jerk out

let through

pace out

phone back

ring back

ring out

sit out

sob out

stand off

tide over

wait out

walk off

while away

verbs with two objects

9.20
    In the case of verbs that can have an indirect object as well as a direct object such as
give
,
teach
, and
show
, either object can be the subject of a passive clause.

For example, instead of
He gave the receptionist the key
, you can say
The key was given to the receptionist
, where the direct object of the active clause is the subject of the passive clause. The indirect object can be mentioned after
to
or
for
.

The building
had been given to the town
by an investment banker.
Shelter
had been found for most people
.

Sometimes it is unnecessary to mention the indirect object at all.

The vaccine
can be given
at the same time as other injections.
Interest
is charged
at 2% a month.

But you can also say
The receptionist was given the key
, where the indirect object of the active clause is the subject of the passive clause. Note that the direct object is still mentioned after the verb.

They
were given a pint of water
every day.
He
had been offered drugs
by an older student.

For lists of verbs that can have an indirect object as well as a direct object, see paragraphs
3.73
to
3.82
.

transitive verbs with object complement:
The wall was painted blue

9.21
    There is a group of transitive verbs that can have a complement after their object. They are listed and described in paragraphs
3.161
to
3.171
. When these verbs are used in the passive, the complement is put directly after the verb.

He
was shot dead
in San Francisco.
If a person today talks about ghosts, he
is considered ignorant or crazy
.

reflexive verbs

9.22
    
Reflexive verbs
, whose object is a reflexive pronoun referring to the subject of the verb, are not used in the passive. For more information on
reflexive verbs
, see the section beginning at paragraph
3.26
.

intransitive phrasal verbs with prepositions

9.23
    Many intransitive phrasal verbs can be used in the passive. The verbs are followed by a preposition and a noun phrase referring to the thing affected by the action the verb describes. The object of the preposition can be made the subject of the passive form of the verb. The preposition remains after the verb, with no object after it.

In some households, the man
was referred to
as the master.
Two people at the head of the line
were being dealt with
by a couple of clerks.
The performance
had been paid for
by a local cultural society.
The children
were being looked after
by family friends.

The following is a list of intransitive phrasal verbs with prepositions that are often used in the passive:

accede to

account for

act on

adhere to

aim at

allow for

allude to

approve of

ask for

aspire to

attend to

bargain for

bite into

break into

budget for

build on

call for

call on

care for

cater for

count on

deal with

decide on

despair of

dictate to

dispense with

dispose of

enter into

frown upon

fuss over

get at

get round

gloss over

guess at

hear of

hint at

hope for

impose on

improve on

indulge in

inquire into

insist on

jump on

keep to

laugh at

lean on

leap on

light upon

listen to

long for

look after

look at

look into

look through

look to

meddle with

minister to

mourn for

object to

operate on

pander to

paper over

pay for

pick on

plan for

plan on

play with

plot against

point to

pore over

pounce on

preside over

prevail on

prey on

provide for

put upon

puzzle over

reason with

refer to

rely on

remark on

resort to

rush into

see through

see to

seize on

send for

set on

settle on

shoot at

skate over

stamp on

stare at

subscribe to

talk about

talk to

tamper with

tinker with

touch on

trample on

trifle with

wait on

watch over

wonder at

work on

A few three-word phrasal verbs are used in the passive.

He longs to
be looked up to
.
I was afraid of
being done away with
.